[ExI] What sf/fantasy series are on your "try to watch fairly soon/someday" list?

[Dan TheBookMan]

On Tue, Jun 1, 2021 at 10:13 AM John Grigg via extropy-chat
<extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:
> My own list... And it only gets longer and longer with the passage of time! Lol
>
> The Mandalorian (I only saw the first two great fantastic episodes, but will soon remedy that...)
> Stargirl (I saw the first episode which looked great)
> Supergirl (I saw the first several very good seasons)
> The Expanse (I only saw the first excellent season. I must finish it!)
> Black Mirror (I have only seen a handful of episodes, the series scares me)
> Humans (I want to see either the European original or the American reboot)
> Agents of Shield (I was not overly impressed with the first season, but people have told me to give it a chance)
> Doctor Who (I need to start watching it again. I have not seen the female doctor yet)
> West World (I liked the first season but heard it went downhill)
> Legion (I loved this crazy series about the son of Professor X. I need to see the final season)
> Star Trek Discovery (I very much enjoyed the first season, but have not watched further)
> The Orville (I've only seen two episodes but really enjoyed it)
> Lost Girl (A pg sexy series I enjoyed but never finished)
> Walking Dead (I saw perhaps the first five seasons which were excellent)
> Continuum (I only saw the first episode, but the concept seemed fascinating and it was well reviewed)
> Person of Interest (I loved this series but never saw the series finale!)
> Killjoys (I only saw one episode, but it looked fun and smarter than I would have expected)
> Dark Matter (A cool sf concept and good ratings. I never saw it)
> Travelers (I have never seen it, but the premise is fascinating)
> Misfits (A British series about people gaining powers which is supposed to be good)
> The Man in the High Castle (I was so excited about this series, but only saw the pilot and the series finale!  Lol)
> Undone (I have heard so many good things about this unusual fantasy series. I must watch it)
> Ascension (A generation ship! I only saw the first episode, but the premise is great.)
> Titans (I loved the comic, and supposedly they do a decent job despite a limited tv budget)
> Dark (A German masterpiece of the macabre from what I hear)
> Final Space (A sf animated comedy that sounds cool)
> Impulse (Teleportation powers via the Jumper book series)
> Star Trek Short Treks (Not the best reviews but I am curious)
> Star Trek Lower Decks (Animated fun. I enjoyed the one episode I saw)
> For All Mankind (From the lead producer of DS9 and BSG! I will definitely get around to watching it)
> Star Trek Enterprise (I got quickly tired of it,but friends told me the final two seasons were actually great)
> Falling Skies (I really enjoyed the first season and want to finish it)
> Blake's 7 (A sf classic that I need to finish. I really enjoyed the first episode)
> Colony (An interesting concept of an Earth under alien occupation. I never watched it)
> Devs (I keep on hearing how brilliant this show is, and so I must find out for myself)
> Lovecraft Country (I saw the terrific first episode. I need to finish this series!)
> Lucifer (The first two seasons were excellent. I must finish it)
> Tales From The Loop (The inspiration for this series is what fascinates me! I gotta watch it soon. The reviews were good)
> Space Force (I loved the first episode and need to finish it. A terrific cast)
> Avenue Five (Hugh Laurie as the captain of a cruise ship in space! Lol I gotta see it!)
> Wandavision (The first episode was wacky like I Love Lucy, but I've been told the series only grows from there)
> Doom Patrol (I loved the first season and need to finish it)
> The Witcher (The first season had potential, but the show built around the terrific lead is weak)
> The Dark Crystal (I've been saving this series as if it's a piece of prized chocolate)
> Kingdom (Korean historical horror with zombies!)
> The Umbrella Academy (I saw the first episode and was very impressed. I need to finish it!)
> The Order (Harry Potter with more of an edge, from what I have read)
> The Magicians (I never read the books, which I hear makes watching the fun series easier)
> Deadly Class (I enjoy the premise of a crime school for the pre-eminent crime families of the world)
> The Passage (I love "secret gov't facility for genetically engineered mutants" types of shows)
> Legends of Tomorrow (I got a kick out of the first season. And I've heard it evolved well over the following ones)
> Black Lightning (It looks like fun and is well done. I need to watch it)
> Nightflyers (Mixed reviews but I did like the old eighties film based on a George R.R. Martin story)
> American Gods (I loved the novel and the first season of the show. But I've heard it had quality problems later on)
> Jessica Jones (I only saw the first two episodes, but it was excellent)
> Better Than Us (A Russian series about androids in the near future that sounds very good and different, not the usual rise of the machines stuff)
> Adventure Time (I need to watch the final season of this much beloved series!)
> Agent Carter (I only saw the first few episodes, but it was great and it deserved several seasons)
> Ash versus the Evil Dead (Crazy over the top fun and I loved the  first season, but found the second perhaps too gory)
> The Flash (I loved the first three seasons and need to catch up)
> Neil Gaiman’s Likely Stories (How did I miss hearing about this series? Wow... I got to hear him speak in Arizona and was so touched by his humanity and storytelling abilities)
> iZombie (I really enjoyed the first two seasons and need to finish this series with such a great cast. The main villain has a background of having been an abusive Dungeons & Dragons Dungeonmaster as a teenager, which I find hilarious)
> Gotham (very well done but I never finished it)
> The Strain (Very scary vampires and I need to watch the final season)
> Outlander (I know the author, but still have not read the excellent books or seen the wonderful tv adaptation)
> Altered Carbon (I have seen a few episodes, but did not feel drawn to it)
> Mr. Robot (a terrific series that I need to finish. I only saw the first three excellent episodes)
> Luke Cage (I saw the first few episodes and the fight scenes were terrific)
> Warrior Nun (The name alone drew my interest! Lol It supposedly is a fun fantasy actioner)
> Farscape (I have only seen one episode. The muppet aliens make the show hard for me to take seriously. Also, the villain looks like a male bondage dominatrix)
> Haven (I'm just enough of a Stephen King fan to want to watch this supposedly very good series)
> Jeremiah (I like the premise but have only seen a few episodes. The man behind Babylon 5 did this show)
> Orphan Black (I keep on hearing about what a brilliant show it is and that the lead actress is just amazing as she plays the various clones)
>
> It is almost overwhelming, in terms of the number of shows that come out. I'm just not a television watcher like I was when I was younger. I find it interesting how some series can still utterly grab me, such as Invincible, Game of Thrones, The Boys, Stranger Things, Love, Death and Robots, Star Trek: Picard, Helix, Chuck, Eureka, Raised by Wolves, Dead Like Me, Blood of Zeus, What We Do in the Shadows, and a number of others.
>
> I look forward to seeing your lists...

