As Mr. Boling would say, "My butt!"

[sigma7]

Top 50 Science Fiction Television Shows of All Time - Boston.com. A few possible atrocities for you to focus on: no Farscape, Firefly at #17 below Voyager and Xena (?!?), Batman at #38 (...the hell?).... About the only redeeming thing about this list is the new BSG at #2, which sounds about right, but I can't see any consistency of criteria in here. And yet I'm not surprised.

It's a vicious cycle -- self-appointed judges of media create arbitrary lists and people like me get all worked up about 'em. I know, I should show more self-control, and honestly, I've been the very model of self-restraint when it comes to AFI's shit-we-pulled-out-of-a-hat lists. But Sliders ahead of Firefly? Only in number of episodes produced (or actor turnaround), but in no other criterion, sorry.

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)

Comments

[jim-smith.livejournal.com]

The reason Xena and Batman get considered for these things is because they're considered sci-fi by people who don't know shit about sci-fi, who are the ones who write these things. Said people will never ever know shows like Firefly, Red Dwarf, or Doctor Who even existed, (let alone that they're considered very good) so you might as well learn to live with it.

[anw.livejournal.com]

I think New BSG is being wildly over-praised. It's better than Babylon 5, yes, but have you watched an episode of Babylon 5 lately?

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

I'm enjoying BSG immensely, and anything that calls more attention to it is welcome in my eyes, admittedly even if it's hyperbolic. That said, one of the things I like most about it -- that sense of mystery behind the motivations and machinations (no pun intended) of the Cylons -- is one of the things I am utterly frustrated with in Lost and, back in the day, X-Files. No, not that there are Cylons in Lost (but it would explain Kate), but I'm becoming more convinced that while the mysteries are compelling, the answers behind them will prove to be either disappointing or just outright unbelievable. X-Files raised the bar for anti-climatic endings, but something about Lost has earned my distrust, and I'm not even sure what, yet. And I have a feeling BSG might fall into this trap eventually, too....

Still, it's come a long way from Space Mormons.

[querldox.livejournal.com]

Weird mix. Here's the ones I think were done while on crack:

Leaving off Hercules and Angel. At the very least, replace these two with them.

50. 'Earth - Final Conflict'
47. 'Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'


44. 'Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman'
41. 'Futurama'
Too low relative to shows higher up.

37. 'Space 1999'

Someone's having fun. Space 1999 was awful.

35. 'Battlestar Galactica' (Original)

And so was this. If either one's on, they should be in the 46-50 range.

30. 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'

Bleah.

27. 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'
26. 'Stargate Atlantis'

OK, just these two right here show why this list shouldn't be taken seriously. Not only is Buffy definitely a top 10 for all sorts of reasons (quality, longevity, pop culture impact, etc.), but ranking it below freakin' Stargate Atlantis, a one season (so far) spinoff with no particular buzz?

24. 'Wonder Woman'

Y'know, other than the first season, this was pretty bad.

19. 'Dark Angel'

Dark Angel above Buffy. And at 19. Someone apparently has a Jessica Alba poster in their room.

15. 'Logan's Run'
14. 'Star Trek Voyager'

I believe I can use these two rankings (and the fact that they included Voyager and not Deep Space Nine) as evidence to get the makers of the list off on grounds of insanity.

10. 'Sliders'

More evidence.

3. 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'

Way too high. Replace with Buffy. TNG just doesn't hold up that well and was derivative to boot.

2. 'Battlestar Galactica' (New)

Way too high; too few episodes, and too many flaws. Don't get me wrong; it's worth putting on this list, but until "Cylon-occupied Caprica" quits being a synonym for "Bored now" and, in my opinion, they change the Cylons' motivation from being religious fanatics, it's got too many problems to be truly great as a whole.

[jim-smith.livejournal.com]

3. 'Star Trek: The Next Generation'

Way too high. Replace with Buffy. TNG just doesn't hold up that well and was derivative to boot.

Without debating whether Buffy was better than TNG, I can't see it being the third-greatest sci-fi show of all time because I never considered it sci-fi. I mean, were there any extraordinary elements in that show besides vampires/monsters/demons/other magical jazz? It's fantasy, in my mind, and the people who made this list forgot to tack on the "Sci-Fi/Fantasy" qualifier.

