# Farscape, Firefly, Battlestar Galactica **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 7, 2018, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farscape-firefly-battlestar-galactica/806012 "2018-01-07T00:31:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farscape-firefly-battlestar-galactica/806012/61 "2018-01-09T00:07:49Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Opinions vary considerably on that one, and I actually rather liked it. But in any event, it’s in season 5, not 2-4 like I was referring to. “A View From the Gallery” is Season 5. “Grey 17 Is Missing” is smack in the middle of Season 3. Regardless of how bad the “A” plot was (and it was!) the episode is essential viewing for the “B” plot, which involves Marcus, Neroon and a revelation. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farscape-firefly-battlestar-galactica/806012/62 "2018-01-09T06:25:50Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > If the OP is also reading and likes spaceships, we have to recommend the OG of Space Opera: E. E. Smith. Start with _Triplanetary_, then on to _First Lensman_ and _Galactic Patrol_. Wrap it all up with _Grey Lensman_, _Second Stage Lensmen_ and finally _Children of the Lens._ > > Kimball Kinneson rocks! Seconded. The _Lensman Series_ by Doc Smith is vintage, OG space opera, and not to be missed. His _Skylark of Space_ series is also worth a look. ---
**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:** [January 9, 2018, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farscape-firefly-battlestar-galactica/806012/63 "2018-01-09T10:19:51Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Grey 17 is a huge stinker; I think even JMS admits it. However, it is not alone in the final season or two. There is another one where the maintenance crew observes the main cast and it is a huge misfire. > > Any episode strongly featuring the Byron storyline was terrible, too. However, season 5 is still worth it. > > I’d skip more episodes in S1, honestly. The problem is that, like “Grey 17”, even the crappy S1 episodes often have important backstory or foreshadowing in them. Miss them and later things will lose impact or be confusing. I really liked “A View From the Gallery”… except for the scene with Byron, where the whole vibe switches into Maximum Suck mode for the duration. I know why JMS was forced to mess with S5 (the show was on track to be cancelled at the end of S4 and he had to move plot points from S5 to S4 to close arcs, and then it got a new lease of life on a different channel and he had to replace the missing S5 material at short notice) but man, the Byron storyline is bad. But the second half of S5, where the arcs all come to proper closure, is really good. Bookwise, if you like dark, gritty steampunk-ish stuff, I never tire of recommending Philip Reeve’s “Mortal Engines” tetralogy. And if you like those, there’s also a prequel tetralogy (“Fever Crumb” et alia). ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farscape-firefly-battlestar-galactica/806012/64 "2018-01-09T14:48:44Z")
Every episode of B5 has _something_ that you can’t miss. But for a few of them, you can skip the episode and get away with a three-sentence summary of the important parts. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farscape-firefly-battlestar-galactica/806012/65 "2018-01-09T17:39:20Z")
[I used this guide in 2009 to re-watch Babylon 5 season 1.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=11166586&postcount=2) It’s from Doper **Miller**. ---
**Author:** ![KatTP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@KatTP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KatTP)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farscape-firefly-battlestar-galactica/806012/66 "2018-01-09T23:10:26Z")
If I watched b5 I wouldn’t skip any episodes. Farscape has some episodes that don’t move the story along, and in some cases are downright horrible, but even those are worth the watch for the sake of completion. Not saying I’m going to watch b5, but if I did I’d watch it all. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2018, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farscape-firefly-battlestar-galactica/806012/67 "2018-01-09T23:46:16Z")
> [@KatTP](#): > > Farscape has some episodes that don’t move the story along, and in some cases are downright horrible, but even those are worth the watch for the sake of completion. I guess so. Farscape bad episodes are a lot better than B5 bad episodes, though. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2018, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farscape-firefly-battlestar-galactica/806012/68 "2018-01-10T14:58:56Z")
Thought of one more that might be worth watching (At least I thought so based on the two episodes I’ve seen) is Continuum. Kind of like Quantum Leap meets cop show. It won a fair bit of critical acclaim but I can’t honestly say I’ve seen more than the first season. The premise was interesting, though. ---
**Author:** ![KatTP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@KatTP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KatTP)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farscape-firefly-battlestar-galactica/806012/69 "2018-01-11T06:49:37Z")
I’ve started reading the Expanse. Yay! Six books. That should keep me going for a couple weeks. I haven’t decided on a show yet. I was hoping Dark Matter or The Expanse was on Netflix or Amazon Prime, but no such luck. ---
**Author:** ![AI\_Proofreader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@AI\_Proofreader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AI_Proofreader)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farscape-firefly-battlestar-galactica/806012/70 "2018-01-11T07:23:14Z")
> [@KatTP](#): > > I’ve started reading the Expanse. Yay! Six books. That should keep me going for a couple weeks. > \* > I haven’t decided on a show yet. I was hoping Dark Matter or The Expanse was on Netflix or Amazon Prime, but no such luck. - ``` Funny, I came into thread to recommend Dark Matter, saw a ton of people do so, looks like I might help after all.. :) ``` Dark Matter is on Netflix, I’m looking at it now. Try searching again…if it’s not there, might be a geographical restriction, try viewing Netflix through a good VPN set to the U.S. Also seems to be on Amazon, don’t know if this is covered under Prime. I don’t have Prime or want it: [https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/deta…\_season\_select](https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B00ZJT9LVQ?ref_=aiv_dp_season_select) Appears to be on iTunes as well per [scifistream.com](http://scifistream.com) ETA: Appears the sci-fi anthology show “Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams” will be premiering tomorrow on Amazon. Looking forward to it, loved all of Dick’s books. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farscape-firefly-battlestar-galactica/806012/71 "2018-01-11T17:52:08Z")
