Name a Sci-Fi show on air today that's as good or better than Stargate SG-1

[Agent11]

I was pretty bummed out when SGU got cancelled. The show wasn't perfect but I really liked it. They should have brought in regulars from sg-1 and atlantis sooner to tie it all in for the die hard fanboys though.

Enterprise deserved a few more seasons as well, and a better theme song.

 

[shadow9d9]

It depends on what you were hoping to get from it. Dr Who (and when I say this I should point out that I haven't watched every / most seasons since the creation of Dr Who) isn't really meant to be gritty sci-fi for adults, it's the sort of thing that gets shown at the same time as something like The Simpsons. It's a lot less serious than a lot of sci-fi.

Since the 2005 reboot there's been some absolute gems of episodes ('The Empty Child', parts 1 & 2, for example) and some absolutely terrible ones ('Victory of the Daleks', 'The Stolen Earth' parts 1 & 2, and the terrible ones outnumber the brilliant ones IMO by quite a stretch). The last 2-3 seasons of Dr Who were pretty mediocre as well.

I haven't ever got into Stargate SG:1. It seems like mediocre sci-fi that tries to take itself seriously but doesn't do anything interesting at all. Perhaps I've been unlucky in the 5-6 episodes I've watched, but there was one in there particularly that made me think "I'm not watching this again" because it tried to do something serious then the ending looked like it was written by a teenager rushing their creative writing homework, and I haven't looked back since, though I'm kind of tempted to find the episodes that have been listed on this thread as good ones and see where they take me.

IMO, the award for best sci-fi series to date goes to BSG (the 4-5 season series that started in 2004). Episodes didn't follow a 'generated script', the characters actually had character as well as character development, they weren't afraid to kill off established characters (and they didn't do dick-ish things like having the 'one episode ensign'). I also liked the fact that they didn't "tech the tech" (google the term if you're not aware of it). I think it also achieved character development which wasn't sci-fi driven but wasn't soapy either (ie. these are real people with real lives).

TNG used to be my favourite, there are some brilliant episodes of it, and as I grew up with it I'll always have a soft spot for it despite its many flaws. I've got seasons 3-7. My main problem with TNG is that most of the characters have no depth and very little development. The only two characters I can think of who couldn't be pretty completely described in less than two lines are Picard's and Worf's (and Worf's takes a distant second place to Picard's).

DS9 seemed like a soap in space, I didn't manage to get into it at all. Like SG1 I've watched say 5-6 episodes of DS9, though a few YouTube clips made me wonder whether I ought to give it another try.

ST: Voyager was just dull, dull, dull (though I watched a lot more Voyager than DS9), as was Enterprise. After Enterprise, I felt that they ought to put Star Trek into cold storage until someone with some vision and some original ideas was ready to take the helm.

I've watched some others like Andromeda or Farscape (did I watch the whole pilot for B5?), but I didn't ever seriously get into them.



Then why bother posting on a sci-fi series thread. It would be like my mother posting on this forum and saying "I don't think computers are interesting at all, you all ought to read a book or get some fresh air or something".

You are right in that SG1 is a mostly fluff show with maybe 5-7 good episodes throughout the run.

DS9 is something you are missing. I did not enjoy it when it came out because a majority of the first season is just awful. There is no soap opera at all... lazy people, who haven't watched a show thoroughly, use this ridiculous label for ds9 and bsg. Ron Moore and david weddle/bradley thompson(all from BSG) were previously from DS9. Many of the same themes are explored. The best DS9( is 4-7, but 2-3 are decent enough(best to start with the final episode of season 1 imo, as it is important). The DS9 cast are tremendous character actors.

Also, Data evolved in TNG.

 

[mikeymikec]

You are right in that SG1 is a mostly fluff show with maybe 5-7 good episodes throughout the run.

DS9 is something you are missing. I did not enjoy it when it came out because a majority of the first season is just awful. There is no soap opera at all... lazy people, who haven't watched a show thoroughly, use this ridiculous label for ds9 and bsg. Ron Moore and david weddle/bradley thompson(all from BSG) were previously from DS9. Many of the same themes are explored. The best DS9( is 4-7, but 2-3 are decent enough(best to start with the final episode of season 1 imo, as it is important). The DS9 cast are tremendous character actors.

Also, Data evolved in TNG.

