Thursday, March 20, 2014

Top 5 science fiction shows




5.Battlestar Galactica original


I saw this when it was originally airing. Then a year or so later one of the local channels was showing it each Sunday night at 11pm. My parents would let me stay up to watch it. Sure it is kind of cheesy. And a bit of a Star Wars rip off. But most of it holds up really well decades later.


4.Lexx


Late one night in the late 90s I was looking for something to watch. And on Showtime I found Tales of a Parallel Universe. I was hooked. This was the anti-Star Trek show. Loud brash and in your face. And none of that nicey nicey bullshit Star Trek had become. Saw that there was 3 more of the films. So recorded them. A few years later I see that SciFI Channel is airing a new show named Lexx. Which was season 2 of Tales of a Parallel Universe. I made sure to see each episode. Thankfully 2 years ago Echo Bridge Entertainment re-released all 4 seasons on DVD. And if you dig around you can find them extremely cheap. My midget Aunt got me all 4 for X-mas and I marathoned them in a week.


3.Red Dwarf


I had seen the ads in Starlog for years. Where they were selling vhs of this show. But it wasn't until 1999 that I got to see it. The Houston PBS channel was showing it each Saturday. Red Dwarf is a great blend of comedy and Science Fiction. And it has such a simple premise. The last living human is stuck on a mining ship with a hologram of his arch nemesis, a lifeform evolved from his cat and a wacky android. I watched every season. Then it ended. Since then the UK channel Dave has broadcast 2 more seasons.


2.The Prisoner


This is another one I had heard about but never seen. Once the SciFi Channel hit the airwaves they were showing one episode each Sunday night. I got lucky and caught it with the first episode. And the mystery and mythos of the show had me hooked. It is about a former spy who quits. And then is gassed unconscious and taken to this village where every one has a number for a name. Each episode is mostly about him trying to escape. It is only 17 episodes long. Recently AMC did a remake of it. Which wasn't that good. But the original is still not only one of my favorite Science Fiction tv shows but one of my top 5 TV shows ever.


1.Battlestar Galactica remake


When  I heard about a remake of BSG I was leery. I watched the mini series and didn't care for it much. When the series proper started I just skipped it. Then in 2008 SciFi Channel was showing the first 3 seasons to get people ready for the premiere of season 4. I recorded those 3 seasons and over a few weeks watched them all. What a great show. Sure lots of fanboys bitched about it. "They made Starbuck a woman!" was the most common complaint. The ones I know that have said that only watched a few episodes. If they had stuck with the show they would have seen sure BSG remake takes parts from the old series but is respectful of that show also. When it ended with season 4 again the fanboys were bitching. All because they either didn't understand or like the ending. I personally loved the ending.