What's your favorite science fiction show?

[ecoho]

Hmm... seems as if my shows differ a bit.

Defiance
Yes, the effects aren't very good, but I like the characters and general mood. Season 2 improves a lot and goes into darker territory.

Babylon 5
More of a nostalgic thing. It was one of the first times I've seen a long series with a continued story (which is really great for 4 seasons).

Doctor Who
Nothing to add to the comments. It's just fun with some new Sci-Fi concepts.

Farscape
Without spoiling anything: It's much more than the often quotet 'Muppets in Space' and dares to show some really unique storylines. Granted, the results vary but I give extra points for trying.

after reading this I suddenly thought of that last special they had were the cast was talking about making the show and the guy who played Crichton talks about how he was told in the first shoot that Rygel the puppet was very expensive and not to be rough with it. He then proceeded like 3 hours later to pick the puppet up and through it across the room.
see stuff like that is why I loved that show.

that said id say my favorite would have to be Stargate: Atlantis because all the characters felt real, and were genially funny and acted like real friends.

 

[Lilani]

At this point I think I have the most affection for Doctor Who, but I also very much enjoy Stargate SG1 and Eureka.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Never watched Dr. Who, Star Trek or Stargate. Cowboy Bebop is the only thing that comes to mind, and is therefore the winner.

 

[TheVampwizimp_v1legacy]

But, Firefly was too short. If Fox had let it continue I have no doubt it would be my favorite. And Babylon 5... exact opposite. It went on a little too long where it could have really ended with a bang and left the audience wanting more.

The thing about B5 is that it was originally planned for 5 seasons, but after season 3 they were on the verge of cancellation, so they rushed season 4 to get in everything they could. And when they got renewed for a fifth season, they had already told their story and had to make something up for the last 20 episodes. And yeah, it really does show.

My roommate and I watched B5 last year. We had both seen it in our youths but hardly recalled any of it, and so were very pleasantly surprised that it was even better than we remembered. But the end of season 4 was such a perfect conclusion to the series that we didn't even go into season 5, knowing it was of inferior quality.

 

[Fox12]

It's probably cheating to mention Eva, but I love the psychological nature of that show.

Next, it's a toss up between twilight zone and firefly, but I think I'll go with twilight zone.

 

[Rattja]

Hm, no mentions of Battlestar Galactica yet?
Other than season 3 it actually had some good parts in it if you can ignore all the things that does not make a lick of sense or is ever explained. I also like the "low tech" ship and the acting is quite good.

As for favorite it is a tossup between Farscape and Stargate SG1 (actually all of them) and Adromeda as a good third, well the first two seasons anyways.

They all have their charms, so it's hard to place one over the other as they are so different. Farscape has a very unique universe with strange characters and tons of humor, while also being able to be serious when it counts. It's one of the most creative shows like this I've seen, where even the ship they use is actually a living thing, it's great.

Stargate is just Stargat. MacGyver in space which does not take itself too seriously where basically all they ever do is fuck up random planets just to try and fix it afterwards. Still a bit bummed that I never get to know what that damn signal was in Universe, but my guess is that the writers didn't know either so meh.

Andromeda is... eh... let's call it i a mixed bag, where it starts out strong and then just falls flat, so I tend to just remember the good parts. Season 1 and 2 was good, after that it just goes downhill and ends in free fall. The show is kinda like the story, the great and mighty thing falls and never gets back up, it just dies. So much potential wasted..

 

[IOwnTheSpire]

Star Trek: DS9, hands down.

I only recently discovered Firefly, which is indeed very good.

I used to really like the new BSG, but now I don't think so highly of it anymore.

I haven't made it past the first season of Farscape because while I can tolerate snark, Mr. Crichton, when you snark all the time, I want to smack you in the head!

 

[Heartsib]

Farscape, definitely. I do love Trek, but I always felt Farscape had more raw imagination on display. After that Star Trek: Deep Space 9, Bablyon 5, and Beauty and the Beast (80's version, accept no substitutions).


Honorable Mention: MST3K.

 

[Cidward]

Hm, no mentions of Battlestar Galactica yet?

"Battlestar" is my favorite sci-fi series, hands down, no other comers, much as I love and admire stuff like "DS9" and original "Star Trek" and adore the characters of "Firefly."

If I had to sit down and make a list of my Top 3 favorite TV series, it'd probably go "The Wire," "Friday Night Lights" and new "BSG."

 

[Longing]

The X-Files! doo Doo doo Doo doo doooooooo.

Kind of got off the rail a bit there at the end, but the first five seasons are still mother 'effin masterpieces. Whenever I just want to watch something good and familiar, I just pop in a monster of the week episode.
I will go to my grave saying Mulder and Scully is the best television duo of all time.

 

[happyninja42]

But, Firefly was too short. If Fox had let it continue I have no doubt it would be my favorite. And Babylon 5... exact opposite. It went on a little too long where it could have really ended with a bang and left the audience wanting more.

