What are the top sci-fi shows for space adventure lovers?

[QuarkCharmer]

This seems like the appropriate forum to ask and get a decent reply. I have watches every star trek except for the original and enterprise (I gave the original a shot but the first two episodes were horrible). I really liked TNG, the action parts of DS9, and the borg parts of Voyager. I saw the new V and Battlestar Galactica, I tried to watch the originals of those two, but they are too dated for my taste. Obviously I have seen Firefly too. What are some other great space-adventures that aren't too terrible? What are your favorite scifi shows? I need something to watch!

 

[DoggerDan]

This seems like the appropriate forum to ask and get a decent reply. I have watches every star trek except for the original and enterprise (I gave the original a shot but the first two episodes were horrible). I really liked TNG, the action parts of DS9, and the borg parts of Voyager. I saw the new V and Battlestar Galactica, I tried to watch the originals of those two, but they are too dated for my taste. Obviously I have seen Firefly too. What are some other great space-adventures that aren't too terrible? What are your favorite scifi shows? I need something to watch!

Have you tried looking at what SyFy has to offer? It was a favorite whenever we could get it.

 

[jetwaterluffy]

Doctor Who.

 

[JesseC]

Farscape isn't TOO terrible... (apparently - haven't watched it myself)

Also if you don't mind non-space-based, pseudo-science-fiction / drama / thriller then Fringe is enjoyable.

 

[jambaugh]

Have you tried looking at what SyFy has to offer? It was a favorite whenever we could get it.

The SyFy channel has devolved into the "ScoobyDoo" channel IMNSHO, very little Science Fiction, mostly consisting of bad made-for-TV monster movies. The rest is horror and ghost stories and bad Steven King novels...OH! and wrastlin' of all things!

 

[micromass]

Stargate??

 

[phinds]

The new Battlestar Gallactica is good. When I first saw it my thought was that someone had decided to take the absolute worst SciFic series ever made and redo it for adults.

Don't know if it's on in reruns anywhere these days

 

[daveb]

Don't know if it's on in reruns anywhere these days

It's on BBC America on Saturday evening. I agree SyFy channel is (mostly) crap, but if you don't mind science FICTION, then give Warehouse 13 and Eureka a try (though they only run during the summer schedule).

 

[Evo]

I've started watching Haven, it's not bad.

http://www.syfy.com/haven

I also enjoyed "Being Human" http://www.syfy.com/beinghuman

My all time favorite "Supernatural" on CW, it's funny and campy and creepy and very well written. http://www.cwtv.com/shows/supernatural

I've just started watching "American Horror Show" on FX.

 

[arildno]

What about Fox News??

 

[Thetom]

Dr. Who > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torchwood"

Torchwood is a Dr.Who Spin off in the UK aimed at an older audience. I've only seen a couple of episodes from the forth series and they were quite good. Will probably watch them all. Apparently The Doctor appears in a couple of episodes too.

 

[jetwaterluffy]

Dr. Who > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torchwood"

Torchwood is a Dr.Who Spin off in the UK aimed at an older audience. I've only seen a couple of episodes from the fourth series and they were quite good. Will probably watch them all. Apparently The Doctor appears in a couple of episodes too.

Torchwood isn't as good as Doctor Who, IMO. Anyway, they almost never go into space on Torchwood, just fight aliens in Wales (and america), and space is what the OP is looking for.

By the way, it's Doctor Who, not Dr. Who. It can't be abbreivated to Dr. because it is a name, not a title. I'd rather you'd call it DoctorW or DW or Who.
Just me being a pernickety Doctor Who geek.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

I would second some of those already mentioned... Torchwood, Warehouse13, Eureka, and Fringe. They are all pretty much tongue in cheek with Fringe being the one that actually has some serious drama in it. Eureka is one of my favourites, you just have to get passed the cheesiness of it and it becomes a fun show.

Since you watched Battlestar you might also like Caprica. Unfortunately it only had one season before it was tanked.

Dollhouse is a Joss Weadon (Firefly) series but unfortunately most people don't like it and so it got tanked after one season. If you check it out you may enjoy it but don't expect it to be like Firefly. edit: actually there may have been two seasons now that I think of it.

