The sci-fi genre has delivered many iconic stories over multiple decades, with many of its greatest coming in the form of TV shows. The best sci-fi TV shows often go on to earn massive success, enjoying considerable and continued popularity and leaving a significant imprint on wider pop culture. Shows like Star Trek and The Twilight Zone helped establish the genre in the relatively early years of television, cementing sci-fi as a small-screen staple that continues to endure to this day. With each year, more sci-fi shows are introduced to audiences around the world, but not all of them can be as successful as the genre’s best and brightest.
For every sci-fi show that becomes immortalized in pop culture, there are dozens more that are forgotten. Some sci-fi TV shows are underrated, while others are forgotten for the more understandable reason of being generally unimpressive. However, though the majority of sci-fi shows boast at least some established fan base, there have always been TV series that slip through the cracks of our collective consciousness to be widely forgotten by the world at large.
7) Class (BBC, 2016)
Class is a show whose obscurity makes no sense whatsoever. A spinoff of Doctor Who, its ties to the iconic British sci-fi show should earn it at least something of a following, but it has been widely forgotten in the decade since its release. Its bleak tone was a big shift from the more optimistic show it was born from, alienating many of its core fanbase from its very first episode. While it’s far from flawless, it’s still odd how Class was almost instantly forgotten upon cancellation.
6) Almost Human (Fox, 2013)
Throughout the genre’s history, there have been many sci-fi TV shows that deserved another season, and Almost Human deserves to be counted among them. The show’s premise involved a future cop reluctantly paired with an android partner despite his distrust of the robotic community, and starred Karl Urban and Michael Ealy. The dystopian sci-fi was great but was unfairly cancelled after just one season, relegating it to the status of a relatively obscure cult show.
5) Future Man (Hulu, 2017-2020)
The sci-fi genre is somewhat oversaturated, but that still doesn’t excuse brilliant shows going overlooked. Future Man is an example of a great sci-fi show that nobody saw, with its comedic touch perfectly complementing its sci-fi premise for a painfully small audience. Future Man‘s lack of any real success led not just to its cancellation, but its removal from all streaming services, which has only led to it becoming even more obscure despite its quality.
4) Terra Nova (Fox, 2011-2012)
Terra Nova is a prime example of a sci-fi TV show cancelled too soon. Its story follows the Shannon family as they join a colony established 85 million years in Earth’s past, trading the show’s dystopian and polluted 22nd century in favor of the more pristine natural setting of the Cretaceous Period. Its single-season run had massive potential, and Steven Spielberg’s role as an executive producer only furthered its sci-fi credentials, but it has sadly been all but forgotten since its cancellation.
3) Dark Matter (Syfy, 2015-2017)
There have been many great TV shows based on comic books, but for every successful example like The Walking Dead or Arrow, there’s a more obscure show like Dark Matter. It ran for three seasons before being cancelled in 2017, abruptly ending its run and cutting its story short. It follows a group of passengers aboard the starship Raza who awaken from stasis with no memories, but even its solid premise didn’t earn it a lasting place in pop culture. Sadly, it has been widely forgotten since its cancellation.
2) Bugs (BBC, 1995-1999)
British sci-fi shows have often found success around the world, but Bugs struggled to do so. Airing from 1995 to 1999 on the BBC, it followed a team of crime-fighting tech experts combating threats involving computers and other advanced technology. Despite being conceived by the creator of successful shows The Avengers and The Professionals, Bugs never really landed a lasting audience, and has since faded into obscurity, being forgotten by most sci-fi fans.
1) Lexx (Syfy, 1996-2002)
Lexx is often considered one of the most underrated sci-fi shows of the ’90s, making use of a campy but twisted tone to approach deep philosophical themes and emotional stories. An early example of a sci-fi show exploring the concept of the multiverse, Lexx followed the individuals on board the titular organic spacecraft as they navigate two distinct universes. Combining sci-fi with both light and dark elements, Lexx still stands out as decidedly unique, even though it never found enough of an audience to be considered anything more than a cult hit, and isn’t remembered by too many sci-fi fans today.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!