The Best Classic Science Fiction Shows

[nimbus]

Are you referring to Balok, from the episode "The Corbomite Maneuver"? Which, incidentally, is my 2nd-most-favorite episode of TOS after "City on the Edge of Forever":

 

[drwayne]

One advantage that Irwin Allen had was that he liberally cross-used props between the series he had
going, LIS, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Land of the Giants, Time Tunnel and Batman.

You have to wonder how much Burroughs B205 hardware he acquired over the years. There is a guy
who sells replicas on the web that charges 2000$ a copy for them these days - damn, I wish I was
rich enough to waste money.

Much of the control room hardware is in a collector's basement now.

Wayne

 

[drwayne]

One other thing that did hurt Allen was that the first season of LIS was in B&W, then the next two
were in color. The transition forced reworks of a number of props, costumes etc.

Wayne

 

[jim48]

Irwin Allen and CBS could have done a fourth year of Lost in Space for what ABC spent on the last year of Voyage, $177,000.00 per show, which is what Paramount cut Star Trek back to its third year. Yes, they did spend a lot getting Lost in Space going and people are surprised to learn that its start-up costs exceeded Star Trek's. Still, Irwin Allen shows rarely, if ever, went over time or over budget, unlike Star Trek, which frequently did both. 20th Century Fox should have lobbied hard for one more year of Lost in Space, considering the lucrative re-run market. But then no one at the time could foresee both Lost in Space and Star Trek becoming classics, with Star Trek becomming a phenomenon. Yeah, on Star Trek between takes on the bridge they'd shut off all the winky-blinky lights and cool the consoles down with fans to keep them from melting!

 

[ZenGalacticore]

I gotta go with the original Outer Limits. I was a kid when it first went into syndication.

From the music at the beginning clean through the end of every episode, that show scared the Bejesus out of me. I watched some of those Youtube clips the other morning. 40 years later, I found myself getting chills up my spine, and even though it was a bright sunny Saturday morning, I couldn't help but look behind me. Like an autonomic response.


It was delicious.

The theme music was just... ... ... GREAT!!! (Goshdang my abilities as an expressive writer are suffering here). I can't think of another adjective to describe it. The intro-theme-music bespoke not only of sub-mariners, but of FUTURE submarines and submariners!!!!! Dammit! That was great TV!!!!

 

[ZenGalacticore]

Irwin Allen and CBS could have done a fourth year of Lost in Space for what ABC spent on the last year of Voyage, $177,000.00 per show, which is what Paramount cut Star Trek back to its third year. Yes, they did spend a lot getting Lost in Space going and people are surprised to learn that its start-up costs exceeded Star Trek's. Still, Irwin Allen shows rarely, if ever, went over time or over budget, unlike Star Trek, which frequently did both. 20th Century Fox should have lobbied hard for one more year of Lost in Space, considering the lucrative re-run market. But then no one at the time could foresee both Lost in Space and Star Trek becoming classics, with Star Trek becomming a phenomenon. Yeah, on Star Trek between takes on the bridge they'd shut off all the winky-blinky lights and cool the consoles down with fans to keep them from melting!

Hey there Jim old buddy! Look, you're more of an expert on tv history than I am, but... "Dammit Jim!", I read that the budget on the real Star Trek was a paltry $55,000 per/episode. No? Yes? I'm not disagreeing with you on this, that's just what I read. Can you clarify and confirm? Zen out.*

*Oh, btw, could you beam down a keg of beer and some strippers? I'm not worried about intelligent life, but it's getting lonely down here on Earth. Thanks! (If it's not working, try checking the reverse-polarity on the Neutron Gravitator.) And don't forget to re-tune the pulse proton-anti plugs. [seriously]

 

[frodo1008]

By the way, you can now buy the entire original "Outer Limits" series on a DVD set. My daughter knew how much I loved the series and bought is for my 66th birthday. She IS a peach of a daughter!

The thing that I liked about the series is that most if not almost all of the shows always had some kind of an uplifting human message in the end. I originally looked very forward to the new one, but somewhere along the line they seemed to have lost this essential gift. In general, the SCI-FI of the truly great age of SCI-FI during the 1940's through the 1970's (strangely enough the same age as the greatest in the space program and NASA) also seemed to be uplifting and hopeful.