Journeyman was a one season show as well. It's sort of a rip off of Quantum Leap but I enjoyed it.

If you like super hero shows "Syfy" came out with a new one called Alphas. They attempt to "scientifically" explain the super powers which is probably the worst part of it. It is pretty cheesy but it can be fun.

Another super hero one which is much better is a British show called Misfits. It is a very funny show. The "heroes" are more like anti-heroes being "troubled" kids who got their powers in a strange storm while doing community service together.

 

[PAllen]

If you like super hero shows "Syfy" came out with a new one called Alphas. They attempt to "scientifically" explain the super powers which is probably the worst part of it. It is pretty cheesy but it can be fun.

For me extra thing makes alphas fun, if you don't think about it much, are the references to Binghamton. As in: nothing could be more horrifying than being sent to Binghamton (of course they mean a human research facility there). But I grew up in Binghamton and couldn't wait to get out, so these references are literally true for me (I would be horrified at being forced to live in Binghamton).

 

[Proton Soup]

Alphas is OK, but it's a bit of a cheap ripoff of Heroes (which may itself be an X-Men ripoff). Heroes is definitely better in the beginning.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon_5" is worth a look.

for general silliness, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Truckers" . (a movie, and might be too terrible)

for animated, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_in_the_Shell:_Stand_Alone_Complex"

 

[Evo]

Alphas has two extremely annoying characters, Gary, ugh, I want to stuff a sock in his mouth, and that whimpy, whiney Dr. I watched the first few shows, then could no longer tolerate those two. And the old Dr was wearing a speedo?

 

[GregJ]

Syfy (the new name still bugs me) really don't show decent stuff anymore.

Anyway a small list to try:

Stargate SG1
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Universe
Red Dwarf :)
Babylon 5
Quantum Leap
Andromeda
Lost in Space

 

[PAllen]

Alphas has two extremely annoying characters, Gary, ugh, I want to stuff a sock in his mouth, and that whimpy, whiney Dr. I watched the first few shows, then could no longer tolerate those two. And the old Dr was wearing a speedo?

Ah well, that's where personal background changes things (besides being so amused whenever they mention Binghamton). I agree about the doctor, but Gary reminds me so much of my daughter who has the same disorder only much worse (but with savant calendar skills), and says similar things with similar mannerisms. So dislike Gary->dislike my daughter->not conceivable for me. Instead, love daughter->Gary is amusing, love seeing a character like that on TV.

 

[PAllen]

Syfy (the new name still bugs me) really don't show decent stuff anymore.

Anyway a small list to try:

Stargate SG1
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Universe
Red Dwarf :)
Babylon 5
Quantum Leap
Andromeda
Lost in Space

Can't help but chime in that Lost in Space and Quantum Leap were two of the very rare sci fi shows that made me ill to watch.

 

[QuarkCharmer]

I watched Quantum leap when it originally aired, it was good imo.

As far as Stargate goes, I have seen SG-1, the Movie, and SGU. I could never get into watching Atlantis. It was just so corny, not-related to the Stargate franchise, sort of like a low budget spinoff with new writers.

I sort of like Haven, Warehouse 13 has it's moments, but virtually everything else on Syfy (silly spelling!) I cannot tolerate watching. Including Alphas

I might have to check out Dr. Who. I never watched the original growing up, hopefully that isn't a pre-requisite for the new series.

Someone suggested I watch Babylon 5, but the few episodes that I watched were all about indoors space drama with newly introduced characters. Sort of like how on some Star Trek episodes they would introduce a new character that has apparently been on the ship since the beginning, but never mentioned before, then we are supposed to mourn the characters death or be interested in their unusual interaction with a recurring cast member even though from our perspective those two people have never met before.

 

[mege]

Current:
Warehouse 13 (always fun because of the psudo-history piece)
Terra Nova (more mainstream, but I am enjoying it - FYI I disliked LOST)

Recent:
Dollhouse (available on Netflix!)
Caprica (nu-BSG spinoff)

90s:
Sliders (the creativity of each setting is amazing, makes up for the shallow plots)
Seaquest DSV (who doesn't like a talking dolphin?)

