Sci-Fi News and Reviews

Worst Sci-Fi Programs

As I was browsing for article topics, I found a link to the "10 Worst TV Shows Of The Last 10 Years". Thankfully, there were no Sci-Fi entries on the list!

But, it got me thinking - what would be the worst Sci-Fi offerings of the last 10 years? I thought this would be a very easy task. Surely, there have been a slew of badly done Sci-Fi shows over the past few years, right?

It turns out that this was a bit more difficult than I thought. I used Wikipedia's giant List Of All Science Fiction Television Programs as a source list. The problem is that there are a lot of sub-par programs, but few that really really suck bad enough to make a Worst list. I kept finding redemptive qualities (man...I must really like Sci-Fi programming, eh?). For instance, "Alf" was kinda funny in a weird way..."Manimal" had a cult following...how bad is the new "Flash Gordon" really? I found an excuse for many of the shows on the list. In addition, I don't think anyone has seen *all* of the shows on the list, so I had to go with what I have actually seen.

So, without further ado (or qualifications), here is the list:

Threshold The premise of the show held so much promise. The cast was full of excellent actors (Carla Gugino, Brent Spiner Peter Dinklage). Yet, all of that was undone by the horrifyingly bad dialogue. A huge disappointment.
Black Scorpion
Yeah...I actually watched this. Other than the skimpy costume, the show really had no redeeming qualities.

M.A.N.T.I.S
This should have been better. It had Sam Raimi (Spiderman) at the helm and a decent superhero concept. But, this is a prime example of a missed opportunity. According to the wiki, the show was retooled due to low ratings - I never even noticed!

Finally, (thanks to a suggestion from Ken), we need to make a pre-emptive strike here. The "Knight Rider" backdoor pilot just can't be good, can it? Here is the quote summarizing the plot: "...the whole point of the new Knight Rider movie is that KITT is the coolest car ever created and people will do anything to get their hands on it. " Yeah. Consider it added (for now).

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Posted by Fred on January 28, 2008 11:46 AM
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Where is the Sarah Connor chronicles?
A kevlar chair? A man eating lunch in the middle of a crime scene? Stupid Terminators who can't move to the left to avoid a sliding bike? A resistance movement that exists in a place with no doors or windows? (Or was it open doors and an open lobby? Who cares?
Worst show of a known quantity ever.
How people like it is beyond...oh...yeah, probably same people who thought Cloverfield was good.

-- Posted by: brian at January 29, 2008 11:58 PM

I've got to see a bit more of "Sarah Conner" before passing judgement. I remember absolutely killing the pilot of "Moonlight" (which was horrible), but then being amazed that the show got better each week.

With "Sarah", I actually thought the first hour was pretty solid, with a drop off in the next episodes. Still, I see enough there to give it a couple of more chances before making a final judgement.

BTW, it's way better than "Bionic Woman" (which was under consideration for the list).

-- Posted by: Fred at January 30, 2008 9:23 AM

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