By Joshua Tyler
| Published
Science fiction on television has been dominated by Star Trek for decades. In much the same way people think of Star Wars when they think of space movies
There have been so many Star Trek shows that when best space series lists are made, Trek tends to dominate them and push out other equally deserving but smaller entries, but the Federation doesn’t own the entire universe.
Most of the best space sci-fi shows have nothing to do with Star Trek at all, and you may not know about many of them. That’s about to change. These are the best space shows that aren’t Star Trek.
9. Stargate Universe
Stargate Universe was the Stargate franchise’s attempt to make the leap into modern television storytelling. It was the first Stargate series with a signal, linear narrative driving toward a definite destination.
The spinoff series follows a group of human military men and scientists trapped aboard an ancient starship in a far-off galaxy with no way home. The cast is great, the ship is amazing, and the story is unique and interesting. The show was canceled after only two seasons, but by its second, it really started coming together.Â
It’s hard not to wonder how high up this list Stargate Universe might have been if it had gotten the time it deserved.Â
8. Red Dwarf
Making science fiction funny is nearly impossible, but you’d never know it from watching Red Dwarf. This iconic British series makes outer space hilarity seem easy.Â
It’s the story of Dave Lister, a low-level nothing aboard a massive mining ship called Red Dwarf. He gets shoved into stasis, and while he’s sleeping, the entire crew gets killed. Three million years later, Lister awakens to find himself alone in the universe.
Alone, except for a stylishly dressed man who evolved from the ship’s cat, a smeghead hologram of one of his dead crew mates, and an android with an ironing obsession.
7. Firefly
Canceling Firefly was one of the biggest mistakes in the history of television. Had the Joss Whedon-created series gotten the run it deserved, Firefly would have become the next big Star Trek-sized franchise. The small handful of episodes the show was given are so good that they’re still on this list.
Firefly follows a rag-tag group of smugglers aboard a Firefly class cargo ship called Serenity, trying to make their way in a Wild West-styled universe. It takes a lot of cues from another great show called Farscape, which you’ll read more about in this list.Â
It’s carried by the dynamic crew and the unstoppable charisma of Nathan Fillion as the ship’s Han Solo-like captain. Watch every episode of it, and you, too, will aim to misbehave.Â
6. Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These
Legend of the Galactic Heroes began as a 10-novel series by Japanese author Yoshiki Tanaka and went on to become one of the most influential and longest-running space operas in Japanese history. It’s been adapted into animation several times, but the best version is the most recent version.
The current anime series is fully titled Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These. It tells the story of competing Galactic empires through the lens of two strategic geniuses, one in each nation, as they each rise through the military ranks, buoyed by their achievements.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes is a complex mix of eye-popping large-scale space battles, political maneuvering, and personal relationships told over a series of decades. It’s one of the biggest stories ever told, so big it’s hard to imagine it being told in any form other than anime.
5. The Orville
Maybe The Orville shouldn’t be here since this isn’t a Star Trek list. It’s the most Star Trek show to hit television since the cancellation of Enterprise, and that’s a vibe series creator Seth Macfarlane fostered on purpose. It’s not Star Trek though, so here it sits.
The Orville is about a crew of explorers wandering their way through the cosmos, encountering the wonders of the universe, and challenging the human spirit. It is exactly what Star Trek was back when they had the bald guy in charge of the ship, back when it was still good.
The Orville will scratch the Star Trek itch that hasn’t been satisfied by Paramount’s current Trek offerings, and sometimes, especially in season one, it’s also really funny.Â
4. FarscapeÂ
Farscape does not ease viewers into the show’s aesthetic. It’s weird from the first episode, and it only gets weirder. It’s also one of the best things in the history of television. If you stick with it, you’ll fall in love.
Farscape was Guardians of the Galaxy before the Guardians of the Galaxy movies existed, and James Gunn has admitted the series was an inspiration for his Marvel films. That’s why Farscape star Ben Browder shows up in them.
It’s about a ship, a living ship full of escaped prisoners on the run, and the one human who falls through a wormhole and ends up lost in space with them. Farscape is heartbreaking and funny and romantic and terrifying, and every other emotion you can imagine. It’s also unique—absolutely unique. Nothing on this list or any other is quite like Farscape.Â
3. The Expanse
The Expanse is the closest we’ve gotten to seeing real hard sci-fi realized in live-action in a series format. It’s based on a series of books (which are worth reading) and set in a near future where humans have colonized Mars and other parts of the solar system.
On the surface it’s about the big questions that surface when the unknown collides with human politics. It’s been called Game of Thrones in space by some, and in certain ways that’s accurate. The heart of the show is a small crew who become friends and battle their way through disaster season after season, with no one to rely on but each other aboard their small ship.
The Expanse covers a lot of ground but always brings it back to the Rocinante. It’s her crew that elevates the show to another level.Â
2. Babylon 5
You can thank Babylon 5 for much of the best modern storytelling. The show was a trailblazer, one of the first series to have a five-season linear story arc and the first television series to use CGI on a large scale. The storylines are epic and huge. The characters are carefully developed, and each has a complete and satisfying arc.
The series is set primarily aboard a single space station, the last of the Babylon stations. It widens out its scope as the crew becomes embroiled in brutal galactic wars and tangled up in chillingly familiar Earth politics.Â
No one on Babylon 5 is exactly what they seem. Discovering who they really are is what makes this one of the best space-set sci-fi shows of all time.Â
1. Battlestar Galactica
The 2004 Battlestar Galactica is a remake of a classic 70s science fiction series, but it’s reboot creator Ronald D. Moore who made this version what it is. What it is, is the best science fiction series ever produced. Or at least the best one that isn’t Star Trek.
Ron Moore also helped make Star Trek’s best series, Deep Space Nine, serving as the show’s co-executive producer. Basically, Ron Moore was always going to be at the top of this list, one way or another.
Battlestar Galactica works on every level. As an adventure series, it has the best special effects found in anything. It excels on both a big and small scale, doing it all better than most movies despite operating on a fraction of the budget.
As a piece of storytelling, it contains a deep and complex narrative with compelling characters and a tightly constructed plot. It also works on a philosophical level, examining the nature of belief and the limits of the human spirit.
Now 20 years old, Battlestar Galactica has grown richer and more poignant with time. While at first, the show’s unusual choice for an ending left fans conflicted, rewatching it now feels perfect—as if this was always the only way the Galactica’s journey could have ended.Â
Watch Battlestar Galactica. Your life won’t be complete until you do.