Where Have All the Good Shows Gone?

There seems to be a paucity of good science fiction shows on American television today.  But, unfortunately, that has often been the story.  A great deal of the problem lies in the fact that network executives often just don't get the whole genre of sci-fi.   In the very early days of television, sci-fi was largely just a repackaging of the popular westerns.  Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers (even his name shouts "wild west") were recycled cowboys and the original Star Trek was pitched as a Wagon Train in outer space. 

 In the early days of television (which consisted primarily of variety shows), anthology science fiction, like Outer Limits and Twilight Zone, were popular.  However, as the television series took hold (I Love Lucy and Gunsmoke), networks tried their hand at the science fiction series. Historically, traditional science fiction series (stories set in outer space and involving species from other planets) are short lived. Star Trek struggled to survive four seasons, Lost in Space made it three, and Battlestar Galactica a mere eighteen months. Only during the Golden Age of science fiction on American television (in the 90's), did traditional science fiction find its niche with the Stargate  and new Star Trek franchises. By the new millennium, however, these shows were again on the decline and exceptional sci-fi shows, like Firefly (which, ironically, was a western in space), quickly got the axe.

More palatable to the tastes of the average American viewer were shows that fell into the category of urban science fiction (stories set primarily on earth, but including elements of science fiction).  Among the early shows of this genre are Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, The Time Tunnel, and My Favorite Martian. The appeal of this style of sci-fi series is evident in the success of shows like Mork and Mindy, The Incredible Hulk, and the Six Million Dollar Man.  Even during the Golden Age, urban sci-fi reached the masses with shows like X-Files and Third Rock from the Sun. 

The new millennium showed a marked decline in traditional science fiction televisions series.  The Star Trek and Stargate franchises were in their decline, but shows like Lost, Eureka, and Fringe were all the buzz.  As this decade began, apocalyptic shows were all the rage; from Falling Skies to Walking Dead.  Only one traditional sci-fi show seems to be taking hold of Americans- and it isn't even produced in America.  The new Doctor Who has taken sci-fi fans by storm and promises to be as brilliant as its predecessor (which aired for an amazing 26 seasons).

We can only hope that American television networks will sit up and take note of the popularity of Doctor Who and decide that it is time to create our own traditional science fiction series. Until then, I'm not about to miss the Doctor's new exploits, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that American television will soon be back in the game.