More like a miniseries, but HBO’s Chernobyl. Some of the best television I’ve ever seen.
As a scifi buff: Battlestar Galactica, and The Expanse were excellent. Nightsky was also a really good watch even though it was slow moving, and was more about relationships than SciFi
The Expanse is magnificent. And they are at the perfect time to get certain actors back to continue with the Laconia story in the last three books. I want it so badly.
I want to believe they will finish the Expanse.
At least they ended up on a fairly logical point if not. But I still wonder why they included the Strange Dogs novella if they knew that’s the last season.
Have thought the same. Its inclusion doesn’t indicate anything will happen, but it does seem intended to allow such a thing by providing some continuity over a long break.
I guess it could otherwise just be a brief apology to readers. “Sorry we aren’t getting to this.” But I remain hopeful.
I’m sure that at least some of the people who worked on it hoped it’d be continued in the future in some form. I honestly don’t know how it hasn’t been. It’s not like it wasn’t well received. Maybe it wasn’t as profitable as the studio wanted, but that’s a matter of cutting costs. You don’t have to drop the whole thing. With the game coming out, there’s clearly interest in it still.
I’m 60% through the last book, it’s so good!
Oh please oh please oh please‽
There was a reason they killed off Alex…
I hate Battlestar Galactica so much. The original mini series was amazing. But when it got picked up, it quickly became obvious that the writers had no idea what they were doing and just made shit up from episode to episode. It was so bad. From what I’ve heard, Lost is another example of this. It’s one of the reasons why I prefer movies. The entire story is clear from the get go and there is no creative bullshit happening for no reason. This is one of the reasons why Chernobyl and Andor are so damn good, because the story was complete before they started shooting. I think it’s better now in the age of streaming.
The BSG 2000s remake is a masterpiece of a show. It brings together politics, religion, spirituality, and more and how that all ties into mankind and their robot creations is so good
I very much disagree. It’s not a good show. It’s great if it works for you, but if one is looking for at least a semblance of cohesive storytelling the show is just so bad. The miniseries the remake started with was very good. The show started off OK, but as it went on, it was so damn obvious that the writers had no plan and just made up dumb shit from episode to episode. Everybody’s a Cylon and I quit somewhere early into the last season because I just got so angry with each new episode.
You sound a lot like my son except:
I think it’s better now in the age of streaming.
He believes that a LOT of series, especially on Netflix, were originally intended to be a 2 hour movie, but Netflix wants “engagement,” so they insist that it be spread out over 10 episodes to increase engagement. That leads to storylines where they just create useless meandering plot tangents just to drag it out. Once he pointed it out to me, I’m seeing it a lot.
I just recently decided to start Him & Her because I saw that it was the current top rated show, and I quit halfway through the second episode, because I realized they were complicating the plot for no other reason than to drag it out. It wasn’t compelling, or mysterious, it was annoying.
Netflix is ruining cinematic storytelling, and the rest are going to follow.
I kinda have to disagree. I know they dis make things up as they went along, but I think they did it pretty well. The writing and acting are pretty good — though you’re right it would’ve benefited from being cohesively written.
The problem I have is the ending. I hate it, but unlike Game of Thrones I don’t hate it in a way I can never watch it again despite the amazing highs.
The drama and situations they put the characters through in BSG are mostly intense and well done. Some of the things feel a bit random without foreshadowing, but life can be that way. Anyway I think the series is well worth watching I just… I wanted the last few episodes to be something very different from what the show runners had in mind.
I also disagree. I think they had a good idea of where it was going for the first few seasons. I do think that once the Cylons join them they don’t really have an idea of what to do with it though. The ending is a bit of a mess. I’d also agree that a lot of the B plots are not the best, and are just filler, and clearly didn’t have a big plan, but what show doesn’t have this? The main plot is pretty cohesive and consistent at least up to season 3, and I’d argue a lot of that was solid too.
I think, if you want to argue they didn’t have a plan, you have to reconcile that with the fact that they had secret characters working against the fleet that were hinted at for quite a long time before they were confirmed. They clearly had a long and carefully designed plan. There’s just an issue that they have to fill time, so they also have some stupid filler plots that don’t go anywhere. I think most of these are fine though. They still add character and depth.
i assume you bsg reimagined, he became directionless like the last 2 seasons.
I agree on lost it got stupid. Battlestar had a full over arching story line though.
I’m in the middle of a BSG rewatch right now, and I still love it.
I can see how someone would say that they weren’t sure what they were going to do when they hit season 3. But the first season felt very tight. The miniseries had the cliffhanger that one of the main cast was a cylon. It’s hard to argue that the first few episodes didn’t build on that cliffhanger.
