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40 Best Science Fiction TV Shows of All Time
Rolling Stone ^ | May 26, 2016 | Sam Adams, Sean T. Collins, David Fear, Noel Murray, Jenna Scherer, Scott Tobias

Posted on 06/05/2016 9:02:29 AM PDT by EveningStar

It's odd to think that, once upon a time, a TV show set in space -- one that declared, in its opening narration, as the cosmos being the "final frontier" -- was considered the pop-cultural equivalent of an unwanted party-crasher. Yes, a concept like Star Trek was both of its time and clearly ahead of it; history has more than vindicated Gene Roddenberry's notion of boldly going where no man had gone before. But given the number of top-notch shows set in the far reaches of the galaxy and that used genre for pulpy and profound purposes over the last 30 or so years, it seems crazy to think that one of the most groundbreaking SF series was a network pariah and a ratings dud. Today, there's an entire cable network devoted to this kind of programming. You can't turn on your TV/Roku/cut-cord viewing device without bumping into spaceships, alien invasion and wonky sci-fi food-for-thought.

Science fiction has been around in one form or another since the early-ish days of television, both here and abroad, and its legacy now looms larger than ever. So what better time to count down the 40 best sci-fi TV shows of all time? From anime classics to outer-space soap operas, spooky British anthology shows to worst-case-scenario postapocalyptic dramas, primetime pop hits to obscure but beloved cult classics, here are our choices for the best the television genre has to offer -- submitted, for your approval.

(Excerpt) Read more at rollingstone.com ...


TOPICS: TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: sciencefiction; scifi; television; tv
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To: CJ Wolf
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61 posted on 06/05/2016 9:52:33 AM PDT by yuleeyahoo (Those are my principles, and if you do not like them...well I have others. - Groucho Marx)
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To: EveningStar

62 posted on 06/05/2016 9:54:04 AM PDT by onedoug
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To: Lazamataz

Never cared for ST:TNG but I did watch the entire series — once.

‘We were on our way to engage in the Cardashian Wars, but stopped for a PC episode on the holodeck, instead.’


63 posted on 06/05/2016 9:54:11 AM PDT by TomGuy
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To: ETL
[Buck Rogers]...so don’t know if I would still like it today.

Depends on the series year. The last season, it was being shut down, and it showed.

One of the "other" (LPUHF seeking to glom on to local cable systems.) channels ran it about decade ago. Buster Crabbe had a cameo. Jamie Lee Curtis was in an epi or two. Some others paying their dues.

64 posted on 06/05/2016 9:55:04 AM PDT by Calvin Locke
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To: Stand W
Thunderbirds??

You're riffing on the one show I have extremely fond childhood memories of? Not that I could remember any of the epis...

I have a hard time calling extended movies or book adaptions a "tv show". AKA "V", "HHGTG", etc.

I don't think "Star Trek" held up very well, IMHO. I say this as someone that grew up with the first run. Watching re-runs in the '90s, and 2000s, I was extremely disappointed at the quality of the sets.

No "UFO"?

65 posted on 06/05/2016 9:55:24 AM PDT by Calvin Locke
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To: ETL

1st season when Wilma was a blonde was the best


66 posted on 06/05/2016 9:55:34 AM PDT by Sybeck1 (Remember the Court)
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To: headstamp 2

SyFy ran a selective mini-marathon a while back. I can’t believe I liked it as a kid.


67 posted on 06/05/2016 9:56:26 AM PDT by Calvin Locke
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To: ETL
Glen Larson had a problem with keeping his SF shows interesting. For both Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers, he made substantial changes for the second seasons which made mildly entertaining shows completely unwatchable.
68 posted on 06/05/2016 9:57:14 AM PDT by yuleeyahoo (Those are my principles, and if you do not like them...well I have others. - Groucho Marx)
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To: yuleeyahoo

Galactica sucked in both iterations. Flip it with Red Dwarf or you’re a smeghead.


69 posted on 06/05/2016 9:58:33 AM PDT by steve8714 (Keep rioting, it gets Trump elected.)
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To: Donglalinger
True Story, Space 1999 was origianlly meant to be the second season of U.F.O.