> [@swampspruce](#): > > Thought of one more that might be worth watching (At least I thought so based on the two episodes I’ve seen) is Continuum. Kind of like Quantum Leap meets cop show. It won a fair bit of critical acclaim but I can’t honestly say I’ve seen more than the first season. The premise was interesting, though. One thing I really liked about Continuum is that the main protagonist never quite figured out that she was the bad guy. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2018, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farscape-firefly-battlestar-galactica/806012/72 "2018-01-11T22:36:29Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Mahaloth** : > > I guess so. Farscape bad episodes are a lot better than B5 bad episodes, though. Farscape bad episodes are certainly a lot weirder than B5 bad episodes. For that matter, the same is true of Farscape good episodes. ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farscape-firefly-battlestar-galactica/806012/73 "2018-01-12T03:07:05Z")
I’m not sure if you’d like it or not, but I thought _Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles_ tv series was an entertaining show. It only lasted two seasons though. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farscape-firefly-battlestar-galactica/806012/74 "2018-01-12T22:31:32Z")
> [@KatTP](#): > > Nor Eureka. Didn’t they make reference to that show in Warehouse 13? Last year for Halloween I made some killer steampunk costumes for me and the husband. I wanted to dress up as H.G. Wells from Warehouse 13, but I’m just not that hot. > > Haven’t seen the Alphas either. Eureka, WH13, and Alphas were all in the same universe. Eureka and WH13 had direct crossovers. Artie’s doctor GF shows up in an Alphas ep (but as far as a cross over was pretty low key). Be warned, Alphas ends on cliffhanger. That nerd on big bang (the really annoying one with the prequel show) was very pissed about that. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farscape-firefly-battlestar-galactica/806012/75 "2018-01-12T22:34:16Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > One thing I really liked about Continuum is that the main protagonist > > never quite figured out that she was the bad guy. No, the terrorists were the bad guys. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farscape-firefly-battlestar-galactica/806012/76 "2018-01-12T22:36:40Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > My wife and I just finished watching Defiance recently (recommended by **Guanolad** upthread). There was a lot of really good world building, in my opinion. Earth is terraformed and a number of alien races crash land when an ark ship crashes or something. The St Louis area becomes the town of Defiance where everyone lives together in an uneasy alliance. A lot of it is very goofy and tropey with the stories but solid acting by just about everyone all around really carry the show. There’s a snarky alien doctor who kills me every time she opens her mouth, the main hero is mostly a bunch of action hero clichés but played very well by the actor and has some surprising depth and an adopted alien daughter. There is also frequent PG13-esue sex (no nipples, minimal butts…) and there’s a bittersweet goodbye at the end. The alien race of the daughter is one of the most unappealing looking group of aliens on a show on a mainstream channel/movie. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farscape-firefly-battlestar-galactica/806012/77 "2018-01-12T22:40:09Z")
> [@KatTP](#): > > Caprica WAS great! I was also disappointed that it wasn’t renewed. Loved the cast. Loved the story line. Caprica was much better than the mediocre BSG reimagining ever was. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2018, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farscape-firefly-battlestar-galactica/806012/78 "2018-01-12T22:44:43Z")
> [@KatTP](#): > > The Expanse was on Netflix or Amazon Prime, but no such luck. The Expanse is definitely on Amazon Prime (well the first season). That’s how I originally watched the show (I didn’t have cable when the first season was on). ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farscape-firefly-battlestar-galactica/806012/79 "2018-01-13T00:02:11Z")
_Andromeda_ has been like a reasonably entertaining series so far. The premise is a bit different than most, and it lies in a bit of an odd area between shows like Star Trek or Farscape. The plot can basically be summarized as “what would happen if James T. Kirk saw the Federation’s destruction, then three centuries later he and the Enterprise popped out of a time portal?” I’ve heard the later seasons run downhill, however. ---
**Author:** ![KatTP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@KatTP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KatTP)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farscape-firefly-battlestar-galactica/806012/80 "2018-01-13T20:32:36Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > The Expanse is definitely on Amazon Prime (well the first season). That’s how I originally watched the show (I didn’t have cable when the first season was on). Maybe not in the uk? I looked for it. The book is awesome though! When I’m done reading I will definitely be downloading the show. Don’t even care that I might have to pay for it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farscape-firefly-battlestar-galactica/806012.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farscape-firefly-battlestar-galactica/806012.md?page=5)