This blog covers Movies, TV, and other Geeky things...... Movie Reviews (over 3,400 movies rated so far) Countdowns of my top movies by year.... and much more.
Showing posts with label Top 25 Sci-Fi shows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Top 25 Sci-Fi shows. Show all posts
"You are about to enter another dimension. A dimension not only of sight and sound, but of min. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop, the Twilight Zone" -- Rod Serling.
That pretty much sums up one of the best shows to ever air on TV as far as I'm concerned. The original Twilight Zone in black in white brought us one amazing story after another. It was a journey into a land of imagination and some of the coolest sci-fi short stories ever. Whenever a Twilight Zone marathon is on I have to sit down and watch a couple of these TV gems. It was a major influence on my own imagination and for so many sci-fi shows and stories that followed it. Each week brought something new and interesting. An anthology of that looked at humanity from so many cool angles through the eyes of sci-fi.
The Cylons are back to take out the 12 Colonies. A small group of humans head off in search of the last 13 colony of Earth. We have heard and seen this story before. I remember watching the premiere episode and just being upset for the first hour and a half. How dare they make Starbuck and Boomer girls.. this wasn't the Battlestar Gallactica I grew up with. How dare they mess with this great show from my past. Then it turned the corner. I went from being upset that it wasn't the show I grew up loving to realizing that it might be something better. Once fully immersed into this new version it grew and developed into one of the best shows on TV. Battlestar Gallactica delved into many modern day issues in the coolest of Sci-Fi settings. The cylons were much more than just a bunch of tin-cans they were much more complex. The show had cool twists and great characters and storylines and a conclusion that satisfied. The cast was excellent. James Edward Olmos as Adama and James Callis as Baltar especially. I could go on and on about everything that made Battlestar so damn good.......but the fact that it is number 2 on my list says it all. "So say we all"
We finally got to see the infamous Clone Wars. 5 years of a weekly dose of Star Wars. I couldn't ask for anything more. The fact that this ranks number 3 only means 1 and 2 were so good and influential. This cartoon was good enough to at times to be on the big screen in fact the premiere 3 story arc did premiere in the theaters. The visual style of the show was incredible. The show was cancelled prematurely as a result of a series of new films that will be coming out. Hopefully more new Star Wars CGI shows covering other eras of Star Wars will happen as well. It hit the perfect balance of telling a variety of stories that took place during The Clone Wars. As a die hard Star Wars fan it was a dream to have a Star Wars TV show. It delivered on so many levels. If you call yourself a Star Wars fan and you haven't seen this series......then you aren't really a Star Wars fan. This series is a must see.
A great cast and a great series. This Joss Whedon creation brought wit and humor to killing vampires and demons on a weekly basis. This is the 4th Whedon show to make my countdown and my personal favorite. The adventures of Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Xander, Willow and Giles saving Sunnydale each week was a true treat. Whedon crafted a great mythology which eventually spun off 2 of its characters into the also excellent Angel starring (David Boreanaz and Charisma Carpenter). Buffy did what a lot of other good mythology shows didn't, it paid off on everything it teased. Whedon created story arcs and then delivered on those arcs on a regular basis, unlike X-Files and LOST which just kept stringing the viewers along with tease after tease in their mythologies. As far as I'm concerned Buffy is a perfect example of how a sci-fi mythology should be done and I'll be there for any Whedon show in the future. The writing was witty and creative and you ended up liking and enjoying both heroes and villains alike. The character of Spike went from being a villain to a good guy and that is a testament to the great writing the show had.
It played out like a modern day Buck Rogers if instead of falling alseep for centures into a future Earth he woke up in a much cooler universe. John Crichton (Ben Browder) goes on an experimental mission and ends out sucked into a wormhole into the middle of a space battle in a distant universe. Where he ends up with a group of Alien creatures aboard a living ship. These show had humor and action and some amazing stories a dialogue. The wide range of space creatures both puppets and excellent makeup blew any of the Star Trek universes (hey look an alien race with big noses) out of the water. Ben Browder as John Crichton was excellent as the lead and the interactions between the characters was a true pleasure to watch. Rockne S. O'Bannon the creator of this show who also created SeaQuest (further down the list) really created an amazing universe with this show. The show did an excellent job of creating cool villains and then in later seasons having those villains have to work with the heroes against more dangerous foes. Clever writing and cool camera work set this show apart from many others. Farscape was a true joyride in a fun alien playground. If you like Sci-Fi and haven't seen Farscape you really need to check it out.
