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5 Sci Fi Shows That I Wish Could Have Lasted Longer

Updated on September 29, 2014

Are you a sci fi fan or a fantasy fan?

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Introduction

Sci Fi and fantasy have both grown in popularity in recent years. I personally believe that this is a good thing because sci fi and fantasy are both excellent genres of literature, TV shows, and movies. Both genres though seem to be still viewed as problematic by TV producers. There are various reasons for this of course. The necessary special effects make the shows more expensive than most. For instance, just take a look at the dragons in HBO’s Game of Thrones. Also some producers seem to have either a built in hatred of sci fi or just a complete lack of understanding of what makes good sci fi. Perhaps because they do not like it, they do not understand it. As a result, many good shows sadly get canceled. Here, I would like to look at five such shows.

#5. Space Above and Beyond

The cast of Space Above and Beyond (from left to right) Joel de la Fuente, Rodney Rowland, Morgan Weisser, James Morrison, Kristen Cloke, and Lanei Chapman
The cast of Space Above and Beyond (from left to right) Joel de la Fuente, Rodney Rowland, Morgan Weisser, James Morrison, Kristen Cloke, and Lanei Chapman | Source

This was a decent show from back in the nineties, which was canceled because it cost too much to produce. It centered on a squadron of Marines, called The Wild Cards, as they battled an alien race called the Chig. The show starts out with humanity thinking that they are alone in the galaxy. They have sent out two colonies that the Chig suddenly attack for no apparent reason. So begins the war. While the show does definitely suffer from some cheesiness, it is still quite a good show. James Morrison turned in an excellent performance as Colonel McQueen, the commanding officer of The Wild Cards. He was also a Tank or Invitro, humans grown in tanks for the purpose of being soldiers. This show lasted all of one season. The last episodes started out feeling as though they were going to go for a cop out ending, but then they delivered an incredibly brilliant ending. This was the show that Ronald D. Moore originally wanted to remake before he was given Battlestar Galactica. While his Battlestar Galactica was an excellent show, I really wish that he had been able to do this show because the source material is so much better than the original Battlestar Galactica.

#4. Stargate Atlantis

Final Season cast (from left to right) Jason Momoa, Rachell Luttrell, Robert Picardo, Joe Flanigan, David Hewlett, and Jewel Staite
Final Season cast (from left to right) Jason Momoa, Rachell Luttrell, Robert Picardo, Joe Flanigan, David Hewlett, and Jewel Staite | Source

The order of these next two is probably going to anger some people. Stargate Atlantis like its predecessor Stargate SG-1 was a very humorous show. I thought that the first season was a bit rocky, but it ended well. The basic premise is that a team of civilians and soldiers led by Dr. Weir go through a Stargate to the lost city of Atlantis, which happens to be in the Pegasus Galaxy. While there, they accidentally wake up a race called the Wraith, who feed off of human life force. The rest of the show has them dealing with these aliens and other threats that pop up. This show became more and more brilliant as it moved along, but then it was canceled by Syfy and replaced with Stargate Universe. Stargate fans were promised a direct to DVD movie that would finish up the plot, but it never came. All of this angered Stargate fans. This show ran for five seasons. It had excellent performances turned in by Joe Flanigan as Colonel Sheppard, David Hewlett as Rodney McKay, Rachell Luttrell as Teyla Emmagan, and Jason Momoa as the warrior Ronon Dex. In the next to final season, the show also picked up Jewel Staite as Dr. Jennifer Keller. The idiotic thing about the cancellation of this show was that it was part of a very successful franchise. MGM’s financial woes may have influenced the decision to cancel Atlantis.

#3. Stargate Universe

Stargate Universe cast back row (from left to right): Ming-Na, Louis Ferreira, Jamil Walker Smith, Brian J. Smith, and Lou Diamond Phillips Middle: David Blue Front row (from left to right): Alaina Huffman, Robert Carlyle, and Elyse Levesque
Stargate Universe cast back row (from left to right): Ming-Na, Louis Ferreira, Jamil Walker Smith, Brian J. Smith, and Lou Diamond Phillips Middle: David Blue Front row (from left to right): Alaina Huffman, Robert Carlyle, and Elyse Levesque | Source

Stargate Universe was a show that I personally felt was never given a fair chance by Stargate fans. This was probably due in part to the fact that Syfy started it out on the wrong foot by angering the fanbase when it canceled Atlantis. However, Stargate Universe was actually quite a good show. It was not as fun or as lighthearted as its two predecessors, but it still managed to have lighthearted and humorous moments. The darker feel served the story quite well. The basic premise is that a group of people manages to use a Stargate to gate to an ancient starship outside of our galaxy. They are then trapped on said ship, producing several problems. It also had an excellent performance by Robert Carlyle as the scheming Doctor Nicholas Rush. Sadly, this show lasted only two seasons. With MGM’s recent decision to rehire Devlin and Emmerich (the directors of the original Stargate movie) to create a Stargate Movie Trilogy, we will most likely never see any continuation of this show.

The cast of Caprica (from left to right): Magda Apanowicz, Alessandra Torresani, Polly Walker, Eric Stoltz, Paula Malcomson, Sasha Roiz, Esai Morales
The cast of Caprica (from left to right): Magda Apanowicz, Alessandra Torresani, Polly Walker, Eric Stoltz, Paula Malcomson, Sasha Roiz, Esai Morales | Source

These next two were difficult for me to rank because they were both awesome and brilliant shows. Caprica is the prequel series to the re-imaged Battlestar Galactica. It was going to deal with the rise of the Cylons, who would later come close to wiping out mankind. It mainly takes place on the planet of Caprica, where religious tensions are flaring after a terrorist attack. It follows two main families, who are affected by said attack, the Graysons and the Adamas. Despite its excellence, the show was canceled after one season. It still delivered an excellent climax with a teaser about what season 2 would have been like. Like Battlestar Galactica, this show does contain scenes that some people may want to skip.

#1. Firefly

Cast of Firefly (from left to right): Adam Baldwin, Summer Glau, Sean Maher, Nathan Fillion, Morena Baccarin, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Jewel Staite, and Ron Glass
Cast of Firefly (from left to right): Adam Baldwin, Summer Glau, Sean Maher, Nathan Fillion, Morena Baccarin, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Jewel Staite, and Ron Glass | Source

I put this show as number one for two reasons. First off, the show was brilliant. It was a space western. Second off, it received a raw deal from Fox. This has been talked about frequently online so I’m not going to talk about it in depth, but seriously, it only had fourteen episodes. There were several problems including order of episode airing, time slot placement, and advertising with the way this show was done. These problems were pretty much Fox’s fault. The premise of the show was that mankind had left earth and settled on several planets and moons. There was then a war of unification. Two of the main characters fought on the losing side. They then became outlaw smugglers on a type of ship called a Firefly. This was one of Joss Whedon’s excellent pieces of work, and all the actors turned in brilliant performances. If Fox had been willing to do the work to make it a successful show, it would have been. Just take a look at how well the DVDs sold. Most people did not know this show existed until after it was canceled.

What Sci Fi show do you want to see more of?

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Conclusion

There are of course several other sci fi shows that were given raw deals and canceled way too soon. A lot of this seems to happen on Syfy, the channel, which was founded to air good sci fi. Unfortunately Syfy seems ashamed of their sci fi roots and would rather show reality TV, the bane of good TV.

In conclusion I would love to see more shows like these shows. They were all good shows. I would also love to see Ronald D. Moore’s remake of Space Above and Beyond. Another idea, which has some merit, would be NetFlix picking up a show like Firefly. Unfortunately, Joss Whedon probably does not have time for that.

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