Hi all, maybe this community can help recommend some new shows. I’m looking for Star Trek-like ‘world-of-the-week’ stuff.
I’ve already seen the following:
The Orville
The Expanse
Battlestar Galactica
Farscape
Babylon 5 (I forgot that I never finished it, so it’s going back on the menu)
Stargate SG-1
Quantum Leap (looooove Scott Bakula)
Doctor Who (Not all of it, but pretty caught up since Eccleston)
Firefly
Sliders
Foundation (really enjoyed this one, especially the Cleon clones storyline)
Andor (not a big Star Wars guy, but I really liked this series)
Is Andromeda worth watching? What else is out there?
Thanks in advance!
Is The Expanse worth it? Thinking of starting that after strange new worlds.
The expanse is great! Highly recommend it, and the books are even better.
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Oh boy you’re in for a treat! The first season is my favorite one. Not very Trekky though, I get a vibe of Alien mixed with cyberpunk.
Another big vote for The Expanse. I always tell people to give the first season 3-4 episodes before judging. The main plot doesn’t get started until around then and the full cast isn’t even fully introduced after the first episode (IIRC). It’s one of those shows that doesn’t make it easy early on, but rewards those who stick through for the whole ride.
It’s very, very good. Every season is basically a different genre though - within the context of the setting.
The first is my favorite and is basically a noir/detective story.
Second is my least favorite and is basically a monster movie.
Third is political thriller and I fell in love with the show again, fourth is like a western/frontier story and fifth is a family drama.
The best thing about the Expanse is the world-building. A lot of attention to detail. Great characters too.
I’m a huge fan of the first few seasons. When Amazon bought them I feel the quality really dropped (especially in the set pieces/visual effects) but the story is still good. A lot of people didn’t care for the first season or Miller’s character but I really enjoyed it.
It’s wild to me when fans of the show disregard the first season. To me, that season is pretty much perfect. Three arcs - a detective story, a motley crew, a political thriller - pay off feels so great when it all comes together at the end. Season 2 was such a drastic change in pacing, concept and ‘feel’ that I didn’t want to keep watching. I felt a little betrayed that Miller wasn’t actually the main character.
Besides Amos, I don’t really care about the Roci crew. I had to wait until Ashford came along in Season 3 for a new favorite character.
All in all - Avasarala, Bobby and Drummer carried the series for me.
It’s interesting that you felt betrayed by Miller not being the main character. In the book his chapters are a good example of unreliable narrator.
He comes across as a good guy and a good cop. It’s only later you realise he is unpopular which is why he was dumped with the Earther and his reputation as a drunk earned him an investigation they wanted done poorly.
Maybe the show got a similar result to the book in a different way.
I liked him too though and was gutted by his fate.
In the show, he was definitely a bad and corrupt cop that nobody liked. The Mao investigation was something he got really fixated on, mostly because of selfishness. He saw a picture of a pretty girl and made up an idea she could redeem who he became. Or love him.
I didn’t expect him to be reliable. But the season did such a great job focusing on him, making him three dimensional, that I didn’t expect him to be a relatively minor character in the grand scheme of things.  And also, besides Cowboy Bebop, there’s not a whole lot of noir detective/noir stories in space. I guess Doctor Who also, to some extent - though that’s more akin to Scooby Doo (not a criticism). So it wasn’t just Miller for me that made me feel betrayed. It was also the change of genre.
I didn’t read the books, but the show’s storyboarding is certainly atypical. I appreciated it a lot more starting in Season 3 when I was able to reflect on the series as a whole and see the genre changes in each season as a creative choice.
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Yes. IMO the best SciFi Series
Yes, the Expanse is wonderful … I miss it TBH. As “blasphemous” as it might be here, I’d be more excited for a new Expanse series than new a Trek series.
You may have heard already, but give the show 3-4 episodes before you give up on it.
I was told this and I recall a specific moment even where I felt myself switch from, “this is fine” to “ok I like this”. May not be that way for everyone, but give it 3-4 episodes.
Also, and others have said this, each season is different with a different vibe, however that alters your viewing.
They’d need to reduce the time jump between books 6 and 7 to make another series work. I think where they ended it was a really good point. That said I would love to have seen like a fucking valkyrie on screen.
Haven’t read the books so maybe easy in spoilers.