It boldy went where no show had gone before....The adventures of Captain Kirk and the Starship Enterprise took the concept of Wagon Train out into space. The show was fun and action packed while using the Sci-Fi setting to deal with real life issues in its stories and plots. I love a cherish this show above all other versions of Star Trek because it had the perfect balance between humor and adventure. William Shatner played his title role of Captain Kirk with infamous overacting joy, but it worked. It is surprise Kirk had the time to save the day since he was always busy making out with Green women at ever planet he landed on while some poor hapless red shirted low level crew member was dying. Kirk was a James Bond in space with his vintage double karate chop fighting technique.
One of the things that worked best in the show that I felt non of its eventual spin-offs captured as well was the relationship between the characters. Watching Spock, Kirk and Bones interact was excellent comedy against the backdrop of encounters with new alien cultures as the Enterprise went on its 5 year mission. The show ended before its 5 year mission ended which was a shame. It eventually came back with big screen movies and several other Star Trek shows, but only the Wraith of Khan was as enjoyable to me as the original series. The show was campy and had goofy cheap 1960's sets and special effects, but it was fun and the stories and plots were good.
Coming in at number 7 is a near perfect 17 episodes. The series features Patrick McGoohan as a former British secret agent who after resigning from his job ends up in a bizarre place called The Village. He has no name, but instead like all the residents in The Village just a number. The show follows his search for answers and many attempts at escape. The show was surreal at times like an extended Twilight Zone episode . The main theme of the show was individualism. The Prisoner fought to keep his identity and escape the control of the puppet masters that over saw The Village.
This twisted show was part spy show, part sci-fi and part psychological journey. Patrick McGoohan's performance as prisoner Number 6 is both intense and fascinating.
This was a very difficult show to figure out where The X-Files belonged on my list. I have strong feelings about this show --it could have very easily been the number 2 show on my list and could easily have slipped quite a way further down as well. The show follows the adventures of two FBI agents as they investigate the unexplainable cases of the FBI. Fox Mulder (David Duchovny ) is searching for answers to something that happened in his past (the disappearance of his sister). Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) is the skeptic that becomes his partner and is basically partnered with him to come up with a reasonable explanation for the cases they deal with (how she remained a skeptic at all after so many seasons is just not realistic)
This show was extremely hard to place on the list because at one point when it was at its best it was quite possibly the best show on TV. There were so many cool episodes digging into Aliens, and creatures and all sort of the mysterious. At one point I would rather watch one episode of the X-Files rather than any new horror or mystery or sci-fi movie that was coming out on the big screen, that is how good X-Files was. There would be a bunch monster of the week episodes and then we would get a mythology episode. The mythology episodes would tease us that something may eventually be solved and the great mystery and government conspiracy that haunted Mulder would be figured out. I was hooked and couldn't wait until the next piece of the puzzle feel into place. The show was a big success for FOX and they kept renewing it, but they shows creator Chris Carter never paid the audience off on any of his teases. Eventually the main character of Mulder left the show and for money reasons they just kept making it without him anyway. I finally got frustrated with the show and dropped out of watching it completely until the series finale which was going to have Mulder back again and would hopefully finally answer some questions.
The finale was a total disappointment and played more like a boring clips show than a fitting end to the series. The show ended leaving many fans disappointed with so much unresolved. I felt that the mythology of the show that they teased us with constantly never was paid off and that maybe Chris Carter was just making it up as he went along inside of really crafting it like I had hoped.
One of the reasons I love Joss Whedon shows is that when he teases something at the beginning of a season you know that eventually all of those teases will pay off at the end and then a new storyline will be teased and hold your attention. Whedon seemed to have mapped out where he wanted his shows to go season by season instead of just winging it as he went along. I only wish X-Files, LOST and Twin Peaks had been crafted in the same way.
So I place X-Files at number 8 because it was the best show on TV for quite a few years even though the main storyline eventually turned out to be all smoke and mirrors in the end . I can't over look how good it was at one time and how it influenced other shows that came after it.