If I want the drama of life, I would watch the six O'clock news. Easily enough death, doom and dispare there for everybody that likes that sort of thing. I do not, and am more than happy to admit to being a total escapist from this reality when I want to be just entertained!!

My own taste in both books and movies reflects this attitude. If either a book or a movie can have a message at the same time then fine with me. But is must leave me feeling better than when I started, or it is usually a bust for me.
Obviously this makes me a great fan of both the books and the movies of such as "Star Wars' and "The Lord of The Rings"!!!

If I want reality I study something like C++ Programming or some such, but that is not for entertainment. Although I must admit, I do like making the computer do what I want it to do, instead of human beings doing just what they want to do, Heh, Heh, Heh!

 

[ZenGalacticore]

See my thread 40 Years Ago NBC Killed Star Trek. Everyone was surprised when Lost in Space wasn't picked up for a fourth year. I'm surprised then #3 network ABC didn't snap it up.

Here's some interesting snips from Wikipedia:

Although it retains a following, the science-fiction community often points to Lost in Space as an example of television's perceived bad record at producing science-fiction[citation needed] (perhaps overlooking the series' deliberate fantasy elements), comparing it to its supposed rival, Star Trek. However, Lost In Space was a mild ratings success, unlike Star Trek, which received very poor ratings during its original network TV run, often not placing any higher than 60th place, while Lost in Space finished season one with a rating of 32nd, second season in 35th place, and the third and final season rating 33rd.

Star Trek creator Gene Roddenbery insisted that the two shows could not be compared. He was more of a philosopher, while understanding that Irwin Allen was a storyteller. When asked about Lost in Space, Roddenberry acknowledged, "That show accomplishes what it sets out to do. Star Trek is not the same thing."

It is unclear why Lost in Space was cancelled. Several theories have been suggested:

The show had ratings to ensure a fourth season, but it was expensive. The budget for season one per episode was $130,980, and for Season Three, $164,788. During that time, the actors' salaries increased, in the case of Harris, Kristen and Cartwright, nearly doubling. There is other evidence that at least a part of the cost problems were the actors themselves, for example director Richardson saying of Williams requiring that there be frequent closeups of him:

"This costs a fortune in time, it's a lot of lighting and a lot of trouble and Irwin succumbed to it. It got to be that bad."[6]

Also, the cost of the set itself was extremely high for its time, about $600,000.00. The producers had, in fact, spent far more money on the Jupiter II than Gene Roddenberry had spent on the starship Enterprise. For example, the Robot suit cost $30,000.00. A full-scale wooden mock-up of the Jupiter II (used on those rare occasions when the ship actually landed properly) cost $70,000.00, as well as taking up an awful lot of studio space. The landings themselves were very costly, which is why Gene Roddenberry came up with a "transporter."

Furthermore, the "control room" set was technically superior, using transistors, as opposed to the Enterprise bridge, which used vacuum tubes. Although more realistic-looking and more energy-efficient, these sets were very costly. As a result, Irwin Allen had to struggle to play catch-up during the entire run of the series.

Indeed, I believe that between the 2-story interior deck sets, the 40-inch "flying" model used in a number of episodes , and the full-scale wooden mockup used in only two episodes, the Jupiter II was the most expensive single "prop" in television history.

That's all kind of hard to believe Eddie. How could the 'Robot' cost 30 grand in 1965? My parents bought their house in N. Atlanta for 32 grand in '69 and resold it in '99 for 300 grand. That means roughly in adjustable dollars they paid about 350 to 400 thousand $$$ for that rediculous robot suit? Come on man!! Sounds to me like the studio got seriously ripped-off!!! :lol:
I guess philosophy will outdo storytelling in the long run every time!! Star Trek had GREAT STORIES!!! That's one of the aspects that made it GREAT!!!

Don't get me wrong. I loved 'Lost in Space'. But it was lame in hindsight compared to the real Star Trek. (No offense to you, Jim48, or anybody else out there.)

I watched 'Lost in Space' since the time I was a four-years-old.And all I ever remember-besides the pilot episode- was that they were always marooned "temporarily" on some planet. They were hardly ever travelling through space and were always 'stranded' for a full season on some planet. Meanwhile, young Will Robinson(seemed like every episode) would wander off to some cave on said planet and be rescued by 'Robot', thereby foiling the dastardly intent of devious Dr. Smith.
They were hardly ever in transit in SPACE. Even though they were supposedly "Lost in Space". I did like the show, but it got tiresome.

