Got a favorite old sci-fi series?

[cynatnite]

I know for a lot of fans it's Star Trek, but what others do you like?

For me I loved Dr. Who when I was a kid. It was an awesome series. Also loved 'Lost in Space'. It was on before my time, but I never missed a repeat.

[Forkboy]

1. Not that old, but Red Dwarf rules!

[magellan]

16. Love Red Dwarf!

:)

[phantom power]

22. Red Dwarf has my vote.

[YankeyMCC]

2. Currently it's the new BSG

Other than Star Trek TOS my favorite in recent history is Farscape, which edges out Firefly only because it was allowed to run more seasons and is a bit more of a complete story.

As a kid I loved 6 Million Dollar Man and Space 1999

[PetrusMonsFormicarum]

3. The Prisoner

Few shows since have had as much influence on modern television drama. To cite the obvious: Twin Peaks, Lost, CSI, even M*A*S*H.

The series itself is as impossible to explain as a profound hallucinogenic experience, but it is likely out on DVD so y'all can peep it for yerselves.

[Forkboy]

4. Oh hell yeah. Great choice!

I haven't seen that in years, but it was a favorite of mine and my father.

[comrade snarky]

18. I'm with you

As soon as I saw the title of this thread I began to wonder if The Prisoner could be called SF.

One of the smartest, best written television series ever made.

[IndianaGreen]

33. An excellent series, but Twilight Zone has to be at the top...

of any list.

[Cassandra]

35. I've been to the Village...

but they let me out.

[JitterbugPerfume]

5. I loved Babylon5

I think it is my all time favorite

[ThoughtCriminal]

9. God Sent Me

Who can argue with that?:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXyDi_91UXw

[Cassandra]

36. Me, too.

[AllegroRondo]

6. Blake's 7

cheezy, cheap production, bad sets, horrendous costumes, etc.

but the stories and acting (at least for some of the characters) is some of the best.

[Touchdown]

7. I think I might be banned from sci-fi forum if I say Stargate

...because nobody even talks about it, so it must be a bad show in a purist's eyes. I like it though.

Never watched it when it was on, because I thought the original film was dumb, but my friend was a fan, made me watch a couple and the DVD sets are now $20 at Target, so I started catching them on DVD. I'm hooked. Great characters, interesting story arcs, even if a bit cliched, and great special effects, even by TV standards.

I also like Atlantis too, so there I said it! Punish me as you like.:P

[salvorhardin]

10. I'm not sure Stargate counts as an old series

Considering its last season was only last year, a direct-to-DVD movie was just released last month and another direct-to-DVD movie is scheduled for release in July. SG-1 will always have a favorite place in my heart too, even as formulaic as it had become.

[Touchdown]

14. OK, Quantum Leap then.

That ended in the early 90s.:hi:

[magellan]

17. Not old, but I'm there with you

Stargate SG1 grew on me because it doesn't take itself seriously. And the riffs on what's going on in the US are great. Atlantis isn't quite the same but good in its own right.

[JitterbugPerfume]

19. I liked Stargate too,

But I never got into Atlantis

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

8. Anyone remember the Science Fiction TV series "The Starlost"?

It was conceived by Harlan Ellison and aired for one season in the early 1970s. The concept of the series is that the Earth has been devastated and rendered unlivable by war and a gigantic ship was built to house the surviving members of humanity. The ship is truly immense, probably the size of a large county and it has hundreds of bionomes or separated areas that house different cultures from Earth, each self-contained. The voyagers in each bionome don't realize they are on a spaceship and have never ventured outside of their bionomes. They were born there, it's the only world they know, and memory of the Earth has been lost over the eons.

The hero of the story is from a bionome based on Amish culture. He manages to escape from his bionome and comes to the realization that he is inside a gigantic ship traveling through space. What's worse is that centuries before, an accident happened to the pilots and crew who were guiding the ship and they all got killed and, what's worse, the ship went off course and will eventually collide with a star.

The story involved the hero and a small band traveling through the ship and making their way into different bionomes, where previous facets of human culture have evolved in different ways in these isolated environments. The hero also tries to find someone who can help him find a way to get the ship to change course.

I thought the concept of the series was thought-provoking although the production values were not very good. There wasn't enough money put into it although I recall some of the special effects being pretty good. Harlan Ellison later disowned the series because he said the Hollywood producers tried to cut corners and edit his ideas.

[and-justice-for-all]

26. Kinda like "Dark City"?

[salvorhardin]

11. Perhaps one of my favorite old (and mostly forgotten) series of all time is Star Cops

The name sounds deplorable but this was one of the smartest shows to ever grace the airwaves, as brief as that time might have been (having only run 9 episodes in 1987). It was created by Chris Boucher, a writer on Doctor Who and Blake's Seven. It was set in a fairly accurate hard-SF near future where commerce and life in space (at least on the moon and in orbit) had become common place and focused on Nathan Spring, the reluctant leader of the first police agency for the fledgling colonies in space.

