Sold! Thanks, folks.
Well, if you haven’t seen Firefly, do that.
For All Mankind is good, but it doesn’t really come across as sci-fi. At least in season one, it’s a drama about astronauts that happens to be set in a slightly different alternate history.
If you are willing to drop the space requirement, then I would suggest Humans.
Yup, just subscribed to Hulu simply to watch that.
I have never heard of Humans, but will check it out. The wikipedia page for it says that it was canceled after season 3 – did things get wrapped up or is it incomplete?
After Firefly, I’m going to give Farscape a try. Apparently the version on Amazon now has been remastered so it may not show its age.
Heh yeah, if Firefly strikes you well, you will binge it in one day.
The narrative arc of the three seasons was completed. They very obviously left the door open for more, but it’s a complete story (and, frankly, I’m glad they didn’t continue it in the direction it would have gone).
I assumed that’s what you were referring to coming up in about two seasons.
I would agree with this. It actually turns out to be a pretty good book once you get past the rather jarring opening.
Farscape relies heavily on puppetry, animatronics, extravagant costumes, etc. The series was produced by the Jim Henson Company. (E.g. Muppets, Kermit the Frog, Big Bird, etc.) The CGI is pretty rare and holds up well, IMO. There’s also a lot of humor, and it can get pretty twisted at times. The characters curse at every opportunity, but it’s usually some made-up fantasy curse word, so it’s safe for work and maybe kids.
I recommend Season 1 of LEXX as well. It can be really corny, but is still great.
There’s an even bigger punchline later in the episode that is not in the clip.
[ed]
Oops, that LEXX clip is from Season 2 not 1.
Thanks for the details. Went looking for Qt3 threads on Farscape and found this one that you posted in several times. And found this great post from @krayzkrok
So, yeah, definitely going to dig in to this after Firefly.
Speaking of which, just watched the first Firefly episode (the 2-hr pilot, though apparently not the first to air) and it was truly excellent. Such good writing and characters.
The first season of Farscape is good but it doesn’t really come together until season 2. It’s also a show that was pre prestige television, and for it’s time it was pretty noteworthy in that many plot points wouldn’t get rapped up in a single episode and would carry on for many, even if the show as a whole mostly followed the sort of X-files model of stand alones mixed with story arc episodes. They do something in season three that was truly novel for the time. It would be interesting how it might differ if made today and if they would go more with one big contiguous story like you get with a lot of modern shows.
I don’t know how well the CGI might hold up (hmm, might be about time for another rewatch) but the physical effects – especially the puppetry – were outstanding. As was the writing and acting. Do consider skiming the Qt3 thread(s?) for advice from veteran fans, as there’s some solid info there about how the show improved over time and how much you need to watch before it starts to really shine.
Ben Browder is one of those actors I feel should have been bigger, if he was younger he probably would have been cast as Starlord in GotG, Gunn publicly loves Farscape which is why Browder shows up in part 2.
Maybe, but Lani Tupu is a damned genius
Since youre doing Firefly, a truly excellent show that has a couple of episodes that are the best in any sci fi series ( Out Of Gas and Objects In Space are incredible ) then you also need to find the movie Serenity. Since the series was very prematurely cancelled Serenity gives you a bit of closure.
I’m not sure there’s a character I didn’t like (or hate, depending, lol).
That’s easy…Jool.
Yup, I intend to. Strangely, the series is streamed on Hulu only, the movie on Netflix. I’ve been on Netflix forever, and have held off watching the movie until I could watch the series. On Episode 2 currently. I might binge watch the rest for Father’s Day tomorrow. Because I deserve it.
What? She was kind of spoiled/sheltered, and had an annoying scream, but she still had a heart of gold IMO.
Having now watched two episodes of Firefly, I’m struck by how the four crew members serve similar roles to the four crew members on the Expanse:
Holden = Mal
Naomi = Zoe
Alex = Hoban
Amos = Jayne
Obviously there are differences in the specifics of their characters, and obviously these are four archetypes for genre fiction, but I’m still struck by the similarities. Particularly Amos and Jayne, two not-bright brutes whose loyalties are sometimes in doubt.
I agree with most of your comparisons except for about Amos. The roles between Jayne and Amos are similar but Amos’ loyalties are never in doubt, in fact, that is probably his most defining trait. He is loyal to a fault. Now his morality? That is rather fluid, much like Jayne only Jayne acts completely out of motivated self interest, while Amos will do anything to protect friend, family and crew.