 

[frodo1008]

To me the major problem with any series tied to specific characters (which was another advantage to "Outer Limits", was that eventually the series starts to be more tied to the characters than it is to the stories. This happens even with a superior series such as "Start Trek". And people here can not really be comparing "Lost in Space" to "Star Trek", now can they?

Another thing that always impressed me about "Outer Limits" as how relatively great the special affects really were, especially for their time.

One program that had an affect that just about blew me totally away was called "Production and Decay of Strange Particles", where something goes wrong with a powerful research reactor, and the very fabric of space-time is opened up and intelligent high energy particles start to take over the people at the reactor for their own purposes.

The affect that so totally impressed me was when people are standing at the reactor interface, and then slowly fall out of sight, and then get back up. However, now instead of faces behind their visors there are clouds with small energy lightnings running through them! I mean, WOW! (by the way, one of those people was a very young Leonard Nimoy).

However, as I pointed out earlier, it was not just the affects that made that series so great, but the genuine science fiction stories that it told. In fact, some of the very good science fiction writers of the time were the very writers of those so good stories.

I think one of the reasons that it has lasted so long in such competitive areas as syndication, is a measure of those stories, and it seems such a tragedy to me that even with the better special affects now available that the new series did not have the great and moving kinds of stories that the original did.

Oh well, I have heard it said that the saddest words in the English language are "What Might have Been!"!

 

[JonClarke]

How about Blake's 7? Can that be considered a classic? I loved it myself, but I was young when it was broadcast.

Blake's 7 was very good. Witty scripts, interesting charaters, and dark humour. Terry Nation writing for adults.

 

[JonClarke]

I've read through all the posts, and no one has mentioned the classic Doctor Who....

It is a great gap in the listing. Star Trek, BSG did not do much for me.

But the classic Dr - The Invasion, Inferno, The deadly assassin, Genesis of the Daleks, the Key of Time, City of Death, to h=name but a few were truly memorable.

 

[silylene]

Well, I liked The Planet of the Apes TV show. It was actually quite good, as I recall.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet_of_the_Apes_(TV_series)

 

[crazyeddie]

That's all kind of hard to believe Eddie. How could the 'Robot' cost 30 grand in 1965? My parents bought their house in N. Atlanta for 32 grand in '69 and resold it in '99 for 300 grand. That means roughly in adjustable dollars they paid about 350 to 400 thousand $$$ for that rediculous robot suit? Come on man!! Sounds to me like the studio got seriously ripped-off!!! :lol:

I don't know why it cost so much, but I presume because it was because every part had to be fabricated by hand and installed by expert propmen, and that involved designing and putting together of a lot of small electrical motors, specially molded plastic parts, and miles and miles of wiring. The Lost in Space B-9 robot was less expensive than the reported cost of $125,000 of Robbie the Robot for the film Forbidden Planet, and both were the brainchild creations of the same designer, Robert Kinoshita.

I guess philosophy will outdo storytelling in the long run every time!! Star Trek had GREAT STORIES!!! That's one of the aspects that made it GREAT!!!

No argument here! Lost in Space was family entertainment that appealed to the lowest common denominator, but Star Trek was written by and for people who loved pure science fiction.

Don't get me wrong. I loved 'Lost in Space'. But it was lame in hindsight compared to the real Star Trek. (No offense to you, Jim48, or anybody else out there.)

I watched 'Lost in Space' since the time I was a four-years-old.And all I ever remember-besides the pilot episode- was that they were always marooned "temporarily" on some planet. They were hardly ever travelling through space and were always 'stranded' for a full season on some planet. Meanwhile, young Will Robinson(seemed like every episode) would wander off to some cave on said planet and be rescued by 'Robot', thereby foiling the dastardly intent of devious Dr. Smith.
They were hardly ever in transit in SPACE. Even though they were supposedly "Lost in Space". I did like the show, but it got tiresome.