If you’re saying that at the start of the series they didn’t know how they were going to end it, sure. There aren’t a lot of shows that have a multi-season arc all planned out in advance. Babylon 5 is one of the few I know of that did. The problem is that they never know when they’re going to be cancelled, so there’s no point in trying to make a huge story arc when they will probably have to end the story early.
As for movies being better, it’s true that they can tell a longer story than a TV series. But a 2 hour movie is basically only 3 episodes of a TV show (at 45 minutes + commercials each). Movies suffer because everything has to be introduced and resolved so quickly. The “creative bullshit happening for no reason” is often foreshadowing of something that will only be resolved many episodes later.
I’m feeling so-so about The Expanse. I enjoyed the first few books and seasons, but it didn’t really capture me once they went through the gate.
I enjoyed it myself, but I remember people thought the Cibola Burn weak. It really picks up after that though. The next two books are peak.
I’m a big fan of the books, but Cibola Burn is by far my least favorite in the series. I heavily dislike the chapters from Dr. Okoye’s view, just too much fawning over Holden, and this is coming from someone who enjoys romance novels. It really is the weakest in the series and picks up after that.
I had similar thoughts. I was able to read the books through the parts that I liked less, and I really liked the story as a whole. I was not able to continue with the series. It’s not even bad, but episode after episode there was no meaningful progress, and I just stopped
Just watched the first episode of Night Sky. So far it strikes me as a really good psychological drama about getting old. Not a lot of sci-fi stuff yet.
J.K. Simmons is a really good actor, especially by American standards. I’d say he’s on the level of a good Scandinavian or British actor.
Anyway, I might just have to binge this. Thanks for the recommendation!
Edit: The mysterious sci-fi stuff gets interesting around episode 4
Its lo-fi scifi. Great character development story though
Just finished watching. I give it an 8/10.
On an emotional and psychological level, I thought the show led to a pretty satisfying conclusion. Viewers should not expect to have any off their questions about the sci-fi stuff or the intrigue answered, though. Too bad it was cancelled after one season!
But I can see why it didn’t gain a massive audience. It’s too slow and psychological for a lot of sci-fi fans, yet it has too much silly sci-fi stuff for fans of realistic psychological dramas. The Spanish parts with subtitles may also have put off a few English-speaking viewers.
😀 Glad you enjoyed the journey. Yeah, I had hoped for Season 2 to see where it was all headed…oh well
If you l like J.K. Simmons, character development and science fiction, you should check out Counterpart, if you haven’t seen it already. It’s a solid spy thriller where the main plot device is a cool sci-fi concept.
Knowing anything about the story beforehand will tell you about this plot device, which is a bit of a spoiler for the first episode.
Thanks I had forgotten about this (on my list). Edit. Yes I did watch this, it was a great show.
How about Real Humans/Äkta människor? It’s a Swedish show about androids. Good drama and acting. IMO better than the British adaptation, Humans.
dint really like reimagined, the showrunner was obsessed with making it god arc, heard he had religious leanings, and hated it enough to not include the advanced tech of the original series. it was good until the writer strikes happened.
Obligatory Firefly mention.
The Wire. It’s the best piece of visual media ever created. Not only is it the best portrayal of the inner city drugs trade but also the decaying institutions and social structures that allow it to flourish, and the corrupting influence of dirty money.
It also is consistently the best written show on TV and is grounded in it’s reality better than anything else. Half the cast were complete unknowns, in many cases plucked from the streets of Baltimore itself and there are standout performances all across it’s vast and diverse cast.
It’s a little slow to get going, the first few episodes have a lot of ground to cover to get the viewer up to speed, it also makes no effort to ease the viewer in, with a lot of jargon, slang and some very thick accents to content with, there’s also no “previously on the wire” to go over key points from earlier episodes so it definitely requires more participation from the viewer than most TV but it’s all the better for it.
I am surprised that I’m the first to mention Bojack Horseman here.
This series is for you if you want to cry out your mental health problems
As someone who had depression and watched the show as it came out: IT IS NOT HEALTHY FOR YOUR DEPRESSION. It is however an excellent representation of it.
Absolutely one of the best shows ever
I avoided that show for years because it looked like a typical raunchy adult cartoon.
I was very wrong.
If anyone else really enjoyed the dark topics and themes of Bojack Horseman I highly recommend trying to read Goodnight Punpun. It’s a “slice of life” manga that goes through similarly dark themes with a lot of depth, excellent writing and beautiful artwork. In my opinion it is a must read for anyone who enjoys this sort of stuff.
