ITT: TOP Recommended Sci Fi Series

I have to start with this absolute banger of a show. I have been a lifelong Heinlein fan and this series is very much obviously inspired by some of his best works (Starship Troopers, The Moon is A Harsh Mistress, Stranger in a Strange Land etc) I was a late adopter of this show but I must admit that it rapidly has become one of my all time favorite Sci Fi properties of all time

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I can only imagine the fanbase of SG1 around this neck of the woods. It’s basically Canadian Star Trek, but damn is it schlocky cheesy goodness and I am not overly embarrassed to admit that I binge watched this with my partner from beginning to end last year in about 2 months time. It definitely jumps the shark 3/4’s of the way thru and it has some absolutely riffworthy material. (Plus MacGyver in SPACE dudes!)


This is a show that actually segued my young Dr Who watching childhood into MST3K. Its campy and strange and to be honest, I was always kind of surprised there was never any sort of crossover between this and the SOL crew.

A pleasant surprise for fans of RD next year below

Summary

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This is a breath of fresh air series that I was taken by surprise about. It takes on transhumanist/virtual afterlife concepts and doesn’t pull any punches while still being somehow light and comedic. I highly recommend UPLOAD if you’re not the biggest fan of dark or depressing sci fi content.

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This one constantly takes me by surprise how many people have heard of this show but not actually taken the time to watch it. I have heard it said that its a true modernized for our techie era Twilight Zone.

This is a fantastic anthology of animated stories and all I can say is there really is something for everyone in this show.

Dr. Who the 4th Doctor era is truly some of my favorite science fiction of all time. It’s some of the most easily digestible of all the “old era” series to watch and Tom Baker episodes just simply put isrequired watching if you’re into classic Sci Fi.


I actually argued with myself if this was worth posting because, I mean C’MON who hasn’t seen this show? If not, kick yourself in the can and queue this one up. Scott Bakula has also mentioned as recently as this year that he feels this show is still capable of having a continuation or soft reboot so even if you have watched it, it might be worth spooling up again to keep it fresh just in case!


This show has 2 seasons so far and I’m kicking myself for having forgotten to mention it in my 1st go around, so here I am making EDITS. As I mentioned above, where Upload takes a more goofy lighthearted approach to some disturbing transhumanist ideas Altered Carbon does not eff around. It’s first season is gritty and captivating as all hell. The 2nd season is admittedly a bit of a stinker (It got the show cancelled to be honest) But it is still worth watching in its entirety. Here’s to hoping this is a franchise that Amazon Prime Video decides to resurrect as it has with other fan favorite Sci Fi series.

I have several Anime Sci Fi series I can definitely recommend but they all seem to be in one way or another relatable to this show. Cowboy Bebop is infamous for its early fusion of Sci/Fi Western Noir genres (with a really fun soundtrack)


This is an awesome series in that it doesn’t burden the view with an overload of detail and lets you fill in a lot of the blanks if you so choose. It is a really cool fusion of Steampunk Western and sci/fi. It eases into the Sci/Fi aspects of the story but when it hits, it HITS.

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I’m gonna bring the weird.


The Lost Room
A miniseries about objects from a missing hotel room that each possess bizarre properties. I suspect this series is also the primary inspiration for the recent console game Control.

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The Prisoner
Spy-fi psychological drama that remains potent to this day. Possibly a follow-up to Danger Man/Secret Agent Man.

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Lexx
Non-stop surreality and the unexpected in the four original movies and first two seasons (bogs down a bit in the final two, unfortunately, but still has some high notes there too). It has in common with The Prisoner a pattern of never explaining things to you or giving you the full backstory, which makes it all the richer.

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Reboot
This Canadian children’s show is likely the first computer animated series (certainly the first of this quality). It has material all ages can appreciate and has held up very well over time.

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Max Headroom
Overlooked these days, it’s positively uncanny how many predictions of future media this got right. Also stood out at the time as a risky series with complex plots a decade before such things came into vogue.

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Kolchak The Night Stalker
Still the very best “monster of the week” show, and with a cinema verite style that makes it all the more compelling. It’s like TV by David Mamet, if he wrote for a horror series.

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Alien Nation
Far superior to the film and able to spin out a compelling telematic universe that stayed watchable for the whole series and several follow-up films.

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Glad to see us smeg-heads represented already.