I loved the show in it's first season, when it still retained much of it's science-fictional premise. Who could not love the idea of a family blasting off in their own personal space ship and exploring space? Didn't every young boy at that time not dream of being Will Robinson? Was the Jupiter II not the coolest and most awesome spaceship ever? The Dr. Smith character was supposed to have been killed off eventually, but the show's producers decided they needed a foil to the Robinson's amicability, and Jonathan Harris was determined to rewrite the character from a villain to a comical coward. Yes, it got tiresome that they spent so much time on planets, until you realize that the original concept for the show was a takeoff on Swiss Family Robinson, so much of the plots would revolve around the trials of a family being marooned on a deserted planet. Indeed, Space Family Robinson was supposed to be the name of the show when it was sold to CBS, but Disney, which had the copyrights to Swiss Family Robinson, would not allow that and threatened legal action. Still, even planet-bound, there was very good episodes. My favorite was the one where Will finds the alien transporter machine and, with the Robot's help, beams himself to Earth, lands in a small town in New Hampshire, where no one believes he could possibly be who he says he is. And even when the show deteriorated into campy fantasy, there were a few good episodes. Such as the one where an alien capable of manipulating time sends Dr. Smith back to the Jupiter II's launch day in 1997, where he learns that if he does not board the ship, the Robinsons will later be killed on their way to Alpha Centauri when the ship collides with an asteroid. Overcoming his innate selfishness, he re-boards the ship at the last second in an uncharacteristic act of redemption. Perhaps the best episode of all, and the one with the highest ratings of the entire series, was when the ship passes through a time warp and returns to Earth in 1947, where it is mistaken for an alien UFO. In some ways, the show was actually improving in it's last season, when they did spend much more time in space, but by that time the events that led to it's cancellation had been set in motion. A fourth season might have been interesting. It would have been nice if they had eventually made it to Alpha Centauri, and given the series "closure"!

 

[crazyeddie]

I think one of the reasons that it has lasted so long in such competitive areas as syndication, is a measure of those stories, and it seems such a tragedy to me that even with the better special affects now available that the new series did not have the great and moving kinds of stories that the original did.

Oh well, I have heard it said that the saddest words in the English language are "What Might have Been!"!

Of the new series, I recall eagerly awaiting a viewing of a remake of the original episode "A Feasibility Study", where the residents of a city suburb awaken one morning to find their entire neighborhood transported by an alien device to another planet, where they are to be used as slaves by a race of creatures weakened by a contagious, immobilizing disease. In every way, the original episode was mesmerizing and the acting superb, and very moving in the last scenes, when the residents decide, as a group, to deliberately infect themselves with the contagion, rather than submit to being enslaved. But when I watched the remake in the new "Outer Limits", I was so disgusted I couldn't finish watching the episode, it was so bad. Whoever is responsible for the new show sure doesn't get what was good about the old one.

 

[drwayne]

I agree on the first LIS season. I think being in Black and White also adds something - a "classic" feel to things.

And of course, the classic for me was the two part episode of "The Keeper". Michael Rennie has a bearing,
and that voice - whatever magic is, he has it. It more than makes up for the really stupid looking giant
spider thing that shows up near the end of the second part.

Wayne

p.s. I discovered several years ago that Guy Williams son runs a computer graphics business, I made
a point late one evening of sending him an email telling him that his father was an inspiration, and
he was nice enough to send a thoughtful reply.

 

[jim48]

Irwin Allen and CBS could have done a fourth year of Lost in Space for what ABC spent on the last year of Voyage, $177,000.00 per show, which is what Paramount cut Star Trek back to its third year. Yes, they did spend a lot getting Lost in Space going and people are surprised to learn that its start-up costs exceeded Star Trek's. Still, Irwin Allen shows rarely, if ever, went over time or over budget, unlike Star Trek, which frequently did both. 20th Century Fox should have lobbied hard for one more year of Lost in Space, considering the lucrative re-run market. But then no one at the time could foresee both Lost in Space and Star Trek becoming classics, with Star Trek becomming a phenomenon. Yeah, on Star Trek between takes on the bridge they'd shut off all the winky-blinky lights and cool the consoles down with fans to keep them from melting!

