Science fiction and the small screen are a match made in viewing heaven. Television’s episodic format and infinite amount of potential episodes particularly suit sci-fi’s complex world-building, while also permitting us, the audience, to truly bond with a show’s characters in a setting we may only faintly recognize.
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Nowadays, there’s no shortage of sci-fi shows on television, whether they be on cable or streaming, but not every show in the genre is made the same. These are the top seven sci-fi series that we think don’t just merit a rewatch – we encourage returning to them time and time again.
7) Stranger Things
Stranger Things was a revelation when it premiered in 2016 on Netflix due to its ability to masterfully blend a nostalgic aesthetic with a fresh, gripping science fiction story. The show’s first season did an excellent job establishing characters and the rules of a world that creators Matt and Ross Duffer have meticulously and compellingly expanded upon as the series has continued. Stranger Things pulls off the rare feat of mixing style with substance to create a show that has become a multi-generational and utterly re-watchable touchstone.
6) The Expanse
The Expanse triumphs in its ability to marry a futuristic, colonized solar system with a political thriller that feels immediate and relevant to today. Though futuristic space mysteries are a dime a dozen in science fiction, The Expanse, which began as a series of novels from author duo James S. A. Corey, the show’s ability to extrapolate how current institutions like the U.N. might evolve and focusing on the human struggles of grappling with the extraordinary, like alien technology, that sets the show apart and makes all six seasons such a delight to return to.
5) Star Trek
Need we say more than that Star Trek is the OG? The original three-season series that launched the Star Trek franchise still holds up today because of its humanist and hopeful approach to the conflicts and issues the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise encounters on their missions. Star Trek continues to be a model for using metaphor in science fiction and is one of the best to ever do it on television to this day.
4) Resident Alien
While sci-fi can often take a turn into the dark and grim, Resident Alien is a shining example of a comedic entry into the genre. Alan Tudyk plays an alien that crash-lands on Earth with a mission to annihilate humanity, but ends up becoming an integral member of a small Colorado town. Tudyk breathes fresh life into the classic fish out of water trope and the show is a perfect blend of humor, sci-fi, and a surprising amount of heart. Sadly, after the recent announcement at San Diego Comic-Con that Resident Alien‘s fourth season will be its last, we’ll definitely be rewatching it frequently for a laugh.
3) Firefly
Joss Whedon’s early ’00s series Firefly is a Western dressed in sci-fi clothing, but that’s exactly why we love it. Nathan Fillion leads a stellar ensemble cast that makes up a renegade crew that lives on the outskirts of their futuristic society. Whedon’s whip-smart dialogue and signature tongue-in-cheek tone not only make the show, but the more dystopian elements of Firefly are eerily on the nose when it comes to predicting the future. The series is so fun and re-watchable that we’re still asking ourselves over twenty years later why the heck FOX ever cancelled it, especially after a single season!
2) Battlestar Galactica
With the premise of Battlestar Galactica becoming more and more relevant, we’d say a rewatch of the space odyssey series is very much in order. The show follows the crew of the single surviving military ship, the Battlestar Galactica, of humans that survived an onslaught from the race of androids they’re at war with. Now, it’s up to them to lead a small fleet of refugees to the fabled haven of Earth. If humans being at war with an android race of their own making isn’t enough to compel you to revisit the show, Battlestar Galactica has made several “best of” lists since its premiere in 2003.
1) Orphan Black
In Orphan Black, con artist Sarah Manning witnesses the death of a woman who looks exactly like her. Yet when she assumes her identity as a police detective, Sarah discovers she is one of many human clones from an illegal experiment, and that someone is plotting to kill each and every one of them. Actor Tatiana Maslany plays Sarah and all of her clones, a Herculean effort that won her a Primetime Emmy in 2018. Apart from Maslany’s mind-boggling performance, Orphan Black uses cloning to make a sophisticated statement on ethics and identity. And the nuanced way the series explores those themes over its five seasons is what has us consistently coming back to Orphan Black for a repeat viewing.
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