More my response to your list than my own:

Highly recommend the Misfits series and Undone. Both are incredible.

Ascension: saw an episode or two and might finish it, but it hasn't drawn me in.
Blake's 7: want to see.
Dark Matter: very by the book. Didn't watch past a few episodes.
Dark Mirror: want to see as well.
Farscape: well, watched the whole series. It's silly and goes
overboard often. Pure space opera.
iZombie... eh.
The Man in the High Castle: big problem is I read the book. I watched
the whole series nonetheless. So so. It's kind of what happens when
you take a literary great and try to adapt it. Often you end up with,
well, this.
Mr. Robot, first episode great then it went downhill. Still good, but
not enough for me to watch season two.
Nightflyers was silly, IMO, but I watched to the end?.:)

When you said Kingdom, I was reminded of the Danish TV series Riget,
which I highly recommend. No, it's not about zombies -- or not
completely, so not a close relation to the Korean series. (A closer
relation to the awful US series. Don't compare them. A friend of mine
saw the US version first and told me when I showed him a few episodes
of the Danish original that the Danish version was ten times better.)

Biggest disappointment, since I read all the books (or drooled over
the artwork:), was Tales from the Loop. I watched the whole run, but
it was poorly written and not well thought out. The only thing they
seemed to have done was keep the backdrop (retrofuturist robots and
tech) and tried to channel the melancholy.

I'd also recommend Electric Dreams. Uneven adaptation of some PKD
stories. And The Omega Factor. I saw the latter on DVD a few years
ago. It's like a Scottish version of Fringe (if you don't know Fringe,
you should), but from the 1970s. Sadly, it only ran one season.

Regards,

Dan
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