Fox didn't know what they had. Part western, part Sci-Fi --the show was never properly promoted or show regularly in its time slot and died and early and unfortunate death. The fans knew what they had though an amazing, cool sci-fi gem with a deep mythology that we never got to fully explore created by Joss Whedon. The story follows a crew of travlers, each with their own secrets aboard the spaceship Serenity. Traveling from frontier planet to frontier planet in search of earning a wage and avoiding entanglements with the authorities.
It features a great cast starring Nathan Fillion (of Castle) and excellent writing lead to a loyal fan base that eventually lead to a motion picture based on a TV show that only had about 9 episodes that aired on TV. Serenity was a really good movie that delivered its loyal fans with some of the answers that we would have eventually explored had the show itself lasted longer---but left us wanting more. If this show had lasted longer it may have been one of my favorites of all-time.
Quantum Leap was a creative, fun, time travel show with a heart.
Dr. Samuel Beckett ends up trapped in time leaping from person to person trying to set things right in order to hopefully eventually leap his way back home. It was a great show with a heart and pulled the audience in each week to really care about the lives of the people that Dr. Beckett leapt into. The story concept was a perfect concept for a show as it lead to many different types of stories across many different time periods. I personally didn't like or except what they did with the series finale, but it was a really good solid sci-fi show about making things right.
Following on the foot steps of The Twilight Zone came this black and white anthology sci-fi show. The Outer Limits was very much like The Twilight Zone dealing mainly in Sci-Fi realm. It brought great hour long stories that dove into the mysterious. In its 49 episode run it had many great episodes, but was less consistent than the Twilight Zone was. Still a must watch for Sci-Fi fans.
Like the Twilight Zone it had a great opening. You knew you were in for a good watch when the opening came on.
"There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. We repeat: there is nothing wrong with your television set. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to — The Outer Limits."
Angel was a spin off series from Buffy The Vampire Slayer featuring characters established in Buffy of Angel (played by David Boreanaz) and Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter). It follows Angel's move to Los Angeles where he becomes a detective in the Los Angeles underground dealing with supernatural cases and protecting the innocent. The show was basically about Angel (the Vampire with a soul) doing good to make up for all the bad he had done before as a form of redemption.
Angel was quailty show with some really great episodes once it found its groove. The mythology like the mythology on Buffy was strong and the show always paid off on the story arcs that it teased.
I waited over 20 plus years for another Tron movie which I loved. The world of Tron is fascinating and visually stunning. When an animated TV series was announced I was really excited. The show was stylish, cool and fun. It had great storytelling, an amazing soundtrack and ended way too soon. Airing on Disney XD the show never really found an audience. The show featured a program named Beck that was recruited by a damaged Tron to begin a rebellion against Clu. The themes of the show were interesting and seeing Lightcycles and grid battles on a weekly basis was a dream come true. If you missed it check it out when it comes to DVD........END OF LINE.....
This series sprung from the cool Sci-Fi movie Stargate from 1994 which starred Kurt Russell. The movie had a great concept that perfectly lent itself to a TV series. A Stargate was dug up in the desert which lead to an alien world. Logically the other symbols on the gate would lead to other worlds. The mythology of the show was strong with different worlds to visit throughout the galaxy. The Stargate team would unlock some of the mysteries of the galaxy about who created the gates and face several enemies of along the way.
The series lasted for 10 years eventually spawned 2 spin offs and direct to DVD movies had some great stories. The TV version of the show starred Richard Dean Anderson of McGyver fame as Col. O'Neil and he part a great dry sense of humor to the show. The show originally aired on Showtime and made its way to the Sci-Fi channel. Budget of course was the main drawback for the show which lead to many "Ship in a bottle" episodes or on Stargate stuck in the base episodes. Being on the air for 10 years also lead repetitive storlines, but the strong mythology of the show made up for this episodes. Even the departure of the shows main actor didn't mean the end for the show as Sci-Fi vet Ben Browder (Farscape) joined the show for a couple of seasons near the end. Every once in awhile you would get a really good episode where the budget limitations didn't stick out as much. I would really like to see what this show could have been had money not been an issue, with big budget special effects we could have had some much more interesting worlds to visit. If the movie ever gets rebooted the concept which was gold could lead to worlds like something out of Avatar.
