Non-British SF or fantasy shows
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Topic: Non-British SF or fantasy shows
Posted By: Logan
Subject: Non-British SF or fantasy shows
Date Posted: May 17 2016 at 20:44
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Feel free to mention anything applicable not on the list. I haven't tried to think of that many, or think hard, though I'm sure others will mention ones that I wish I had listed. I wish I could think of more live-action ones from around the world, of course I could think of lots more US ones, but especially from non-English language countries --I think my wife saw a Korean sci-fi show not long ago. I would have really only liked to include the original Twilight Zone, Outer Limits and even Star Trek, but since I expect that some, say, prefer The Next Generation to the original series, I decided to be generous. Most of these are American.... Of more recent discoveries, I adore Les Revenants (was remade by A&E as The Returned) and Real Humans (was remade as Humans). Riget is a favourite of mine, and of the classics, I will always love the original Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits and Wild Wild West (not sure if I should include that) and Land of the Lost is a guilty pleasure -- a childhood fave of mine.. I did like the mini-series of the Andromeda Strain (love the film). Probably mistakes in the list, and like with the Brit poll, I expect that i have missed ones that should have made my list as they have been personal favourites. ------------- Just a fanboy passin' through. |
Replies:
Posted By: Atavachron
Date Posted: May 17 2016 at 21:36
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Of these, by far the Wild,Wild West-- a steampunk masterpiece. Ever seen the b&w first season? After that I've always had a soft spot for LiS, and again, that first season in black&white is among the best American sci-fi debuts. ST:TOS too of course, I've just watched it to death. ------------- "Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." -- John F. Kennedy |
Posted By: The Dark Elf
Date Posted: May 17 2016 at 21:50
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Rod Serling's mind-bending The Twilight Zone (and later The Night Gallery) were must see TV for me. ------------- ...a vigorous circular motion hitherto unknown to the people of this area, but destined to take the place of the mud shark in your mythology... |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 18 2016 at 11:15
The Twilight Zone is amazing, but The Night Gallery though was still a must see for me didn't have quite the same effect on me (some great episodes, but maybe it was seeing it in colour, and I only saw TNG for the first time about ten years ago).
I had to think about and research if I saw the black & white ones. I had a black and white TV until about 1991 (my personal TV at my parent's house) so I used to watch all of them in black and white. It's about time that I revisited the show in a bigger way (I was watching it again on TV a few years ago). I still watch Star Trek TOS now and then. I love the show, but I've seen every episode so many times. If Assignment Earth (a personal fave, wish the Gary 7 spin-off had worked out) or The Cage comes on, I never skip those. I tried to get my kids to watch Lost in Space (it's a fun show), but aside from my kids liking Doctor Who (and some related), I couldn't much get them into sci-fi. ------------- Just a fanboy passin' through. |
Atavachron wrote:Posted By: presdoug
Date Posted: May 18 2016 at 11:46
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Star Trek the original series, at times so good, it is in a class of it's own, really also highly regard the Logan's Run series (which I am seeing for the first time since it was on tv in the seventies, on dvd) something missing is the Planet Of the Apes tv series from the mid seventies also VERY well done also not mentioned is One Step Beyond, which I guess, fits but doesn't fit here, as it was based on actual documented occurrences (the meaning of which is debatable, though)-it is very well done, as well love the Night Gallery and original Twilight Zone very much
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Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 18 2016 at 12:02
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Thanks Doug. I'm glad to see mentions of ones not on the list. I mean I included some that haven't really held my interest over the years, such as Wonder Woman. I'm a big fan of The Planet of the Apes film series (the classic ones), loved the animated series (the Star Trek animated series was good too), but I have yet to watch The Planet of the Apes live-action series. One Step Beyond sounds interesting, another one to look into. ------------- Just a fanboy passin' through. |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: May 18 2016 at 12:09
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From that list I have to go with the X-Files....a consistently good show for 9 years and one of my favorites.Also love the original Outer Limits and Twilight Zone....and all of the Star Trek incarnations.....and I also liked Lost even though the ending was a bit stinky. ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 18 2016 at 12:18
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I watched the first few seasons of The X Files religiously, but after that my watching became spotty. I was rather disappointed with the new X Files series (Season 10) aside from the highly enjoyable "Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster". I would have preferred it to run as a serial type mini-series, and the actors just seemed to often be too bored, and felt the show was just going through the motions often, but I'm glad that it's been announced that a season 11 is expected in 2017 or 2018. ------------- Just a fanboy passin' through. |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: May 18 2016 at 12:34
I was really disappointed in the latest X-Files mini series...thought it was pretty bad; acting and writing both were sub-par imho. I hope the new ones are far better. There were a number of short lived weird series that didn't make the list above.....I liked 'Nowhere Man' and 'John Doe'...though they were more conspiracy based I suppose. I also liked 'Sanctuary' which was on for at least 3-4 years...and one called 'The Dresden Files' based on the series of books only had one season. 'The Lost Room' was pretty cool too...unique idea. There was another one with the actor from the new Dr Who that played the master against Tenant and it was about people who could hop bodies over time and were part of this ancient cabal.....can't recall the name....I really liked that one so naturally it was canceled. Oh...wanted to give a nod to 'Orphan Black'.....which I did watch for one season...good show that I need to pick up on in the future.
