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You have to hit till the blood runs clear: Sci-fi television.
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It gets much, much better. There are "one-shot" episodes scattered throughout the series, but the monster-of-the-week thing disappears pretty much entirely by the end of the first season. The acting improves a lot too, and the captain especially gets much better in the second season. It may not seem like it yet, but the show will become as much character driven as it is by the plot.
Still needs more lime.
Hello, John!
BSG - You know it's awesome
Firefly - Everyone says it's awesome, and they're all right
Stargate - Not seen it myself but I've heard great things and am gonna watch the entire thing very soon
Non-Space-based SciFi:
Doctor Who - The new stuff's great, especially since it started having a lot of internet coherency. Has its lows, and the science is pretty bollocks, but generally very very entertaining. Can't vouch for the older series, I hear they're variable, but have some very good stuff in.
Buffy and Angel - Best watched together, and in chronological order (they crossover a fair bit). They're also both better when you watch them both consistently rather than individual episodes. Buffy is utterly wonderful throughout, full of meaning and full of great characters, and some of the episodes are absolutely incredible. Angel starts off slow and doesn't really find its feet till season 3, at which point it comes into its own and becomes awesome. Very awesome. Funny, witty, and more mature than Buffy, though with many of the same themes.
I bought the DVD not too long ago, the animation is always brilliant and the original 'Liquid Television' shorts are really cool.
Don't go looking for a sensical, cohesive story though, you won't find one
:^: overall though
If Firefly hadn't died it probably would've taken the lead but nothing comes close to the story of John Crichton and the crew of Moya for me.
I have to agree although I'm behind the curve on BSG since I ditched cable and watch all my stuff on DVD or xbox live these days. Sadly Season 1 of Farscape is impossible to find and not available on Netflix. I really would like to watch though the whole series again.
― Marcus Aurelius
Path of Exile: themightypuck
I thought Farscape just came out with new cheaper DVDs last year "Starburst" editions or something.
Harvey.
Red Dwarf is probably one of my favorite TV series of all time. In essence it is a sit-com in space about what may well be the last living human. At the same time it often manages to address some very important Hard SF topics. Because it's a comedy it can have episodes about completely ridiculous things followed by episodes that wouldn't be out of place in a high-quality hard SF anthology, only with jokes in.
It is Very British and doesn't take itself seriously most of the time, but you still care about the characters. A lot of people like it for the comedy, but I've found that it can simultaneously have a very Outer Limits "philosophical/social issue of the week" vibe to it.
There is one episode that so directly parallels a Star Trek: TNG episode produced years later that I cannot imagine that the TNG Writers did not see it. Both episodes are among my favorites in their respective series. (Premise in Spoiler below)
I also like that it takes place in pretty much the least-idealized or melodramatic SF world I've ever encountered. The main characters aren't daring captains, great explorers, or hard bitten soldiers. They are minimum wage schlubs in a world where a lot of people did very boring jobs with tech that works just about as consistently as our current tech works.
Mild spoilers about the setting and ongoing plot:
I liked Blakes 7. Anyone else?
Then Grant couldn't keep his focus and fucked up creating one last season for the chance at a movie.
If there's a counterexample, I'm totally open to being proved wrong.
I've always been a big fan of cheesy sci-fi. I agree that once you get past the first seasons of Star Trek:TNG and Babylon 5, they really, really get better. Stargate I can watch, but it's very much a show of empty calories for me. Especially since it's what killed Farscape. I'm very much into the new Doctor Who- I started with Eccleston and can't get enough. I've even checked out some of the older, pivital Who episodes. Not the best, but still- I love background.
See, that's exactly why I love it. I absolutely adored Quantum Leap when I was a kid, and Journeyman kind of captures that same feeling. Though it is sadly lacking in the humor that QL had.
But does this new guy look good in pantyhose? And can he sing?
Scott Bacula FTW.
Firefly, as has been mentioned again and again, is a good show. I don't know if I'd necessarily call it sci-fi, however. It's really a western with some spaceships and the occasional laser gun, meaning that the show has a really uniqe and interesting dynamic.
Star Trek's where it's at for me, though. Honestly, I read a lot of sci-fi and the amount of sci-fi where humanity fucks up/are assholes is staggering. Fuck, I play Warhammer 40,000 and read the novels and there's flat out no more depressing sci-fi setting. But with Trek, specifically The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine, there's something really unique. I can't recommend either series enough, though keep in mind they are seven seasons of hour long episodes. Also, the first couple seasons of both shows are very inconsistent. One episode will be goddamned amazing and the next will make you want to punch a baby seal. Starting with season 3 and on, for both TNG and DS9 are not only the best sci-fi shows out there, they're two of the best television shows period.
It's totally cheesy and dated but I love it.
(current)
Journeyman
Heroes
Chuck
Tin Man (kind of sci fi)
Eureka
BSG and all BSG related material
(over)
Firefly
Quantum Leap
Star Trek (all)
Lexx
I'm not a fan of the following:
Doctor Who
Farscape (there were like eight hundred alien species, and maybe four over the course of the series had more than one of said species)
Flash Gordon (the new, the old, whatever)
Babylon 5 I enjoyed, though the first dozen episodes or so were pure pain to trudge through. Firefly was great for what it ran for, and personally I rather enjoy Stargate and it's spinoffs. I find them harmless entertainment, that doesn't make you think too hard.
I've seen the first episode of Farscape, and it seemed like a decent show. I'll have to remedy my ignorance of it.
Yeah, the 10 seasons of SG-1 sounds pretty intimidating. A boring month of summer with no work and no friends around due to the holidays lent itself well to a marathon that got me to the 7th season or something.