The most pretentious science fiction - fantasy TV shows

November 2, 2009

[EveningStar]

Here are my selections for the most pretentious science fiction - fantasy TV shows (RELAX - THE CYNICISM IS ALL IN FUN!):

5. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997 - 2003) - Pretty much a chick series.

4. V (original - including miniseries' - 1983 - 1985) - Nazi lizard people invade the earth.

3. Alien Nation (1989 - 1990) - A message series with one message - racism is evil. We get it. Next. (amazingly enough, this series spawned five made for TV movies, which were viewed by all 500 of its fans)

2. Beauty and the Beast (1987 - 1990) - Nauseatingly sappy

1. Babylon 5 (1993 - 1998) - Yeah, I know that "true science fiction fans" like this series because J. Michael Straczynski is a fan of literary SF - and named a Psi Cop "Alfred Bester." Big deal.

I never saw the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, but from what I've read about it, it definitely would have made my list.

OK. Those are my picks. How about yours?

[Viking2002]

That little pissant would have to hoist himself up on an orange crate to club me with his walker. He'd otherwise take out a kneecap, if he was lucky.

[buccaneer81]

We’re all peace and reason, ...

Except when we're on the holodeck. Then we run wild.

[buccaneer81]

The only "real" Superman...

[McGarrett]

Yeah, ... for hundreds of yards in a straight line...

[fr_freak]

Buffy rocked. It wasn’t pretentious. It never took itself too seriously. They referred to themselves as the Scooby Gang whenever they were trying to solve some mystery.

That was true for the first 3.5-4 years. Then they went downhill at supersonic speed and became a weekly gathering of magic-wielding emo kids.

[Borges]

Both V and Alien Nation were cowritten and directed by Kenneth Johnson. They both have his primitive notion of allegory. He created The Bionic Woman and The Incredible Hulk TV shows.

[buccaneer81]

Yeah, ... for hundreds of yards in a straight line...

LOL! True, but he was the best Clark Kent ever.

[kaylar]

I watched that show too, and here's what struck me at the time : The oh-so-witty send up of religion in general (and Christianity in general?) with the "Park Rules" book. Seems the post apocalyptic survivors wind up in what in our era was a national park. They've found a booklet of Park rules and regulations, and their "priest" (don't remember his actual title, but he wore clerical type robes) would read a rule from the Rule Book , and then interpret it as some kind of moral warning or allegory-just like our priests and ministers read the Bible! Wow, far out , dudes! I was just a single digiter then, and I "got it"-and it made my jaw drop. And this was for children?!?!?!

[buccaneer81]

Here ya go...

[TomGuy]

I don’t know when it was on TV originally, but a couple of years ago, I watched the complete series, Special Unit 2.

It wasn’t great, but it was entertaining.

Several series have been variations on the Men in Black theme.

[muir_redwoods]

Does An Inconvenient Truth count It sure is pretentious and it is definitely SciFi although pretty light in the science department. About like Beauty and the Beast

[EveningStar]

Yes. I know. LOL

The Incredible Hulk was his best offering. :)

[mthom]

I have to disagree on V and Buffy. (Never really watched the rest)
V, the stuff of legend when I was watching it at 5 or 6, is squarely in the b-movie/pulp tradition and is not the least bit pretentious. I mean.. Nazi Alien Lizards. A giant alien spaceship hovering over suburbia, humanity enslaved, resistance fighters, it scared the crap out of me and somehow I half wanted it to happen at the same time.
A slight quibble about Buffy being a chick show. Its brilliant so even if it were a chick show I wouldnt care but thats not exactly what it is. It is a show written for the average genre fan (mostly guys) from a female/mild feminist perspective. Its an important distinction.

[McGarrett]

I don’t remember Clark Kent in the holodeck, but I just
LOOOOVED the episode when Dr Moriarity of the holodeck (facing Data as Sherlock Holmes) managed to take over the Enterprise.

[buccaneer81]

Al Gore must have loved Ark II...

The opening credits for each episode, as read by executive producer Lou Scheimer, summarized the show's backstory:

“ For millions of years, Earth was fertile and rich. Then pollution and waste began to take their toll. Civilization fell into ruin. This is the world of the 25th century. Only a handful of scientists remain. Men who have vowed to rebuild what has been destroyed… This is their achievement… Ark II, a mobile storehouse of scientific knowledge, manned by a highly trained crew of young people. Their mission: to bring the hope of a new future to mankind.

Ark II log, entry #1: I, Jonah, Ruth, Samuel and Adam are fully aware of the dangers we face as we venture into unknown, maybe even hostile, areas. But we’re determined to bring the promise of a new civilization to our people and our planet.

[buccaneer81]

LOOOOVED the episode when Dr Moriarity of the holodeck (facing Data as Sherlock Holmes) managed to take over the Enterprise.

Sure beat Picard playing detective as Dix Dixon.

[kAcknor]

OK, I’m late to this, but I liked Babylon 5! Love, Hate, Adventure, Patriotic messages of Freedom, Secret Overlord Raes and Sex with Aliens!

What’s not to like? ;)

[x]

To tell the truth, I never watched the new Battlestar Galactica, but I caught Caprica, the sequel.

It was awful. And what made it so bad was the people involved were just so full of themselves, thinking it was the greatest thing in the cosmos.

The show was more "about" being a fan of the show than anything else.

Battlefield Earth, Travolta's Scientology epic, was also horrendous.

[kAcknor]

Oops...

Secret Overlord Raes = Secret Overlord Races

[Revolting cat!]

Whatcha talkin ‘bout, they’re all pretentious!