Out of all these what is your favorite sci-fi?

[Ecstatic]

Honda, you are right: Buffy is one of the best written tv shows ever. Yes, it seems absurd on the face of it--I resisted watching for 3 or 4 years for that reason--but once I got hooked, I realized that it was one of the most tightly scripted shows (with the occasional major gaff--like Dawn suddenly becoming Knowledge Girl with no explanation) around. Talk about foreshadowing: Whedon dropped hints of what was to come sometimes months or even seasons in advance, and in the midst of dialogue would suddenly resolve a bit from an episode which aired months or even years before (examples: "What's a stevadore?" "I never said that" (Willow in the last season in reference to Xander lying about her message to Buffy in season 3 regarding killing Angel)).

Angel, though a little less tightly scripted, developed a single story arc over a four-year period: only Babylon 5 went further (and was even more tightly scripted: "Not the one, Not the one" didn't make sense for at least two years). Some other Buffy high points: the insane asylum episode--which actually ends with Buffy in the insane asylum, as if the series were all a schizoid fantasy--that's a touch of metafiction. Or the emotional upheaval of her mother's death--I've rarely if ever have seen death handled so well on a tv series. Or the stunning dream sequence episode with the spirit of the first slayer: finest depiction of dream logic and sequencing I've ever seen on a tv show, almost approaching Felini's Juliet of the Spirits (almost).

However...Buffy isn't SF, and neither are Angel or Charmed. Fantasy, horror, satire, yes, but not SF, at least not by the same definition that qualifies Star Trek, Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica, or Outer Limits.

So what are my top SF shows? Well, as Seanchai will note, you missed a biggie: Dr Who. From the cheezy special effects to the subtle word play. The two top Star Treks: Original and TNG (hard to pick between them, they are so different yet each so well written and executed--the others don't come close). Babylon 5: a novel, spanning five seasons, one of the most tightly written tv series ever. Farscape: outrageous, creative, sometimes deranged. If you stretch the category a bit, The Prisoner: one of the most brilliant tv series ever, especially considering when it was filmed. The new Battlestar Galactica: the original was a dud I could never get into, but this show is stunning, and has real characters. Twilight Zone: those episodes which qualify as SF as opposed to horror (last man alive, loves to read, crushes his glasses, that kind of thing).

To list my top five, and not necessarily in order:

Dr Who
Star Trek Original
Star Trek TNG
Babylon 5
The Prisoner

[hondarobot]

Dead on accurate, as always Ecstatic. Doctor Who was primal sci fi, in a mod kinda way. The Tom Baker era, just awesome. Twilight Zone was the best show ever, in my opinion, that really influenced me as a kid. For better or worse, I still dont know.

The Prisoner, another awesome show. Those brits seemed to get the good story's nailed down. I also remember something regarding tripods that was done for the bbc, maybe shauncai (I probably got the spelling wrong again, but I'm honestly drunk now so I'm not going to look it up, no offense intended) could fill us in on this.

Lot's of great story's out there. I'm feeling the need lately to get off my ass and write some story's of my own.

Good night all!

[gaiseric]

Definitely Farscape

[EvilTwin]

Dr. Who and The Prisoner hands down.

Space 1999, First season.

Ultra Man

Lost in Space

[brickcitybrother]

I am with Evil on this ... Space 1999 and the Outer Limits (new) but to pick from the list

Star Trek TNG

SG Original

P.S. You know there's two Battlestar Galaticas right?

[Quinn]

Wow, some of the shows mentioned here are ones that I used to enjoy but have long since forgotten (Dr. Who, etc.). Here's my list, most of which I never have time to watch anyway:

The new Battlestar Galactica
DS9
Firefly
Babylon5
Dr. Who
SG (both shows)
Farscape
Lexx

My list of sci-fi shows that I hate:
Star Trek Voyager

-Quinn

[hondarobot]

Oh, damn, I just thought of one of my all time favorites (even if it was cancelled after one season). It wasn't sci-fi either, but anyone else catch American Gothic when it was on.

Fricken awesome show. It was produced by Sam Raimi and written (believe it or not, and please don't let it cloud your judgement) by Shawn Cassidy.

It was awesome, very dark, very tight scripts. The storyline was out of control. Great show.