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I recommend V: The Original miniseries. I found it on DVD at my local used movie store, can’t wait to watch it again. I remember it had a huge impact on me, probably also explains some of my anti-authoritative behavior.

@SandyFrank Funny you mentioned Max Headroom. I loved that show growing up, but I can’t remember anything about it! I’m going to have to watch it again.

Full disclosure, I loved the movie Alien Nation, but never saw the series. I’ll add that to my future list as well.

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@MisterScott I’m a fan of the original V as well. Used to go to sci-fi cons back in the day in a custom Visitor outfit, too.

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I completely forgot about Reboot and Max Headroom.
Excellent suggestions!

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I’ve never heard of this I’m going to look into it right now.
If you dig the “anti-authority” stuff I do highly recommend The Expanse, its the closest thing I’ve found to Heinleinian anti-authoritarian style I have found thus far!

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Okay I’m sold. Gonna start this sometime this week!

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This show took a while to figure itself out, but once you hit the second half of Season 1, you’ll be rewarded with one of the most balls-out bonkers TV shows ever created, where it seems the major idea behind most episodes was simply “Why the hell not?”

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Some classics here

I would like to add Blake’s Seven to the list

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Ooo sci-fi shows, let’s see:

Yes, I know someone already recommended Stargate SG-1, but I gotta say, I like Atlantis a lot (I mean A LOT) more than SG-1. Heresy, I know.

If you’re into the wacky, Eureka is right up your alley. (Warehouse 13 is a lot of fun as well, but I don’t think it counts as sci-fi.) Fun show, not too heavy.

Not sure how we got this far in and no one has recommended Firefly. FOX didn’t do it any favors, but there’s a reason browncoats are still around. Watch it in the intended order, it really helps.

I’ve watched the movie (and liked it), read the books (and loved them), listened to the radio show (though, gotta say I’m more of a visual person so radio plays aren’t my favorite), but the kitchy BBC show from the 80’s is still one of the best adaptations of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy out there.

And last but not least, the show that proved there is still a lot of Star Wars worth watching, The Mandalorian. Great characters, good stories, if you haven’t watched it yet, you really should.

My two bits. What do you think, sirs?

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I didn’t mention Firefly for the same reasons I didn’t mention Star Trek. I just assume everyone has seen that classic show. It is one of the best/worst managed sci fi series to date. The cancelation was literal heartbreak for many of us.

I agree as well with your assessment about The Mandalorian. After finishing 2 seasons I proclaimed it amongst my followers as the best SW material since Empire Strikes Back.

But yes, you’re a heretic for preferring Atlantis to SG-1 :smiling_imp:

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HA! yeah, I know, but the hit to miss ratio is so much better with Atlantis than SG-1 (even taking into account that SG-1 had more episodes.) Seasons 9 and 10 I just skip, the Ori plot was just dull. And even by season 8, they were getting tired.

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I was wondering how Star Trek was missed
Since Doctor Who was mentioned and that’s pretty universal

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While that’s fair, I specifically mentioned the 4th Doctor as the must watch aspect of the show. Dr.Who is an enormous undertaking to get involved with and I think that pushes a lot of people away, but I’ve shown non-whovians Tom Baker episodes and got them hooked.

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Note avatar. LOL!

Tom’s early stuff is good, last season, not so much. I loved Patrick Troughton’s turn as the Doctor. For the post 2005 version Eccleston hit it out of the park, Tennent was great, Matt Smith was good, Capaldi was let down by the writing, and don’t’ get me started on the current travesty.

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Sorry I was responding to Eevee regarding mentioning DW and not Star Trek.

I would actually be interested in hearing your take on the “current travesty”. I understand that the show has taken a bit of a down turn with the new actress and some of the writing team but I haven’t watched since Eccleston and I honestly haven’t been as attracted to the new Era of Who as I was to the old.

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A snippet from the greatest Sci-Fi TV series of time (in my opinion of course):

If you haven’t seen Babylon 5, I recommend giving it a try at least once. And if you did once and never finished, I suggest forcing through the first few episodes until Sheridan shows up. Then it starts to become AMAZING.

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I’m going to do a polar opposite type thread soon including all the shows I know I need to watch and am mildly embarrassed I haven’t sat thru yet. B5 is on that list.

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I’ll have to agree. Farscape is so unique and different and ahead of its time. The series that was not afraid to try just about anything. Still hoping it will come back.

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