Science Fiction TV shows have really come of age in the 1990s/2000s. X-Files, Star Treks of various descriptions, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and spin offs, Stargate SG-1 and spin off, Andromeda, Battlestar Galactica remake, Eureka, Babylon 5, the Doctor Who renaissance among many others too numerous to list. Part of this has been the creation of the Sci-Fi channel, particularly in the US as they paid for SG-1 for several years. Many shows had a brief existence and are sorely missed (R.I.P Firefly), and many more didn't get to finish their story arcs (Dark Angel, though at least you can read the books); I've only listed ones I've watched, I'm sure some of the others are good, but there's only so much time in a day....
I'm not saying this because I have shares in the relevant companies, but I love the advent of the boxed DVD sets; most are sensibly priced and mean you can watch what you want, when you want, and no adverts! I would highly recommend that you do watch most TV series in order, it would ruin Dark Angel for instance, and put spoilers in many other shows.
I have usually only included links to official sites, partly because if you are really interested in finding fan sites you will do. (search engines are great!). Also, many fansites tend to be short lived, or move as circumstances change so it's hard to keep the links up to date. If you type in the film/ Author/ TV show name in a search engine you will normally get the official site listed first.
Star Trek. For the films please see the SF Movie page.
Original series Official Site
Many episodes were written by genuine SF authors, and this series created many of the SF
cliches; it can't get much more praise than that for cultural acceptance. Many people would know where "Beam me up Scotty" comes from for instance. My all time favourite SF cliche is that all the aliens are humanoid (except Tribbles). How well the actors are disguised always gives you an idea of budget, even in this age of CGI. Star Trek: The Next Generation tackles this head on in one episode, but many things weren't even technically possible, let alone affordable, for the original series. It stands up remarkably well heading towards its 50th anniversary (2016). 3 series plus the pilot, and most of the main characters show up in ST:TNG somewhere...
DS9.
Though not my favourite of the Franchises, DS9 did have some great episodes, and did give us a much wider view/feel of the Trek galaxy, (possibly in response to the threat of Babylon 5). It also got more action orientated in later series due to falling ratings with mixed success in my eyes.
Next Generation Official Site
Star Trek:TNG updated the Trek concepts excellently, with better FX, better ship, better aliens (though still humanoid), more crew and permutations like Holodecks to vary plot lines (indeed, in some of the best episodes the Holodeck was intrinsic to the story - Moriarty). Generally
presenting less action than the original series, but giving much more idea of the Trek universe and giving us superb new baddies - the Borg. The first series is probably the weakest, and sometimes in the later shows the sentimentality grates, but overall, WOW! 7 series, some straight to video movies, including explaining why all the aliens are humanoid, why the Klingons look different from the first series and, of course, the movies.
Voyager Official site (another on SF links page)
Many hard core trekkies condemned this series, I've never understood why; many of the shows weaknesses are Trek weaknesses - violence/reality is fairly mild, talking with someone who's shooting at you often works etc. I do feel more could of been made of the interplay between the
Maquis and Federation crew members but overall there is a good balance between action, character development, stories and moving the over-arching plot forward, (though why they ziz-zag so much is a bit of a puzzle!). Slightly more gritty than ST:TNG, I hope for the often rumoured movie. It got to 7 seasons, overlapping with ST:TNG in their timeline (and ours), it always was a little "under the radar" but is still a great show.
Stargate SG-1. Official Site
In what has become a fairly normal overlap between the small and big screens, SG-1 started as the movie starring Kurt Russell.The first series picks up straight from the film and just gets better and better until Richard Dean Anderson (Colonel Jack O'Neill) decides to take a back seat. New characters are brought in (season 8), and new bad guys (the Ori) for the 9th and 10th series; the first 7 series must rank in the top echelons of SFTV. The fact that the team could make 3 more series shows the strength of the writing, the other main characters and the quality of production, but it just didn't have the same interplay between the characters, and the Ori just aren't the Goa'uld. Almost at its best when not taking itself seriously (anniversary episodes, 1969), just a joy.
This short-lived (cancelled in first season) show was designed by Joss Wheadon (creator of Buffy) whose credentials you would of thought would have send it from the accountants; in the (now infamous) internet/snail mail fan-blasting of Fox, the show was put on DVD and did well enough to allow the film Serenity to be made. The DVD includes 1 show never broadcast in the US; one can only wonder wistfully where this series would have gone. There's no official site (probably any Fox exec gets sacked for mentioning the show...) but lots of fansites, do a google!
Andromeda.
"Created by" Gene Roddenberry of Star Trek fame, this was an SF future not really about our own time/ galaxy. Some excellent ideas, and the story arc for the first two series was good, Not one of my favourite shows but still enjoyable.
A Town called Eureka.
A light hearted look at a town inhabited by genuises; though it borrows from more traditional sit-coms, the fact that this show is reasonably fast paced, quite humourous and has some original ideas means it passes my test! Only 1 and a bit series which may be a blessing as the story arc was a bit wishy-washy (will he/won't he get the girl.....); very enjoyable. Update - now on 3rd series, still some good, new ideas and some great surprises, story arc seem to ahve dies a death.....
3rd Rock from the Sun website
My first thought on hearing about 3rd Rock was Oh god, Americans doing comedy, SF comedy! But this was before the recent surge of clever US comedies, as opposed to but being slapstick or stupid. SF comedy is so hard to pull off well, and 3rd rock does a good job; critics moan about the slow learning of the aliens, and to some degree I accept that, but it did last for 6 series! The early shows are the best, this is much more character driven than most SF programs.
Blakes Seven. Fansite www.hermit.org/Blakes7/index.html
This and Doctor Who is what got me into SFTV. The effects and wobbly scenery make it a bit silly at times now, but the story arc and SF is excellent. Not sure why it was still Blake's 7 for the last series though.....
Dark Angel
Worth watching just to look at Jessica Alba, James Cameron came up with a cracker. Like any good SF, it looks at current issues (genetic engineering in this case) and drops you into a different world. Things move quickly to the brilliant climax of the 2nd series; as a 3rd series wasn't made, you have to read the book to see what happens next. In some ways, you could argue Dark Angel got too complex in the 2nd series, but you are dragged along and means you see more things on re-watching. Was my all time favourite show until Firefly came along......
Quantum Leap
Probably one of the best uses of time travel (outside Doctor Who of course!), QL's only downfall is its rigid formula; Sam fixes what was "wrong". Within its remit, it had some great ideas and some programs are just superb; I liked the last few programs as they built to the climax but the lack of an over-riding story arc (Other than the lip service paid to Sam getting back) means I'm not as keen at watching QL again as I am other shows.
Jericho
Very much like Lost is some ways, this isn't a straight survival show. Generally quite realistic, it moves quickly whilst still giving the viewer some back story. It had a 2nd series commissioned which dies after 8 shows due the the US writers strike. Much better than I expected, though these type of shows always irritate me about the avenues they don't explore!
Dollhouse.
Another Joss Wheedon creation, some excellent ideas although the series 1 finale didn't follow the rest so well. Good "near future" SF.