SciFi tends to be (what I consider to be) fucking bad.

[Not G. Ivingname]

It just tends to be poorly made (production value) and my dislike of space enhances it rather than help me to get over it.

There just tends to be a very home made feel about it, watch Star Gate and then watch Fringe. There's a massive disparity between (what I consider to be) one of the best made Sci Fi shows (Edit: Fringe) and what I consider to be a pretty much standard production value Sci Fi show (Edit: Star Gate) , I don't mean that everything needs great effects or what ever, Quantum Leap is an example of something I consider to be "well made", especially for it's time, I just expect the sets and acting to seem organic.

So with that in mind, prove me wrong. Give examples of well made, and especially non-space based, good Sci Fi shows.

Yes, most Scifi is crap because most of EVERYTHING is crap, what is known as Stugeons Law (in responce .

Also Scifi doesn't really hold up well on TV because of the reliance on CGI, and the current cost of making really good looking CGI. Per episode, most television shows have a 2-4 million dollar budget for an hour of content. Some get more, some get less. The really high end CGI of Avatar cost 250-310 Million dollars (I cannot find a better figure then that) or about 100 Million dollar per hour of film. They just don't have the budgets.

 

[StBishop]

It just tends to be poorly made (production value) and my dislike of space enhances it rather than help me to get over it.

There just tends to be a very home made feel about it, watch Star Gate and then watch Fringe. There's a massive disparity between (what I consider to be) one of the best made Sci Fi shows (Edit: Fringe) and what I consider to be a pretty much standard production value Sci Fi show (Edit: Star Gate) , I don't mean that everything needs great effects or what ever, Quantum Leap is an example of something I consider to be "well made", especially for it's time, I just expect the sets and acting to seem organic.

So with that in mind, prove me wrong. Give examples of well made, and especially non-space based, good Sci Fi shows.

PS. Inb4 Doctor Who. I don't really like it and can't be bothered getting in to it.

EDIT: For clarity! Thanks Jadak.

Actually, I need a bit of clarification. Are you talking about Sci-Fi the genre, or Sci-Fi the channel that forgot how to spell and thus turned illiterate and stupid?

Genre. Specifically TV shows.

They tend to be sub par.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

PS. Inb4 Doctor Who. I don't really like it and can't be bothered getting in to it.

Perhaps it's not something wrong with the genre, but maybe the fact that you cannot get into that's the problem. We all have genres we don't give a crap about but the more perceptive people would say "It's not for me" as opposed to the others who say "The whole genre is shit."

I can't blame you for not being able to say anything good about a genre that you're so obviously disinterested in but know that there's nothing wrong with Sci-Fi, it just doesn't appeal to you.

This pretty much sums up my thoughts on the subject. For example, I can't stand Romantic Comedies or those idiotic stoner movies. The latter mostly because the protagonists are always completely unrelatable dipshits.

 

[Soviet Heavy]

Two things: Starship Troopers the film, and Starship Troopers: Roughneck Chronicles.

Starship Troopers the film is a hilariously awesome war movie parody.
Neil Patrick Harris and Clancy Brown in one movie. What more do you want!?

While Roughneck Chronicles was an awesome war themed kids show.

 

[FalloutJack]

It just tends to be poorly made (production value) and my dislike of space enhances it rather than help me to get over it.

There just tends to be a very home made feel about it, watch Star Gate and then watch Fringe. There's a massive disparity between (what I consider to be) one of the best made Sci Fi shows (Edit: Fringe) and what I consider to be a pretty much standard production value Sci Fi show (Edit: Star Gate) , I don't mean that everything needs great effects or what ever, Quantum Leap is an example of something I consider to be "well made", especially for it's time, I just expect the sets and acting to seem organic.

So with that in mind, prove me wrong. Give examples of well made, and especially non-space based, good Sci Fi shows.

PS. Inb4 Doctor Who. I don't really like it and can't be bothered getting in to it.

EDIT: For clarity! Thanks Jadak.

Actually, I need a bit of clarification. Are you talking about Sci-Fi the genre, or Sci-Fi the channel that forgot how to spell and thus turned illiterate and stupid?

Genre. Specifically TV shows.

They tend to be sub par.

Thank you. Now I can answer.

The problem with delivering a good Sci-Fi show is twofold. With most any show, it is that you are trying to cater to a desire of your audience or - in fact - to engender approval from that audience so they'll desire more. With a science fiction show, you're also wrestling with the "Make it make sense" quotient. Science fiction hits upon the problem of whether it will be entertaining AND whether or not its sciencey part is any good AS science. Remember, past science fiction has actually been the basis for our existing technology today.

Now, it's clear to me that the shows that everybody loves are essentially blah to you, which means that your tastes are focused upon different regions of entertainment and that science fiction has not hit your 'like' chords very much. Right, so... You don't like Doctor Who, but I am a fan of both the old and the new series. Life is funny that way. Therefore, I must ask the question, "Well, what DO you see entertaining in a series which is decidedly fiction?". There is...alot of sci-fi out there. Maybe you just missed your train?

 

[Jadak]

It's got low production quality, really you have to acknowledge this.

I'm not saying it's impossible for you to disagree, I just don't think there's anyone who genuinely thinks it's polished. If you do then great, we disagree and I've learned something new.

Definitely disagree, the only way I can see where you're coming from was if we talking strictly about the first season or two of Sg-1 alone, which while I still love it is admittedly a bit rough on the "polish".

Beyond that, once the shows popularity spiked and then the entirety of Stargate Atlantis, quality is just as good as anything else, often better.

Stargate Universe is crap, but not because of production quality, it's just boring.

 

[Zaik]

As a rule, most of everything tends to be fucking bad.

I mean, anyone can just pick up a pen and write.

 

[Fbuh]

Y'see, SciFi and Fantasy are difficult to judge becasue there are so many variants on the two. With anything, you have the good and the bad. I wouldn't say that SciFi is exclusivley worse than other genres, though. SciFi/Fantasy are wonderful in their own rights because they can epitomize the very essence of creative imagination, and can fulfill whatever we wish. Obviously, there are going to be opinions on what is good and what isn't.

 

[ElNeroDiablo]

I see EUReKA (the lowercase 'e' is super-scripted), X-Files and Serenity/Firefly have been mentioned a few times.
It might be worth checking JB HiFi or another place like them for the Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex DVD boxset (or rent it from Quickflix. $15 a month and 4 discs per month (basic package) with no return-by dates). It is an anime, but not your DBZ/Naruto type, set in the 2030's where human cyberisation and android use is commonplace (such as replacing damaged limbs or whole bodies if the person is otherwise unable to survive an accident), with a fair bit of philosophical undertones and discussion.

I first caught GITS:SAC back in '04 or '05 during Adult Swim on Cartoon Network at the time, and quickly got hooked on it.