------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: Finnforest
Date Posted: May 18 2016 at 12:54
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Babylon 5 Deep Space Nine Stargate Lots of great series! ------------- |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: May 18 2016 at 13:04
Yes..all 3 of those were pretty big tv hits......Stargate was on for 10 years...and had several spjn offs. DS9 was my favorite Trek spin off. ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: Finnforest
Date Posted: May 18 2016 at 13:07
Me too, re DS9.  ------------- |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: May 18 2016 at 13:47
You're all wrong. The correct choice is Farscape.   (voted Time Tunnel ... I'd love to watch those old programmes again) ------------- What? |
Posted By: emigre80
Date Posted: May 18 2016 at 13:52
| No Firefly? really? |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: May 18 2016 at 14:14
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I liked Firefly quite a bit.......sorry to see it didn't make it at least two seasons. ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: May 18 2016 at 14:15
Farscape had some hot ladies for sure  but the stories/writing were a bit disappointing to me. ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: Finnforest
Date Posted: May 18 2016 at 14:31
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I loved Farscape at first and it has a unique feel amongst the somewhat drier SF, but somewhere in the middle of season 3 I thought it got really silly and disappointing. We stopped and switched to something else for a while and are trying to decide if we should return and finish seasons 3 and 4. ------------- |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 18 2016 at 14:51
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I used to call it Fartscrape. And weird, I was sure I put Lexx in this poll even if it isn't quite appropriate as it has some British funding. I must have edited it out by mistake, to move it to another slot, like with The Tomorrow People in the other. I watched a couple of Farscape episodes again and it is rather better than I remember. The stories were disappointing to meas well. One reason I didn't like it is that it reminded me of Lexx, which I liked so much more. I actually, come to think of it, started liking Farscape, but lost interest as the show progressed. And as for Firefly, I never got into it. I knew people who loved it. Maybe I should give it another whirl at some time. I did like another one mentioned, Babylon 5. Deep Space 9 bored me a bit (I prefer TNS Voyager and Enterprise at its end) , and Stargate was enjoyable, but on repeat viewing I have found it plays things a bit too safe. No Star Trek series matched the original for me. My choice of these would be either the French Les Revenants (that would be my choice) or the Swedish Real Humans (for those that don't mind subtitles). Les revenants has a beautiful visual sense and I find a very interesting story (utterly humorless). Real Humans is touching, but has a wonderful sense of humour at times. Mogwai did the Les Revenants soundtrack. Neither are shows that I could watch with the kiddies around as Real Humans has nudity and Les Revenants is very dark. I tend to favour the darker shows. Here is a taste of both: I generally prefer dramas when they are written more in a serial form (I love minseries for instance). I would have liked both Les Revenants and real Humans to get a third season, but not necessary. It seems that most of my faves aren't renewed past a second season as my tastes tend to be quirky. ------------- Just a fanboy passin' through. |
Posted By: dr wu23
Date Posted: May 18 2016 at 15:03
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Interestingly...both the brunette from Farscape and Browder ended up on Stargate toward the later seasons. ------------- One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 18 2016 at 15:20
From Stargate SG1 - 200 Episode ------------- Just a fanboy passin' through. |
Posted By: Guy Guden
Date Posted: May 18 2016 at 18:00
| Outer Limits (original) & Twilight Zone are the essential U.S. sci-fi. |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 18 2016 at 18:15
Agreed. Such creativity and imagination on display in those shows. A couple of my favourite episodes are the Outer Limits Sixth Finger and Twilight Zone's Number 12 Looks Just Like You. So much greatness of course. ------------- Just a fanboy passin' through. |
Posted By: Guy Guden
Date Posted: May 18 2016 at 19:23
Quite true, Logan. I believe it is because they were writers' shows. Serling knew this. His top five or six writers all came from U.S. sci-fi literature. Outer Limits as well. And both show's creators were authors of science fiction as speculative fiction and a warning of dystopian values, while savoring the writing with the O. Henry twist. They both were truly "progressive" in intention. Regarding The Sixth Finger, a great episode, it is interesting to note how good David McCallum was in this and that other episode where he controls time in the house of blind Sir Cedric Hardwicke and the murderous women. The original Outer Limits was as noir a sci-fi series could be. cheers!
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Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 18 2016 at 19:32
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By the way, though I had watched a couple of Farcape episodes a few days ago since it's on Netflix Canada, today being an almost completely work free day, I decided to watch another and genuinely found it fun. Most shows, like music, I find need a little investment of effort, and I don't think I gave the show a proper chance when it was new as I would miss episodes and so lose out on finer points of the story arc, and I didn't start at the beginning. Same with Firefly, I came in part way into the show. These days I generally prefer to binge watch when possible (with serials in particular). ------------- Just a fanboy passin' through. |
Posted By: Atavachron
Date Posted: May 18 2016 at 20:26
more of a Land of the Giants man myself, but Irwin Allen always did it for me. Spared no expense.  ------------- "Too often we enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." -- John F. Kennedy |
Posted By: AZF
Date Posted: May 19 2016 at 01:37
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My Dad was a big Star Trek fan and although I loved and obsessed over Star Wars, I never went with him to see Star Trek The Motion Picture with him and he died a couple of years later. My Mum used to love Star Trek The Next Generation, The X Files and Stargate. But of the list, the one I followed when they were repeated was Lost In Space! |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: May 19 2016 at 02:32
Land of the Giants was never shown in our TV region though it was in the neighbouring one so at school some of the kids watched it while the rest of us didn't. However, I did watch and enjoy Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and Lost In Space. ------------- What? |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: May 19 2016 at 03:58
I watched Farscape from the beginning through to the end and the final 3 hour miniseries conclusion (The Peacekeeper Wars), I wasn't sure about it at first as the opening episode seemed to be an updated version of Buck Rodgers and I didn't warm to Ben Browder's character to begin with (far to shouty), but I liked the idea of a living spaceship (ŕ la Anne McCaffrey's 'The Ship Who Sang' and Iain M Banks Culture series) and the supporting cast appeared to be interesting enough to continue watching: Scorpius is one of the great villains of TV SF and an alien who farts helium when scared... and yes, the ladies were pleasing to the eye but they were also strong characters and not just window dressing. Like Babylon 5 (as opposed to DS9), I favour series with a good story arc and a proper denouement and I think Farscape had that. I missed Browder and Black in Stargate SG1 because of Sky TV's dreadful scheduling of the program once terrestrial TV dropped it and still haven't seen seasons 8 to 10. I started to watch Firefly but just didn't like it, a few of the support characters were ok but I couldn't relate to the two leads. Conversely Serenity was one of those rare things - a film version that was better than the TV series that spawned it. Having enjoyed the film I tried returning to the TV series but still didn't like it. I think the difference is Firefly took the Space Western genre too literally and was little more than a thinly disguised TV series about outlaw cowboys, whereas Serenity reeled in 'Western' aspect, dragging it towards the more popular Space Opera territory. [Writing this I'm reminded of US/Canadian SF TV series that time seems to have forgotten - Andromeda, staring Kevin Sorbo]
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Posted By: dwill123
Date Posted: May 19 2016 at 20:42
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Star Trek (the original series). Easily. "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea ", should be on the list somewhere. |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 20 2016 at 07:50
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Dwill: You're absolutely right, it should have been. I have lamented forgetting to include Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. I actually did think of it when I was coming up with the poll as it as show that I like considerably, but the name of the show didn't immediately spring to mind and then I forgot. I have seen episodes again recently on TV, but I made this list hurriedly without research. There another great classic one that I used to watch that I know I'm missing. On a lesser note: Surprised I didn't include Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. Okay, it is dated, but I enjoyed it back in the day. There are many others. Man From Atlantis was cool. One big one that I missed, guess it should be in the British section for production, is Max Headroom. ------------- Just a fanboy passin' through. |
Posted By: Logan
Date Posted: May 20 2016 at 08:16
I need t read more of the Culture series, looked for it in the bookshop and at the library. Scorpio I did indeed like, and Rygel is terrific Henson creation. Digression: My favourite Henson film, by the way is The Dark Crystal which I find a very moving and wonderful film. I also want a good story arc and denouement (even if the denouement is ambiguous). Far too often shows get cancelled before there's any sense of closure, or the writing just gets lame and tired (a reason I tend to favour through-written series). I have all of Farcape on Netflix, so there's no reason not to watch it through.
I agree wholeheartedly with your thoughts on Firefly. I will watch Serenity as it's on Netflix Canada. Having that made was quite the coup for the fans as I recall. I think time has been kind to Andromeda, not because it aged well, but because it forgot it.  I didn't actually catch that much of it, but Kevin Sorbo had zero appeal to me (not a character I identified with, nor a commanding performance). Another that may have been forgotten, well it's a Canadian production so some might say it's to be expected, but with an American audience in mind, is Starhunter. I rather liked it. Peter Gabriel did theme music for the show (series/ season 2), and it was the music that sucked me in. And it had a girl that I found petulant and irritating in that show but I had admired in another Canadian show called The Newsroom (an all too rare, I think, example of very good Canadian TV).------------- Just a fanboy passin' through. |
Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: May 20 2016 at 13:12
While it was produced by a British company 'Max Headroom' the SF TV series was made for an American network and was never shown on British TV as far as I know. The TV series called 'The Max Headroom Show' that aired on UK TV was just a music video programme with no SF content other than the titular host himself. Interesting for five minutes, it got old very quickly. Both were spin-offs of a 1-hour TV film by Channel 4 called 'Max Headroom, 20 Minutes Into The Future'.
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Posted By: Dean
Date Posted: May 21 2016 at 03:59
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I mentioned Babylon 5 en passant earlier without noticing it wasn't on the list. Planned from the start to be a five-year, five-season, story arc with a proper beginning, middle and end it was a ground-breaking series not only for its concept, but also for the use of the emergent CGI technology and use of the nascent internet as a means to develop a fan-following. One of those silly irrelevant facts that sticks in my long-term memory is the brother of Wayne's Word's Dana Carvey built the prototype Video Toaster hardware that was initially used to create the CGI effects. A 'clever' artistic trick they used was in adding a huge nebula backdrop in all the space images so they didn't have to use artificial lighting to make the ships visible against a pure black background. The inaccurate depiction of stars in SF programmes is a minor irritation for me, especially in Star Trek but Voyager's producers' gain kudos for adding a constant engine-sound to the audio track of all on-board scenes (only noticeable in stereo broadcasts). Another first was the programme's creator wrote most of the episodes and two whole seasons, (Neil Gaiman, DC Fontana and Harlan Ellison also wrote for the series to a strict set of rules to ensure continuity of the story-arc). While some of the dialogue was at times a little lumpen, I thoroughly enjoyed following the story-arc to the final show-down with "The First Ones" - however, binge-watching that from beginning to end would be a major undertaking that even I as a long term fan would shy away from. Earning it a "Prog-related" point, Tangerine Dream's Chris Franke composed all music, which equates to something like 45 hours of original music, a small fraction of which has been released on CD. [Incidentally, some of the music for Farscape (26 episodes) was written by http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=3855" rel="nofollow - Chris Neal , whose 1974 prog rock album 'Winds of Isis' is listed here under Crossover].
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