Best Sci Fi Currently On Television?

A few months ago a friend recommended Farscape, and I started watching. The first season was flat, but the current season is absolutely amazing. So I started watching Lexx just because I had hope in TV sci fi. (I blame Voyager) I'll run a poll on this later, but I'd like to just throw this out: what is the best sci fi on TV? What do people like? Why? I like Farscape because the plot this season has been really interesting (and I even dig the device where the split the main char so they could have silly episodes interspersed with serious ones) and Lexx... well Lexx is just seriously bizarre: I love the wacky humor and terrible B effects. (thanks to everyone in Germany that recommended it. Wow! You werent kidding). Are there any other nuggets of joy out there that I'm missing? The scary thing is that the Sci-Fi channel has finally edged out Comedy Central and Cartoon Network on my Tivo for disk space.

Comments

Forget about the Special FX...

[MrEfficient]

The most important reason to watch Lexx is Xenia Seeburg. She is absolutely amazing. Shame on you for not mentioning her.

Futurama

[floppy ears]

Futurama is the best SF on tv today. Since it's a cartoon, they can do absolutely anything. Plus, aside from The Simpsons, it's probably the funniest show on the air. Sure, it's not pure SF, but they routinely address topics that the lamer SF shows are afraid to touch.

Re:Babylon 5

[DoomHaven]

Hear, hear! Damned right! B5 is the best Sci-Fi TV ever. It is a series that can be watched from end to end several times in a row (all 110 episodes) and you will *still* catch something new, or understand some obscure bit of foreshadowing that originally you missed. I have seen the series several times over, and I still find myself finding new gems. The continuity of the series is great; my biggest pet peeve of ST:NG (my second favourite SF TV show) was how the events of the episode would only affect the crew for *that* episode, and would never affect them afterward.

As well, it is a very believable sci-fi series. The humans are not the most powerful race in existence. The future is dirty, dingle, and jerry-rigged; not some utopian paradise. The science is believable: Star Furies act as how spacecraft *should* act. And I love the space battles; just the little details like the space debris keeping the inertia, the way streams of pulse cannon fire missing missing hitting missing targets.

B5 is the premiere science fiction series. If you haven't watched it, and want to know how good it is without knowing anything of the story line, I would suggest watching "In The Beginning", the made-for-cable movie that relates the events of the Earth-Minbari war.

I'm coming out: I watch Andromeda

[IvyMike]

As a science fiction snob, I should never ever watch this show, let alone admit it, but the only episodic television show I watch is Andromeda. Even worse, it's pretty much just because Lexa Doig is so hot. (For those who don't know, she plays the avatar of a massively powerful warship, so she's not even playing someone real, and yet that's part of the appeal. Psychoanalyze me now!)

I'm going to science fiction hell for sure.

For non-episodic science fiction shorts, I try to check out Exposure . It's a mixed bag, but usually has something worth watching every show.

Farscape. No... lexx. No...

[rde]

Since B5 ended (am I the only one worried about the Rangers?) there've been three series that are not just good; they're great.
Lexx is great. Stargate has gone from okay to excellent. But far away ahead of them all is Farscape.
I don't know how much you Americans have seen, but I've been watching it on DVD and I'v seen up to about half way through the second series. It's taken a fairly old plot (old before Voyager used it) and the traditional format (individual episodes, occasionally two- or three-parters, the rare reference to previous plots), but managed to be truly excellent.
The reason it's so good? IMO, it's because it avoids cliches. On several occasions (I still haven't learnt), I've groaned as ten minutes into an episode it looks like it's going to be one of those ridiculous Trek episodes that make us all cringe. But I've invariably had to apologise (mentally, anyway) to the producers by the end of the episode.

It may not have all the strongest plot lines, but it avoids cliche. And that's a rare and wonderful thing.

Re:Farscape. No... lexx. No...

[David Greene]

It's taken a fairly old plot (old before Voyager used it) and the traditional format (individual episodes, occasionally two- or three-parters, the rare reference to previous plots), but managed to be truly excellent.