After Star Wars hit the theaters everything changed. Battlestar Gallactica was made to cash in on the Star Wars craze. It was basically a Wagon Train in space that followed a group of humans that were forced to leave their planet in a "ragtag group of ships" lead by the Battlestar Gallactica while being pursued by deadly robots called Cylons. The coolest things about the show (aside from the special effects of the spaceships) was the mythology behind the show as this lost band of humans searched for Earth. Battlestar Gallactica was a landmark sci-fi TV show with Lorne Greene of Bonanza at the helm. The show was really popular at the time and was a much watch in for my family. Unfortunately the show cost too much to produce --which quickly lead to ship in the bottle type episodes and the constant re-use of the same special effects over and over again. I only wish the show had lasted long enough to actually make it to earth with its full cast and do it right.....instead of the blasphemous Battlestar 1980 which like the Star Wars Holiday special will not be mentioned.
Number 17 Starship Troopers Roughneck Chronicles 1999
Coming in at number 17 is something you may not even know exists. There was a cool CGI Animated Starship Troopers TV series that followed the adventures of the Roughnecks as they went on missions to take out the bug menace. I had to seek this series out. Some episodes aired early in the mornings on some random channel back in the day and I literally had to wait until the whole thing hit DVD in a set to see the series. It was a whole lot of bug killing CGI action packed fun. Usually presented in 4 episode story arcs. Good fun for any Starship Trooper fans.
The closest thing to X-Files that the TV world has given us. With an interesting mythology and bizarre cases this sci-fi series from J.J. Abrams is basically a modern day X-files as we follow the adventures of the Fringe unit of the FBI. Where it differs from X-Files is that there is an alternate parallel universe that is at the heart of this drama that drives the mythology. At times the show was as good as X-Files and at others the main story line or mystery of the week failed to meet the that level. The series like LOST seemed to drift off focus for awhile before finding its stride again. I still haven't seen the final 13 episodes (waiting for the final season on Netflix) once I have I'll see if that changes where this cool series falls on the list, but for now it comes in for me at number 18.
Number 19 Buck Rogers in the 25th Century 1979-1981
Coming in at number 19 is Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. I hold this one dear to my heart since along with the original Battlestar this was one of my first introductions to Sci-Fi TV in the post Star Wars era that cashed in on space battles. Buck Rogers follows a 20th Century astronaut that is revived after 500 years into the future. Buck ends up becoming a hero in this future Earth with the help of his football tackling skills which he uses pretty much every episode. This was campy fun sci-fi..a throwback to Flash Gordon. It was silly sci-fi with talking robots that are trying to be like R2D2, but look more like Tattoo from Fantasy Island.
Gil Gerad was perfect as Buck and Erin Gray was totally sexy in those skin tight flight outfights (one of my first celebrity crushes). Buck Rogers was just good clean silly fun.
This Prequel series to Battlestar Gallactica - got off to an amazing start. The premiere episode was a great look into a world of virtual reality. The series itself was too much of a departure from Battlestar Gallactica for most of its fans. I personally thought it tried to much too much to be too many things. It was part soap opera, part sci-fi and part gangster show. I loved the main story line about how the Cylons came to be and the virtual world that existed side by side with the world of Caprica. I wasn't that into the story of the Adama family and their Tauron roots. Even though it wasn't enough like Battlestar Gallactica I wish it had lasted a little longer because many of the elements of the show were excellent.
Number # 22 Seaquest DSV 1993-1996 Seaquest DSV was basically Star Trek under the water. A voyage to the bottom of the sea with a talking dolphin and a really cool underwater vessel . The series lasted 3 years and endured quite a bit of tinkering in an effort to widen the audience for the show. The show was created by Rockne S. O'Bannon ( Farscape, Defiance) and produced by Steven Spielberg. The biggest strength of the show was having Roy Scheider as the captain of the SeaQuest back when movie actors didn't really do TV (which is much more common now). Without Roy Scheider as the captain this probably wouldn't have been nearly as good as it was. He was the perfect casting choice as the captain. SeaQuest was a fun adventurous sci-fi series with good solid story telling and characters.
