Aaargh it's the end of the world as we know it! (Top Ten Science Fiction TV Programmes)

Member Name: cswann

Product:	Top Ten Science Fiction TV Programmes
Date:	23/11/05 (851 review reads)
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Advantages: Great stories

Disadvantages: Nightmares, hiding behind the sofa

I never thought of myself as a sci-fi fan. I used to watch "Star Trek", because well everybody did, didn't they, and it never really grabbed me. But then I saw this Top 10 category, and I realised there have been some really good science programmes on TV, and thought I'd have a go.

These are my all-time favourites in chronological order

My favorite Martian
(1963 - 1966)
The American series, I mean, not the 1999 movie.
Ray Walston played the Martian who crash lands in his spaceship near Los Angeles. A young reporter comes to his rescue, lets him live in his house (saying he's his Uncle Martin). I’m sure that nowadays we’d say there’s a gay subtext, and who knows maybe there was. Of more interest to me as a child was the fact that the Martian has all kinds of special powers, and the special equipment which allow for time travel, amongst other things. I remember the series on TV, but also the story also featured in TV Comic, which made it live on rather longer.

Time tunnel
(1966-67)
From Irwin Allen, also responsible for “Lost in Space” (didn’t quite make it into my top 10) and “Voyage to the bottom of the Sea”, from around the same time. It seemed very psychedelic, and best of all, great fun. It also had a bigger budget than most programmes at the time.
James Darren and Robert Colbert play Tony and Doug, who were lost in the limbo of time travel each week. And there was always a cliffhanger at the end of each episode. Just how did they manage to time it so perfectly, going right to crucial moments in history?

Prisoner
(1967)
The cult series to beat all other cult series - doesn anyone know what the "The Prisoner" was really about, even now? Wierd enough to count as science fiction, as far as I'm concerned.
Patrick McGoohan was great as prisoner no.6, and there were plenty of other notable characters, such as Leo McKern (later Rumpole) as No. 2
There were definite shades of Kafka but with a spy-culture, Swinging Sixites flavour, and there was all kinds of technological trickery in the world of the Village (the 'prison', in effect)- as well as strange drug effects. All of which meant you didn't know what or who to believe, or actually what was happening in the story. Probably could only have existed in the 60s.

Doctor Who
(60s to present day)
Ah yes, surely everyone must include Dr Who in their top 10, but the question is - which era? For me it has to be the late 60s and the early 70s, and I was too young to see the first two series, so for me the real Dr Who will always be John Pertwee. With the recent transition to colour, it started to become obvious, even to someone as young as myself, how the props, and even many of the monsters, weren't really all that convincingly, and it couldn't therefore be all that scary, could it? Said I, from behind the sofa...

Catweazle
(1970 - 1972)
Does this count as science fiction? Well, there's time travel involved, so yes, I suppose it does qualify.
Geoffrey Bayldon starred as an 11th century magician, having to make a quick escape from some Norman soldiers, and ending up in 20th century England. Why it only ran for 2 series I don't know. Maybe they ran out of stories, as it was based on the Richard Carpenter books.

Survivors
(1975 – 77)
If I had to choose just one out of my top 10, it would be this one. Created by Terry Nation, who had been writer for Doctor Who "Survivors" was a chillingly real portrayal of a present-day plague, wiping out most of the human race. It ran for 3 series, and although the first series was undoubtedly the best - it had a real sense of unpredictability and anything could happen to any of the characters - I found all the programmes unmissable. Many of the episodes centred around the warring between the survivors, and how they perhaps weren't that lucky to survive after all.
The acting wasn't always the best (Peter Bowles appears briefly in the first series, and you can see why drama was something he was never famous for), but it was a great story well told, and came at a time when we were all convinced that something along those lines (plague, nuclear bombs - all leads to a similar end result) - it scared me to death, and even now, any news item on SARS or bird flu always makes me think immediately of "Survivors".

Flipside of Dominick Hyde
(1980)
Peter Firth (now in "Spooks") appeared as an alien spaceman in this "Play for today". He hailed from 2130, and arrives in modern day Britain because he is studying the London Transport system. It's a kind of gentler version of "Mork and Mindy", with more of a "Back to the Future" slant (is there a chance he is going to change the future?)
There was a sequel, released 2 years later, called "Another Flip for Dominick".
Convinced me that sci-fi programmes can have a sense of humour after all.

The Stand
(1994)
TV mini series which marries a post-apocalyptic world with religion and good versus evil - a recipe for disaster, but agreat success in sci-fi terms.
The novel is a brilliant story, and this programme was very true to the original. Special effects and great acting may not have been there in huge abundance, but it really couldn't lose for me. Gary sinise, Molly Ringwald, Matt Frewer (Max Headroom) all help things along nicely. Over 6 hours of gripping stuff.

The Last train
(1999)
Another post-apocalyptic tal, revolving around passengers on a train which leaves London but never arrives at its destination - due to the end of the world, basically.
The cast included Christopher Fulford (also in "Spooks"), and it took me back to those old "Survivors" programmes. Maybe not as good towards the end of the story, but the concept was great.

Taken
(2003)
This was “sci-fi’s epic miniseries event”, no less. It was certainly an event in my household – 20 hours worth of quality programming. Only drawback was it was screened it virtually the same time as “24” making it very difficult to catch all episodes of both.
It was billed as "Steven Speilberg presents... Taken", and a team of 10 directors were involved, one for each episode.
The cast included Matt Frewer (again, following from his appearance earlier in my Top 10, in "The Stand"), and Dakota Fanning was absolutely brilliant as the young girl with special powers.


Hope these bring back some memories for you!

Before I go, though.
Bubbling under. The ones that nearly made it, and I couldnt end without a mention:
The Jetsons (60s)
Tomorrow People (70s)
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (1981)
Threads(1984)
Ah yes, another apocalyotic one to end with...

Summary: A collection of great sci-fi programmes from the last 5 decades