Can I pick up DS9 at S4? I might give it a shot. My wife always wanted to watch DS9 again because she agrees with me about its soapy-ness and wanted to watch it for that reason

Yeah, I'd forgotten about Data, but Data's android nature is a bit of a joke in hindsight. I thought it was quite realistic when I was first watching TNG as a teenager, but there's a million things that Data was fluent in in terms of human communication, but *he can't use contractions*? He can understand them perfectly well, yet he can't use them himself? I suppose if I ignore the "ha ha isn't Data so rubbish at being a human" so-called humour, that slices off quite a few of my other criticisms of his character, but one thing that gets me is that he's supposed to be an emotion-less android, yet his tone is quite empathic. The android from Prometheus is a lot more interesting in this respect (even though I hate the rest of the film). If they had played with Data being able to emulate the outward signs of human emotion without him actually feeling it, it might be interesting, but the closest the writers came to doing that was having Data do theatrical acting on the holodeck.

 

[techs]

7but there's a million things that Data was fluent in in terms of human communication, but *he can't use contractions*? He can understand them perfectly well, yet he can't use them himself?

Actually it was explained that Data's creator had made Lore first, and he could use contractions, but that people were uncomfortable with Lore since he was so human like. To make Data more acceptable he was made without the ability to use contractions.
So it was not that he was incapable its that the programmer decided to do it that way.

 

[Nintendesert]

SGU was trash through and through. There was too much silliness with those stupid stones. Every episode with them was like watching a Star Trek holodeck episode or a time traveling episode. Almost always lame.

The civilian vs. military conflict on the ship was laughable to say the least and all the bitching and moaning got old real quick. If I wanted to watch a non-stop on screen abortion of a divorce I'd watch Divorce Court.


As for Data, I kind of view him as the ongoing conflict of whether or not Humans are more than just a sum of their genetics or can we go beyond our inherent limitations. He too was struggling to become more than just his programming. He was a mirror for the human condition.


Anyways, watching SG-1 again, it makes me realize just how many of those episodes are just good. A much higher % than when I watch STNG again. I find myself skipping a lot of the TNG episodes while watching every DS9, Farscape, SG-1 and Atlantis episode. I have to watch Enterprise again, I'm sure I missed episodes but I can't get passed the time travel temporal cold war bullshit. Fuck I hate time travel and holodecks and stupid stones.

Voyager was also better than when I first watched it though I think they missed a lot of opportunities with it. I wanted more struggle to get back to the Federation, I wanted to see Voyager patched together and falling apart more. It still was ok though overall.

 

[shadow9d9]

Can I pick up DS9 at S4? I might give it a shot. My wife always wanted to watch DS9 again because she agrees with me about its soapy-ness and wanted to watch it for that reason

Yeah, I'd forgotten about Data, but Data's android nature is a bit of a joke in hindsight. I thought it was quite realistic when I was first watching TNG as a teenager, but there's a million things that Data was fluent in in terms of human communication, but *he can't use contractions*? He can understand them perfectly well, yet he can't use them himself? I suppose if I ignore the "ha ha isn't Data so rubbish at being a human" so-called humour, that slices off quite a few of my other criticisms of his character, but one thing that gets me is that he's supposed to be an emotion-less android, yet his tone is quite empathic. The android from Prometheus is a lot more interesting in this respect (even though I hate the rest of the film). If they had played with Data being able to emulate the outward signs of human emotion without him actually feeling it, it might be interesting, but the closest the writers came to doing that was having Data do theatrical acting on the holodeck.

When starting with a newcomer, we watched seasons 4-beginning of 6.. went back to watch 1-3, then watched the rest of 6 to 7. Worked well. You will be thrown right into the middle of some things... but context clues should get you through it fine.

There is a lot of politics, religion, character based plots, etc... I have no idea what soap opera is supposed to mean really. Again, it is just a lazy assessment based on limited viewing... Was BSG a soap opera? People with no taste and no patience thought so... If all you want is action, then yes, I guess anything without action is a soap opera.

 

[shadow9d9]

SGU was trash through and through. There was too much silliness with those stupid stones. Every episode with them was like watching a Star Trek holodeck episode or a time traveling episode. Almost always lame.

The civilian vs. military conflict on the ship was laughable to say the least and all the bitching and moaning got old real quick. If I wanted to watch a non-stop on screen abortion of a divorce I'd watch Divorce Court.


As for Data, I kind of view him as the ongoing conflict of whether or not Humans are more than just a sum of their genetics or can we go beyond our inherent limitations. He too was struggling to become more than just his programming. He was a mirror for the human condition.


