The Top 50 Sci-Fi TV Series of All Time?!?

[eldritchhobbit]

I thought I'd make it without commenting on this, but I simply cannot let it pass.

The Boston Globe has compiled a list of "The Top 50 Sci-Fi Shows of All Time."

I was pleasantly suprised to see several often-overlooked series make the list (Nowhere Man and Science Fiction Theater, for example), and frustrated that others were not represented (VR.5, The Time Tunnel, The Incredible Hulk, Millennium, and The Pretender, to name a few). I was baffled by the inclusion of others, and I strongly disagreed with the ordering, especially among the top ten picks. My first impression was that the writers valued sizzle over substance, and their focus was far too contemporary and trendy.

And then it hit me.

I realized what was missing. Not ranked lower than I would like, but absolutely ignored. No mention of Deep Space Nine? No Blake's 7? No The Prisoner? I repeat for emphasis: no The Prisoner?

This isn't a question of personal taste, it's a question of genre history. Without Blake's 7, there is no Firefly. Without The Prisoner, there's no Babylon 5, no X-Files. These series are cornerstones. This is not a topic for debate.

Perhaps I should be forgiving, and just assume the entire staff of The Boston Globe is on crack. But as someone who has seen at least one episode of every single series on this list save one, I feel I've paid enough genre dues to complain -- or at least mock the people who rank Sliders in the top ten but fail to mention Farscape at all.

I cannot take it seriously, but here it is.


50. 'Earth - Final Conflict'
49. 'The Wild Wild West'
48. '3rd Rock From The Sun'
47. 'Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'
46. 'That Was Then'
45. 'The Greatest American Hero'
44. 'Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'
43. 'Nowhere Man'
42. 'Science Fiction Theatre'
41. 'Futurama'
40. 'The Thunderbirds'
39. 'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'
38. 'Batman'
37. 'Space 1999'
36. 'The Bionic Woman'
35. 'Battlestar Galactica' (Original)
34. 'The Avengers'
33. 'Lost In Space'
32. 'My Favorite Martian'
31. 'Alien Nation'
30. 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'
29. 'The Six Million Dollar Man'
28. 'Adventures of Superman'
27. 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'
26. 'Stargate Atlantis'
25. 'The Jetsons'
24. 'Wonder Woman'
23. 'Tales from the Crypt'
22. 'Andromeda'
21. 'Quantum Leap'
20. 'The Hitchhiker'
19. 'Dark Angel'
18. 'V'
17. 'Firefly'
16. 'Flash Gordon'
15. 'Logan's Run'
14. 'Star Trek Voyager'
13. 'The Outer Limits'
12. 'Xena: Warrior Princess'
11. 'Lost'
10. 'Sliders'
9. 'Mystery Science Theater 3000'
8. 'Dr. Who'
7. 'The Twilight Zone'
6. 'Stargate SG-1'
5. 'Babylon 5'
4. 'The X-Files'
3. 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'
2. 'Battlestar Galactica' (New)
1. 'Star Trek' (Original)


Share the geekfest of righteous indignation! :) Because it's fun.


"We are an impossibility in an impossible universe."
-Ray Bradbury

Comments

[a-blue-moon-cat.livejournal.com]

WTF were these people thinking? Well, probably they weren't. :( And besides, let's remember that this is just an opinion, and you know what they say about those. *grins*

Having read everyone else's comments on this, I too noted that the list was USA-centric, but I guess that's to be expected. Frankly, if it wasn't for the 9th Doctor, I almost doubt that DW would have shown up on the list at all.

I question this list because I separate out SF and fantasy.

Also, are they referring to the newer TW series, or the one from the 60s? I love MST3K, but it doesn't belong, since it's not a straight-forward SF show, just a parody/satire/whatever. :) I loved Sliders, but it should have never been ranked that high! If Xena, then Hercules, too, must be listed. There would not have been Xena without Herc.

I adore Lost, but again I'm not sure it belongs on the list. Voyager and no DS9?! Argh! At least QL got a mention, but the stories themselves were just basic dramas, with the SF framing device of time travel and holographic help, so again, it might only partially fit. Jetsons, but no original Johnny Quest--again, so totally wrong.

BtVS and no Angel--that's not right, either. :) And the ranking for Buffy is way too low, IMHO. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and 6M Man should not be listed at all.

And yes, where is Blake's Seven, The Prisoner, Sapphire and Steel, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Red Dwarf, UFO (instead the inferior Space:1959, as we called it, got a mention--and they used the UFO sets!)? At least The Avengers got a listing.

If one mentions The Man from Uncle, surely Mission: Impossible should have been on the list. And if TWWW is there, where is Legend and Brisco County, Jr.?

And what of The Time Tunnel (no Sliders without TTT) or Dark Shadows (horror/sf/fantasy)? And no Highlander?

I just don't get this list. At all.

Am surfing over to the link and checking it out.