Actually, Farscape is a novel for television but doesn't hit you over the head with it. Many times I have seen a "one-off" episode only later to realize how much it contributed to the overall arc. The current (US) season is a perfect example. Plenty of references to earlier seasons, explanations and thread interweaving has made for an outstanding experience!

You are right about its avoidance of cliches. The writing on the show is just great. I wish B5 had done as well. JMS is a great storyteller, but an episodic writer he is not. Some of the B5 dialogue was horrendous, not to mention the often tedious amount of explication. That's not to say that I didn't love B5. It remains one of my all-time favorites. Doesn't mean it couldn't be better, though.

Farscape's homage/satire of all of SciFi is incredibly fun. DRD Pike, for goodness sake! :)

The thing that I find most endearing, though, are the characters. They grow, change, form bonds, deceive, cheat, make up and generally act like real people. I'm very interested to see where the current character threads go at this point in the series. This is what makes a show great.

Easy. Babylon 5.

[Goldberg's Pants]

Babylon 5 re-runs have just come to an end in Canada, except for a 5 hour "viewers choice" marathon tomorrow starting at 1pm est.

B5 was by far the best sci-fi on TV for several reasons.

The effects: The budget per episode for B5 was a tenth of what ST:TNG cost, and by the time B5 reached the 5th season the effects were just stunning. Quite possibly the best space battles ever in a sci-fi show.

The story: While you could watch most B5 episodes as a seperate entity, the dedicated viewer was rewarded by one of the best stories I've seen in any medium. I won't even try and encapsulate it here, but it ranged from great comedy (some of the Londo/G'Kar scenes, plus various comments from other characters, particularly Ivanova.) to tragedy (no spoilers here. Suffice to say the show has it's fair share of tragedy.) Unlike shows like Voyager or Next Gen, B5 started a story, and ran it to it's conclusion. There were changes from the creators vision along the way (JMS is a genius!) for various reasons, but the description "a novel for television" was used, and fairly so.

Characters: No annoying robots or cute kids. Every character was believeable. Every character had flaws. The characters evolved. B5 could and should be used as a teaching piece on character development. Another thing I liked was the fact that you never felt any character was indispensible. In TNG, you know damn well Picard, Riker etc... aren't going to snuff it. In B5 I always felt like no character had a free pass. That added immeasurably to the show.

Realism: Unlike the shiny happy universe of Star Trek, B5 had real problems. Homeless people aboard the station for example. JMS (I won't even attempt to spell his surname) made a believable universe by including such elements.

The music: The show was great, but Christopher Franke's (ex of Tangerine Dream) music moved the show up a level. There are scenes which just rip your heart out, the music is so poignant. (Again, no spoilers.)

The alien races: While most were humanoid (not all) I think the aliens designed for B5 were FAR better than the blindingly obvious "human under makeup" aliens of Trek. The Pak'Mara for example looked amazing, and while the main players are the standard "human under makeup", the diversity of the portrayed alien cultures was amazing. Oh, and not all of them breathed oxygen. The station has section for non oxygen breathers.

For all your B5 needs, go check out The Lurkers Guide.

In closing, Babylon 5 is the best sci-fi there has ever been on TV. I look forward to the new "Legends of the Rangers" but I can't see, in all honesty, how it can possibly live up to Babylon 5 itself.

Besides, you have to love a show that blasts a teddy bear into space:)

Re:Easy. Babylon 5.

[Anonymous Coward]

Thank you for the amazing breakdown. I myself am a Huge Fan of this series, and was watching since GROPOS. It's a must-see. Infact, the only series to actually come close to its glory has been Farscape, but still has not beat it just yet.

