"UFO" (1970) In the mod,
far-flung future of 1980 (!), a covert branch of the military called
S.H.A.D.O. confronts a secret invasion of aliens who kidnap humans
to harvest their organs. After a decade of playing with puppets,
Brit TV producer Gerry Anderson combined the cool crafts of "Thunderbirds" and the paranoia of "Captain Scarlet" into this pioneering
alien-conspiracy series, this time with humans at the helm. Ed
Bishop, with his intense eyes and a pitiless devotion to his
responsibility, is an almost tragic figure as the unyielding
American commander. On the funky side is the way-cool futuristic
style of whispering DeLorean-esque cars, purple bouffants and casual
weird fashions. But for all the spectacle, uncertainty defines this
show's tense, shrouded-in-mystery tone.
"Babylon 5" (1994-98) Unique in
the annals of TV space opera, J. Michael Straczynski's ambitious
series was a genuine piece of epic science-fiction storytelling.
The five-season story arc plunged its heroes (led
by war-hero-turned-uneasy-diplomat Bruce Boxlietner) into an
intergalactic conflict of biblical proportions and mythological
dimensions. It started slow and ended in a dissipated (yet unusually
compelling) aftermath, but in between is a dense, demanding and
often-thrilling story of conspiracies, betrayals, prophecies and a
galaxy-wide apocalypse. The soul of the series, however, is found in
the evolving relationship between warrior-turned-prophet-of-peace
G'Kar (Andreas Katsulas) and his
one-time blood enemy Londo Mollari (Peter Jurasik), a clownish
dignitary turned war-mongering puppeteer who pays dearly for his
dance with the devil.
"Farscape" (1999-2004) It
features the usual panoply of exotic aliens, marbled worlds and
spacescapes that look ripped from the cover of "Amazing Stories,"
but "Farscape" is more than your average space opera. Lost-in-space
American astronaut John Crichton (Ben Browder) and his
contentious fellowship of motley fugitives pilot a living ship
through a hostile universe of totalitarian worlds and mercenary
predators. All the while, they are on the run from
their own personal demon: Scorpius, a half-breed alien who runs his
own little SS organization in the Fascist empire. It's a far cry
from the Federation-friendly universe of "Star Trek," and there
isn't a TV sci-fi show that has done more with less.
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