[rjknight007]

I had never considered myself a sci-fi fan until I was introduced to BSG. Having watched the mini-series and seasons 1 and 2 I am completely engrossed by what I've seen. This show is amazing. Until Season 3 is released on DVD, when?, what other sci-fi shows should i check out. The only shows I've seen within the genre are the Star Trek spin-offs which I hated - camp childish nonsense. BSG I love because it is gritty and genuinely disturbing. Anything spring to mind? Thanks in advance.

[Starburst]

I expect the first half of season3 to be released on R1 probably around March/April 2007 after the season has finished in the US with the second half the month before season 4 kicks off.

I really don't think right now there is anything else like BSG right at this time and while I could point you towards Farscape/Firefly and the Stargates they are all more traditional scifi action/comedy shows and not the more adult drama that BSG has turned into.

The closest would have to be a little known show lasting 1 year called Space: Above & Beyond from the mid nineties. It's Dark, gritty and pretty much has everything you expect from BSG but with less impressive CGI due to being reletively new to TV at the time. It's a fantastic show I couldn't reccommend enough & is only on R1 DVD.

Farscape & Firefly are quality shows too & well worth you're time. Be a lil patient with Farscape's early eps because it develops into a much darker show full of wonder & great drama.

Babylon 5's worth checking out but again be patient with it inthe 1st year/maybe part of season 2. at first glance you might think poorly of it but by the 3rd/4th year you're treated to some of the best scifi made for tv. B5 is one big story & you're best starting with s1 watching in order.

beyond space set shows you could try the Xfiles mixing paranormal & alien conspiracy stories thats worth watching.

I realise BSG hit the ground running but most scifi doesn't and takes time to find thier feet.

oh I almost forgot Dark Angel from James Cameron(terminator) is worth a go for s1 at the least, s2 not so much.

not scifi but you may like Buffy & Angel, two quality genre shows.

[krish]

I'd recommend The 4400
- caught the final episode of Season 3 this week; can't wait for its return next year (already confirmed)

[discostewart]

FIREFLY out of all the above i would believe suit u the most. It has a very adult feel and the lead character is like a grittier han solo.
it only lasted one season so u get the whol series on one dvd and then u have the movie SERENITY to watch, but watch that AFTER the tv series.

[lovemunkey187]

I second the suggestions of capt_apollo.

All of them are fantabulous

[pmc]

Taken was a fairly lengthy mini-series that was very good adult sci-fi. The nice thing about it is that it's supposed to be of a fixed lengh so there is no problem with it just kind of stopping like cancelled series.

[adrianwi]

Agree with Space: Above and Beyond and you can pick up a R1 box set from Amazon for about £13

Can't think of any other Sci-fi that come close to BSG, although 24 and Lost are great TV. Haven't seen any Prison Break, but it's been strongly recommended and I'll be catching up with Season 1 once it's downloaded

[rjknight007]

On a spur of a moment I bought Firefly yesterday and watched three episodes last night. Wow. Now this is the kind of stuff I've been looking for. What a show. One season only I believe. And yeah, I know that there is a movie, Serenity, to check out too. Space: Above And Beyond wil likely be my next purchase later on this month. I never realised Sci-Fi was this much fun. Shame on me. Thanks for the tips.

[lovemunkey187]

Originally Posted by rjknight007

On a spur of a moment I bought Firefly yesterday and watched three episodes last night. Wow. Now this is the kind of stuff I've been looking for. What a show. One season only I believe. And yeah, I know that there is a movie, Serenity, to check out too. Space: Above And Beyond wil likely be my next purchase later on this month. I never realised Sci-Fi was this much fun. Shame on me. Thanks for the tips.

Glad you've enjoyed it so far.

[RPD_UK]

Originally Posted by rjknight007

I had never considered myself a sci-fi fan until I was introduced to BSG. Having watched the mini-series and seasons 1 and 2 I am completely engrossed by what I've seen. This show is amazing. Until Season 3 is released on DVD, when?, what other sci-fi shows should i check out. The only shows I've seen within the genre are the Star Trek spin-offs which I hated - camp childish nonsense. BSG I love because it is gritty and genuinely disturbing. Anything spring to mind? Thanks in advance.

Just finished watching Season 2 of BSG on DVD myself - and all i can say is its a hard act to follow.

[discostewart]

I am SO glad u enjoyed girefly, i was a little cautious about whether i should have pushed that one above the others but something in the your post and what u said u r were looking for suggested it would be the best for you to me. Sadly though i think ui have started with the two creme of the crops and there isnt much else out there thats matches these two in my opinion.