Some good sites to go to for Babylon 5 information and discussion:
The Lurker's Guide to Babylon 5. A great reference source. It has THE most comprehensive episode guide for the series, it's movies, and its spinoff, Crusade. They Include a Synopsis, Notes, Comments from JMS, and other related information. The site also includes a B5 term encyclopedia, which can be beneficial for those who don't understand a term.
B5 Tech Reference. This site, while containing large amounts of fictional information, is a decent reference for anyone seeking information on the spacecraft of Babylon 5.
FirstOnes.com. While this is a shameless plug, If you want to talk with other babylon 5 fans, go there and visit the forums. You'll meet some interesting people from around the world. While it's primary mission has been abandoned (to raise the Babylon 5 Space Combat Simulator, Into the Fire, from the dead), it is being transformed into a source for everything Babylon 5. (well, that's the plan, at least =) )
Hyperspace Ship Guide. Another great reference page for the spacecraft of babylon 5. This has less fanfiction than Babylon 5 Tech, but less information as a whole. It has some great images, though.
The Down Below Sound Archive. This Page has a sound bite of just about anything you could want from this show. It's a great place to go if you want something along those lines.
Babylon 5: The place to be. This is another great site, loaded with 3D art and the models to make your own! Check it out sometime.
The Music of Babylon 5.. This is another great Babylon 5 Resource. It's webmaster posts various soundtracks from Babylon 5 on a regular basis. Most recently, the site had put up Battle Sequences A-F, the Sampler tracks for the music in Babylon 5: Into the Fire. Take a few minutes and listen to it.
The Shadow Information Office. A great page dedicated to correcting the popular belief that shadows are evil monsters. Rather, it shows that they have a very incolved culture, and exist for the sole purpose of assisting the other races. Check it out.

I hope these links are put to good use. There is a lot of information on the web. most of it bad. This should clear up some of that. Sanfam Out.

Stargate SG-1

[coyote-san]

Stargate SG-1, based on the movie Stargate is original programming on Showtime, and syndicated a year later. The new Outer Limits followed the same approach.

The movie and early episodes were occasionally painful to watch as a writer tried to include some pseudoscientific nonsense, but they seem to have put that past them.

The benefits of Stargate SG-1?

• Excellent continuity, but with a good mix of new material. A welcome change from Star Trek, which alternates between total amnesia and years-long story arcs.
• Solid backstory. They have a USAF advisor to make sure the military procedures make sense - and even had a brief appearance by an USAF general on active duty. They do enough research into ancient cultures that watching the History Channel is surreal - all of the names are familiar.
• Sane technology. A lot of bad SF lets the technology dominate the story. Stargate SG-1 generally uses standard (or near standard) contemporary technology. Alien tech is rarely used by the SG teams, and aliens generally only use a handful of devices. No sudden solution to the problem by generating an inverse tachyon pulse or other crap like that.
• Strong characters. There's only a half-dozen major characters, each with well-defined roles (the four members of the team, General Hammond, and the doctor.) There's maybe a dozen recurring minor characters, each well-defined. There's no sense of having seen the same character a dozen times before, only with a slightly different forehead.
• Most importantly, a good sense of humor. Some of the episodes are deliberately over the top (Urgo), but there are also a lot of serious episodes with extremely funny, but totally natural, sequences. (E.g., the alien who constructed a new stargate in Sam's basement with hundreds of pounds of titanium(?), 7 100kW lamps,... and her toaster.)

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:Too bad Dr. Who is not on...

[SomeoneYouDontKnow]

Agreed 100%. Although Doctor Who had B-grade special effects, the thing that made the show work was the intelligent and witty writing. When you have that, you can live without the big budgets. But without it, all the effects in the world won't do any good.

Speaking of British sci-fi, I'd also like to mention Blake's 7 and Red Dwarf. I especially tip my hat to the latter. The humor will have you doubled over with laughter.

On the American scene, Stargate SG-1 is still doing quite well, although I was a little disappointed with last Friday's episode. The Outer Limits is also an interesting show to watch. Psi Factor was also good when it first came on the air, back when it was divided into short stories. I haven't seen it much in the last few years, though.

Interzone -- Best Sci Fci Currently on Television

[GGardner]

Right now, a copy of Interzone magazine ( http://www.sfsite.com/interzone ) is sitting atop my television, making it far and away the best SF on my television.

