FTA-TV Top 10 Sci Fi Shows of All Time

Bomberboyokay

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Being 19/20 when I watched most of it in 2007 probably had much to do with my feelings, but Battlestar Galactica was brilliant for being not Star Trek and all those similar to Star Trek. It was the Bush-Howard years in space.
 
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Bomberboyokay

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From memory season 3 is when "You need stand alone episodes" really showed. Seasons 1-2 sort of did them but they fed into the bigger story.
 
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i'm not sure exactly what you mean. star trek was a massive cash cow (hence its disappointing longevity) and it pre-dated decent scifi by quite some time (i know some oldies say buck rodgers was the **** but i've never seen it).

i agree that speculative fiction was (and kinda still is) looked down upon, but at the same time i think there are way more quality options in 2020 than there were in the 90s for example. so i definitely agree there's an aura of cashing in (thanks to such series like BSG and GoT) but at the same time the TV medium has matured a lot so there's also been an increase in decent products. for example, star trek discovery (first season) is better than anything the brand made up to that point (i might give DS9 a B5-copying exception).

fu** im a nerd :(
I think sci fi was looked down on by "real producers" and now that they think they can make a solid buck and do it properly then they bring their gimmicks across to it and forget to write a story that works.

They don't think people will notice, they think their audience understands it as well as they do. They underestimate the science in science fiction
 
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Did anyone here go much on Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles?

Think the first season was very good but the second and last was far too packed with filler and suffered with more than doubling the season length. Great moments by broken up by horrible episodes and subplots.


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I think sci fi was looked down on by "real producers" and now that they think they can make a solid buck and do it properly then they bring their gimmicks across to it and forget to write a story that works.

They don't think people will notice, they think their audience understands it as well as they do. They underestimate the science in science fiction

i don't disagree but i think it's a general rather than specific complaint or rule. scifi/fantasy is in a much better spot now than it was 20 years ago. there might be more rubbish, but there's more gold too. occasionally quality and profit intersect. GoT clearly jumped the shark at some point but its early seasons which tracked the novels more closely are clearly the best sword and sorcery TV product ever made (and this is coming from someone who wasnt a massive fan). i mean, compare it to xena or hercules haha!
 
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i don't disagree but i think it's a general rather than specific complaint or rule. scifi/fantasy is in a much better spot now than it was 20 years ago. there might be more rubbish, but there's more gold too. occasionally quality and profit intersect. GoT clearly jumped the shark at some point but its early seasons which tracked the novels more closely are clearly the best sword and sorcery TV product ever made (and this is coming from someone who wasnt a massive fan). i mean, compare it to xena or hercules haha!

GOT penetrated the mainstream like no fantasy media ever has before or may ever again. Hard to compare it to more niche shows.


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Bigjobss

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Man The Expanse is good, half way through season 3 currently.
I really got into Fullmetal Alchemist back in the day.
 

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I’ve always love sci-fi with the element of time travel. The original ‘Time Machine’ was great but dated now. The original ‘Planet of the Apes’ is a classic, and still the best of a nine film franchise (sound familiar?). The ‘Philadelphia Experiment’ is a great 1980’s time travel movie. And the ‘Back to Future’ trilogy is all-time. I’m still working through the ’Highlander’ but my son just wasn’t getting it, so we’ve stopped for now.
Planet of the Apes and Back to the Future would have to be in the top ten of many people’s list?
 

Bomberboyokay

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Did anyone watch all of Odyssey 5 (no relation to Babylon 5)? Saw the first episode on Foxtel way back and it was pretty good.

After witnessing the sudden implosion of Earth from orbit, a group of five Odyssey astronauts is sent five years back in time by an alien force to find the cause and prevent the disaster. A vast conspiracy stands in their way.

MV5BMjE2MDYyNjY5Nl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNjU0NzIzMQ@@._V1_.jpg



That description and image makes it sound pissy but it had a bit of the serious TV feel that would come along. Cancelled after 1 season of 19 episodes.
 

Freshwater

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Back to Future I think as more American Cheesy comedy first, sci-fi distant second.