My top three of all time are
1. Battlestar Galactica
2. Firefly
3. Deep Space Nine

I know u r not into star trek so i wont convert you to the last one ! It is however the most adult of all the series and slightly darker than any of the other treks. I have to say i dont think you would like FARSCAPE as u have to have simular tastes to me and i found the alien character on the ship in that awful, the worst example of kiddy badly done latex creatures.

[tichtich]

Originally Posted by rjknight007

On a spur of a moment I bought Firefly yesterday and watched three episodes last night. Wow. Now this is the kind of stuff I've been looking for. What a show.

Since you like Firefly so much, you should try Buffy The Vampire Slayer and/or Angel, which were created by the same guy, Joss Whedon. They're not to everyone's taste, and may not be to yours, given what you've written, but give them a try. I personally consider Buffy to be one of the best TV series ever made, and it's had a lot of critical acclaim. But Angel (which is a spin-off from Buffy) may be more to your taste. It's a bit darker and more serious, though still with a sense of humour.

Other series to consider: American Gothic (brilliant IMO though not SF), The 4400 (pretty good), Babylon 5 (a mixed bag IMO, but some people swear by it).

http://www.dvdtalk.com/ has good reviews.

If you do try any of these, please let us know how you get on.

[krish]

Originally Posted by discostewart

...3. Deep Space Nine

I know u r not into star trek so i wont convert you to the last one ! It is however the most adult of all the series and slightly darker than any of the other treks...

Yes, seconded!!
Its not the geeky insulting crap that Voyager and Enterpise were, or the geeky, dated, and written for children, wishy-washy storytelling that much of Next Gen was. It also had a cast that could act, unlike the wood of all the other shows.

Originally Posted by discostewart

I know u r not into star trek so i wont convert you to the last one ! It is however the most adult of all the series and slightly darker than any of the other treks. I have to say i dont think you would like FARSCAPE as u have to have simular tastes to me and i found the alien character on the ship in that awful, the worst example of kiddy badly done latex creatures.

I'd say Stewart doesn't know what he's talking about! clearly he's only dipped into the series or he'd know how dark Farscape get's, including Rygel(no spoilers but there's a very twisted ep that's sooo funny). ALL the character's change & grow over the course of the 4 years made + mini series. I would say Farscape starts family friendly but as the show finds it's feet it becomes very adult with a twist of humour, plus as the 18 certificate suggests some of the eps are definetely NOT for kids.

3. Deep Space Nine

I know u r not into star trek so i wont convert you to the last one ! It is however the most adult of all the series and slightly darker than any of the other treks.

Agreed it's the darkest & best Trek series but you're better off going with Babylon 5 which DS9 was "borrowed" from (studio execs plaguerised B5's creator JMS' ideas when they had his story for 6 months a yr or 2 before DS9 was "created"). While B5's darker it's not as dark as BSG but has a much better long term story than DS9 and is much more satisfying.

Originally Posted by rjknight007
On a spur of a moment I bought Firefly yesterday and watched three episodes last night. Wow. Now this is the kind of stuff I've been looking for. What a show. One season only I believe. And yeah, I know that there is a movie, Serenity, to check out too. Space: Above And Beyond wil likely be my next purchase later on this month. I never realised Sci-Fi was this much fun. Shame on me. Thanks for the tips.

I'm also glad you're enjoying it too .

[discostewart]

i freely admit i never watched all of farscape i couldnt get past the ridculous blob of latex trying to be funny. it was awful. I have foten heard it improved with age but i fundamentally dont lie one of the main characters its very hard to give it a shot.

atleast we agree on firefly and BSG

[lovemunkey187]

Originally Posted by pags payback

know how dark Farscape get's, including Rygel(no spoilers but there's a very twisted ep that's sooo funny). ALL the character's change & grow over the course of the 4 years made + mini series. I would say Farscape starts family friendly but as the show finds it's feet it becomes very adult with a twist of humour, plus as the 18 certificate suggests some of the eps are definetely NOT for kids.

Agree totally.

I'd say that Farscape is probably my favourite tv show ever.

My top 5, in order.

1. Farscape
2. Firefly
3. Babylon 5
4. Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
5. Magnum P.I.

The original Battlestar Galactica deserves an honourable mention as well.

I'm sure that Buck Rogers and Battlestar are responsible for my appreciation of women in uniform , Maren Jensen as Athena & Erin Gray as Col. Wilma Deering


this made me laugh

Originally Posted by lovemunkey187

Agree totally.

