20 best sci-fi TV shows that aren’t Star Trek

14. Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Sure, this show is ostensibly for kids, but don’t let the marketing fool you. Star Wars: The Clone Wars is actually a complex and enjoyable series that explains the fall of Anakin Skywalker far better than any of the live-action films could ever do. Someone should have told George Lucas.

Set between the events of the prequels Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith, this 2008 series has Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi still playing nice. Anakin has taken on his own Jedi apprentice, the idealistic Ahsoka Tano. Together with a revolving band of clones – who actually get their own personalities and storylines from time to time – they adventure throughout the universe. It’s all done in a semi-realistic 3D animation style that works better than some more cheaply made cartoons would have you believe.

While things are certainly better than they would get in the last of the prequel films, The Clone Wars has some darker elements, too. Anakin has trouble controlling the darker side of his personality, while Obi-Wan is either oblivious to the change or helpless to confront it.

Ahsoka, far from being a second-string character (like the Cousin Oliver of space operas), turns out to be a well-rounded character. Over the course of the series, she matures in what, for a science fiction epic franchise with little green men and giant, yowling creatures, is a surprisingly deep fashion.

All of this isn’t to say that Star Wars: The Clone Wars is for adults only. This is the kind of series that would be just right for the budding sci-fi fan in your life, assuming they’re ready for a little moral complexity.