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Richard Bruns
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NC, USA
Nov 1999
time: 06:17
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I too like Stargate SG1 a lot. I think it has the best characters, plot, situation, and overall quality of the shows I've seen. It is the only one where everyone seems real and human. The cast of aliens, both friend and enemy, is diverse and well-managed. They do a fairly good job of tying them into Earth mythology.
It also portrays the military fairly well, and the overall situation is quite believable. Another big plus is that they (usually) refrain from demeaning the women with stupid fashion-show uniforms.
Mind that I've never seen Farscape, Babylon 5, or Quantum Leap, and several others; they might be as good but I haven't had the chance to find out.
quote:
Originally posted by Faeelin
I liked that show, but:
1) They killed off all the likable aliens.
2) How come they haven't usen stolen alien tech to equip themselves with something better than a machine gun? |
Oddly enough, machine guns seem to be far more effective than ony of the alien hand weapons. They are the only things that could kill replicants for example. Anyway, it would sort of ruin the series if they got too much cool technology.
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monolith94
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New England
Jan 1970
time: 00:17
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#1. Dr. Who
A great series with superb acting and great concepts. As the longest running science fiction show ever, at thirty years, it certainly had the opportunity to develop! Great monsters, with the daleks and cybermen, and great villans, from the Master to the Rani. My favorite episode would probably be The Five Doctors, although anything with Peri is good too. The eight doctor was my personal favorite.
#2. Babylon 5
I picked up on this around the middle of the second season, where things were really starting to pick up. I watched all the way through the shadow war, and after, and really developed a closeness to the characters. The final episode, with the station being exploded, was masterfully done, I thought.
#3. Farscape
The acting is genuine, the ideas are original, and the production is top notch. What more could you ask for?
#4. Star Trek: The Next Generation
The premiere form of escapism for me. Watching an episode makes feel like a child again, without a care in the world. There were some true gems thrown in there, with some excellent characters (Worf, Picard and Data being the best, imo).
#5. Red Dwarf
Funny, funny and funny! Much funnier than MST3K, in my opinion, because in MST3K they're always trying to squeeze in their laughs, and throw them in a rapid succession, jab, jab, jab. In Red Dwarf, the timing is much better. Plus the fact that it has actual actors and it has an actual plot. Much more interesting and entertaining.
I could do other lists for books/movies but I'll leave that for another day  .
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Tolls
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Hereford, UK
Jan 1970
time: 05:17
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Dr Who for me, simply for the variety of stories in its long history...but, and it's a big BUT, it also had a lot of dross.
For every great (like Talons, or Genesis, or Green Death (sort of)) we also have the likes of Rubber Dinosaur Invasion, Timelash, Paradise Towers, or Zarbi.
For every good performance as the Doctor from any of the actors we have the truly risible (Hartnell being senile, Pertwee gurning, Tom being Tom, I could go on)...
I can't agree with KS on the drama and comedy sides...or maybe I just can't see his point...
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Wraith
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Austin, Texas, USA
Aug 1999
time: 23:17
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--"has any other series ever had the audacity to drive their main character insane for a full season?"
Well, many of the US sci-fi shows seem to have rather crazy characters. Of course, the writers don't see them that way, so maybe that is a difference.
Haven't really seen much of Farscape, though.
--"What about Robotech"
It sucks. As an early anime release in the US, it's got a place in history, but you will not be able to watch it again. I know, I remember liking this show, and I've tried.
It doesn't help that what was called Robotech in the US is really a hacked-up dubbing of three seperate series.
I am glad you brought up anime, but there are far better choices.
Serial Experiments: Lain
Unique show, deals with technology and identity. The pacing and lack of action won't appeal to all, but a truly top-notch show for those who "get it". Great art, unique character design, good story, good music.
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Taking giant robot (mecha) shows in a new direction, this one has good action, good characters, and a good story, and we can't forget good mechs.
Crest of the Stars
Great characters, good story, this is one of the better examples of space opera around.
Cowboy Bebop
Action, comedy, drama, and above all else, style. More episodic than epic, but this is not a problem as the series is mostly a character study of the main cast. It has something for everyone, and a truly great soundtrack.
And so on.
--"For its time, Star Trek: TOS was quite good, but often I find the series unwatchable these days."
Still has some of the best Trek episodes ever, though. None of the later series ever got to the level of "City on the Edge of Forever" or "Amok Time".
--"When a sci-fi programme has a gay character in it, I'll vote."
There's an entire category of anime focused on gay characters, yaoi or shounen ai. There are some sci-fi shows in that category. This category tends to be more focused on relationships than anything else, but there are some sci-fi settings. And same-sex relationships are pretty common in anime, especially Clamp productions.
Wraith
"Man fears the darkness, and so he scrapes away at the edges of it with fire."