The thing about B5 is that it was originally planned for 5 seasons, but after season 3 they were on the verge of cancellation, so they rushed season 4 to get in everything they could. And when they got renewed for a fifth season, they had already told their story and had to make something up for the last 20 episodes. And yeah, it really does show.

My roommate and I watched B5 last year. We had both seen it in our youths but hardly recalled any of it, and so were very pleasantly surprised that it was even better than we remembered. But the end of season 4 was such a perfect conclusion to the series that we didn't even go into season 5, knowing it was of inferior quality.

Yep, Babylon 5 is my favorite sci fi show, hands down. And yes, season 5 was a bit of a mess, but even without that issue, the show was fantastic. It set the groundwork for later shows to have a continuous story arc through multiple seasons, and the stories were well done. And of course G'Kar, you can't help but love G'Kar.

 

[JennAnge]

Firefly.
Also B5, DS9, Farscape in that order.

Now that I think of it, the series I like the best, and the things I like the best about them, is the fact that the characters are not proper uniformed boy scouts à la Next Gen. There's a lot of good characterisation with shades of grey, and interpersonal conflict. Realistic political tension, backbiting and mistrust to overcome.

So I'm going to go with the grandaddy of that kind of sci-fi series and say BLAKE'S SEVEN! Sure, the props were slabs of cardboard decorated with foil-covered yoghurt cups. The main villain swanned around in black lace evening gowns. The dialogue was quite often ridiculous, the acting hammy, the plots cheap Star Trek knock-offs only patently more ridiculous, and the episode "Power" was one of the most sexist things I've seen onscreen in my existence. But man, you could cut the tension on the Liberator with a laser knife. There were twists and turns I didn't see coming. The overall idea was amazing and had many notions ahead of their time or that were not explored on TV at the time. And in what other series


does the second male lead murder the first with a full blaster discharge to the gut in the finale?


- okay, no, I'm kidding, my favorite is still Firefly, but I like to think B7 and it's British ilk is why all modern sci-fi series don't look like Roddenberry's utopic future Federation.

 

[Jodan]

Babylon 5 hands down

 

[McElroy]

Rick and Morty *braap*

Farscape's good too. I haven't watched too many different sci-fi shows anyway. The Lost Room was cool as well.

 

[Artina89]

Classic Doctor Who, especially the Patrick Troughton/Jon Pertwee eras, with my favourite character being Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.

 

[Hawk of Battle]

Definately Stargate. I have every episode of every show and all the movies and I regularly re-watch the entire thing. I fucking love it (well, except that 1 episode from season 1 with the mongol inspired culture, that one was fucking terrible).

Second place is a tie between Farscape and Firefly. Firefly had the more interesting characters, but Farcape just has more substance. If Firefly had lasted longer it would have trumped Farscape.

Andromeda is... eh... let's call it i a mixed bag, where it starts out strong and then just falls flat, so I tend to just remember the good parts. Season 1 and 2 was good, after that it just goes downhill and ends in free fall. The show is kinda like the story, the great and mighty thing falls and never gets back up, it just dies. So much potential wasted..

You know you can actually isolate the exact episode when things go downhill with Andromeda; it's during the episode when Trances' future self turns up. Everything after that took the established plot threads and start systematically lining them up against a wall to be gunned down. I think it was the last episode that the original showrunners worked on before some massive falling out occured and they walked out/were fired, leaving Kevin Sorbos ego with too much influence for the rest of the show. Shame really.

Though there is a sort of abridged transcript of the original ideas for where the show would have gone floating around the net somewhere. Don't have a link but it's a really interesting read. That show would have gotten awesome if they'd kept to that plan.

 

[Rattja]

Second place is a tie between Farscape and Firefly. Firefly had the more interesting characters, but Farcape just has more substance. If Firefly had lasted longer it would have trumped Farscape.

As much as I love Firefly, I felt it was wrong to include it as it is incomplete. It would win hands down if it managed to finish a single season, but sadly it didn't. When I first started to watch it I didn't know, so when it just stopped I asked my friend "so when is the rest coming out?". I never recovered from that so I also kind of hate the show for doing that.

You know you can actually isolate the exact episode when things go downhill with Andromeda; it's during the episode when Trances' future self turns up. Everything after that took the established plot threads and start systematically lining them up against a wall to be gunned down. I think it was the last episode that the original showrunners worked on before some massive falling out occured and they walked out/were fired, leaving Kevin Sorbos ego with too much influence for the rest of the show. Shame really.

Though there is a sort of abridged transcript of the original ideas for where the show would have gone floating around the net somewhere. Don't have a link but it's a really interesting read. That show would have gotten awesome if they'd kept to that plan.

I think you are right about that, as that episode seems to be around the time they changed out some people and the whole series changed for the worse.
I may go digging for that transcript though, or if you could find a link it would be lovely to read what it could have been like.

 

[Draconys]

Lots of good answers here, but I will contribute another series that I don't think was mentioned....and while it is a comedy, still is a sci-fi - Red Dwarf

 

[Queen Michael]

Doctor Who all the way.

If we're talking what I'm watching most of right now, though, it's Firefly.