# What was your first Sci-Fi show? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 8, 2007, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-first-sci-fi-show/395117 "2007-03-08T16:09:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-first-sci-fi-show/395117/1 "2007-03-08T16:09:07Z")
Perusing YouTube, i found a clip of the [opening credits](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfCY43CnZ-k) of a show that shaped the way i saw Science Fiction when i think of “Flying Saucers” i immediately think of the ship in the linked vid, filled with chaser lights, huge, archaic control panels, lots of blinkies, you name it, the Saucer in that vid is the classic “flying saucer”… The Lost Saucer was the first Sci-Fi show i remember growing up watching, growing up during the 70’s was an interesting time, subjected to the nightmarish/drug induced stylings of the Kroffts, it seemed that the only “normal-ish” Krofft shows were The Lost Saucer, Land of the Lost and Bigfoot and Wildboy… Still, The Lost Saucer sticks in my mind as _the_ flying saucer ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-first-sci-fi-show/395117/2 "2007-03-08T16:13:05Z")
My first memory of any science fiction show was either The Outer Limits or The Twighlight Zone. I used to watch them on sunday afternoon back when we only had 3 channels. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-first-sci-fi-show/395117/3 "2007-03-08T16:21:31Z")
Doctor Who, Pertwee era for me. The story that sticks most in the mind is The Green Death. Those maggoty things freaked me out big time. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-first-sci-fi-show/395117/4 "2007-03-08T16:23:16Z")
I’d say “Twilight Zone” (it was my dad’s favorite show), but I honestly don’t know if I’d label it science fiction…fantasy definitely, though. The first what I consider to be science fiction? _Babylon 5_. It was the first show I could watch because it wasn’t all about flying saucers and such. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-first-sci-fi-show/395117/5 "2007-03-08T16:28:19Z")
**Man Into Space** , a circa 1959 show about astronauts in space. So far as I know, it has never been syndicated, rebroadcast, or available on VHS or DVD. Until recently I couldn’t find anything at all on it, even in books devoted to SF on TV. But there have now been websites and the like, giving episodes and info. My recollections are extremely vague, but it seems to have been “hard core” sf, accurate in its portrayals and showing things as they expected them to be in the near future – no artificial gravity, or faster than lightb travel, or aliens. And, of course, it all took place in earth orbit and the moon and other nearby space locales. Kind of like much of 2001. ---
**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:** [March 8, 2007, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-first-sci-fi-show/395117/6 "2007-03-08T16:37:48Z")
**Twilight Zone** , certainly. But the one that made the biggest impression was **Star Trek**. ---
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-first-sci-fi-show/395117/7 "2007-03-08T16:42:08Z")
_The Twilight Zone_ (like many others it seems). My sister and I used to stay up late most nights watching Nick at Nite-- _Mary Tyler Moore_, _Dick van Dyke_, _Dobie Gillis_, _Bewitched_, _I Love Lucy_, etc. I loved (and still love) all of those shows, but it was _The Twilight Zone_ that whet my appetite for fantasy and sci-fi. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-first-sci-fi-show/395117/8 "2007-03-08T16:46:28Z")
Doctor Who, tail end of the Troughton era. And I was most indignant that the Doctor was taking a break to give screen time to an uppity American spaceman show. I still remember the first clip I saw (on “Junior Points of View”) which was from _Arena_ where Kirk sneaks up on the Gorn and tumbles a boulder down on him. “Rather sneaky” was Robert Robinson’s comment. In due course I changed my opinion on _Star Trek_. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-first-sci-fi-show/395117/9 "2007-03-08T16:46:29Z")
After school, one station would play either Star Trek or Time Tunnel, depending on the day. I never cottoned to Trek (until College), but I was a huge TT fan. I used to get into debates with my classmates about which one was better. I saw an episode of TT as an adult, and man, did it ever suck. The protagonists went back in time to the battle of the Alamo, where an alien landed in a space ship because he wanted to “destroy the Earth.” WTF was that? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-first-sci-fi-show/395117/10 "2007-03-08T16:49:57Z")