 

[Evo]

Current:
Warehouse 13 (always fun because of the psudo-history piece)
Terra Nova (more mainstream, but I am enjoying it - FYI I disliked LOST)

Recent:
Dollhouse (available on Netflix!)
Caprica (nu-BSG spinoff)

90s:
Sliders (the creativity of each setting is amazing, makes up for the shallow plots)
Seaquest DSV (who doesn't like a talking dolphin?)

Oooh, Sliders! I loved Sliders, although the cro-mag thing towards the end spoiled it. I preferred it when it was more light hearted and each episode was unique.

I recently caught and enjoyed a couple of Warehouse 13 episodes. Reminds me of "The Librarian" movies.

I miss Highlander, that was a great tv series. The movies...

I also enjoyed "Relic Hunter", I can't believe that was Tia Carrere.

 

[phinds]

What about Fox News??

No, no dude. This is about SCIENCE fiction, not just plain fiction.

 

[Evo]

No, no dude. This is about SCIENCE fiction, not just plain fiction.

lol.

 

[QuarkCharmer]

Oooh, Sliders! I loved Sliders, although the cro-mag thing towards the end spoiled it. I preferred it when it was more light hearted and each episode was unique.

Agreed. I liked it when you could just watch an episode and there was no ultimate plot.

I haven't heard of Seaquest, I see it's on Netflix.

Caprica (nu-BSG spinoff)

I didn't care for Caprica as much as I cared for Alisandra Torressini or however it's spelled. :!)

 

[PAllen]

Oooh, Sliders! I loved Sliders, although the cro-mag thing towards the end spoiled it. I preferred it when it was more light hearted and each episode was unique.

I recently caught and enjoyed a couple of Warehouse 13 episodes. Reminds me of "The Librarian" movies.

I miss Highlander, that was a great tv series. The movies...

I also enjoyed "Relic Hunter", I can't believe that was Tia Carrere.

Yeah, sliders was good, less at the end.

Never knew anyone else who heard of Relic Hunter. I did like that (but maybe not for all the same reasons as you ... sorry).

 

[Evo]

Agreed. I liked it when you could just watch an episode and there was no ultimate plot.

I've seen quite a few good shows get canceled because they went from individual stories to a dark and depressing ongoing plot. Don't mess with success.

 

[Proton Soup]

Can't help but chime in that Lost in Space and Quantum Leap were two of the very rare sci fi shows that made me ill to watch.

ever seen Lexx ?

fwiw, i rather enjoyed its quirkiness in the beginning, but by the time the series died, so did the budget apparently, and effects were getting worse than something off early Dr. Who

 

[Evo]

ever seen Lexx ?

fwiw, i rather enjoyed its quirkiness in the beginning, but by the time the series died, so did the budget apparently, and effects were getting worse than something off early Dr. Who

Lexx was another great show ruined by changing from unique episodes to a dark and dreary ongoing plot. I stopped watching it after the second season, and it had been my favorite show.

 

[PAllen]

ever seen Lexx ?

fwiw, i rather enjoyed its quirkiness in the beginning, but by the time the series died, so did the budget apparently, and effects were getting worse than something off early Dr. Who

No never saw Lexx. Could be worth checking out.

 

[Evo]

No never saw Lexx. Could be worth checking out.

The first 2 seasons are excellent.

 

[phinds]

Can't help but chime in that Lost in Space and Quantum Leap were two of the very rare sci fi shows that made me ill to watch.

Boy Howdy, I'm with you on that. ESPECIALLY Lost in Space. UUUGGGGHHHHH !

 

[Evo]

Boy Howdy, I'm with you on that. ESPECIALLY Lost in Space. UUUGGGGHHHHH !

Quantum Leap was funny, it wasn't meant to be serious.

Lost in Space was a victim of the time, but "Warning, Warning, Will Robinson!" will always be hysterical. I mean the robot waving his arms and shouting is a classic.

 

[DaveC426913]

I have stopped trying to watch for good shows. They are far too fickle. For a few years I saw shows that I wanted to follow - like Firefly. But give them three eps and they'll get moved to some other slot and I'll lose them. I am not up for chasing Shows around the dial.

