Other sci-fi series as good as Firefly
POSTED BY: KillerK
UPDATED: Sunday, October 3, 2004 18:40
VIEWED: 23669
PAGE 2 of 7
Like many others, Firefly spoiled me when it comes to sci-fi television, however, there are a few shows that have escaped.
Star Trek (the orignial) and Deep Space Nine: These two couldn't be further apart in many respects, but to me they have much in comman, namely the fact that they're the two best Trek series.
Cowboy Bebop: I didn't discover this until after I saw Firefly, so the similarities drew me in. It's anime, so it's got those some of those Japanese quirks, but far fewer than most other imports, and it's got the best English dub I've heard. It's a short series (only 26 episodes), but the characters are so good that you eventually forget that what you're watching is animated.
Battlestar Galactica: Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want, but if you look past the show's 70's trappings, robot dogs, and annoying kids, there's actually a decent show that has an epic and continuing storyline that was made over a decade before Babylon 5 and Deep Space Nine made such things popular. The two-part episodes, such as "Lost Planet of the Gods", "The Living Legend", and "War of the Gods" are the highlights. Note: Avoid Galactica 1980 at all costs.
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
I must admit that I could never quite into the original Battlestar Galactica. The newer version made just recently however, I thought was pretty cool. A bit self-important in places, maybe, but it showed a helluva lot of potential. It should easily be the best new SF show of the coming season.
Speaking of which, I hope everyone remembers to check out the new mini-series Farscape: Peacekeeper War when it airs. God knows when it'll air over here in Blighty, but hopefully we won't have to wait too long...
Oh, and as for Andromeda? Avoid at all costs. Seriously. We're in real run-for-your-life territory here. Quite the worst show, SF or otherwise, it has ever been my misfortune to witness. The phrase "it's got its head right up its big fat arse" springs to mind.
----------
"Today we were kidnapped by hill folk, never to be seen again. It was the best day ever."
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
I think that there may be other shows as good as, but they WILL be different - if they were too "samey" then you'd get fed up pretty fast.
For the record, this is my top five - other than Firefly
(1) Babylon 5 - for the five year arc, the way little details in the first episodes came to culmination seasons later, in short it was what I want a series to be as far as an underlying story direction goes.
(2) Doctor Who - Specifically the Tom Baker era "gothic" shows, and the later ones with Sylvester Mccoy and Sophie Aldred - the first because the stories were good fun to watch, despite cheesy sets and effects, and the second because the stories were to a large extent character-driven as "Ace" was guides from rebellious teenager to a better-balanced adult.
(3) UFO - probably the best series from the Gerry / Sylvia Anderson stable ... original and sometimes surreal, but spent time developing characters again. (Do you see a common thread emerging here?)
(4) Red Dwarf - OK, so it's a SF sitcom / parody in places, but it DID tackled REAL science, and in a way that shows like Trek never will, because they invent a plot device to get round it. Oh, and "Backwards" is great fun to watch in either direction.
(5) The Tomorrow People - a series aimed at teenagers, but covering a lot of ground based on one premise, the evolution of a telepathic "Homo Superior"
Other shows I enjoy(ed):-
Stargate SG-1 (Thank God they didn't keep Kurt Russell as O'Niell - and the casting of a reasonable look-alike of him for the 'Wormhole X-treme' episode was great fun).
MacGyver (Just for the sheer fun of trying to beat the story to working out how he gets out of the mess he's in).
Blake's Seven (patchy quality, but a good idea and several good episodes ... 'Vila' was always my favourite character).
Doomwatch - now out on DVD in the UK - one of the BBC's best SF series.
Space: 1999 - not for the stories, or the characters, but for the Eagle Spaceships - they actually looked like they'd been designed to WORK.
===========
Kryten: Go to 'Red Alert', Sir? You do realise that means CHANGING THE BULB ?
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Another Fox cancellee, "Space: Above and Beyond".
Mary
Always a beast, never a burden. 
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
What about Andromeda? That any good?
I've heard rumors that the first season was pretty good. I used to watch it now and then, but never enough to really get a feel for it.
However, word is that its really hit dirt bottom in the last few years. Worse than EFC did.
Speaking of Earth: Final Conflict----that's something else you might want to take a look at. It isn't anywhere *near* as good as FF, but the first season is solid; and despite some dumbing down, it retains a good-sized core of quality all the way through season 4. (Season 5 is a myth; it didn't happen.) Oddly, only seasons 3-5...I mean, 3-4 have been released on DVD. The rights to seasons 1-2 are held by another company....Fox, if I'm not mistaken.
About Wonderfalls: Its downloadable pretty much in full through Bittorrent. However, DVDs will be available this December.
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Babylon 5 (best thing since the glory days of Trek, better in many ways, and notice how relevant some of the main story arcs are today!)
Farscape (stylish and original, very cool!)
Red Dwarf (British sci fi comedy, you'll love it! - just make sure you get at least as far as the third season, where it hits its stride)
Blake's Seven (it's been ages since I watched this, but I remember it being astonishingly good for a low-budget series - the Brits did good on this one)
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by KillerK:
I am currently suffering from a medical condition known as PFB (Post-Firefly Blues). Can anyone help me??!
only watching 'Firefly' AGAIN....
but I would also recommend trying Joss' other shows
even tho they aren't sci-fi, they are still better written and more fun that anything else on TV
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
One thing I forgot to mention in my earlier posts is the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. Like a lot of anime, it can be a bit of a culture shock at first, trying to get to grips with it. But, also like most anime, it's well worth the effort once you do. A damn impressive show - and one that doesn't outstay its welcome, either.
---------------------
"Today we were kidnapped by hill folk, never to be seen again. It was the best day ever."
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
As far as science fiction series, I agree that Firefly wins hands down. Babylon 5 is the only other one that comes close, with Farscape, original Star Trek and Deep Space 9 following that. All of those are available on dvd, with new full season editions of ST:TOS coming soon. The original mini-series of "V" is also worth a look, but don't bother with the regular weekly series that followed.
There are a few others I could recommend that might be available as downloads, but unfortunately they are not (yet) available on dvd. Some of these are more fantasy related, but still close to the SF genre.
American Gothic
Brimstone
Dark Skies
Nowhere Man
VR5
wo men ren ran zai fei xing.
NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
there is none.....but there are some close runners up:
BRIMSTONE!!!!!...another fan here!!!woohoo....lol
love that show *stick up yer arse, Fox*
Babylon 5...sheer weeping badass series
Deep Space Nine:...note the lack of star trek before the title
Farscape:..fan of that show since Day one of that series..
"You replaced Firefly with *barf* Fastlane?!"
Zoe:"Take me Sir. Take me hard" - War Stories
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME