The sci-fi genre has spun some truly exceptional stories over the years. The genre’s continued popularity is a testament to its widespread appeal: the speculative and often futuristic stories offer us a glimpse at a world not too different from our own, provoking introspection about our society and nature as humans. The best sci-fi TV shows often capture the imaginations of audiences around the world with intelligent and thought-provoking stories, usually with elements of other genres deftly blended in. Over the years, the established formula for winning sci-fi stories has been applied to various media, but the small screen continues to feature many incredible examples of why science fiction remains so popular.
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There have been many underrated sci-fi TV shows, and many that failed to impress, but there are only a select few that can both claim to be great but still put viewers off ever watching them again. Whether due to their complexity, dissatisfying endings, or simple lack of rewatchability, some sci-fi TV shows seem destined to only be enjoyed once. While they might be great the first time around, sometimes there doesn’t seem to be a point in coming back to experience it all over again.
5) Altered Carbon
Netflix’s Altered Carbon told the story of soldier-turned-investigator Takeshi Kovacs in a futuristic society where human consciousness can be transferred between different bodies. In many senses, this makes some people effectively immortal, which has major implications for human society and sensibilities. The show’s two-season run earned positive reviews, impressing critics and sci-fi fans with its pulpy cyberpunk style. After two seasons, Netflix unexpectedly axed Altered Carbon, frustrating audiences around the world.
Altered Carbon is undoubtedly one of those sci-fi TV shows that deserved another season. Its story was fascinating and its lore deep and rich, but that’s precisely why you won’t ever want to watch it again. Its premature cancellation was a huge waste of potential, and investing time and energy into a series so frustratingly short-lived simply isn’t something that sci-fi fans are likely to put themselves through more than once.
4) Black Mirror
Black Mirror is one of the most consistently popular sci-fi shows in the world. The anthology series leans hard into sci-fi elements to deliver gripping standalone stories that explore the relatively plausible and horrifying applications of fictional technological advancements. Each episode of the show plays out like a modern-day fable, and it has become known around the world as a sci-fi TV show packed with wild twists.
Black Mirror‘s plot twists have become one of the show’s biggest and most talked-about elements, but as well as being one of its biggest selling points, they also put many people off watching the show more than once. Once a Black Mirror episode has delivered its bleak final twist, it’s almost impossible to forget. While some might not mind revisiting an episode or two, it’s not often that fans feel the need to go back and reexperience the entire show with knowledge of all its twists and turns.
3) FlashForward
There are many great sci-fi TV shows nobody talks about, but FlashForward stands out for a few reasons. It follows a group of people in the wake of an unexplained event in which the majority of Earth’s population blacked out and received a two-minute glimpse six months into the future. Its central sci-fi mystery gripped audiences and impressed critics, but FlashForward was unexpectedly cancelled after just one season.
As well as ending on a tantalizing cliffhanger, FlashForward‘s premature cancellation effectively ruined what seemed to be an exceptional show. The first season is still great, but knowing that there will never be a conclusion taints much of its appeal. It’s now known as one of the best one-season sci-fi TV series, but knowing that it never really got any kind of satisfying ending is enough to make most avoid it entirely, and those who have already seen it typically feel no need to watch it again.
2) Firefly
Perhaps the most infamous cancelled sci-fi TV show in the history of television, Firefly is still a sore subject for many. The show brought a unique space-western vibe to the small screen, delivering a world that was rich and unique with the potential for many years of exceptional stories. Unfortunately, Firefly was cancelled after just 14 episodes, cutting its run criminally short.
Though it’s one of the few sci-fi TV shows that continued after being cancelled through a movie and a comic book series, Firefly‘s painfully short run is hard to ignore. As exceptional as the show itself is, it’s hard to move past how little of it we actually received. With that considered, it’s hard to revisit knowing that it will never be given the justice it deserves, no matter how good a sci-fi show it was during its short time on our screens.
1) Mr. Robot
Often considered one of Rami Malek’s best performances, Mr. Robot is a sci-fi show that leaned heavily into its psychological thriller elements rather than established science fiction tropes. It follows a group of hackers hired by the mysterious titular figure with the aim of erasing global debt, forcing an anarchistic reset of its society. Malek stars as Elliot, a young cybersecurity engineer who is living with dissociative identity disorder.
Over the course of its four-season run, Mr. Robot‘s central plot deepened considerably, exploring its characters as they worked towards their shared goal. Its final episodes are especially mind-bending, as the show’s central mysteries all unravel at once. The perplexing conclusion is one of the most complex sci-fi show endings in the history of the genre, which ultimately proves to make the show pretty daunting to rewatch. Once its final reveal is done, many feel no need to revisit Mr. Robot, despite its quality.
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Image Courtesy of Toei Animation
