Since the early days of cinema, science fiction and serialized storytelling have gone together perfectly. From the movie house serials of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon to Netflix’s upcoming Sense8 and Knights of Cydonia, epic tales of space and time travel have always needed room to breathe, and television was the perfect medium to provide that. With a few caveats (movie house serials were excluded, as well as shows that could also be classified in other genres i.e. X-Files or Buffy as horror, Arrow or Batman as comic book, etc.), here’s Man of the Hour’s pick for the Top Ten Sci-Fi Television Series.
10.) Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003-2005)
What its about: From master animator Genndy Tatakovsky, Clone Wars tackled the time between Star Warsfilms Episodes II and III.
Why it made the list: It’s animation style was slick and stylized, resembling Japanese anime mixed with Disney’s color and fluidity to make something both gritty and magical. It’s episodes ranged in length from 5 to 15 minutes, and tackled some stories with a maturity even the films wouldn’t come close to doing.
Best episode: “Chapter 23” Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin land amongst a tribe of Nelvaanians, whose village is full only of women and children. Having interrupted a rite of passage and in doing so brought a plague upon the planet, Anakin must journey out to find the fate of all the village warriors. This episode would also feature the most menacing villain in all of the prequel series (only to be downplayed in the third film), the devastating General Grievous.
9.) Quantum Leap (1989-1993)
What its about: Dr. Samuel Beckett experiments with time travel and winds up “leaping” into other people’s bodies throughout time, guided by a hologram named Al to “put right what once went wrong”.
Why it made the list: True, this is a “cult” show in its truest form, barely scraping by ratings-wise in its 5 years of life, but a passionate network who didn’t care for ratings allowed Quantum Leap the freedom to tell fascinating stories with heart and brains, placing Sam Beckett in the body of everyone from a mentally handicapped boy to Lee Harvey Oswald.
Best episode: “The Leap Home Part 1” Quantum Leap’s best episode is also its most devastating, when Sam Beckett finds himself placed in his own body many years ago, days before his brother ships off to Vietnam (where he would be killed in action). Told he has to win a basketball game that his team originally lost, Sam endeavors to get his father healthy to avoid his fatal heart attack, prevent his sister from eventually marrying a drunk, and get his brother to avoid combat, only to find some things can’t be rewritten.
8.) The Prisoner (1967-1968)
What its about: A retired British secret agent winds up prisoner on a strange island.
Why it made the list: Surreal and massively ahead of its time, The Prisoner was James Bond meets Lost, wrapping a spy thriller in the central mystery of why this unnamed secret agent (dubbed Number Six by the head of the “Village”
was brought to the island, and why he resigned from his post. The show was inventive, spell-binding and highly influential.
was brought to the island, and why he resigned from his post. The show was inventive, spell-binding and highly influential.
Best episode: “Arrival” The very first episode of the series, which sets everything in motion, is loaded with slick 60’s cool and a hauntingly mechanical art design which sets the tone for the rest of the 16 episodes to come.
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7.) Cowboy Bebop (1998-1999)
What its about: A group of bounty hunters travel across the galaxy hunt down criminals in a dystopian future.
Why it made the list: If space is the new frontier, then a new frontier needs cowboys. Gorgeously animated, the lanky, spindly figures in the world of Cowboy Bebop make for tremendous stylized action sequences, and the ragtag, seemingly ever expanding group of bounty hunters (including the femme fatale Faye Valentine and the devilishly charming Spike Speigel) make for a show that’s a brilliant blend of sitcom and noir. Sometimes fantastical, sometimes brutal, and always cool, Cowboy Bebop did for sci-fi what Jean Pierre-Melville did for gangsters in the 60’s: Took an American idea, filtered through foreign eyes to make a hyper-suave product.
Best episode: “Sympathy for the Devil” Though oftentimes it was somewhat grounded (well, as grounded as a space-noir can get), this episode finds Spike hunting down a bounty who appears to have been murdered by the guardian of a child piano prodigy. Yet what starts out as a standard detective drama unspools into a mind-bending plot only science fiction can allow.