Anyways, watching SG-1 again, it makes me realize just how many of those episodes are just good. A much higher % than when I watch STNG again. I find myself skipping a lot of the TNG episodes while watching every DS9, Farscape, SG-1 and Atlantis episode. I have to watch Enterprise again, I'm sure I missed episodes but I can't get passed the time travel temporal cold war bullshit. Fuck I hate time travel and holodecks and stupid stones.

Voyager was also better than when I first watched it though I think they missed a lot of opportunities with it. I wanted more struggle to get back to the Federation, I wanted to see Voyager patched together and falling apart more. It still was ok though overall.

Atlantis had no plot.. 99% run and gunning down 100 enemies with no human losses... It literally had no plot. SG-1's main plot episodes were laughable and maybe 10% of the episodes were good.

TNG, on the other hand, which I am rewatching now with a friend who has never seen it, is about 80% good episodes from season 3 onward. It actually has real sci fi plots...something unknown to tv in the last 10 years outside of Farscape...

 

[mikeymikec]

Actually it was explained that Data's creator had made Lore first, and he could use contractions, but that people were uncomfortable with Lore since he was so human like. To make Data more acceptable he was made without the ability to use contractions.
So it was not that he was incapable its that the programmer decided to do it that way.

Fair point.

 

[Nintendesert]

Atlantis had no plot.. 99% run and gunning down 100 enemies with no human losses... It literally had no plot. SG-1's main plot episodes were laughable and maybe 10% of the episodes were good.

TNG, on the other hand, which I am rewatching now with a friend who has never seen it, is about 80% good episodes from season 3 onward. It actually has real sci fi plots...something unknown to tv in the last 10 years outside of Farscape...

I guess defeating the wraith was too hard a concept for you to wrap your brain around. You are dead to me.

 

[Childs]

Actually it was explained that Data's creator had made Lore first, and he could use contractions, but that people were uncomfortable with Lore since he was so human like. To make Data more acceptable he was made without the ability to use contractions.
So it was not that he was incapable its that the programmer decided to do it that way.

I admit my TNG knowledge is kinda fuzzy, but wasnt this somewhat of a lie that Lore told Data? Contractions weren't built into Data, but the lie is that Lore was too perfect so Data was created. I thought they didnt like Lore because he set the Crystalline Entity on them. They could have lived with the contractions...

 

[techs]

I admit my TNG knowledge is kinda fuzzy, but wasnt this somewhat of a lie that Lore told Data? Contractions where built into Data, but the lie is that Lore was too perfect so Data was created. I thought they didnt like Lore because he set the Crystalline Entity on them. They could have lived with the contractions...

I think the end result of that, which I admit is confusing, is that Data was intentionally designed not to use contractions but he could if he had to.

 

[shadow9d9]

I guess defeating the wraith was too hard a concept for you to wrap your brain around. You are dead to me.

I said the show was about run and gunning down 100 nameless bad guys for a good portion of the time... That isn't plot... Adding a bad guy to be the ones gunned down doesn't make it magically have a plot.

 

[Childs]

Atlantis had no plot.. 99% run and gunning down 100 enemies with no human losses... It literally had no plot. SG-1's main plot episodes were laughable and maybe 10% of the episodes were good.

My problem with Atlantis was they recyeled too much from SG1, and it didnt make sense in Atlantis. The Replicators for instance. Replicators where created by an toymaker and his android in SG1, but then the advanced versions showed up in Atlantis, apparently created by Atlantans to fight the Wraith. WTF? I remember having more examples, but the show was kinda forgettable. I didnt find the Wraith all that interesting, they should have just been the main enemy for a season or two. SG1 used Apophis for a few seasons, but he was a better villain, and his demise was pretty good. Then they kept it to one major villain a season, which kept things fresh. Atlantis was like the consolization of Stargate. They could have done so much more with it.

Although, I'm thinking if they have the SG1 cast in Atlantis, I would have liked it just fine.

 

[TerryMathews]

I admit my TNG knowledge is kinda fuzzy, but wasnt this somewhat of a lie that Lore told Data? Contractions weren't built into Data, but the lie is that Lore was too perfect so Data was created. I thought they didnt like Lore because he set the Crystalline Entity on them. They could have lived with the contractions...

Like everything Lore did it was a half truth. The settlers hated Lore because he was evil. So when dad made the mark 3 (Data), he made it without contractions and emotions to differentiate it and because he thought emotions were where Lore went evil.