The fact that I abhor Buffy doesn't even come into play here. Adventures of Superman may well be my favorite show on the list, but I have a hard time considering that to be science fiction, even if there are token scientific explanations for everything in the show.

[aardy.livejournal.com]

Buffy? Humorous horror/fantasy--that's one of the main points of the show. No SF there, unless one's dain-bramage makes one think the demons are actually aliens. -sigh-

However, by and large, the superhero genre can be considered a subcategory of science fiction.

It typically has a near-future setting (where the technology level is just that one step above where we're at now), and the characters' superpowers are usually either strongly related to science (gadgets, experiment gone awry, etc.) or aliens (heritage, kidnapping, experiment gone awry). Superman's an alien, Batman is all about the gadgets, etc.

Admittedly, the genre tends more towards the side of light, moralizing, adventurous SF than the side of hard, technobabble SF or military SF, so the "science" isn't usually the primary driving force behind the story, but it still qualifies as SF.

And yes, there are plenty exceptions (magic-based supers, for example), but that's the general case.

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

No SF there, unless one's dain-bramage makes one think the demons are actually aliens. -sigh-

Only one alien on Buffy, I believe, ever -- the snot monster from outer space that spat goo on a cerebrally-impaired Joyce. That's an odd coincidence.

And yet that said I'd still have to put ST:TNG in the top 5. No, some of its episodes don't stand up well at all and some are outright awful. But it changed the landscape of sci-fi television, cemented the Trek franchise and gave birth to its finest years. Seasons three through five produced some fantastic moments -- I've have falled off my chair at the S3 finale if I'd not been spoiled via an online friend that it was a cliffhanger. And Mark Lenard and Patrick Stewart's commercial-to-commercial scene of awesomeness -- those were the days. DS9's concept diluted the adventurous spirit of the series a bit (but it sure as hell deserved a spot on the list), and Voyager, well...meh. But for TNG to succeed as it did, in syndication no less...no mean feat.

[jkgriffin.livejournal.com]

People who know nothing about sci-fi (even if they are adding in fantasy) should not make lists.

Leaving out Farscape? Are they nuts?

I do like the new BSG. But putting it at #2 is premature.

Dr. Who needs to be in the top five. But I would (heresy) knock down the original ST.

Buffy should be higher. Why I would count Buffy is the monsters-as-metaphor motif that is a standard of sci-fi.

There are too many cheesy 70's series in there. Too much nostalgia on this list. Kolchak would have been a better choice.

I rather liked the original Sliders but the later seasons tarnished it.

And WTF with Xena? Other than the transporter that got her to China, India and the future, what?

I am counting the minutes until the Serenity movie. Firefly was much better than Voyager or Stargate SG-1.

I shouldn't read lists either. I tend to start foaming at the mouth too. :)

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

Kolchak would have been a better choice.

Oooh, good point, true dat. And much moreso than "Logan's Run" or even "Space: 1999." Kolchak was at least influential in a positive way.

[cptn-oblivious.livejournal.com]

I think we all agree that this list was made by people who don't know what sci-fi is. The best definition I've seen lists it as a subset of fantasy wherein technology(usually advanced) plays a significant role. I don't recall the specific quote or I'd list it here.

I think most of us would agree with Xena/Buffy/Angel WTF. As such I think it is imperatave we make up a poll and come up with our own list of the greatest sci-fi tv shows of all time. If I knew how to make a poll I would.

My list of other show that shouldn't be on the list:
(In no particular order)
Tales from the Crypt
Wonder Woman
The Jetsons(Because I despise it rather than not sci-fi)
Lois and Clark
Greatest American Hero(I liked the show but don't think it falls in the genre)


Cartoons should really get a list of their own I much preferred some cartoons to some of the shows on the list.
Star Blazers
Transformers
Thundercats
G-Force
Voltron
All of these are better then The Jetsons

Does anyone remember the show Misfits of Science?

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

Does anyone remember the show Misfits of Science?

Oh, do I. It was on NBC, the one station we didn't get, and was most notable for introducing Courtney Cox to the world. Also noteworthy that two of its male leads, Dean Martin's son and the seven-foot-tall guy who was also on an ep of TNG and played the Predator, both died very shortly after the show was over (plane crash and AIDS, respectively).

And that's just from memory.