6.) Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994)
What its about: A continuation of Gene Roddenberry series from the 60’s, the next generation of the Enterprise crew were less adventurers and more diplomats, dealing with character arcs, interpersonal drama, and politics.
Why it made the list: Taking on the world of the original series, Next Generation endeavored to be less about the outer space and more about the inner life of the Enterprise crew. Filling the ship not just with tar Fleet elite, but also some civilians (including the much loathed Wesley Crusher), Next Generation was more a character study (well before the Battlestar Gallactica reboot would receive praise for doing the same). Of course, all this stemmed from replacing the gung-ho adventurer Captain Kirk with the reserved, diplomatic and intellectual Picard.
Best episode: “The Best of Both Worlds” Undeniably the greatest cliff-hanger in all of science fiction, this two parter ended season 3 and began season 4 of the program with the most fearsome villain in all of Trek lore, the Borg, attempting to capture Captain Picard and assimilate him. When they succeed, all hope seems lost for the Enterprise in these remarkably smart and surprisingly emotional episodes.
5.) Firefly (2002-2003)
What its about: After a failed galactic Civil War, a band of outlaw smugglers travel the ‘verse.
Why it made the list: It’s the ultimate “cult series”. Having lasted only 14 episodes, the show captured the imagination of a huge fan base on DVD, uniting the so-called “Browncoats” everywhere to rally for not only a wrap-up movie (2005’s Serenity) but action figures, comic books and an upcoming MMO video game. Why? Because Buffy and Avengers helmer Joss Whedon crafted such a rich world and a cast of distinct and trope-defying characters that no matter how many stories they told, it would always feel too few. The characters felt honest and human, always three-dimensional and never playing into audience expectations, and the show’s wit and ingenuity has given it a life beyond some shows who actually got their due in terms of air time.
Best episode: “Out of Gas” Out of fuel and running out of air, a series of flashbacks introduce us to how our beloved crew came together while Captain Mal lies mysteriously bleeding on the floor of the Serenity.
4.) Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995-1996)
What its about: After a giant monster called an “angel” destroys Tokyo, the government designs a group of giant robots called Evangellion which has to be piloted by high school aged children.
Why it made the list: It’s so good, Guillermo Del Toro essentially robbed it for Pacific Rim. Except, rather than just be another in the genre of “mech-anime”, Evangellion begins by exploring the mentality of Shinji Ikari and his emotionally reserved partner Rei Ayanami, then stretches further, devoting whole episodes to character study without once showing the type of explosive combat typical of a Japanese export (one episode spends the entire run time on whether Misato Katsuragi, a high ranking official, should settle for a man she’s not sure she loves). By the mid-point, the show expands into a form of high art, exploring deep concepts of philosophy and psychology, as well as providing a complex theological context for its central premise.
Best episode: “Weaving a Story” The point where it all changes. Before this, all the “psychology” of the series was played out in the form of a teen drama, with interior monologues describing childish conflicts and emotional turmoil, but the midway point of the series begins with a fast paced clip show recap before presenting us an abstract, poetic internal monologue from Evangelion pilot Rei who it seems is pondering the nature and futility of her own existence, and the show begins its maddening (and brilliant) descent into the deepest depths of the human mind.
3.) Doctor Who (1963-present)
What its about: A time lord from the planet Gallifrey, The Doctor (real name unknown) travels across time and space with various companions.
Why it made the list: It’s the longest running science fiction series in history, first airing on the BBC in 1963 with William Hartnell as the titular Doctor. When time came to recast, the show came up with its most ingenious plot device: Time Lords, when killed, can regenerate into a new body. This allowed the show to retain the same protagonist through 5 decades, with a total of 13 actors taking on the mantle. Cancelled in 1989 only to see two revivals, one a TV movie starring Paul McGann and the current run beginning in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston, many currently divide Dotor who into the “Classic” and “Modern” era, though the central truths remain the same: The Doctor is a force for good, who craves knowledge and adventure, and despises death, oppression and violence. A true hero for the ages.
