# Best and Worst Science Fiction Series **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 11, 2011, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-science-fiction-series/588608 "2011-07-11T10:47:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-science-fiction-series/588608/21 "2011-07-12T16:00:22Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Land of the Giants I loved that show! It was all kinds of awesome. Then again, I was 5 when I saw it. All I remember is the protagonists walking through a pipe and meeting a giant rat. Didn’t that happen like every week? ETA: Worst: Time Tunnel ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-science-fiction-series/588608/22 "2011-07-12T16:33:02Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I loved that show! It was all kinds of awesome. Then again, I was 5 when I saw it. > > All I remember is the protagonists walking through a pipe and meeting a giant rat. Didn’t that happen like every week? > > ETA: Worst: Time Tunnel Yeah, Time Tunnel is in the same category. Mr. Peabody was a better time travel show. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-science-fiction-series/588608/23 "2011-07-12T18:39:55Z")
“Lost in Space” is the worst of all time. It has no iconic moments. These are delusions. “Danger Will Robinson” is not a funny line. Horrible waste of Zorro, to boot. Period. Any love/hate for the long-forgotten “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea?” My recollection is that it was not memorably bad or good, but was a bit on the boring side. ---
**Author:** ![Jimson\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@Jimson\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimson_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-science-fiction-series/588608/24 "2011-07-12T19:43:11Z")
I see your Lost in Space and raise you: My Favorite Martian Seriously folks you’re not digging deep enough here. Either that or you’ve all succeeded in suppressing the worst of the worst. Let me help **Worst - (space based)** Space Above and Beyond (WWII in space) Space 1999 (The moon goes on a walk about) Buck Rogers (I watched this just for Erin Grey) **Worst -(earth bound)** The Phoenix (Solar powered alien looking for his mate) The Powers of Mathew Star (super powered alien high school student) Starman (the show not the movie) Misfits of Science (Courtney Cox well before friends) And from those lost Saturday mornings of my youth: Worst Children’s Sci Fi: Land of the Lost (who could forget Chaka) Jason of Star Command (Please tell me they’ve burned all this tape) Missing from the best list: Red Dwarf ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-science-fiction-series/588608/25 "2011-07-12T20:22:41Z")
How could I forget Space 1999? Wow. There was some Saturday morning show where teenagers took a magic elevator to different worlds. That was pretty bad. And there was a show where teenagers were marooned on a space ship that had all these different pods. Each one was a different world with its own set of problems, rules, alien races, etc. Each week the teens would explore a different one. Anybody remember that? And of course… Salvage One. ---
**Author:** ![Sweetums](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Sweetums](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sweetums)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-science-fiction-series/588608/26 "2011-07-12T20:55:57Z")
Best: Babylon 5 Star Trek Deep Space 9 Cowboy Bebop Firefly Not up to “best” but I would say that The “Clone Wars” on Toon is very good, especially considering the movies it is based on! Worst: ``` I'm glad I'm not the only one who hated "Space Above and Beyond" The fact that the writers never seemed to figure out if the main characters were pilots or in the infantry, and a few other issues, kept me yelling "have you ever even talked to a person who was in the military!" ``` “Seaquest” started out with some amount of promise, but at the end of the first season seems to have decided to jettison every decent character and make a show about their equivalent of Wesley Crusher. I began to wonder if the writers were sitting around in a bar trying to see how much they could make it suck, and still keep it on the air. “Enterprise” Every time I tried to watch this, the episode centered on Trip the engineer doing something either blatantly stupid or annoying. I did catch the final, and actually cheered when they killed him off! ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-science-fiction-series/588608/27 "2011-07-12T21:07:58Z")
Someone remembered _Salvage One_, but not one mention of _Galactica 1980_? ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-science-fiction-series/588608/28 "2011-07-12T23:28:29Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I think Lexx deserves it’s own “so bad it’s good” category. In fact, I think Lexx is so bad it goes around the circle a few times before landing on ‘good’ again. It certainly defies most SF storytelling conventions. The protagonists are amoral and incompetent and keep breaking things (like, say, the entire friggin’ universe). Original and entertainingly weird. I liked Lexx because the characters were the way they were and made so many stupid mistakes. They seemed human and realistic in that way. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-science-fiction-series/588608/29 "2011-07-12T23:36:20Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > And there was a show where teenagers were marooned on a space ship that had all these different pods. Each one was a different world with its own set of problems, rules, alien races, etc. Each week the teens would explore a different one. Anybody remember that? [_The Starlost._](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlost) If you ever meet Harlan Ellison, shake his hand and congratulate him as the creative genius behind _The Starl-_ – then run. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2011, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-science-fiction-series/588608/30 "2011-07-12T23:44:01Z")
