Anyone who loves sci-fi knows we are living in a pretty amazing time when it comes to TV and streaming series with science fiction elements. From The Expanse (Amazon Prime) to Star Trek Discovery and Picard (Paramount Plus) and so many others, there are a lot of shows to choose from. But, if you’re caught up on current episodes, it’s always great to take a look back at some past series to see if you might have missed a good one.
Check out this list of 5 sci-fi shows from the last few decades that you might want to check out if you haven’t already.
Dollhouse
Dollhouse ran for only a short time (2 seasons and just 27 episodes) from 2009-20010, but it’s worth a watch if you like your sci-fi grounded in modern times (or at least modern as of 2009). So you won’t get spaceships and transporters, but you will get a twisty plotline about a shadowy corporation running covert operations with people who can be programmed with the personalities and abilities necessary to complete the various missions.
The show primarily follows Echo (Eliza Dushku) as she begins to become aware of herself and how she is being used by the corporation as one of their ‘dolls’. There is a reasonable amount of action, and you’ll note a number of actors from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer universe, since the show was created by Joss Whedon.
It was never a huge hit with audiences or critics but still managed to put out 2 solid seasons of content.
Millennium
Now we’re going way back to the 1990s for the very strange and sometimes disturbing show, Millennium. The show was an offshoot of X-Files and run by the same producer (Chris Carter). It spanned 3 seasons from 1996-1999. This is another seemingly more grounded sci-fi show, focused on government conspiracies, and the mysterious Millennium Group.
The show’s main character is Brank Black, a former FBI profiler who has the ability to see through the eyes of serial killers, though he doesn’t believe he is actually psychic. Black works for the Millenium Group, whose mission and agenda are always in question and become a major plot point throughout the series.
The show focused more on serial killers in season 1 and then began shifting toward more supernatural storylines in seasons 2 and 3. It remains a solid show, especially if you are an X-Files fan.
Orphan Black
This one is more recent (2013-2017) and had a pretty sizable following, along with plenty of rave reviews from critics. Another more grounded show, the focus is on illegal cloning operations being undertaken by another evil corporation.
Sarah Manning (Tatiana Maslany) discovers that she has a doppelganger in the series premiere and thed takes over her identity to escape from some issues in her own life as a con artist. However, she soon learns that they aren’t sisters or just randomly similar-looking people. Instead, they are just two of multiple clones created by the Dyad Institute. Someone is now trying to kill off the clones. The show goes down some twisty rabbit holes over the course of its 5 seasons.
The show features good writing and a stellar performance by Maslany who plays each of her clones, who have shockingly different personalities. Side note, Maslany is now getting ready to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the star of the Disney Plus series, She-Hulk.
Continuum
Another show is set in ‘today’ but this one focuses on time travel, which brings in various advanced technologies into its storyline. The show ran for 4 seasons, starting in 2012.
Time travel is the theme of the series, with a law enforcement officer named Kiera (Rachel Nichols) is inadvertently transported from the year 2077 back to 2012, while pursuing a group of terrorists/freedom fighters who have a plan to change the future. Once arriving in 2012, Kiera teams up with a police detective, a young computer genius, and the younger version of the future founder of the corporation that runs the world in the future to thwart the terrorist plots in each episode.
This one is just good old solid time travel sci-fi. But still fun and engaging.
Helix
This show was more a mix of sci-fi and horror. It aired for 2 seasons from 2014-2015. The plot involves a group of doctors from the CDC, sent to the Arctic to investigate a possible disease outbreak of unknown origin. Once they arrive, things are far more complicated than they expected.
Once again, a morally questionable corporation (Ilaria Corporation) has been conducting illegal genetic engineering experiments with horrific consequences. The CDC team is quickly cut off from outside communication as they search for answers to the virus, which has two variants. One is fatal and has no cure while the other creates dangerous, violent, zombie-like virus carriers. Ilaria is actually working to design a process to create immortality, which is eventually successful.
Season two takes the team to another remote location where a new outbreak is underway. Meanwhile, a future storyline deals with the issue of the now immortal Ilarians. It’s a fun show, with a few twists and turns.