Star Trek. Momma Odds is a fan, so I was watching Kirk’s antics back when everyone was seeing it for the first time. I didn’t understand what I was watching until it made its first tour through syndication though. Second would be Twilight Zone - Dad liked that and The Outer Limits. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-first-sci-fi-show/395117/11 "2007-03-08T16:55:45Z")
Re-runs of TO Star Trek because my dad was into it. I wasn’t much into TOS, but when I was about 10-11 ST: TNG came out and I was instantly hooked. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-first-sci-fi-show/395117/12 "2007-03-08T16:57:08Z")
The Nazi science fiction TV series (really), [The Space Explorers](http://www.astronautix.com/articles/theorers.htm). Started a lifelong love for the genre. By the time **The Outer Limits** was on the air (I never watched **Twilight Zone** – it was on too late for me), I was already reading Tom Swift and any SF I could get my hands on and wanted to be a science fiction writer when I grew up. ---
**Author:** ![Mikemike2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikemike2/32/305_2.png) [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-first-sci-fi-show/395117/13 "2007-03-08T17:11:23Z")
**Star Trek** - the original. I remember seeing one of the first run episodes in color, but was too young to really understand it. It was one of my favourite shows when it came back in syndication. I felt that I was born too soon in history and was really missing out on all the cool adventures to come. I was also really into a time travel program. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-first-sci-fi-show/395117/14 "2007-03-08T17:37:36Z")
_Lost in Space_ and _Star Trek_, both very important to my young self growing up in the 1960’s. You know, I recently bought the boxed set DVD’s of _Lost in Space_ and they held up quite well, some damn funny episodes that really entertained me. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-first-sci-fi-show/395117/15 "2007-03-08T17:47:08Z")
“The Incredible Hulk.” I adored that show. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-first-sci-fi-show/395117/16 "2007-03-08T17:55:03Z")
_Lost In Space_, _Voyage To the Bottom of the Sea_ (sometime in the late 80s, my Flying Sub model got lost - dammit!), and _Ultraman_ (although I don’t know if that counts as “Sci-fi” or not). ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-first-sci-fi-show/395117/17 "2007-03-08T18:01:44Z")
The first science fiction TV show I remember watching was _Doctor Who_ on Saturday 11th September 1965 (a little more than two weeks before my third birthday). I know I was a fan of Gerry Anderson’s _Stingray_ at around the same time, but I don’t actually remember watching it. ---
**Author:** ![randwill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@randwill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randwill)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-first-sci-fi-show/395117/18 "2007-03-08T18:21:20Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] **Man Into Space** , a circa 1959 show about astronauts in space. So far as I know, it has never been syndicated, rebroadcast, or available on VHS or DVD. Until recently I couldn’t find anything at all on it, even in books devoted to SF on TV. But there have now been websites and the like, giving episodes and info. My recollections are extremely vague, but it seems to have been “hard core” sf, accurate in its portrayals and showing things as they expected them to be in the near future – no artificial gravity, or faster than lightb travel, or aliens. And, of course, it all took place in earth orbit and the moon and other nearby space locales. Kind of like much of 2001. [/QUOTE] I had almost forgotten about this show. It’s actually \*\*_Men_ Into Space. \*\* A quick Google found all the epsiodes available here: > **[SkaryguyVideo MEN INTO SPACE Complete 10 DVD set](http://www.skaryguyvideo.com/mis.htm)** I also remember \*\*Science Fiction Theater \*\* and \*\*Way Out \*\* as early sci-fi influences. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-first-sci-fi-show/395117/19 "2007-03-08T18:29:23Z")
[Far Out Spcace Nuts](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072499/). We kids would watch anything Krofft back then. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2007, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-first-sci-fi-show/395117/20 "2007-03-08T18:41:18Z")
Star Trek. As in the real Star Trek, not the later wanna-bes. 😃 I recall Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, but my house didn’t watch it. And no one I knew bothered with Lost in Space. Ugh. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-your-first-sci-fi-show/395117.md?page=2)