-- Rei Ayanami ("Neon Genesis Evangelion")
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Ming
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#1 Bab5
The best long running story. They set up so much of the later seasons in the first two. They had a long term "idea" and stuck with it. Yeah, the acting gets a little "cheesy" at times, but the writing was great overall, and they spent the money on special effects (for a tv show)
#2 Farscape
Didn't watch it when it first came out. Then, the DVD's came out and they played the whole series from the start on the SciFi channel in order 4 days a week. I didn't know what I was missing. Great writing, good ideas, great characters, and only sometimes does the acting get bad. Everybody says how DS9 was "down and dirty... real life", but Farscape has that beat by a longshot. Real people, real problems!
#3 Star Gate
A movie that actually made the transition to TV. Good casting and acting. Good plots. Nice special effects. Very seldom do I see one that I don't like.
#4 The Outer Limits
The original series, or the new one... doesn't make a difference.
Yeah, some of the stories are lame. But overall, many good stories, and the acting is usually pretty good. You never know which "famous" actors are going to turn up in an episode.
#5 Flash Gordon (duh...
Yes, I know they were originally movie serials... but when I was growing up, they were on TV all the time. Even in black and white, they were the best SF going back then, and got me hooked on SF. Yeah, you can see the ships hanging by springs, and the acting was beyond belief... but it was a FUN!
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soma
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London
Jan 2002
time: 05:17
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quote:
If the reason for me watching a programme is due to a cast member, then it would be a female cast member. |
You're not thinking of a certain vampire slayer or maybe her wicker, lesbian friend now would you?
On a different note, the refreshing thing I find about Farscape is that it contains a human (even more notably, an american) that isn't interested in solely spreading love and harmony, even to the people who are trying to kill him. That's what annoys me about other sci-fi shows, yes, even star trek. The do-gooding american captain shows all other space aliens about love and friendship and the rest. Farscape has none of that crap, and I love it!
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Khan Singh
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By means of the Internet, I am all places at once
Mar 2000
time: 00:17
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X-Files would come in at number 6 for me. Some incredible episodes, and the only SF series since Twilight Zone to actually be scary. I don't think it is in the top 5 because it does have a set formula that gets a little repetitive---ie,
Plot point 1: Mulder digs out an x-file that matches a crime in upstate NY where a guy died from mole bites-----but the bite marks are far larger than those of normal moles. He shows it to Scully. Scully smiles and says that moles never attack humans, it's just absurd. It must all be some sort of hoax. Or maybe it was wild dogs. Despite her scepticism she agrees to go with Mulder to NY.
Plot point 2: They arrive in NY and begin investigating. They stop at the farm next door to the isolated house where the attacks took place to ask if the inhabitant saw anything unusual. The creepy owner of the farm comes to the door, but appears to dislike the light. Mulder looks carefully at him---and he has no eyes! He is a mole man! The farmer runs out the back and as Mulder runs after him he is attacked by moles of unusual size, with huge sharp teeth. He shoots at them. They run away. Scully suddenly comes through the door and asks what Mulder was shooting at. Mulders says "The moles, Scully! The moles!" Scully says, "Moles, what moles? She hadn't see any moles. Was Mulder absolutely sure it hadn't been a cat?
Plot point 3: They talk to the local sheriff, who reveals that the town has a large chemical plant on the edge of town that used to do hush-hush work for the government. They go there and Scully discovers a broken old tank containing traces of promolerone fulminate, a chemical that can promote growth in animals.
Plot point 4: Night falls on them at the chemical plant. Suddenly, the mole man appears------and with him are thousands of large and hungry moles! They attack. Mulder thinks quickly and throws the mole man into a vat of chemicals and lights it on fire. The moles scatter and flee.
Finale: The fire has destroyed all the evidence. Scully's report is inconclusive. She tell Mulder that the large moles were probably the result of the chemicals, and the mole man was probably due to a rare condition know as Vander's disease. Mulder asks how Scully can be so blind. Scully groans.
Sound familiar? They did a few too many shows like that. X-Files also loses a few points for not completing their story arch. Finishing the alien invasion arch would end the series, I guess. But if you are going to have a story arch, then you have to finish it sometime.
But unquestionably a very good series. My favorite episode: Fluke Man. Insurance Man was also good. Scariest moment? The ghost outside the space shuttle.
When Lexx is good ( the Mantrid storyline, for instance), it is pretty good. But when it is bad, it is REALLY bad. Even B5's worse moments aren't close to the rotteness that Lexx descends to five or six times an episode. Who could possibly think that watching the bug bomb fall off its target wire 5 times in a row would be entertaining? Is there anything less funny then their President and his wife? Have they ever, ever heard of pacing?
A great theme is always worth a lot. .....terum Brunnen-G!
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14-01-2002 02:55
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