 

[mege]

I haven't heard of Seaquest, I see it's on Netflix.

First season is awsome.
Second season is good if you enjoyed the first.
Third season... don't bother unless you are on a bender and can't live without new episodes.

I didn't care for Caprica as much as I cared for Alisandra Torressini or however it's spelled. :!)

Yessir.

 

[jetwaterluffy]

Alphas is OK, but it's a bit of a cheap ripoff of Heroes (which may itself be an X-Men ripoff).

X-men, meanwhile, may be a ripoff of the doom patrol, so that would be a highly nested ripoff.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

Yeah, Alphas was not really very good. One would likely have to be into the superheroes genre to get much enjoyment out of it and even then comic book geeks tend to be really picky.

The only recent space oriented show I can think of not mentioned is Defying Gravity. Unfortunately most people don't like the slow pacing and even if you can get along with the pacing the climax of the season is a partial reveal and teaser of what is to come and then... the show was canceled.

A show from the 90's which is space oriented but quite badly written and acted is Space Above and Beyond. Unless you are really really into the idea of spaceship dog fights and interstellar war I would give it a pass.

Lexx is awesome. Very tongue in cheek and very screwy. Its Red Dwarf on crack.

 

[FlexGunship]

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy! The original BBC television series. You can get it on DVD now and it's also on Netflix.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005YUNJ/?tag=pfamazon01-20

It came after the books and is ripped right form them. The production quality is horrible (think Dorf on Golf meets Red Drawf) but if you know Hitchhiker's you know it's hilarious.

 

[Thetom]

Dr. Who. It can't be abbreivated to Dr. because it is a name, not a title. I'd rather you'd call it DoctorW or DW or Who.
Just me being a pernickety Doctor Who geek.

haha sorry. Didn't mean to disrespect The Doc!

 

[jambaugh]

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy! The original BBC television series. You can get it on DVD now and it's also on Netflix.

Alll Right! I did not realize that!

In college a guy in my dorm had the radio broadcast on LP. We rolled on the floor laughing so hard. Especially the scene with Marvin vs the frogstar robot. The voices they used were comedic perfection.

EDIT: I've read all the books, seen the crappy movie, played the text base RPG on the ATARI 800 many many moons ago and listened to the BBC Radio broadcast. But I've only seen a couple of the TV episodes.

 

[Danger]

played the text base RPG on the ATARI 800

I still have my 800XL, but never knew of any games available for it. I spent over 7 months teaching that damned thing to play poker, and it still cheated in a manner that I had specifically forbad it to do. (Drawing the same card twice.) Thanks for your signature. I've always loved that line, but have been mistakingly attributing it to Toad.

Anyhow, I both agree and disagree with most of what has been posted here. "Eureka" is one of my absolute favourite shows, but it is not SF. It's a very clever comedy staged in a pseudo-scientific environment. "Haven", likewise, is not SF. It's a Steven King book stretched out to a series. No supernatural crap qualifies as SF. I love the show, but it is Fantasy, not SF. Same for "Merlin", "Xena", "Hercules", "Being Human"... (And by the way, regarding the latter, with no offense to the NA cast and crew, the original British version is far superior.)
"Lost in Space" would deserve its own special place in hell if such a place existed. It's not SF, it's not comedy, it's not entertainment... It's as if a bus full of retarded clowns exploded on a leftover set from the first season of "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea".
I love "Sanctuary", and am a huge "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" fan. The former can pass for SF; the latter is Fantasy (on more than one level for me ).
Speaking of Sarah... after ignoring it completely for over 95% of my lifespan, I have become very fond of "Scooby Doo" shows, both the live action and the cartoons.
"Firefly" was awesome, and the "Serenity" movie the best of the bunch. That sweet little girl on it reminds me of another favourite that died prematurely—"Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles".
Someone mentioned "Misfits". I watched a couple of episodes and hated it. I can't help thinking, though, that it's a ripoff of one of my favourite shows from way back—"The Misfits of Science". That was back when Courtney Cox was unbelievably hot, right after her debut on Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" video. Again, though, that show was a comic book brought to life, not SF. Same for the brilliant "Greatest American Hero".
I'm not finished yet, but I'm going to post this now because I'm afraid to lose it in case of a system failure. I'll get back to it.

