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Joined: April 05 2006
Location: Vancouver, BC
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Topic: Non-British SF or fantasy shows Posted: May 17 2016 at 20:44
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.
Joined: September 30 2006
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Posted: May 17 2016 at 21:36
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
Joined: April 05 2006
Location: Vancouver, BC
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Points: 36823
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).
Atavachron wrote:
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.
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.
Joined: January 24 2010
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Posted: May 18 2016 at 11:46
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
Joined: April 05 2006
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Posted: May 18 2016 at 12:02
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.
Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
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Posted: May 18 2016 at 12:09
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
Joined: April 05 2006
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Posted: May 18 2016 at 12:18
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.
Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
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Posted: May 18 2016 at 12:34
Logan wrote:
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.
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.
Edited by dr wu23 - May 18 2016 at 12:38
One does nothing yet nothing is left undone. Haquin
Joined: February 03 2007
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Posted: May 18 2016 at 14:31
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.
...that moment you realize you like "Mob Rules" better than "Heaven and Hell"
Joined: April 05 2006
Location: Vancouver, BC
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Posted: May 18 2016 at 14:51
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.
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Atavachron wrote:
