A big part of entertainment culture during the late 20th and early 21st century was the wide variety of sci-fi shows on television. The stories were always interesting, and they covered everything from space missions and alien contact to AI and robot takeover.
Yet, many series got canceled faster than hyper speed. Viewers might think cancellations were in part due to poor writing or performances, but the truth is that many fell victim to bad timing. If the show didn’t make a profit, or came during a public crisis (look how many shows didn’t renew for a second season due to COVID), it meant it was time to abort ship and set photon blasters back to zero.
Now, 30 years later (if not more in some cases), with CGI looking more pristine than ever, and social platforms becoming green-light makers (like what Twitter did for Doctor Who on BBC America), there’s no better time for these sci-fi gems to get a second chance.
10. Firefly
A small but fervent fan base holds Firefly in extremely high regard, considering it one of the biggest television tragedies of all time. Joss Whedon, known for his work in the Avengers MCU and universally revered as the “Nerd God,” turned his space western into a beloved cult classic, even though it was sadly only in production for one lonely season.
Nothing else on television at the time could compare to Firefly, thanks to its entertaining ensemble of characters, meticulously designed universe, and Whedon’s signature humor. Fox ruined the series by not promoting it enough, airing the episodes in the wrong order, and eventually canceling it because of low viewership. While the 2005 film Serenity did help quench the thirst for Firefly audiences, it wasn’t enough to bring it back.
9. Battlestar Galactica
The serious tone of Battlestar Galactica reflects the toll of war and the annihilation of civilization, in contrast to its campier 1970s version it was based on. The four seasons of Battlestar Galactica, together with its prequels and spin-offs, provide a compelling tale and clearly expresses how fans have not had enough of the series. Rumor has it that Sam Esmail of Mr. Robot is working on a Battlestar Galactica reboot for Peacock, but it’s still too early to tell if fans would embrace a fresh perspective or lament the loss of the show they knew and loved.
8. The X-Files
The X-Files revolutionized science fiction television and continues to inspire imitators with its deft handling of both solo mysteries and broader sci-fi plots. The X-Files was one of the lucky few shows to endure for so long and to do so while also surviving a major cast shakeup. Seasons 10 (2016) and 11 (2018), the two shortened revival seasons, are among the worst in the series’ history and demonstrate that it should remain in the past. Yet a complete relaunch aimed at a new generation sounds like it could be quite promising. I want to believe it could happen.
7. Westworld
Westworld’s debut on HBO was praised by many, and the first season’s popularity made people think that the sci-fi show would become HBO’s next Game of Thrones. That feeling slowly subsided, as the next seasons of Westworld left fans with mixed emotions. The show tried too hard to get ahead of the audience, which made the narrative too hard to follow at times. Yet as many felt the show began to improve by season 4, it wasn’t enough to avoid the ax of cancellation. Without the closure so many fans desperately want, Westworld has become the Wild West, and it will be a while before the property can be rebooted again.
6. Stargate Universe
Stargate Universe was supposed to be different from the other shows in the franchise, hoping to recreate the success of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. Unfortunately, it didn’t capture the imagination of audiences and critics the same way its predecessors had. It was about a group of scientists led by Dr. Nicholas Rush (Robert Carlyle) who were looking into connections with other worlds outside of the Milky Way Galaxy. After two seasons, the end of SGU didn’t give a clear answer about whether or not there was life on other planets after the Big Bang. Instead, it left a big gaping black hole in the hearts of many fans, who wanted it to be a monster hit like Atlantis. Maybe another voyage with their spacecraft Destiny would do the trick.
5. Heroes
Heroes has the makings of a changer in the superhero genre game. Unfortunately, the writers couldn’t hold up plot and character arcs for too long, and the show started to go downhill fast. Heroes was canceled after four seasons, then brought back as a mini-series, Heroes Reborn, in 2015, but didn’t ignite the interest of critics or fans. Another reboot today could do the series some justice. The superhero genre could use a refresh, and harking on normal people coming to terms with their extraordinary powers is something audiences can cling onto again. Who doesn’t love a good origin story? Especially when a whole series revolves around it. Maybe the third time is the real charm.
4. Babylon 5
Star Trek shan’t be mentioned on this list, since it has been redone more times than CBS paid Sylvester Stallone to air the Rocky movies in the 1980’s. Instead, we’ll include its close rival that also explored politics, culture, and emotional drama in a distant future in uncharted space. That show is Babylon 5. Coined as “Casablanca in space,” the show explored the lives of crew members on the titular space station. Revisiting those crew members is something creator J. Michael Straczynski wouldn’t mind doing for the CW. The network’s changing reorg, however, along with re-prioritization in programming, has left its future on the table. Fans haven’t completely given up on the fate of Babylon 5, but the lack of prioritization from CW might mean the end for the space comrades.
3. Dark Angel
In the late ‘90s, there was a trend of strong female characters in television, sci-fi included. Thus Dark Angel got produced as a trend-setter, launching Jessica Alba to mega fame, and co-created by none other than Terminator director James Cameron. The show, inspired by the manga Battle Angel Alita, featured Max Guevara (Alba), a supersoldier who escaped at a young age from a secret military camp called Manticore. As an adult, she made it her mission to find her brothers and sisters with the help of cyber-journalist Logan Cale (Michael Weatherly). Although it made it to the third season, it was canceled after being outranked by the success of the competing series, Angel. Today, with the comeback of shows starring female leads (The Handmaid Tale, Marvel’s Jessica Jones, and Netflix’s oh-so-good but also oh-so-canceled Glow come to mind), why not give Dark Angel a second chance to ride again into the night?
2. Almost Human
Seeing Detective John Kennex (Karl Urban) and Police “Synthetic” Dorian (Michael Ealy) work together made people wonder if a robot could be more humane than actual human cops. Even though it quickly became popular, it only had a short lived single season of 13 episodes, due to the deadly combo of low viewership and high production costs.
When Being Human moved away from its British roots, it really shined and delivered big with fans. A lot of reviewers thought that the British show could have finished a season earlier, but they thought that the American show could have gone on for a lot longer. Keeping the British source material to heart, diehard fans still believe there are way more stories to be told and character arcs to explore. Plus, with Karl Urban’s insane success with The Boys and Dredd fans awaiting its long lost sequel, now is the perfect time to bring back and reboot this cult hit.
1. Sliders
In the mid-1990s, Sliders was a must-watch for science fiction fans. Quinn Mallory and his close-knit group of friends find wormholes that let them “slide” to other worlds, but they can only go to each one once. The science may be hard to follow, but the brilliant combo of a hot ensemble cast and a witty self-awareness made it stand the test of time despite its cancellation after 5 seasons due to creative and political differences between its show-runners and Fox studios. The co-creators of the show and some of its original stars have talked about a new season of Sliders for a few years now, but it hasn’t happened yet. There’s a chance that the success of similar sci-fi revivals, like Quantum Leap and Doctor Who, will be looked at first before making more Sliders happen.