Sci-fi is one of television’s most important genres. It takes the small screen’s capacity to offer compelling visual renderings of our wildest ideas about the universe to its logical conclusion, serving us imagined futures, parallel worlds, and alternate realities in the comfort of our homes.
Cinematic sci-fi can sometimes seem cold and clinical in its depiction of such imagined realities, since the genre’s emphasis on world-building can leave little time for characterization in a two-hour movie.Great sci-fi TV shows, by contrast, typically feature relatable characters whose stories are fleshed out across many episodes, alongside the meticulous crafting of settings sustained by scientific consistency.
Fundamentally, though, the best sci-fi shows of all time are founded on ingenious conceptions of technology, astronomical phenomena, and biological or social evolution that relate to our real-world experiences in some way. In fact, themost influential sci-fi showshave actually come to dictate how we conceive of speculative futures for humanity, as well as undiscovered phenomena across the universe.
Since sci-fi TV was first popularized in the 1950s, the genre has arguably taken bolder and more extraordinary steps to shape the televisual landscape than any other. From early pioneers to big-budget streaming juggernauts, the small screen’s very best sci-fi shows deserve all the attention they get, and more.
We should be thankful thatMark Wahlberg’s remake ofThe Six Million Dollar Mannow looks unlikely to happen, as any modernization of this classic action series could only take away from its unique legacy. Lee Majors will always be the one true Steve Austin, embodying his character’s inimitable bionic abilities like no one else could.
The Six Million Dollar Manseries and subsequent franchise are based on Martin Caidin’s 1972 sci-fi novelCyborg.
The Six Million Dollar Manhasn’t aged as well as some of its contemporaries, but it quite rightlyremains enormously popular for basing the adventures of a charismatic action hero on a fully worked-out science fiction premise. Besides how entertaining the series still is to watch, it also had a key impact on the superhero shows that followed it.
Arriving three years after the hugely successful but poorly received movie that originated its story,Stargate SG-1took sci-fi’s depiction of space exploration and human encounters with extraterrestrials to a whole new level of high-concept realism. At the same time, the series doesn’t stray too far from Planet Earth in its portrayal of highly evolved humans.
The series-defining episodes ofStargate SG-1represent the pinnacle of storytelling and worldbuilding in theStargateuniverse.
It provides the moments of levity and relatability that lesser sci-fi shows lack, and benefits from being straightforward to follow. Still, theseries-defining episodes ofStargate SG-1set the benchmark for all other intrusive sci-fi adventure shows thereafter, and represent the pinnacle of storytelling and worldbuilding in theStargateuniverse.
Given the mixed response George Lucas’ threeStar Warsprequels received in the 2000s, no one was expecting all that much from the franchise’s first-ever 3D-animated TV series. Yet,Star Wars: The Clone Warsisn’t just the best TV showin the history of the franchise, but a masterpiece in its own right.
The show’s cutting-edge computer animation lends itself perfectly to spectacular battle sequencesand the expansive collection of space creatures that populate the world of the show.Star Wars’ subsequent live-action movies and shows were given a tough act to follow whenThe Clone Warsended in 2020, and, as yet, none of them have surpassed it.
Severancehas captured the zeitgeist of our age like few other shows since it debuted on Apple TV+ in 2022. Its portrayal of alienation and psychological violence in the age of monopoly capitalism isthe kind of mirror only a landmark sci-fi series could hold up to our world.
The conceit ofSeverancecenters on the difference between “innies” and “outies”, the two distinct personalities belonging to each employee of the show’s sinister, all-powerful corporation, Lumon Industries. Given the sudden prevalence of remote working in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, this premise couldn’t have been more timely.
When it comes tobingeing a sci-fi showin one sitting, the one-season wonderFireflyis the place to start. This 14-episode space Western tells a riveting tale of futuristic frontier spirit in the face of immense adversity.
It alsoasks us to take a starker look at humanity than most sci-fi series would dare to, while featuring more than enough shootouts and showdowns to keep us entertained.Fireflyis, quite simply, one of the coolest and most overlooked shows ever made.
The perfect example of asci-fi TV show from the 1950s and ‘60s that’s just as goodas anything out there today,The Outer Limitsprefigured every great sci-fi show about aliens ever made. Framed by an ingenious introductory sequence that makes viewers think their television is being hijacked, this series is a superbly immersive depiction of extraterrestrial phenomena.
Over 60 years after it first aired,The Outer Limitsis still a gold standard for sci-fi television.
It combines terrifying species of space organisms — some of which it would later pass on toStar Trek— with stunning visual effects, and the kind of cinematography that avant-garde filmmakers would be proud of. Over 60 years after it first aired,The Outer Limitsis still a gold standard for sci-fi television.
The brainchild ofSimpsonscreator Matt Groening,Futuramais an incomparably hilarious sci-fi sitcom, which uses the future to poke fun at humanity and pay homage to its TV genre in ways no other show would dream of. Its original four-season run, in particular, is the height of humor and parody across the whole pantheon of science fiction television.
Futuramamight have suffered multiple cancellations, and is no longer what it used to be, but the seriesstill reigns supreme among animated sitcoms that take science-based scenarios as their starting point for storytelling.
A rare example of a sci-fi show that blends scientific hypotheses with overtly supernatural elements,Stranger Thingstells one of the most brilliantly inventive stories in the history of science fiction. From the get-go, the seriescontrasts its exquisitely rendered period setting in small-town America with a journey into an alternate dimension.
The all-starcast ofStranger Thingshelps imbue us with the sense that we’re watching a true work of art unfold in front of us, throughout the show’s five seasons. It’s easy to imagine that the series will only grow in stature and popularity in the decades after it ends.
Westworld
Cast
Westworld is a television series set in a futuristic Wild West-themed amusement park where advanced android hosts cater to human guests' desires. The series explores the themes of artificial consciousness and human morality as the lines between reality and artificiality begin to blur.
On the strength of its first season alone,Westworldcould easily have made it into the top five of this list. The show’sfirst 10 episodes constitute one of the greatest single seasons in all of television. Its initial storylines and characterizations around the titular theme park and its population of robotic “Hosts” are more than a match for its breathtaking visuals.
Westworlddeserved betterthan the disappointing seasons that followed, especially in the case of its fourth and final season. Nevertheless, at its best, the series rivals the sci-fi genre’s all-time greats.
11Thunderbirds
1965–1966
Many younger viewers may be unfamiliar with the originalThunderbirdsTV show, other than as the inspiration for theaction comedy movieTeam America: World Police. However, this puppet-based sci-fi series primarily aimed at children remains the best iteration of one of sci-fi’s most innovative and iconic franchises.
Besides its titular vehicles, the visual medium of puppeteering placesThunderbirdsin a class of its own among sci-fi’s greats.
From the many inventions of the Tracy family’s in-house tech wizard Brains, to the legendary Tracy island with its built-in air and spacecraft hangars, there arecountless reasons to enjoy this classic animated show, not least if you’re a gadget-lover. Besides its titular vehicles, the visual medium of puppeteering placesThunderbirdsin a class of its own among sci-fi’s greats.