In 1972, Sir Lew Grade, head of ITC Entertainment, proposed financing a second series of the Century 21 production UFO to show-runners Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. Grade had one stipulation: the new series would be set primarily on the Moon within the environs of an expanded SHADO Moonbase; the ratings indicated the Moon-centric episodes had proved more popular with the viewers. The Andersons and their team would quickly revamp the production, flashing ahead nearly twenty years for UFO: 1999 with Commander Ed Straker and the forces of SHADO fighting their alien foes from a large new Moonbase facility.

However, toward the end of its run, UFO experienced a drop in ratings in both America and the UK; nervous ITC executives in both countries began to question the financial viability of the new series, and support for the project collapsed. In the meantime, Production Designer Keith Wilson and the art department had made considerable progress in envisioning the look and design of the new series. Their work was then shelved for the foreseeable future.[6]

UFO - Space 1999
70 posted on 06/05/2016 10:02:00 AM PDT by yuleeyahoo (Those are my principles, and if you do not like them...well I have others. - Groucho Marx)
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To: EveningStar

The thing about those slide shows is not only that they’re annoying, but the idiots who put them together do a full page reload. They’re wasting server resources and viewers time. I bail when I see them.


71 posted on 06/05/2016 10:02:58 AM PDT by Ray76
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To: Captain Peter Blood
Personal faves are Baker, Pertwee, McCoy (a lot of bad episodes but I found him personally enjoyable as opposed to Davidson who I disliked but who probably had the best run of stories), and Tennant.
72 posted on 06/05/2016 10:06:34 AM PDT by yuleeyahoo (Those are my principles, and if you do not like them...well I have others. - Groucho Marx)
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To: headstamp 2
The Invaders. Quinn Martin’s only SCI-FI series.

Man, I LOVED that show. I wish it was available on Hulu.

73 posted on 06/05/2016 10:08:56 AM PDT by Right Brother
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To: EveningStar

The British series UFO should be number !. It was a very stylish metaphor for the Cold War - the aliens being the commies. The models and special effects were hokey -literally the same crew who did The Thunderbirds- the but acting was great and the writing was for adults. The Prisoner was another great show.


74 posted on 06/05/2016 10:09:30 AM PDT by Sirius Lee (If Trump loses, America dies)
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To: Donglalinger

Nothing like a little cleavage with your SCI-FI. LOL


75 posted on 06/05/2016 10:09:34 AM PDT by headstamp 2 (Fear is the mind killer.)
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To: Calvin Locke

Yes, I think it was why Q-M did only ONE SCI-FI series. LOL

Ralph Fiennes was really good in “Doppelganger” though.


76 posted on 06/05/2016 10:12:55 AM PDT by headstamp 2 (Fear is the mind killer.)
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To: Ray76

Slideshows are bad, but so are pages like the one linked.

Scroll down and the page jumps. Oh, it is down 3 screens. Move the scrollbar and it jumps. Oh, now it is up 4 screens.

Making webpages ‘mobile friendly’ has ruined many websites.


77 posted on 06/05/2016 10:12:59 AM PDT by TomGuy
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To: steve8714

Red Dwarf is among the shows that recieve an annual marathon at my house.

Incidentally, have you ever seen “Red Dwarf: Back to Earth” (2009). It left me wishing that Doug Naylor still had the ability to write.


78 posted on 06/05/2016 10:13:30 AM PDT by yuleeyahoo (Those are my principles, and if you do not like them...well I have others. - Groucho Marx)
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To: Right Brother

The entire series is available on DVD.


79 posted on 06/05/2016 10:15:22 AM PDT by yuleeyahoo (Those are my principles, and if you do not like them...well I have others. - Groucho Marx)
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To: yuleeyahoo

Star Trek deserves to be #1. No other show on this list inspired so many kids to become doctors or engineers, who actually came up with some of the tech in the show.


80 posted on 06/05/2016 10:18:39 AM PDT by Vince Ferrer
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