The Top Science Fiction TV Series

In the vast galaxy that is sci-fi TV, here are the stars. Today, No. 10 to No. 6.

Since Captain Video first strapped on his laser pistol and fired up his rocket ship to go in search of interstellar adventure in 1949, there have been dozens of interesting science-fiction television series. In this week’s instalment, we’ll count down the 10 best science-fiction TV shows in history, based on the quality of their writing, acting, direction, and production design (including special effects). Since SFTV is so much a theatre of ideas, I’ll emphasize the quality of writing over that of special effects in my rankings.

What makes science fiction good? As we saw in part one of this series, SF has five strengths – its role as a container narrative, its use of extended story arcs, its strong characterization, its capacity for social commentary, and its theoretical intelligence.

First, my apologies to three contestants who did quite well in this talent competition, but didn’t quite make it to the podium. Rod Serling’s classic series The Twilight Zone (1959-1964) features great writing and acting and some tight direction, especially in 25-minute classics such as “To Serve Man” and “The Eye of the Beholder.” Yet Serling’s series is only about one-third actual science fiction, the other two-thirds being made up of supernatural dramas and comic fantasies

A second near miss worth mentioning is Sliders (1995-2000), but only for its first two seasons, when our heroes Quinn Mallory, Wade Wells, Rembrandt Brown, and Professor Max Arturo slide into a series of alternate Earths where something isn’t quite right: dinosaurs roam, women rule the planet, or the Soviets have won the Cold War. In the third season, FOX TV started to ham-fistedly interfere in the writing and production, replacing the original producer/creator Tracy Tormé, which led to the exit of two principal players and a series of mediocre scripts cloning popular films of the day.

Third, Farscape (Australia, 1998-2002), just missed the cut. “What the frell? We didn’t make the top 10?!” astronaut hero/lover/renegade John Crichton might yell as he blasts a pile of crackers the greedy puppet lizard Dominar Rygel has been hoarding in the dark corner of their living ship, Moya. The story of a ragtag crew of mad men, mad women, and mad puppets on the run from the Peacekeepers (space cops), Scorpius (Darth Vader in bondage gear), and Scarrans (super-evolved dinos with really bad breath), Farscape is fuelled by the erratic interactions between the half-dozen or so crew members and the various passengers they pick up and enemies they make as they voyage through space.

So mission control has finally given us a go for lift-off into upper atmosphere of SFTV: 14, 13, 12, 11 …

10. Stargate SG-1 (Canada/USA, 1997-2007)

The longest-running SFTV series created in North America, Stargate was made in and around Vancouver, giving one the impression that all alien planets were covered with vast evergreen forests. The premise is that an ancient race suitably named The Ancients built a network of “stargates” that create artificial wormholes, allowing for travel between many points in the galaxy. Yet this network also allowed a parasitic species called the Goa’uld to visit Earth in ancient times posing as the gods of Egypt, Greece, the Northlands, and elsewhere, kidnapping humans to populate empty worlds and worship them. SG1 is an elite team of four specialists – Colonel Jack O’Neill and Captain Samantha Carter of the U.S. Air Force, the alien warrior Teal’c, and the archaeologist Dr. Daniel Jackson – who use the stargate network to find allies and technologies to use against the evil Goa’uld. Despite the military themes in the show, it really thrives on the character interactions between our four heroes, and for at least the first few seasons on the encountering of modern versions of ancient cultures on alien worlds.

Best episode: “Window of Opportunity” from season four, a Stargate version of Groundhog Day in which O’Neill and Teal’c get stuck in a temporal loop, with comical consequences.

9. The Outer Limits (USA, 1963-1965)

The film noir of SFTV. An anthology series that appeared on ABC in the final days of black-and-white broadcasting, The Outer Limits announced each episode with a control voice that warned the audience, “There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission.” Much more serious than The Twilight Zone, to which it is often compared, Limits was genuinely scary in its day as it probed the potential for invasion coming from not only outer space but from our own technologies, notably the very screens it appeared on.

Best episodes: two from the second season written by SF vet Harlan Ellison, “Soldier” and “Demon with a Glass Hand.”

8. Blake's 7 (UK, 1978-1981)

The anti-Star Trek. This time around, the Federation is an oppressive empire kept in power by an army of black-shirted thugs, with our heroes being a quarrelsome band of escaped criminals aboard the salvaged alien super-cruiser Liberator. Led by the good rebel Roj Blake, the starting seven are the computer genius Avon, the thief Vila, the smuggler Jenna, the telepath Cally, the man mountain Gan, and the ship’s computer Zen. The odd thing about B7 is the death rate: several major characters are killed, while guest stars have at best a 50-50 chance of making it to the end of their episode. Cheap effects meet standout writing and acting.

Best episode: the finale, “Blake,” which has the most shocking final scene in the history of SFTV.

7. Firefly (USA, 2002-2003)

A soft-hearted descendent of Blake’s 7, in which we follow once again the adventures of a crew of small-time criminals and dissidents led by Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion). As with all of Joss Whedon’s series, the women on Serenity (Mal’s converted freighter) are generally smarter and in their own way stronger than the men. What makes the series unique is that most of the human colonies (there are no aliens in the series) they visit have reverted to a Wild West social and technological pattern, complete with six-guns, cattle rustlers, and saloon brawls. A few years before the story starts, a civil war between the rebel “brown coat” Independents and the “purple belly” supporters of the Sino-American Alliance ends with the rebels losing. Mal and his first mate Zoe were both rebel soldiers, thus outsiders in the new order.

Best episode: “Out of Gas” is an interesting look back at the first encounter of Mal with the rest of his crew and his passengers. After less than a full season, FOX decided that the Serenity was indeed out of gas, pulling the plug on the series.

6. Star Trek: The Next Generation (USA, 1987-1994)

The reboot of the original series in the 80s with an entirely new crew, STNG continued to show us the mission of the USS Enterprise to defend the Federation against enemies both foreign and domestic. Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and his crew engaged in the same sort of social commentary and were caught in the same types of moral dilemmas as the original series. Somewhat dragged down by the New Age sensitivity and political correctness of the ’80s – the ship even had a psychological “counsellor” sitting on the bridge beside the Captain and executive officer – it still managed over seven seasons to explore war, religion, racism, terrorism, archaeology, sexual identity, and the morality of capitalism.

Best episode: the cliff-hanger “Best of Both Worlds” at the end of season three, in which Picard is assimilated by the Borg and turned into their spokesmodel Locutus. It ends with a disgusted Commander Riker uttering the immortal line, “Mr. Worf, fire!” Four months later we find out the results.

Tune in tomorrow for the top five.