I’m aware of the time jump, and agree it ended on a good point. But I’d still be hyped about continuing the story which was clearly hinted at in the ending too.
Other than the time jump I thought my reference was cryptic enough that to get it you’d either need to have read the books, or already been spoilered. Sorry if it wasn’t.
But I’d still be hyped about continuing the story which was clearly hinted at in the ending too.
Yeah. Hopefully there’ll be some kind of follow up, maybe a film or something.
No worries! Just a warning that you might not have realised I’ve not read the books.
In a word, yes. In three words oh fuck yes.
Great series except for the first season. I nearly gave up many times until it really picked up in S2 and became a classic.
Damnit, I’ve been kinda planning on dropping it… guess I’ll be watching a bit more lol
What about S2+ changes things for you?
The separate plotlines converge and the characters start to understand what’s going on
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You don’t watch other shows. You start over with Star Trek.
😁
For All Mankind is by the same writer as ds9/bsg and is pretty entertaining. There’s some bad personal drama, but the space and alternative timeline stuff is good.
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I think the personal drama is just fine in For All Mankind, but if you are looking only for the “science” part and not the “fiction” (i.e. stories about humans), I can see why it would be annoying or feel like it’s taking valuable time away from what you are there to watch.
I’m still salty about the Shuttle in lunar orbit. That’s not what it’s for, that’s not where it goes.
I love, love, love For All Mankind! I didn’t put it on the list, I think of it more as a drama than a Sci Fi show. I didn’t realize it’s the same writer as DS9/BSG! Small world
For All Mankind is the Star Trek prequel we should have had.
I feel it works better as a prequel to The Expanse.
It does have that feel to it. I wasn’t surprised to see Naren Shankar was involved in For All Mankind as well.
I’m gonna throw this in here since no one has mentioned it —
Dark Matter
A fun SyFy show that was cancelled way too early and run by Joseph Mallozi who contributed to SG-1 and SG: Atlantis.
I’m always worried watching stuff that’s cancelled too early. Does it end in a decent place?
Unfortunately it ends with an unresolved cliffhanger. Although I feel like they dropped enough hints that you could kind of imagine how the next season would go.
Don’t let that stop you. The show sputters here and there, but the story is intriguing. Anyone that complains has clearly never seen seasons 1 & 2 of ST:TNG, and Dark Matter’s entire run is only 39 eps.
And with all due respect to Brent Spiner, Zoie Palmer as the android is *fantastic*.
I’ll be honest. Where it ended, I was pretty pissed that I wasn’t going to get a resolution.
But, am I still glad I watched it? Absolutely.
Took me a bit to get into Star Trek: Lower Decks but I recommend it to any star Trek fan!
Altered Carbon (Netflix). This is what Blade Runner 2 should have been in terms of cinematography and story telling. First season especially is great.
I have mixed feelings on AC. I really loved the first season. Beautiful cinematography, amazing acting (Joel Kinnaman is incredible), great concept and plot. Pacing could’ve been a little better, but it really evoked that Blade Runner vibe in a cool way.
Season 2 didn’t really resonate with me :/ Felt like a cheap Marvel movie.
I did enjoy both seasons, however Season 1 is definitely better written than Season 2.
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How you gonna mention star gate SG1 but not mention Stargate Atlantis?!?!
Also Stargate Universe - it is a shame that it was cancelled after only two series, as it was getting quite good
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I agree. It was an interesting story that just never went anywhere. They kept going in different directions. It’s like that south park episode where the manitee write the show at random.
I still watched it all.
I agree as well. I always did like Andromeda, but I’d be the first to admit it is wildly inconsistent in everything from quality to story.
From what I hear the inconsistencies were partly due to Kevin Sorbo both producing the show and playing the main character in the later seasons - leading to story decisions being dictated by his ego rather than anything else.
Despite all that, there is still good stuff to be had in that show.
You’ve got SG-1 but not Stargate Atlantis, so add that in, it’s just about as good as SG-1. (not Stargate Universe, though, that one’s bad.)
There it is, Stargate SG-1
Damn that show starts off slow - most people can’t get past season one. But holy heck does it have an amazing team writing the plots. I thoroughly enjoyed that show. And it’s so underrated. I know I never watched it much when it was on air weekly with new episodes
I binged all 10 seasons and while the last couple were a drag to get through, I totally enjoyed it. The episodic format is great.