Most SF fans know that many of the most interesting genre movies are derived from short stories (i.e Blade Runner, The Minority Report, even A.I.). What a lot of people don't know is that these short stories often first appeared in SF magazines. Magazines such as Interzone, Asimov's, and F&SF aren't in good financial health right now, even though they are the nursery for a lot of SF writers.

A yearly subscription to most of these costs less than on month's cable bill, but gives a lot more entertainment, and helps to ensure the future of SF writers.

End of pledge break -- now back to our regularly scheduled Microsoft bashing

I can explain it...

[uptownguy]

There is some sort of stigma attached with Sci Fi that mainstream people just don't seem to like it. Sure there are exceptions (most prominent one being X-Files when it was good), but many people just don't want anything to do with Sci Fi.

Did you read what you just wrote? "Sure there are exceptions like X files when it was good" Its not like the US is a hotbed of high culture, but even mainstream viewers have some taste and, frankly, most Sci Fi sucks!

"...well, it was nice to see another installment in the Star Trek universe, but Voyager's writing sucked..."
"...Dr. Who was ahead of its time, but, gee, the special effects were painful to watch..."
"...Sliders was a great idea, but each new universe was riddled with logical holes..."
"...Lexx... well... Lexx..."

The unfortunate problem with Sci Fi is that rarely anyone besides us "geeks and/or nerds" seem to like it.

The problem (IMHO) with most SciFi is that it is almost never well executed.. Geeks seem have the intelligence to see past the (rather substantial sometimes) flaws and keep watching, but most people are honest enough to just keep channel surfing.

Geeks, for whatever reason, get off on preferring intelligent crap over stylish crap. They would rather see a TV show with the latest uber-gadget/newest buzzwords in physics/hot chicks with the biggest breasts who never seem to have to wear a standard uniform...

But, its not like mainstream people hate SciFi... mainstream people are embarassed to watch bad SciFi, that's all...

10pm, you're getting wrong feed

[coyote-san]

Stargate SG-1 airs at 10 PM on the east and west coast feeds. Since my cable provider normally uses the east-coast feeds, I get it at 8 PM.

If you're seeing it at midnight, you're either on a tape delay or in the CTZ but getting the west coast feed for some reason. Either way, you should complain to your cable provider.

(If I had to guess, this is to "protect the children" from the nudity and sexual situations in their late-night programming. Heaven forbid we expect parents to monitor what their children are watching on TV in the late evening.)

Some SciFi...

[Falsch Freiheit]

• Farscape; already mentioned by CmdrTaco, but this one is probably the best out there right now; and the muppets are done quite well.
  
• Lexx; sucks, but seems to have improved a bit this season
  
• Outer Limits; SciFi carries this, but it used to also show on CBS and Showtime. I think SciFi's run is ending. Individual 1-hour long stories that aren't connected. (okay, sometimes they're connected, and references to other episodes sometimes pop up) Quite good, sort of a "Twilight Zone" feel.
  
• Earth: Final Conflict; been watching this on our local FOX affiliate. Quite good, actually. SciFi is starting a run of this from the beginning on Monday; I'll be watching, as I missed the beginning of the series.
  
• Andromeda; this and EFC above are both based on ideas from Gene Roddenberry. Think "300 years after the Federation from Star Trek has fallen", except with enough things changed that it doesn't quite look like Star Trek and with a single ship that survived from that era (trapped next to a black hole) and her crew trying to rebuild the "Commonwealth". If only it didn't involve Kevin Sorbo...
  
• Exposure; on SciFi, it's just independent short films; some are *very* well done.
  
• Stargate SG-1; also playing on my local FOX affiliate, but originally from Showtime (new episodes are on Showtime, year later or so they end up on FOX); haven't been new episodes this summer, but this show is surprisingly good. *Far* better than the movie it's based on, except the special effects budget is smaller. Looking at the Showtime listing, they're still doing new ones, so I fully expect to see new-to-me ones on FOX starting again in the fall.
  
• The Chronicle; just started on SciFi on Saturday nights; basic premise is they're the National Enquirer and all the stories (Zombie Maggots from Outer Space eat dog-girl's brain!) are real. Worth programming the VCR for; not worth staying home on Saturday night for.
  