The Good Place. Funny, compelling, I cried through the final episode. It also doesn’t waste your time, things will happen mid-season that any other show would have dragged out for the season finale.
Community
- A&E’s Nero Wolfe
- Agatha Christie’s Poirot (with David Suchet)
- The Expanse
- Star Trek: TNG
- Fleabag (season 2 is a masterpiece, and I don’t throw that word around)
- For All Mankind
- Archane (season 1 is another masterpiece)
- Penny Dreadful (it dips in quality in the later seasons, but worth it for the Frankenstein’s monster story alone)
EDIT:
- Coupling (UK) - Thr first two seasons
- Keeping Up Appearances
- IT Crowd
Poirot, Coupling and IT Crowd are some of the best telly ever created in my opinion.
Fleabag x2
I agree with all of this expect FAM. I wanted to love this show. the sci-fi was fun and could get creative and cool but every time they gripped you with a cool idea they gave you 10min of it, left you wanting more then moved on to drama for drama sake for 45min.
I tried for 2 seasons and I think the first episode of 3 and gave up. :(
I started Arcane, and pretty soon I felt like they were just ripping off a lot from the 80’s Shuiten and Peeter’s graphic novels, that I just quit.
Fringe. Best Sci-Fi ending that wraps back around to an episode that broke the show open. The last season getting there is kind of rough. But the first 4 seasons are solid.
Tried to get into it recently. I don’t think it’s for me. The dialogue and delivery is not great.
You’re not alone. I went in expecting it to be high-quality based on comments similar to the above, then adjusted my sights for trite but entertaining, then realized I was only even entertained when John Noble was on screen (and to be fair, his performance was very fun).
I do recognize that it broke new ground and wasn’t as cliché when it originally aired, but it’s hard to imagine that it wasn’t just as hammy.
Its a victim of its time. There is a decent amount of filler and some episodes have big inconsistencies at one point due to being released out of order since they were filler content, but the overarching quality of the show, and watching it slowly move away from monster/mystery of the week to something that rewarded its fans in multiple intentional and sometimes subtle ways, it truly felt… And still feels… Like something deeply special and really worth recommending, even if you do end up having to work through a decent amount of filler in the first seasons.
Fringe should always benin rotation.
Came for Fringe, found it. Fucking good show and also a very satisfying ending.
Andor is the best piece of Star Wars media and the best TV show I’ve ever seen. You don’t need to like Star Wars. I don’t know if seeing Star Wars would even increase your enjoyment. I think seeing Rogue One would probably be good but otherwise just jump in. No space wizards or laser swords or destiny or whatever. It’s so adult and grounded. I can’t believe Disney let them make this.
The Good Place
Penny Dreadful
Farscape
Mr Robot
My partner and I tried sooo hard to like this show after so many recommendations online, but we just kept finding it hella cheesy and forced. D:
The first season was groundbreaking at the time, but quickly became cringe in hindsight from its popularity and the romanticization of certain events. Later seasons, which weren’t as immediately popular for spoiler reasons, get more and more serious and become more cinematically rewarding for the viewer.
If you can get past the first season, it gets a lot better. The last season is honestly some of the best pieces of television content I’ve ever seen.
All these good reviews made me think I’m losing my mind. Half a season was cool. But the first time bell rang was his sister reveal. Then it went downhill for me.
Came here to recommend Mr Robot as well. The ending of the series was perfectly planned, so it loops around perfectly to the beginning of the series. It was a nice contrast to something like Game of Thrones, where they clearly had no good ending planned and just rushed through to get something done.
I remember watching the end of Mr Robot and going “holy shit.”
As I didn’t seen them mentioned
- Scrubs: 8 UND ONLY 8 seasons of funny comedy, heart wrenching tragedy. For such a funny show, they managed to still make me cry with “Where Do You Think We Are?”
- Better off Ted: very funny too, hardly ever hear anybody mentioning it
- Bluey: is you have small children and you are going to give them screen time, do both of you a favor and chose bluey.
I really enjoyed Babylon 5. Especially seasons 2-4. The interplay between the characters, especially Londo and G’kar was excellent. The stories were epic and political, it would be relevant today I think. It was so quotable and parts really moved you.
The effects were dated even then, and the transfer to widescreen after the digital models were lost was an absolute travesty. Instead of widescreen making the show better, they cropped the 4:3 for every effects shot, making them all blurry and poorly composed.
Even so, the story and characters are epic and timeless.
I was learning 3d modeling back then and found lightwave was used for the cgi!
It’s also extremely quotable.
