What's the best scifi tv series of all time?

sward

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Hi folks, Stevie here!

Ok, first of all, cards on the table, I was raised trekkie.

For me it goes TNG, DS9,V and then the rest (though I hated Enterprise). I also have a soft spot for Farscape which was almost like a low budget Firefly from the UK back in the day. I also love some of the stuff that came out of the UK 60's and 70's so The Avengers, The Prisoner and of course Dr Who.

As far as american shows go, I watched Quantum Leap a lot as a child, and really wanted to get into Stargate but I didn't find it as gripping for some reason.

I know that there is a good argument for DS9 and BSG having the most sophisticated story archs for contempory scifi shows, but in your opinion, what show is your go-to favourite and why?

Engage!

Stevie
 
Aug 22, 2019
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Babylon 5, hands-down. Though I'll admit to a soft spot for TNG and Voyager grew on me after a while, Babylon 5 will always be my preferred space opera of choice. I enjoyed that it was a little grittier and rougher than the Treks, but interwove philosophy and humanism into the mix of the story arc.
 
Oct 15, 2019
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Hi folks, Stevie here!

Ok, first of all, cards on the table, I was raised trekkie.

For me it goes TNG, DS9,V and then the rest (though I hated Enterprise). I also have a soft spot for Farscape which was almost like a low budget Firefly from the UK back in the day. I also love some of the stuff that came out of the UK 60's and 70's so The Avengers, The Prisoner and of course Dr Who.

As far as american shows go, I watched Quantum Leap a lot as a child, and really wanted to get into Stargate but I didn't find it as gripping for some reason.

I know that there is a good argument for DS9 and BSG having the most sophisticated story archs for contempory scifi shows, but in your opinion, what show is your go-to favourite and why?

Engage!

Stevie
Amazing
 
Oct 21, 2019
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Hi folks, Stevie here!

Ok, first of all, cards on the table, I was raised trekkie.

For me it goes TNG, DS9,V and then the rest (though I hated Enterprise). I also have a soft spot for Farscape which was almost like a low budget Firefly from the UK back in the day. I also love some of the stuff that came out of the UK 60's and 70's so The Avengers, The Prisoner and of course Dr Who.

As far as american shows go, I watched Quantum Leap a lot as a child, and really wanted to get into Stargate but I didn't find it as gripping for some reason.

I know that there is a good argument for DS9 and BSG having the most sophisticated story archs for contempory scifi shows, but in your opinion, what show is your go-to favourite and why?

Engage!

Stevie
For me the first season of The expanse and The X Files.
 
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Oct 21, 2019
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I was raised on Star Trek too... The first episode of TNG was aired 5 days after I was born, and according to my parents they used to prop me up in front of the TV each episode and I'd watch it. I was never that big of a fan of DS9, and would rate VOY as the best story arc of any Star Trek series. But I also love the JJ universe, as well as Discovery... I just can't get enough Trek.

That said, BSG wins it for me. That compelling story arc, all the obvious signs of the identity of the final five tucked away and yet I was so surprised when I finally learned who they were! I loved the setting, the grittiness of being on an old ship, dogfighting with small ships, against a vastly superior opponent...

Stargate SG1 and to some extent Atlantis were also phenomenal for me growing up. It's the only sci-fi I've really seen that could have actually been occurring and the average person living on earth wouldn't really know about it.

Both Rick & Morty and Futurama should get a mention as my favourite sci-fi cartoon TV series! I've watched Rick & Morty through at least 6 times...

Loved Farscape and Sliders too, but I don't think they've aged well and I struggle to re-watch them.

And I also have a soft spot for The Orville, love that show!
 
Hi folks, Stevie here!

Ok, first of all, cards on the table, I was raised trekkie.

For me it goes TNG, DS9,V and then the rest (though I hated Enterprise). I also have a soft spot for Farscape which was almost like a low budget Firefly from the UK back in the day. I also love some of the stuff that came out of the UK 60's and 70's so The Avengers, The Prisoner and of course Dr Who.
I agree with TNG and DS9, and Voyager. I also still like the the original Star Trek. With its often cheesy production, it was amazing considering its meager budget, and it had some of the best stories. Imagine some of those stories with a ten fold budget. One of the firemen at Del Mar, Calif had the actual Captain's Bridge Chair from the series in his living room. I also have the VHS deluxe boxed versions of most of them.
The Prisoner was great, though a little cerebral at times.
I really liked Battlestar Galactica, the original. The new version was garbage.
Blake's Seven was melodramatic, but entertaining. I recorded all the episodes.
It does not get any more classic than the Twilight Zone. I recorded all the Twilight Zone New Years Marathons. I also have the DVD collection of them.
 
Oct 25, 2019
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I know trek et al theres a lot out there but to look a little off beaten path. Gotta go with Matrix series. I know but the concepts are remarkable.
 