One other feature of note is the theme song written and sung by Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues. One might think that this decision would have been as big of a mistake as the use of a pop song for the theme for Enterprise but Hayward's tune was perfect IMHO. The melody was haunting, the lyrics were powerfully evocative. I discovered Star Cops late at night on the Syracuse PBS station in reruns by accident and the theme accompanied by the imagery of the opening titles drew me right in. There's a clip of the extended theme used on the first episode on YouTube if anyone would like to check it out.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=O8YiXdTP-5E

[chknltl]

38. Hey, I loved that Enterprise theme song

Still do, (watching an Enterprise viewers choice marathon right now), I find the song quite inspirational actually, wished it could have been used to close the DNC last night!

Your post was the very first time I had heard of Star Cops so I checked out your link. Now, I am sorry for missing out on Star Cops. Liked Justin Hayward's song alright-always loved the Moody Blues anyway. He wasn't my fave voice for the band but he was damned good though!

[Swede]

12. The Invaders.

That was a grim,spooky show when I was a kid,and I loved it.

[Forkboy]

13. Oh wow...forgot about that one.

The only way you could tell was their fingers, right?

My dad watched that one a lot.

[Forkboy]

21. And it's coming out on DVD very soon.

Just read about it the other day.

[Sabriel]

15. The Time Tunnel

We used to watch it and then go out and play-act it.

And James Darren.... Rrrrrowrrrr!

[Stuart G]

20. I seem to remember something called.."War of the Worlds"

..strange stuff, these aliens morphed into humans, and morphed back..some good eps.

[Greyskye]

23. UFO. B5. V. The Invaders.

UFO was a favorite as a kid. It's fun watching those old episodes in High Def now.

B5 will always hold a special place in my heart - it really jump started the concept of a SF TV series telling a BIG story.

V was fun - who doesn't love lizards in human suits invading the planet. :D I'd love to see that show again.

The Invaders - another show I'd like to see again sometime.

[Forkboy]

24. I just read last week that The Invaders is coming out on DVD.

So you're in luck. :)

[and-justice-for-all]

25. Wonder Women and Alien Nation

[sailor65]

27. Space: 1999

I miss it!

[YankeyMCC]

28. I've been thinking about that show a lot lately

I loved it as a kid. I haven't seen it in well over 20 years. I wonder how it would hold up. I know the basic premise of the moon traveling interstellar distances would need updating but I wonder how the characterizations and episode plots would hold up if I saw them now.

[Trailrider1951]

29. Man, I cannot believe that no one mentioned Twilight Zone!

Perhaps it was not always strictly "science fiction", but most episodes were close enough to qualify. God, that was the best fiction that TV has ever delivered! Rod Serling was awesome! I even got to meet him in person back in 1972 when I was a young college student at Ohio State. If you are unfamiliar with Twilight Zone, please do yourself a favor and catch it on Sci Fi Channel re-runs.





Oh, and I'm a die-hard Star Trek: TOS fan, too! :P

[YankeyMCC]

30. You're right

I love the Twilight Zone, arguably the best TV ever made really.

But it didn't even occur to me to cite that as my favorite. Maybe because when people think of their "Favorite" shows there is an element of identification with characters or a sense to want to pick a show that has a recurring set of characters that you become attached to.

[AnnieBW]

31. Define "old"

Pre-1990's, I'd have to say ST:TOS or Quantum Leap. After ST:TNG came out, there was an explosion of sci-fi on TV. My favorites from that era are Earth 2, Space: Above and Beyond, ST: DS9, and The X-Files.

[Deja Q]

32. Doctor Who (1963-1989), Blake's 7, Quark, Babylon 5...

[eShirl]

34. yes Quark!

scroll to bottom for DVD petition and all 8 episodes
http://quark.name/

[chknltl]

37. Lost In Space, Voyage to The Bottom Of The Sea, Outer Limits, Time Tunnel....

Blast from my childhood: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASvBTqfTrzA&feature=related
My fave all time would be Babylon 5 though. Battlestar Gallactica is a close second

[TransitJohn]

39. As a kid in the '70s

my favorites were Logan's Run and Salvage.

[CrispyQ]

40. Not that old, but Max Headroom will always be a fave!

20 minutes into the future

[kentauros]

41. For fairly recent "old"

my favorite is Babylon 5 :D

For really old, I loved the original Outer Limits.

I have also discovered some fine stories in the old radio series such as 2000 Plus and X Minus 1. Here's a site with the shows:
RadioLovers.com - all shows