Hey there Jim old buddy! Look, you're more of an expert on tv history than I am, but... "Dammit Jim!", I read that the budget on the real Star Trek was a paltry $55,000 per/episode. No? Yes? I'm not disagreeing with you on this, that's just what I read. Can you clarify and confirm? Zen out.*

*Oh, btw, could you beam down a keg of beer and some strippers? I'm not worried about intelligent life, but it's getting lonely down here on Earth. Thanks! (If it's not working, try checking the reverse-polarity on the Neutron Gravitator.) And don't forget to re-tune the pulse proton-anti plugs. [seriously]

I'm no expert, but I did read a book a few years back called Inside Star Trek, by former producer Robert Justman and former Desilu exec Herb Solow. The early Star Trek's had a generous budget of 192,000.00 per episode. The rest of the first year and the second year they had $186, 500.00. Paramount bought out Desilu and cut the third year budget, since they never expected to make much off the show in syndication. HA! Look out your window. There's a keg with your name on it!

 

[crazyeddie]

I'm no expert, but I did read a book a few years back called Inside Star Trek, by former producer Robert Justman and former Desilu exec Herb Solow. The early Star Trek's had a generous budget of 192,000.00 per episode. The rest of the first year and the second year they had $186, 500.00. Paramount bought out Desilu and cut the third year budget, since they never expected to make much off the show in syndication. HA! Look out your window. There's a keg with your name on it!

That jives with what I read in The Making of Star Trek. Boy, you could really tell how the quality of the episodes nosedived in the last season: awful plots seemingly written by amateurs, and fewer (and cheaper) special effects.

 

[bdewoody]

No one mentioned so far the "Invaders" starring Roy Thinnes. It only lasted 2 seasons but I thought it was great. And what about the mini series "V"

 

[jim48]

No one mentioned so far the "Invaders" starring Roy Thinnes. It only lasted 2 seasons but I thought it was great. And what about the mini series "V"

"V" was actually quite good until they tried to make it a weekly series. Ah, the lizard people, and a gorgeous actress by the name of Jane Badler who played the head of the lizard people! My wife couldn't understand the appeal of the show.

 

[Mee_n_Mac]

No one mentioned so far the "Invaders" starring Roy Thinnes. It only lasted 2 seasons but I thought it was great. And what about the mini series "V"

I'm not sure I actually saw the "The Invaders" which is odd because it is sooo my kind of show. I seem to recall the dissolving bodies but that's been used enough times I could well be wrong. Sounds like the TV show "First Wave" was a copy of the earlier "Invaders" but with the added stupidity of Nostradamus having validity.

 

[crazyeddie]

No one mentioned so far the "Invaders" starring Roy Thinnes. It only lasted 2 seasons but I thought it was great. And what about the mini series "V"

I'm not sure I actually saw the "The Invaders" which is odd because it is sooo my kind of show. I seem to recall the dissolving bodies but that's been used enough times I could well be wrong. Sounds like the TV show "First Wave" was a copy of the earlier "Invaders" but with the added stupidity of Nostradamus having validity.

There was a show called Dark Skies a few years back that was set in the 1960's and was something of a cross between The Invaders and The X-Files. I liked it, but it only lasted for 18 episodes. Here's a plot summary from Wiki:

20th Century history as we know it is a lie. Aliens have been among us since the late 1940s, but a government cover-up has protected the public from such knowledge. As the series progresses, we follow John Loengard and Kim Sayers through the 1960s as they attempt to foil the plots of the alien Hive. The Hive is an alien race that planned to invade Earth through a manipulation of historical events and famous figures, including most notably the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In addition, the pair must stay one step ahead of a covert government agency that has mixed motives, Majestic 12.
The show featured a number of real-life 1960's personalities in the plot, such as The Beatles, Robert Kennedy, Jim Morrison, and J Edgar Hoover.

 

[LogicianSolutions]

B5 especially year 3 and 4. The last one sucked as did the spin-off/nose dive. What fool said "Ya lets make earth die off this will keep our viewers invested" /rolls eyes

 

[bdewoody]

I just thought of another great Sci Fi series. Max Headroom. I wish the scifi channel would pick this one up and broadcast it.

 

[jim48]

I just thought of another great Sci Fi series. Max Headroom. I wish the scifi channel would pick this one up and broadcast it.

Max Headroom. The '80s. As I recall Max started out as a commercial for something then had his own short-lived series. Groundbreaking visual effects for its time. Help me out: The actor who played Max later played the lead in a syndicated occult show that was hosted by Dan Ackroyd. I don't recall the name but the few episodes I saw were quite good.

 

[lildreamer]

Wait no mention of the earlier DOCTOR WHO series....pft...you people... :roll: