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

13. Farscape

Many science fiction shows take advantage of the “fish out of water” trope, where a character is plunged into a strange-to-them situation with little or no warning. It’s generally a good way to explore a new society through the eyes of someone who has never experienced it before — that is, the “fish” in question acts as an audience proxy. But few have taken this storytelling technique to the wild extremes seen in Farscape.

This Australian-American series ran for four seasons, though it was abruptly canceled before it could reach its planned fifth-season arc. Thankfully, Brian Henson was able to return to direct a miniseries follow-up, titled Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars.

Yes, that Brian Henson, son of Jim Henson, and the one associated very closely indeed with The Jim Henson Company. Quite a few of the practical effects and two of the main characters were thanks to the Jim Henson Creature Shop, which has produced some of the most memorable film and television puppets in recent memory.

The series features a diverse cast of characters, most of whom end up living inside a sentient, biomechanical ship called Moya. John Crichton, an American astronaut, joins the crew when his experimental spacecraft accidentally flings him through a wormhole. Stranded far from home, Crichton fumbles in his attempts to make friends, eventually earning his place on the crew.

Over the course of the series, the characters cross paths with the Peacekeepers, a frequently antagonist military force. Crichton, attempting to find another wormhole that will take him back to Earth, attracts their attention, along with numerous others. Wormhole technology would make a pretty powerful weapon, as it turns out.

Oh, and also John is haunted by a “neural clone” of a baddie named Scorpius who lives inside his brain. That’s honestly only the beginning of the crew’s troubles, but thankfully it makes for some pretty entertaining television for us viewer.