I'd say that Farscape is probably my favourite tv show ever.

My top 5, in order.

1. Farscape
2. Firefly
3. Babylon 5
4. Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
5. Magnum P.I.

The original Battlestar Galactica deserves an honourable mention as well.

I'm sure that Buck Rogers and Battlestar are responsible for my appreciation of women in uniform , Maren Jensen as Athena & Erin Gray as Col. Wilma Deering


this made me laugh

we have very similar taste


my top 5 sci-fi of alltime consists of...


1. Babylon 5 - The greatest sci-fi EPIC of alltime bar none! If you haven't seen all of B5 then you haven't seen the BIG picture & are missing a classic.(don't judge on a handful of eps or even just one season!)

2. Farscape - The fantastic adventures of John Crichton & the crew of Moya. Dark , Funny, Quirky, Original & Creative sci-fi with great characters & stories.

3. Battlestar Galactica 2004 - Amazing , Dark & gritty sci-fi. Potentially the contender to B5's throne but with only 33 eps & a mini series it's too soon to tell. finger's crossed Ronald Moore doesn't screw up.

4. Space: Above & Beyond - If you love BSG you'll love this! It's very similar to BSG 2004 in style & content. When it was made 10 yrs ago it was groundbreaking since there was nothing like it & undoubtedly inspired & pushed forward sci-fi TV & movies. Sadly cancelled before it's time after 1 season. Available on R1 DVD only.

5. Firefly - Like Farscape it's Dark , Funny, Quirky, Original & Creative sci-fi with great characters & stories but wiithout the aliens. Like S:AaB it suffered early cancellation at Fox's evil hands.


Joint fifth - The X-Files - great mix of paranormal & scifi with a extra healthy dose of conspiracy!


In my less than humble opinion these are the greatest sci-fi show's ever and if you don't agree ....well... then you're clearly wrong.

[discostewart]

but look at that pupper how can u take it seriously. it looks like gilbert the alien from CITV in the 80s.How can anything be "dark" with that thing flopping around...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/farscape/q...ges/rygel1.jpg

ok ok enough farsacape bashing hehehehe

[Starburst]

Originally Posted by discostewart

but look at that pupper how can u take it seriously. it looks like gilbert the alien from CITV in the 80s.How can anything be "dark" with that thing flopping around...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/farscape/q...ges/rygel1.jpg

ok ok enough farsacape bashing hehehehe

When when you hear the screams from the alien who is being tortured (questioned I mean) by Rygel then things start to look different...

It has to be said Farscape is one of the finest example of puppet and animatronic work seen on telly, the depth of character they created was stunning no doubt helped by the actors being able to physically interact with the puppets.

[lovemunkey187]

Originally Posted by Starburst

When when you hear the screams from the alien who is being tortured (questioned I mean) by Rygel then things start to look different...

It has to be said Farscape is one of the finest example of puppet and animatronic work seen on telly, the depth of character they created was stunning no doubt helped by the actors being able to physically interact with the puppets.

I don't think that the Henson's being very involved harmed anything at all, either .

Join a rental thingy and borrow them. Watch them in order though, don't try to just jump in halfway through.

but look at that pupper how can u take it seriously. it looks like gilbert the alien from CITV in the 80s.How can anything be "dark" with that thing flopping around...

when you watch you'll see how the li'l Dominar is anything but nice & fuzzy virtually the first thing we see of him is spitting a loogy at John Crichtons face! Rygel is selfish, crooked, decietful & would betray anyone if it was in his interests...that's not to mention as Starburst has his torturing of an alien, and you only need to see him carrying a severed head around with him to see how dark this little puppet is!

Originally Posted by Starburst

When when you hear the screams from the alien who is being tortured (questioned I mean) by Rygel then things start to look different...

It has to be said Farscape is one of the finest example of puppet and animatronic work seen on telly, the depth of character they created was stunning no doubt helped by the actors being able to physically interact with the puppets.

agreed after a while Rygel becomes a character & you stop seeing a "puppet". It's remarkable what they can do with this multi million dollar "puppet" .

Join a rental thingy and borrow them. Watch them in order though, don't try to just jump in halfway through.

yes give it a try

[JohnD76]

Babylon 5 is wicked once you are into season 2.
Currently enjoying the 4400 on Sky 1 but it is nowhere near as good as BSG or B5 IMHO.
I am also really enjoying wathing Stargate SG1 on Sky1.

