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That's an interesting criteria list. I hadn't thought about what qualifies as sci-fi before. I would have a different list, but perhaps that's another thread. (But just to sneak in one point - I don't think there needs to be alien contact, and I think it can take place any time - including the present. Think about movies like "Running Man" (Schwarzenegger) or "Surrogates" (Willis), neither of which have alien contact but which I think are both "Sci-Fi" in category). But wouldn't your own criteria exclude the "Six Million Dollar Man" which you put in your list?
No, because the Six Million Dollar Man focuses on technology and there are aliens in several episodes.
"Plan 9 from Outer Space" ? :-[
Is that a movie? I noticed your other list featured some classic sci-fi movies, rather than TV shows, which is probably why they weren't on Donnie's list.
No, because the Six Million Dollar Man focuses on technology and there are aliens in several episodes.
I did not know that, but then again I haven't seen the show in ages. But that raises another point. Would the classic "Wonder Woman" series also be considered sci-fi? IIRC, her "people" were from another planet, were they not? Incidentally, this may go back to the Superman/Smallville qualification since Clark Kent is technically an alien.
Wonder Woman is from Themiscyra home of the Amazons so she is technically from earth. I will concede on Kal El being a Kryptonian who adopts earth as his home. So on that point, yes Smallville could be considered sci-fi, but it's a stretch. Usually super heroes go in the comic book fantasy genre, but there is a crossover.Airwolf is technically sci-fi, but I would consider it more action/drama since the technology of Airwolf is basically a plot device more so than the focus of the show. Superman being an alien is tertiary to the focus of the story lines of Smallville. Now if the show was about Superman coming to earth and the reaction of the earthlings to his arrival etc...then I would reclassify it as sci-fi.
The PrisonerDoctor WhoEleventh HourNothing much about TV shows
I have not seen those shows except Dr. Who, and I prefer the original series to the remake.
Wonder Woman is from Themiscyra home of the Amazons so she is technically from earth. I will concede on Kal El being a Kryptonian who adopts earth as his home. So on that point, yes Smallville could be considered sci-fi, but it's a stretch. Usually super heroes go in the comic book fantasy genre, but there is a crossover.Airwolf is technically sci-fi, but I would consider it more action/drama since the technology of Airwolf is basically a plot device more so than the focus of the show. Superman being an alien is tertiary to the focus of the story lines of Smallville. Now if the show was about Superman coming to earth and the reaction of the earthlings to his arrival etc...then I would reclassify it as sci-fi.
Sorry to keep prodding your framework but...Airwolf as "technically sci-fi"? Really? Does that make Blue Thunder sci-fi as well? How about Mission Impossible? S.W.A.T.? I don't think there was anything reasonable futuristic about the technology used in any of those technologies. IIRC, Airwolf was about a helicopter which was cutting edge but not futuristic.If you want to categorize Smallville/Superman as fantasy, rather than sci-fi, I will concede on the grounds that sci-fi typically requires humans to rely on hardware technology to do great things, rather than humans doing great things through biology (e.g. superheroes).
Airwolf was a helicopter that could fly at mach 1 speed. That's more than cutting edge isn't it?Anyway all of this is my subjective opinion so the details are moot. 🙂
Doctor Who: a time travel in ithttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24932205
Ah, that brings back some memories. I loved watching that show as a kid. My favorite doctor was Tom Baker. Looking at that retrospective, though, so many of the props and costumes look excessively cheap and chinsy.
Ah, that brings back some memories. I loved watching that show as a kid. My favorite doctor was Tom Baker. Looking at that retrospective, though, so many of the props and costumes look excessively cheap and chinsy.
Check this link, this one is even more stunning ! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24957282
I remember seeing some of those black and white episodes as a kid (reruns, not original airing!) and despite their age they were still entertaining. Seeing the black and white clip of the Doctor from 1963 just now, I wonder how they came up with the science fiction and story line. There's an established sci-fi tradition now that has been developed over decades, but back in the early '60s the writers of Doctor Who must have faced new challenges.
The heyday of SciFi was in the 30's through the 50's when greats such as Heinlein, Campbell, and Asimov took a side branch of fiction and turned it into it's own genre. All the great pulps date to the 40s and 50s.
Here would be my current selection of best sci-fi TV shows:1. Star Trek TNG2. Falling Skies3. Lost4. Dr. Who (original series)5. Star Trek TOS6. Alphas7. Stargate: Atlantis8. V (1984)9. Outer Limits (remake)10. Smallville
Yesterday I completed watching the last season of Battlestar Galactica, which ran from about 2004-2008/9. I would put this at #2 or #3 in my list. I never got into that show while it was airing, even though I was aware it was on the air. It's the kind of show that you can't really start watching halfway through; otherwise, things don't make sense. You need to watch it from the beginning. That is the nice thing about watching streaming TV (such as Amazon Prime or Netflix) - TV seasons are much more pleasant to watch.
