The Greatest Sci Fi/Fantasy TV Shows: Considering the case for the sci fi and fantasy television shows that should be counted among the greatest of all time.
What Is It?
This series follows the time traveler known as the Doctor, who comes from a race of Time Lords living on the planet Gallifrey. The Doctor helps those threatened by other time travelers or nefarious alien races and undergoes transformations from time to time when mortally injured. The Doctor also tends to bring companions along in adventures through time and space.
Aired: 1963-1989, BBC, 26 Seasons Totaling 841 Episodes
Starring: William Hartnell, Patrick Toughton, John Pertwee, Tom Baker, Peter Davison, Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy, Elisabeth Sladen
Created By: Sydney Newman, C.E. Weber, Donald Wilson
Argument to Count It as One of the Greatest Sci Fi TV Shows:
Doctor Who has made a definite stamp on the sci-fi genre, starting from its humble beginnings as a show intended to be educational and eventually becoming a worldwide phenomenon. For the purposes of this post, I am considering only the classic Doctor Who series that ran from 1963 to 1989, and I will do a separate post for the revival because it deserves its own entry.
While the original plan was to create a show that looked back at historical periods with the intent of educating its viewers, that changed with the second serial which introduced one of the Doctor’s greatest enemies, the Daleks, and the creative team never looked back. While they still included some historical settings, the main focus of the series turned to the Doctor locating (actually, stumbling upon) and battling evil beings throughout space and time. The show delivered some grand tales during its run, even if it did so with only a shoestring budget.
The strength of this series from the start, and all the way through to the present, is the Doctor himself (later herself). The producers came up with the brilliant idea of the Doctor transforming into different incarnations when William Hartnell’s health started to fail. This gave the show the chance to reinvent itself every few years, and they succeeded in identifying standout actors for the lead role. The companions carried their weight as well, but the actors playing the Doctor pretty much carried the series on their backs, with each adding their unique touches.
The show delivered full-on sci-fi tales (though definitely not hard sci-fi) while also incorporating some horror elements. It developed an iconic rogue’s gallery, but it also never took itself too seriously. It aimed at the family audience (even if some of the younger members might find themselves hiding behind the couch when the more monstrous villains showed up) and delivered a show that was plenty of fun. Despite all its limitations (particularly the budget), the classic run of Doctor Who definitely counts as one of the all-time greats of sci-fi TV. (You can read more about the show at this link.)
Argument Against:
While Doctor Who is recognized the world over, the classic run of the series falls short of counting as an all-time great because it is far too dated. The special effects are absolutely atrocious through much of the show’s tenure, and the production values sometimes resemble those of a community theater play. It also tended to be slow and plodding as it padded out four-to-six-episode serials covering one story. The Doctor himself was definitely a strong point for the show, but if they got the wrong actor (Colin Baker), that could pretty much drag it down for multiple years. It did introduce some iconic villains to sci-fi TV, but go back and watch some of those episodes as you witness the Daleks wobbling through the sets and the Cybermen fumbling around, all looking rather silly. And tell me that “The Web Planet” is not the worst example of sci-fi TV ever (making the giant carrot from Lost in Space‘s “The Great Vegetable Rebellion” look like big-budget stuff). The original Doctor Who made its mark, much like the kiddie space operas of the 1950s. But while it may be historically relevant, it does not count as one of the greatest sci-fi TV shows of all time.
Johnny Jay’s Take:
I first encountered Doctor Who when it hit syndication in the U.S. in the late ’70s, and I was hooked from that point forward. That was Tom Baker’s classic first season, and even though I acknowledged that it was a cheaply made show, I loved every minute of it. This show delivered full-on science fiction (and fantasy) unlike many of the TV entries on the U.S. networks that tried to hide their sci-fi elements (The Six Million Dollar Man and the early seasons of The Bionic Woman were perfect examples of this). Doctor Who may have had a limited budget, but it had an unlimited imagination, and that exploded on the screen, led by whoever was playing the Doctor at any given point in time (I even sort of liked Colin Baker). This show was basically unlike anything that U.S. TV had to offer, and I followed it throughout its run in the States, including when it became a top fundraiser for PBS. It does deliver plenty of cringe-worthy moments because of its low production values, but if you can look past that, you can certainly see that it counts as one of the greats of sci-fi TV.
Where Can You Watch It?
The BritBox streaming service has 558 episodes of the classic series, which makes up 129 complete stories (some episodes have been lost because the BBC destroyed parts of its video library). Pluto TV also has a Doctor Who channel live-streaming for free (with ads) that has quite a number of the classic episodes in regular rotation. The revival is streaming on Disney+ since that streamer is now partially funding the new episodes.
Do you consider Doctor Who to be one of the greatest sci fi/fantasy TV shows of all time, or is it too out-dated and cheesy? Chime in with your thoughts below or at our discussion thread at r/SciFiTV.
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