The Five Best Sci-Fi TV Shows That Even a Non-geek Will Love

All right, I admit it: I’m a female sci-fi junkie. I can’t get enough. The mere mention of the space-time continuum sends me into paroxysms of delight. I was once proposed to by a fellow Trekkie for remembering the name of the crewmember who helped Khan Noonien Singh attempt to take over the Enterprise in the original series episode titled “Space Seed”. (Lt Marla McGivers in case you were wondering.) I twisted my dark hair into matching side buns a la Princess Leia as a kid and yes, I had my very own Klingon to English dictionary. Hlja’!

All of that having been said, I realize that science fiction doesn’t appeal to everybody so I’ve put together a short list of sci-fi TV shows that even the non-geeks among us can appreciate. Let’s face it: a strong cast, good storyline and a leading man with bedroom eyes translates into every language, anywhere in the universe.

Firefly

The best show that no one ever watched “Firefly”, created by Joss Whedon of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” fame, lasted only eleven episodes. The Old West-style backdrop and recurring “post-Civil War in space” theme gave the show a gritty feel distinct from most futuristic sci-fi. Captain Malcolm Reynolds is heartbreaking as the proud but pragmatic soldier who fought a losing war and now has to scrape out an ignominious living hauling cargo. His crew of lost souls, renegades and fugitives have their own reasons, each one different, for avoiding the “establishment” and in the Firefly universe, there are no convenient aliens to blame your troubles on. Bottom line: humanity now has lots of shiny new toys and has conquered the stars but is the same wretched, dysfunctional mess it’s always been.

Stargate Atlantis

Hot leading men, a repulsively sexy life-sucking race of aliens and near-constant galactic ruination at the hands of humanoid machines peevishly jealous over their lack of a soul? What’s not to love! Dr Mackay’s neuroses may be on overload these days, but is anything more thrilling than Lt Col Sheppard’s underplayed yet commanding presence? There’s better sci-fi out there, but for pure entertainment, solid action and a cast and story arc with general appeal, Atlantis is a sure bet.

Star Trek: The Next Generation

This is the series that turned a cult 60’s phenomenon that fought off cancellation for all three years of its existence into a respectable franchise and threw in some pretty good acting all for the same price. Kirk may have been Captain enough for the age of the space cowboy but Picard was the consummate military professional, a company man. Kudos to James Tiberius Kirk for being the first TV serial character seen climbing out of bed and into his pants with a distinctly feminine (and tellingly anonymous) figure tangled in the linens behind him during the era when Laura and Rob Petrie couldn’t even share a bed fully clothed, but one gets the feeling that Picard’s crew members would never dream of kicking back and sharing a synthehol with their esteemed leader.

The multi-layered storylines brought true drama, political intrigue and social complexities to sci-fi for the first time. Prior to The Next Generation, most sci-fi followed the “See bad alien and kill it before it destroys humanity” scenario. Picard and his crew were the first truly equal members of a multi-cultural universe in which Earth’s concerns weren’t the only, or often even the primary ones. That puts The Next Generation a cut above the more simplistic outlook of the original series, in this writer’s opinion.

Babylon 5

Perhaps one of the most beautifully told stories of Earth’s future ever woven together, Babylon 5 was sweeping, majestic and breathtaking in both the scope of the story it was telling and the subtlety with which it was told. If this article were strictly about science fiction, Babylon 5 would be number one by a long, long way, but it’s one-long-running- story format put off a lot of people who might otherwise have given it a chance. The universe it spun during its five-year run was intricate and haunting and well worth the investment for anyone willing to spend the time.

Stargate SG 1

The longest running sci-fi show on television, SG1 admittedly took a hit when Col Jack O’Neill left the show as a regular cast member in Season 8. As with Atlantis, it isn’t the best pure science fiction but it’s some of the most entertaining television in the last 10 years. During its last two seasons, cast additions added little to the original ensemble’s chemistry and the story arcs became somewhat two-dimensional. When the show ended in 2007, it felt like the time had come, but for a decade, SG1 let its viewers escape through a wormhole every Friday night to come out halfway across a galaxy where the good guys were impossibly good and the bad guys were uncomplicated in their badness.

The story was straightforward and the pay off was there every time. Decent storytelling and a phenomenal cast make Stargate:SG1 my number one pick for Sci-fi TV show that even a non-geek would be hard-pressed not to love.