 

[jambaugh]

[...] I have become very fond of "Scooby Doo" shows, both the live action and the cartoons.[...]

As kids we grew up on the original "Scooby Doo" 'toons. My biggest gripe with the more recent versions is they've taken a children's show about skeptical inquiry (note the ghosts where always fake) and turned it into yet another paranormal series. It's totally antithetical to the original spirit. That started with the (extremely annoying) "Scrappy" cartoons.

I know it's somewhat preposterous of me to make a deep philosophical issue about a Hannah Barbara cartoon but...this is a trend I'm seeing across the board in popular programming, devolution in our popular culture from respect for science to fascination with mysticism.

Granted everyone likes a good ghost story. I too was a dedicated fan of the Buffy series (and loved the original movie too...hilarious!) As long as people take it as cultural fantasy all well and good. But the ghost hunter reality shows grate on my sensibilities at a very very deep level. That we're encouraging such superstitious beliefs raises my hackles far more than any bump in the night could.

 

[jambaugh]

I still have my 800XL, but never knew of any games available for it.

Yea! It came with a button with the words "Don't Panic" and a pair of The Joo Janta 200 Super-Chromatic Peril Sensitive Sunglasses (black cardboard cut like cheap 3-D glasses but of course completely opaque). I'll have to see if I can locate the button in my packed up boxes. I should still have it somewhere. I wonder if it's worth anything to a collector?

... just did some googleing and guess what! Here it is online!

http://douglasadams.com/creations/infocomjava.html"

 

[dlgoff]

Can't help but chime in that Lost in Space and Quantum Leap were two of the very rare sci fi shows that made me ill to watch.

Quantum Leap was funny, it wasn't meant to be serious.

Lost in Space was a victim of the time, but "Warning, Warning, Will Robinson!" will always be hysterical. I mean the robot waving his arms and shouting is a classic.

I taped a note to my TV to make sure I wouldn't forget to watch "Lost In Space". One of my childhood memories.

 

[Danger]

Ho-a-ly sheepgarbage! I have actually played that game, but it was on a buddy's Apple II, before I got my first 800. I didn't know that there was an Atari version. Yeah... everyone else ran Basic, so the programmes were interchangeable. My stuff, of course, used AtariBasic. Subtle but devastating differences.
I'm probably still in the incredibly old rerun phase of Scooby, because so far all of the monsters have been dweebs in drag. My only exposure to that "Scrappy" ******* was yesterday when he turned out to be the mastermind behind some plot in a supposedly haunted castle which he had taken over and impersonated the real owner (Rowen Atkinson in one of his more verbal roles). If they ever get to "unexplained", I'll quite watching.
Crap! That brings another old one to mind. Anyone remember "Project Bluebook"? It started out well, with proper debunking, but then they got into idiotic **** like "Blinky" on "UFO Hunters" does.

 

[turbo]

I thought the Babylon 5 series was pretty entertaining. Michael O'Hare's performances were wooden at best, so it was no loss to see him replaced by Bruce Boxleitner. It was a nice touch to have Melissa Gilbert (Boxleitner's real-life wife) do a couple of episodes as Anna Sheridan. Walter Koenig made one hell of a bad-guy, too.

The DVD boxed set is a little under $160, but that's not a bad price, considering the series ran for 5 years. It's also highly recommended that the TV movies be purchased as a set and viewed in the order that they aired interspersed with the regular shows, so as not to run into "spoiler" problems.

 

[dlgoff]

"The Invisible Man" 1933 on "Turner Classic Movies" now showing. Talking about child hood memories.

 

[DaveC426913]

Looove TCM.

 

[DoggerDan]

"The Invisible Man" 1933 on "Turner Classic Movies" now showing. Talking about child hood memories.

I've got that saved on Netflix. :)

Along with 500 other movies I don't have time to watch...

 

[Kinase]

Futurama!