In fact, there's so much SciFi on TV these days that I can't keep up. There's also a "Witchblade" show on TNT (more Fantasy than SciFi) that's not bad. "Now and Again" is starting on SciFi on Monday; cancelled show from one of the major networks that I never saw, but I'm sure I'll check out a few episodes.

Red Dwarf

[D_Gr8_BoB]

In my opinion, the best sci-fi show still in production is Red Dwarf. It's easily one of the funniest shows I've ever seen, and while the recent seasons (7-8) haven't been nearly as good as the show was at its peak (seasons 1-4), it's still very much worth watching.

Those of you in the UK can look forward to a new season soon, and most of us in the US can catch reruns of the first 8 seasons on our local PBS station.

What about Buffy and Friends?

[TheHaas]

I've waxed and waned on the SciFi channel - they have series that start good, but I just can't get into them. I do agree that Farscape is a lot better now than in the first seaon.

And, though it technically isn't SciFi (more horror) what about "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and it's spin-of "Angel". Though I'm worred what UPN will do to it, Buffy has been the best written and the best acted show on TV, and Angel isn't far behind. The characters in those shows laugh, cry, and hurt. And, though it gets silly once in a while, it knows it's silly and just laughs at itself.

Buffy is definitely the most "junvenile" of the two, though the themes it has discussed (sexuality, loss of a loved one) are biggies and they give it the weight that those themes deserve. Angel is more of an adult-oriented, with more of a Batman: The Animated Serie feel to it.

Try it - you may like it!

Re:Space, Above and Beyond

[DanMcS]

Most days of the week SciFi does several hours of 'scifi-world, ____ land", like fantasy land or horror land or whatever, they'll show 4 hours of a particular series from about noon to 4 or 1 to 5, I forget. I just happened to catch S:A&B on wednesday of this week (I think), but the schedule appears to be random, on thursday they showed Fantasy Island. An excellent show, I agree, and I watched it when it was first on several years ago.

West Wing

[DanMcS]

OK, not strictly sci fi, but this is the best-written show, ever. It does occur in an alternate universe where the president is a different person, so that might sneak it in to the very border of SciFi-ness. Ok, probably not, but don't limit yourself to scifi, there is some excellent television floating around. Not much, but it's there.

Re:West Wing

[dsplat]

My VCR current records Farscape, Andromeda, Witchblade, and West Wing. As I have said in other comments, I really like good characters. The characters on West Wing are some of the best I've ever seen. At their high points, all of the best SF series hit the intensity and wit that these guys hit nearly every week.

I don't watch or read much fiction other than SF. There's so much good SF, and so little time. But there are exceptions. ER and West Wing jump to mind immediately. I wouldn't call, West Wing SF, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

Re:Lexx

[anticypher]

Even though I don't own a tele, I've seen a large number of Lexx shows. A friend works on the German side of things, and they fly him to Toronto and some studio in the wilds of Nova Scotia (his words) from time to time. Much of the talent in front of the camera is Canadian, with the exception of Eva & Xenia. Behind the camera is a mix of Germans and Canucks. Most of the young, sexy bit-part actresses are German.

Since I spend wayyyyy too much time in hotel rooms, I do get to see Lexx on both sides of the atlantic. There are two different versions, the European/Canadian shows tend to be more sexy and edgy, the U.S. gets a very edited down version so the Sci-Fi channel doesn't get kicked from too many cable stations as pr0n.

When my friend first told me of Lexx, it was being sold to various investment groups and production support companies as a way to attract a large number of hard-core geeks. By analyzing the only successful elements of recent trek shows [7of9], the first season working title was Sexx. The mini-capsule was "Trek meets Xena in a Blue Velvet universe". With a tag like that, its not hard to see why CmdrTaco likes Lexx, as well as Farscape.

I like Lexx, but I wish all four seasons would come out on DVD or tape, or some fan would digitize every episode into mpeg and share them on gnutella.

the AC