TriPolar: When I was a wee lad we could not get ABC on our set and yes, I never saw an episode of _Land of the Giants_. Judging from your comments I didn’t miss much. ---
**Author:** ![AnalogSignal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/analogsignal/32/1085_2.png) [@AnalogSignal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnalogSignal)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-science-fiction-series/588608/31 "2011-07-13T02:47:58Z")
> [@Jimson\_Jim](#): > > Seriously folks you’re not digging deep enough here. Either that or you’ve all succeeded in suppressing the worst of the worst. Let me help > > **Worst - (space based)** > Space Above and Beyond (WWII in space) > Space 1999 (The moon goes on a walk about) > Buck Rogers (I watched this just for Erin Grey) Was my post in invisible ink? My worst list had both Space 1999 and Buck Rogers. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-science-fiction-series/588608/32 "2011-07-13T03:44:28Z")
> [@Jimson\_Jim](#): > > Buck Rogers (I watched this just for Erin Grey) AND Princess Ardala ;). I will continue to insist that the first season of Space: 1999 ( i.e. pre-shapeshifter and busy uniforms ) had some genuinely well-done dramatic moments, whatever its deficiencies in…most other areas. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-science-fiction-series/588608/33 "2011-07-13T09:02:23Z")
> [@Sweetums](#): > > I’m glad I’m not the only one who hated “Space Above and Beyond” The fact that the writers never seemed to figure out if the main characters were pilots or in the infantry, and a few other issues, kept me yelling "have you ever even talked to a person who was in the military! I really liked SAaB and thought it had a lot of promise but agree that making the characters pilots _and_ ground troops made no sense at all. It needed some tidying up, to be sure. And **Jimson** : curse you for making me remember _Matthew Starr_! Cuuuuuuurse yooooooooooou!!! ---
**Author:** ![Recovering\_Republican](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@Recovering\_Republican](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Recovering_Republican)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-science-fiction-series/588608/34 "2011-07-13T11:23:55Z")
> [@kelly5078](#): > > “Lost in Space” is the worst of all time. It has no iconic moments. These are delusions. “Danger Will Robinson” is not a funny line. Horrible waste of Zorro, to boot. Period. > > Any love/hate for the long-forgotten “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea?” My recollection is that it was not memorably bad or good, but was a bit on the boring side. I try not to be as hostile to LIS and the other progeny of Irwin Allen because it was from a time pre-Star Trek when SF was only seen as a medium for kiddies, not something that could be seriously written for adults. (Anthology series like \*Twilight Zone \*and \*Outer Limits \*not withstanding.) ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-science-fiction-series/588608/35 "2011-07-13T11:51:53Z")
Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea also suffered from being turned into spy stories instead of exploration stories. But that was a common problem in the 60s – spies were as ubiquitious then as vampires are today. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-science-fiction-series/588608/36 "2011-07-13T11:57:57Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > [_The Starlost._](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlost) If you ever meet Harlan Ellison, shake his hand and congratulate him as the creative genius behind _The Starl-_ – then run. 😃 And if you ever hear him talk about that abomination in a speech, treasure that moment, for that story is one of the ten best you will _ever_ hear. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-science-fiction-series/588608/37 "2011-07-13T12:05:22Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > spies were as ubiquitious then as vampires are today. Hmmm. Vampire spies? Could work, but how about counter terrorist, vampire spies? Or even better, cyber counter terrorist vampire spies? ---
**Author:** ![Jimson\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@Jimson\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimson_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-science-fiction-series/588608/38 "2011-07-13T12:18:06Z")
> [@AnalogSignal](#): > > Was my post in invisible ink? My worst list had both Space 1999 and Buck Rogers. My apologies. The amount of terrible 80’s and 90’s network Science Fiction overwhelmed my short term memory… Either that or my reading comprehension has dropped to pre 4th grade levels. Oh to the list of dreck let’s add: Automan - (you know Tron ‘in real life’ with his little friend cursor) Yes I spent much of the early 80’s glued to the TV. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-science-fiction-series/588608/39 "2011-07-13T12:20:36Z")
> [@kelly5078](#): > > “Lost in Space” is the worst of all time. It has no iconic moments. These are delusions. “Danger Will Robinson” is not a funny line. Horrible waste of Zorro, to boot. Period. Pooh, I love that show. > [@](#): > > Any love/hate for the long-forgotten “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea?” My recollection is that it was not memorably bad or good, but was a bit on the boring side. Seems like every other week Kowalski went to the basement (yes, on a sub!) and got turned into a werewolf. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2011, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-and-worst-science-fiction-series/588608/40 "2011-07-13T12:30:14Z")
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