Also enjoyed Atlantis though I was skeptical of it and the characters at first, but they really grew on me.
I also enjoyed Universe but it was more of a dark, gritty show along the same vein as BSG. It got canceled pretty quickly so there isn’t much to get into though.
Yes season 1 is rough, season 2 is a bit battery. Season 3 is where the show really takes off for me.
Stargate, Star Trek, Star Wars = the holy sci-fi trinity. Seen each countless times in their entirety, always find myself coming back
Yeah, I never watched Atlantis. My ol’ friend who recommended SG-1 (years ago) said the other series weren’t worth watching, but maybe he just meant Universe. What was wrong with Universe?
I just watched some YouTube clips of Atlantis and saw Colm Meaney makes some appearances. So… adding to the list!
The optimal way to watch Stargate, and the way it originally aired, is alternating episodes of SG-1 and Atlantis starting with the former’s season 8 and the latter’s season 1.
Universe had a drastic tone and characterization change from the other Stargate shows, it’s much more tonally similar to Battlestar Galactica than Stargate. SG-1 and Atlantis are about competent professionals who enjoy each others’ company, while Universe is about a bunch of petulant children who hate and are constantly scheming against each other.
No, I don’t like BSG either.
Ah good to know.
I did enjoy BSG, but it took some episodes to appreciate. And I had to accept the fact that the characters were pretty incompetent. They weren’t the best or brightest due to the circumstances and had to adapt to survive.
I made it about halfway through season 2 and found myself rooting for the Cylons to kill every named character including the Cylon ones.
@[email protected] loved both SG-1 and Atlantis
It didn’t exist at the time this was posted, but this is the kind of content that would fit right in at our new community, [email protected] .
The Mandalorian is probably the best star wars show out there at the moment. There is a world-of-the-week vibe to it, but like most modern shows the primary focus is on the overarching plot and characters that recur. That said, if you liked Andor I think you’ll thoroughly enjoy The Mandalorian.
If you like animated shows, Futurama is a classic. If you want something a bit more obscure and odd, Final Space is a good and funny show too. That’s starting to stray pretty far away from Star Trek other than it taking place in space though.
I thought Andor was the best Star Wars thing ever made period but found Mandalorian kinda boring and dropped it after a few episodes.
Mandalorian didn’t really click for me until several episodes in. I feel like Pedro Pascal took a typical, surface-level Star Wars script and made the character amazing, though - I watch mostly for him, rather than the writing.
You’re entitled to your opinion. It’s wrong, but you’re entitled to it.
Ah yeah, I saw Mandalorian. It was pretty fun to watch, but I didn’t find it super compelling beyond the visuals - especially compared to Andor.
Of course, Futurama is one of my favorites! Haven’t heard of Final Space, I’ll put it on my list - thanks!!
Earth Final Conflict is also an interesting series. It was developed by Roddenberry, and produced by Majel Barret. I enjoyed watching it when it was in syndication.
Thank you, I’ll check it out!
I’ve watched and can recommend X-Files, Fringe, Warehouse 13, Eureka, Mrs. Smith, and Station Eleven.
These are some that people have recommended that seem interesting, but have not watched yet: Orphan Black, Killjoys, Humans, The 100, Dark Matter.
Thanks for these recommendations! I actually never watched X-Files, and a friend of mine binge watched all of it earlier this year and was sending me funny clips. I should add it to the list.
LOVED Station Eleven. It might be a top 5 show of all time. The first episode felt like a slog until that last minute. Partially ‘cause we were kinda living that pandemic.
But I was absolutely hooked and psyched to see more. And every episode after was “holy crap!” moments through to the very end.
Some of the best storytelling I’ve seen on TV. Really rich character development and such a beautiful concept altogether. It made me really hopeful.
Same writer/creator as The Leftovers (which I also recommend, very cool show - 3 seasons with an ending, gets progressively weirder and wilder).
Dark Matter was a really fun little scifi show. Just a shame it got cancelled without closing the story.
Babylon 5 has an epic story, character development, and space battles.
“I have always been here.” ~“Can not run out of time. There is infinite time. You are finite. Zathras is finite. This…is wrong tool… No… No, not good. No… Never use that.”