[rjknight007]

Have now finished Firefly and absolutely loved it from start to finish. Brilliant dialogue and great characters one and all. Superb television. I did catch an episode of Farscape which epitomised why I thought i didn't like sci-fi all these years. Terrible dialogue and the 'story' driven by one sequence of bad action after another. So, i think the reason I enjoy BSG and Firefly is due to characterisation. The TV i usually watch - ER, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Curb Your Enthusiasm among many others - is all driven by the interplay between the characters. I get the feeling that this is completely at odds with the sci-fi norm. Anyway, just got season 1 of the The X-Files. Pretty sure this will be my sort of thing. Keep the tips coming.

Originally Posted by rjknight007

Have now finished Firefly and absolutely loved it from start to finish. Brilliant dialogue and great characters one and all. Superb television. I did catch an episode of Farscape which epitomised why I thought i didn't like sci-fi all these years. Terrible dialogue and the 'story' driven by one sequence of bad action after another. So, i think the reason I enjoy BSG and Firefly is due to characterisation. The TV i usually watch - ER, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Curb Your Enthusiasm among many others - is all driven by the interplay between the characters. I get the feeling that this is completely at odds with the sci-fi norm. Anyway, just got season 1 of the The X-Files. Pretty sure this will be my sort of thing. Keep the tips coming.

Farscape is a very character based series. You must have caught a dud episode because Farscape is generally well written, telling interesting & exciting stories, with great characters played well by the regulars and guest stars. Once you've gotten to the episode A HUMAN REACTION things pick up alot. 2 episodes later Farscape really finds its stride with great episodes like A BUG'S LIFE, NERVE & THE HIDDEN MEMORY before the terrific season finale FAMILY TIES.

i'd say watch the lesser earlier S1 eps to help you get to know the characters & universe but remember it gets MUCH BETTER still PREMIER is a good pilot but better when watched on a rerun after finishing the 4th season & PK Wars. Then there's the wonderful PK TECH GIRL & DURKA RETURNS is also good which includes the introduction of a new central character.


RJ, I think you've been spoiled starting with BSG & Firefly because usually Sci-fi doesn't start that strongly or consistantly. Anyway as lovemunkey said try renting Farscape in order & be patient the early eps are not a true guide to what Farscape becomes and the character evolve & change alot beyond their starting point. Also the early eps used to film several eps at the same time which is an australian thing appearantly. But this stopped after ep 6 with PK TECH GIRL being filmed together making the performances more consistant.Give Farscape a Chance.


Are you going to get Space : Above & Beyond next after the Xfiles? ahhh that's a great little series very similar to BSG or should I say BSG is like it! You're in for a treat.

[pmc]

Originally Posted by rjknight007

Have now finished Firefly and absolutely loved it from start to finish. Brilliant dialogue and great characters one and all. Superb television. I did catch an episode of Farscape which epitomised why I thought i didn't like sci-fi all these years. Terrible dialogue and the 'story' driven by one sequence of bad action after another. So, i think the reason I enjoy BSG and Firefly is due to characterisation. The TV i usually watch - ER, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Curb Your Enthusiasm among many others - is all driven by the interplay between the characters. I get the feeling that this is completely at odds with the sci-fi norm. Anyway, just got season 1 of the The X-Files. Pretty sure this will be my sort of thing. Keep the tips coming.

As I said before you should definately try Taken. Very character driven, in fact it doesn't even feel that much like Sci-Fi, more like a drama (with some aliens )

Originally Posted by pmc

As I said before you should definately try Taken. Very character driven, in fact it doesn't even feel that much like Sci-Fi, more like a drama (with some aliens )

Taken is OK but hardly quality stuff

[discostewart]

knight, the more and more i listen to what u say the ore i think we are aligned on taste. farscpe is terrible for me too. i think u have ot be very forgiving to get into it. If you watch anything long enough u begin to care for characters, even crap like eastenders. But ijust cant get into that program.

firefly, and battlestar are as good as they get. i think u may enjoy deep space nine, try picking up season 1 cheap on ebay

[lovemunkey187]

I think that one of the reasons that I liked Farscape so much was that it had the same quirkiness that Buck Rogers and the original Battlestar had when I was a kid.

But if the standard of the writing hadn't improved then I wouldn't have continued watching it. and then later buying the DVDs.

Farscape, hands down.

I started watching scifi with Farscape, and that's how *i* got into scifi shows - because it's a lot like BSG - in the sense that it's a show, that's set in space, but the heart of the show is about the characters - the human element of it. I can't even tell you how many times Farscape has made me cry, like ridiculously cry. It's so good.

I am also a big Firefly fan. I wish that show had more than 13 episodes It was so well done!