Best episode: Of the “Classic” era, credit has to go to the original pilot episode, “An Unearthly Child” which introduced many of the core concepts of the series, and set up a world with infinite possibilities. As for the “Modern” era, the best episode strangely hardly features the Doctor at all. Written by current show runner Steven Moffat and starring future Oscar nominee Carrey Mulligan, “Blink” introduces us to the most horrifying villain of the show’s modern run, the Weeping Angels, an alien race who resembles statues and only move when you’re not looking at them. It’s haunting, tense and bloody brilliant.
2.) Star Trek (1966-1969)
What its about: The voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.
Why it made the list: How could it not? After only three seasons, it captured the imagination of the public like nothing else had before, spawning the largest fandom in pop-culture history (and birthing the term Trekkie). “Beam me up, Scotty”, “Live Long and Prosper” and “Dammit Jim, I’m a Doctor” have all entered the vernacular now, and the hopeful, adventurous tone of the series helped counter the science fear propagated by the sci-fi films of the time. It was brilliantly innovative, not just in terms of narrative and ideas, but even in its progressive attitudes, portraying a future where all races and nationalities lived in harmony while back home in America segregation was still prominent. Hell, Star Trek gave America television’s first interracial kiss (as well as its first inter species kiss, because this is Captain Kirk we’re talking about). Almost 60 years later, some of the writing still can’t be beat and the series continues to inspire (even with the new “reboot” movies enraging Trekkies nationwide).
Best episode: “The City on the Edge of Forever” Undoubtedly Star Trek’s greatest episode, and some of the finest writing in the history of science fiction television, "The City on the Edge of Forever" was conceived by sci-fi master Harlan Ellison and finds the Enterprise crew in a state of confusion as ship medic McCoy has accidentally dosed himself with a drug causing him to lose his mind. Stumbling into a time portal, Kirk and Spock are forced to go back and find him, as his presence there has changed the course of time horrifically. Finding themselves in Depression-era America, the two go incognito and Kirk falls in love with a beautiful charity worker named Edith Keeler (played by Joan Collins), only to discover that the event McCoy stops which alters history is Edith’s tragic death, and Kirk must make a heartbreaking decision.
1.) The Twilight Zone (1959-1964)
What its about: An anthology series hosted by Rod Serling, each episode tackling a different tale of science fiction and suspense, typically with a twist.
Why it made the list: There was no way it wouldn’t. It’s the grandaddy of them all, and in all the years to come, it still hasn’t been topped. So many stories, from the gremlin on the wing of the plane to Billy Mumy in the hauntingly happy town of Peaksville, have become iconic, and the writing has never been topped. To watch it today (as is tradition when the marathon’s air on New Year’s Eve) is to marvel at how remarkably well the episodes still hold up, feeling as fresh and shocking as the day they aired. Almost always, the wicked souls karmic-ly punished by the final twists were offered a chance to repent, and their actions caused the viewers to look inward and contemplate ideas like the meaning of beauty, the necessity of friendship and the nature of man himself. There never has been and never will be anything quite like it.
Best episode: “Time Enough At Last” The all-time classic, constantly homaged and parodied. Henry Bemis, played by Burgess Meredith, is a man who loves to read, but is plagued by a world he finds prevents him from being alone with his books. Sealing himself off in a vault to grant himself the time to read, he emerges only to find himself alone in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Here he is, with time enough at last to read his beloved books, when suddenly (SPOILER ALERT) he breaks his glasses. Ingenious, simple, profound and tragic, this episode encapsulates everything the Twilight Zone could be at its best and everything sci-fi TV endeavors to be.
Those are our picks, but feel free to weigh in in the comments and tell us what you think we missed.
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