Planet of Apes, yes. The movie, not really the show. The show was nothing special. Thread about the tv shows.
Sorry, it said “show” I didn’t know that meant tv show, not picture show. I’ll stick with tv then.
But have to answer the BTTF statement. There was cheesy comedy aspect to Back to future, but that was on the surface, but the sci-fi plot was so good and so well directed, edited and acted, that is why it’s so enduring.
 
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Sorry, it said “show” I didn’t know that meant tv show, not picture show. I’ll stick with tv then.
But have to answer the BTTF statement. There was cheesy comedy aspect to Back to future, but that was on the surface, but the sci-fi plot was so good and so well directed, edited and acted, that is why it’s so enduring.
Might be just me, but do not find it enduring. Like many, I would have watched it, in it's time but cannot imagine it has much appeal to me to watch again. I find the Time Machine and Somewhere in Time would appeal even more to watch again and they are even older.
 
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Did anyone watch all of Odyssey 5 (no relation to Babylon 5)? Saw the first episode on Foxtel way back and it was pretty good.



That description and image makes it sound pissy but it had a bit of the serious TV feel that would come along. Cancelled after 1 season of 19 episodes.
Yes, watched it on the recommendation of Sebastian Roche. He was out to Armageddon a few years ago, not long after he was on Supernatural. He asked if anyone had seen it and almost no one had. Have since been hoping he or anyone else from the cast comes out to a Con, so can get to ask if they know anything about what was planned for the show. Definitely better then shows that got more seasons, but it was a few years before sci-fi went mainstream.

I’m a time travel fan as well. Another time travel one that got cut short I liked was Journeyman (2007 show). It only got a season before being cut. Damn combination of idiot execs back then with regards sci-fi and an audience that wanted ‘real world’ (haha, as if real police, cops or lawyers were that way, at least sci-fi admitted it wasn’t realistic, bloody idiot viewers) shows then.
 

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GOT penetrated the mainstream like no fantasy media ever has before or may ever again. Hard to compare it to more niche shows.

i agree re the penetration (lol), but it didn't do it in a vacuum. the quality of speculative fiction (and TV generally) was on the rise before GoT managed to combine epic nerdism with mainstream success. BSG was doing it too, just on a (much) smaller scale. i disagree though that the intersection of excellent quality and mega profit will never occur again; i thought TV was dead in 99 after B5 ended and i couldn't have been more wrong. the next GoT is likely just around the corner (and GoT had the obvious advantage of an established fanbase).
 

Long Live HFC

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I’ve always love sci-fi with the element of time travel. The original ‘Time Machine’ was great but dated now. The original ‘Planet of the Apes’ is a classic, and still the best of a nine film franchise (sound familiar?). The ‘Philadelphia Experiment’ is a great 1980’s time travel movie. And the ‘Back to Future’ trilogy is all-time. I’m still working through the ’Highlander’ but my son just wasn’t getting it, so we’ve stopped for now.
Planet of the Apes and Back to the Future would have to be in the top ten of many people’s list?

have you seen primer?
 
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Yes, watched it on the recommendation of Sebastian Roche. He was out to Armageddon a few years ago, not long after he was on Supernatural. He asked if anyone had seen it and almost no one had. Have since been hoping he or anyone else from the cast comes out to a Con, so can get to ask if they know anything about what was planned for the show. Definitely better then shows that got more seasons, but it was a few years before sci-fi went mainstream.

I’m a time travel fan as well. Another time travel one that got cut short I liked was Journeyman (2007 show). It only got a season before being cut. Damn combination of idiot execs back then with regards sci-fi and an audience that wanted ‘real world’ (haha, as if real police, cops or lawyers were that way, at least sci-fi admitted it wasn’t realistic, bloody idiot viewers) shows then.
Journeyman was a victim of the writer’s strike. Was on the borderline in terms of ratings and when the strike dragged on, they guessed there’d be even less of an audience to remember.

Very much a remake of Quantum Leap, on of all my all time faves which may be in line for a reboot.
 
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Journeyman was a victim of the writer’s strike. Was on the borderline in terms of ratings and when the strike dragged on, they guessed there’d be even less of an audience to remember.

Very much a remake of Quantum Leap, on of all my all time faves which may be in line for a reboot.
Qunatum Leap needs a reboot as idea of it was good. I just never really watched the original at the acting was just way too cheesy.
But as a pure sci-fin show it is a great premise to play with. So much scope to explore for a tv show.
 
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