Don't forget there was also the B4 from Nemesis, which is probably earlier than Lore.

 

[Childs]

The settlers hated Lore because he was evil.

lol Yeah, that might have had more to do with it. I guess I always liked Lore more than Data. His heart was in the right place, and in the squeaky clean TNG universe he was refreshing.

 

[motsm]

Then why bother posting on a sci-fi series thread. It would be like my mother posting on this forum and saying "I don't think computers are interesting at all, you all ought to read a book or get some fresh air or something".

It's nothing like that. I enjoy sci-fi movies and games, but have never seen a sci fi TV series I enjoyed even slightly. It's honestly confusing to me, so I was browsing the results here to see if there was anything I hadn't heard of.

 

[CZroe]

"Name a Sci-Fi show on air today that's as good or better than Stargate SG-1"

Stargate SG-2

 

[GoPackGo]

Doctor Who... but bla bla bla, most of you think it sucks.

Other BBC shows are great too, just not hardcore sci-fi.

Dr Who FTW! the story lines have been fantastic.

 

[GoPackGo]

Watch this Dr Who episode called "blink". It's freaking awesome:

[removed]

Season 3 episode 11

Every episodes with the Weeping Angels is fantastic.

 

[techs]

Watch this Dr Who episode called "blink". It's freaking awesome:

[removed]

Season 3 episode 11

You really shouldn't have posted that link.

You really shouldn't have included the link in your quote...
-ViRGE

 

[GoPackGo]

I don't think people in the US get that Dr. Who had to satisfy fans of the older versions when it came back in 2005 and therefore some of the "cheesiness" was intentional. The episode called "Rose" with the plastic villain was a perfect example.
As time passed the show was able to move away from that and the intentionally poorly done effects have been mostly phased out.

The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances 2 part-er was extremely good. That was from the 1st new doctor.

 

[Agent11]

Falling Skies is pretty good.

 

[GoPackGo]

You are right in that SG1 is a mostly fluff show with maybe 5-7 good episodes throughout the run.

DS9 is something you are missing. I did not enjoy it when it came out because a majority of the first season is just awful. There is no soap opera at all... lazy people, who haven't watched a show thoroughly, use this ridiculous label for ds9 and bsg. Ron Moore and david weddle/bradley thompson(all from BSG) were previously from DS9. Many of the same themes are explored. The best DS9( is 4-7, but 2-3 are decent enough(best to start with the final episode of season 1 imo, as it is important). The DS9 cast are tremendous character actors.

Also, Data evolved in TNG.

DS9 got really good once the Dominion and the War got introduced...

 

[StinkyPinky]

I haven't read all this (no time) but my thoughts on some sci-fi series'

Stargate SG1 - Probably the gold standard of sci-fi imho. Very likable characters and some very interesting sci-fi episodes. It went 10 seasons for a reason. Yeah the last few seasons aren't that great, but from about seasons 1 to 7 it's quality. 9/10

Battlestar Galatica - Quality show that easily outpaces the original. IMO this and SG1 are the best sci-fi shows ever made. 9/10

Star Trek Next Generation - I loved this as a kid but I've watched it recently and while it has some awesome episodes it also has a lot of crap ones. Hit and miss imho, but saved by a likable cast and good captain (picard is the man). 8/10

Deep Space 9 - Probably better episodes than TNG but I didn't like the cast as much. A good show though. Some of the episodes like The Visitor are some of the best in the genre. 7.5/10

Voyager - Hit and miss, I prefer DS9 and TNG from the star trek universe 6/10

Enterprise - See above. The last two seasons were pretty good but Archer didn't do it for me. 6/10

Baylon 5 - Interesting story but some hammy acting and the sfx are pretty outdated. 6/10

X-Files - Again, loved this as a kid but some of it has not aged well. Some of it is a bit outdated now but there's great chemistry between Mulder and Scully and some of the episodes are quality. 7.5/10

Fringe - The "new" X-Files and I really enjoyed the first few season, but the final season was awful and taints the show. I would still recommend it though. 7.5/10

SG Atantis - It's ok, and very watchable but not up to SG1 standard. 7/10

SG Universe - Same as above

 

[mikeymikec]

X-Files - Again, loved this as a kid but some of it has not aged well. Some of it is a bit outdated now but there's great chemistry between Mulder and Scully and some of the episodes are quality. 7.5/10

Most of season 2 is still pretty damn good by any yardstick. It's a series that should have been stopped at around S4-5 IMO.