Oct 25, 2019
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Interstellar has some very interesting ideas. Even using real science. The construct is interesting but a little bit far out. Still a good flick if one doesn't think to much. The conflict of time/gravity and the quantum answers hidden inside the singularity. Makes one ho Hm?
 
Interstellar has some very interesting ideas. Even using real science. The construct is interesting but a little bit far out. Still a good flick if one doesn't think to much. The conflict of time/gravity and the quantum answers hidden inside the singularity. Makes one ho Hm?

Topic is tv shows (sorry to be THAT guy that has to tell you).

Just going to go with the heard and say TNG. Didn't watch BG so can't rank.

I watched a few eps of Orville and thought it was really really awful so surprised a couple ppl mentioned it.
 
Oct 25, 2019
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Topic is tv shows (sorry to be THAT guy that has to tell you).

Just going to go with the heard and say TNG. Didn't watch BG so can't rank.

I watched a few eps of Orville and thought it was really really awful so surprised a couple ppl mentioned it.
You are 100% correct. Just enough attention to exact a response without paying attention to the details of the original question.
Being raised on Buck Rogers, HG Wells et al. I was loveded at Star Trek but I agree that TNG was best overall. I also agree with some that Orville didn't live upto my expectations. I guess I expected more tongue-in-cheek considering peeing myself from laughter while watching "Million ways to die in the West". Long Live TNG!
 
You are 100% correct. Just enough attention to exact a response without paying attention to the details of the original question.
Being raised on Buck Rogers, HG Wells et al. I was loveded at Star Trek but I agree that TNG was best overall. I also agree with some that Orville didn't live upto my expectations. I guess I expected more tongue-in-cheek considering peeing myself from laughter while watching "Million ways to die in the West". Long Live TNG!

Re: Orville, you know I shouldn't say it is awful... that's just my internet black/white persona talking... it was just not for me and the sci/fi components (and humour) definitely seemed subpar.
 
I suspect a person's age will present a bias in their opinion.

The original Star Trek series kept me walking briskly back to the dorm's lounge to watch it on that little, crummy tv. The novelties they introduced (e.g. transporter), the ship design, character mix and great acting made it a hit that continues today.
 
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I would probably pick Dr Who; it doesn't pretend to take itself seriously. Red Dwarf for the same reason. Anything attempting to be serious "hard" SF comes up against what I know about space and comes out looking worse for it. Expanse might have drawn me in but no water on Ceres?! No carbonaceous materials that can be heated to release water? No efficient recycling of water on Ceres? I think space colonies will be highly dependent on trade but in technology and mineral resources. Not, I think, trade in ice.
 
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Among the Star Trek series, TOS is by far the best. TNG certainly had some good episodes, but nothing that ever approached TOS at its best. Despite the opening voice over, TNG wasn't really about exploring strange new worlds. They were more often dealing with cultures within the Federation, or whom the Federation knew well.
I would say that the best science fiction series was either Babylon 5 or The Twilight Zone. Babylon 5 developed a far more complex world, and had much more genuinely alien aliens than Star Trek ever did. Of course, JMS had Star Trek as a model, he stood on the shoulders of giants. The Twilight Zone, being anthological rather than episodic, was able to explore ideas in a way that a serialized show just never could.
I think honorable mention should be given both to Sliders and Sea Quest DSV. They both started out absolutely top notch, with serious, thoughtful, hard science based stories that were creative and complex. Then they both, in different ways, just got stupid. I think the reason for it was likely the same for both of them. The writers just lacked the creativity to maintain quality of stories within the hard science fiction milieux they had created. Nonetheless, for both of them, their first seasons are a gold standard.
 

Catastrophe

"Science begets knowledge, opinion ignorance.
I would probably pick Dr Who; it doesn't pretend to take itself seriously. Red Dwarf for the same reason. Anything attempting to be serious "hard" SF comes up against what I know about space and comes out looking worse for it. Expanse might have drawn me in but no water on Ceres?! No carbonaceous materials that can be heated to release water? No efficient recycling of water on Ceres? I think space colonies will be highly dependent on trade but in technology and mineral resources. Not, I think, trade in ice.

I remember very well the very first Dr Who which must have been very early 60s. The Tardis (telephone box) was supposed to show the ability (of the Tardis) to fit into any surroundings, but somehow it (the Tardis) never changed after that - whatever the surroundings (at least that is my recollection).

Cat :)
 
Ok! Here is a ScfFi which is probably the most popular of SciFi's but considered a non-SciFi . It's the U.S. TV show series "I Dream of Jeannie", 1965-70, staring Barbara Eden, as a 2000 yo Genie and Larry Hagman as a lucky but hapless astronaut. , BTW 3 wishes was not the limit, but at that time I couldn't contemplate past the 1st.
 
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