The 50 Greatest Sci-Fi TV Shows Ever

Popular Mechanics ^ | March 4, 2013 | Jordan Hoffman

[EveningStar]

From the whiz-bang and cheesy to the far-out and prematurely cancelled, sci-fi and TV have had a nice run. We locked ourselves in the basement with several milk crates of VHS tapes, laser discs, and back issues of Starlog to come up with the top 50 science-fiction television shows.

[Norm Lenhart]

End of Evangellion. We now know what Shinji was probably doing in the robot...

Divergence Eve/Misaki Chronicles. Now THERE is a thinking man’s Anime. If that man is thinking about basketball sized boobs.

[Dr. Sivana]

I’d put Quark over TNG.

Beats it for realism, anyway. (Quick, we need an inexpensive episode using cheap sets. Lets have Picard or Ryker pick the 20th Century to visit in the Holodeck!)

[chajin]

MST3K made the list, but they didn’t distinguish between Joel and Mike...

[SES1066]

Babylon V at #19, not in my book!
Space: Above & Beyond at #43 with Dollhouse, Buck Rodgers and Lost in Space ahead of it - sheesh!

[COBOL2Java]

“Star Trek: TNG” at #3 is ridiculous. A Walking Mood Ring (Troi), a 1980’s version of Will Robinson in the form of Wesley Crusher, knowing more tech than anyone else on the ship, a retooled version of Logan’s Run (TV series) Rem in the form of Data, and PC run amok. And that’s just off the top of my head.

LOL! You sum it up well in one short paragraph.

[SevenofNine]

How come Freeper Bender is not in top ten with Futrama HELLO

Actually lots of Shows are going to Cozi TV in few months ES

[Dr. Sivana]

Sorry #6, you're #7 now.

Well, why not? He's been #10, #2 and #1 on various episodes.

Be seeing you!

[SevenofNine]

I agreed on Babylon 5 that better show than Deep space nine LOL!

Knight Rider nowday I think safe to say my punk five year old nephew could hack KITT programming LOL!

[Craftmore]

Quantum Leap needs to be in top 5 if not number 1

[dfwgator]

[discostu]

Good point. That pretty much proves they don’t get the genre.

[Kickass Conservative]

>>“The Day the Earth Stood Still” is not even on the list?<<

That was a Movie, not a TV Show.

[Ransomed]

I tried that neon genny evangalon whatever when it was on cartoon network. I didn’t get it, just another giant robot suit thing. I must be missing out, it is huge. I just don’t see how it is beating Ghost in the Shell SAC.

Freegards

[gorush]

Ah, sorry.

[COBOL2Java]

10. The Outer Limits

---

One of my all-time favorite shows. Run on a shoestring budget, they did so much SFX with so little. And Roddenberry actually borrowed some of the Outer Limits costumes for a few Star Trek Original Series episodes.

[DiogenesLamp]

Who voted for that sequence? They have a bunch of stuff out of order.

"Six Million Dollar Man" at number 47? That's nuts.

[Dr. Sivana]

I’d drop Dr Who to around number 30 for its cheesy production values

Dr. Who is like the George Blanda or Satchel Paige of the genre. It gets Hall of Fame points just for sticking around. Besides, ANYthing before the 1980s was going to have cheesy production values, ESPECIALLY BBC.

Besides the $5 weather balloons cast as Rover (the big ball) in "The Prisoner", unconvincing models to change perspective in various Twilight Zone episodes (Mickey Rooney as a giant jockey) and the puppetry in the original Thunderbirds, you just have to go with it sometimes. The best of them make you chuckle lightly and play along. I don't even like Dr. Who, but the casting of a phone booth or whatever as the Tardis was brilliant.

[DiogenesLamp]

“The Day the Earth Stood Still” is not even on the list?

That's a movie, not a TV "show". At least I can say I never heard of a TV series called that.

[madison10]

Absolutely. Surprised it was so far down. Futurama. Ehhh.

[Texas Songwriter]

They Came from Outter Space

CHUD (something like that)