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?
Deputy Sheriff Rick Grimes is injured in a shootout and goes into a coma. When he awakens, he finds the hospital abandoned, and outside, the world is overrun with the walking dead (referred to as “walkers”). He then attempts to find his family, and together with other survivors, he must learn to live in a world where civilization has collapsed and humans can be just as dangerous as the dead.
Aired: AMC, 2010-22, 11 Seasons Totaling 177 Episodes
Developed By: Frank Darabont
Starring: Andrew Lincoln, Jon Bernthal, Sarah Wayne Callies, Melissa McBride, Laurie Holden, Jeffrey DeMunn, Steven Yeun, Chandler Riggs, Norman Reedus, Lauren Cohan, Danai Gurira
Argument to Count It as One of the Greatest Sci Fi TV Shows:
When The Walking Dead first arrived on AMC in 2010, it might have seemed like a long shot to become a hit series at that time. The comic book it was based on was quite popular, but it did not have a lot of recognition beyond those who frequented comic stores. And while the zombie sub-genre had plenty of fans, it certainly seemed like far too niche of an audience to drive a hit series. But TWD caught on with television viewers right away, and despite some behind-the-scenes shakeups in its second season, the show would continue to grow in popularity until it became the highest-rated scripted series on television by a pretty wide margin for several years.
The fact is that the show had good production values from the start, with the meticulous Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) guiding it in its first season and into its second. And even though he was ungraciously dumped by AMC, the showrunners that stepped in managed to keep up the quality of the series throughout much of its run.
And even though TWD was considered part of a niche genre, the show did not lean into that, instead expanding upon its post-apocalyptic themes to appeal to a broader audience (the same as what Robert Kirkman did with the comic). This was not a lurid series that reveled in zombie gore, though it did deliver its fair share of that. It focused more on its setting and the challenges faced by the survivors as they deal with one moral quandary after the next to keep themselves alive. Ultimately, we learn that the living, breathing humans can be the most deadly foes in a world where the rules of civilization no longer apply.
But it was the cast that carried the show through its eleven-year run, with a first-rate set of actors portraying an iconic set of characters. Going through just the highlights, you have Andrew Lincoln as Rick Grimes, Norman Reedus as Daryl Dixon, Melissa McBride as Carol Peletier, Danai Gurira as Michonne, Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan, Lennie James as Morgan Jones, and that is just scratching the surface. To think of the number of characters that came and went through the show’s run and the many storylines it covered, you have to recognize the accomplishments of The Walking Dead even if it did have some low points across its eleven-year run. Overall, it is an important genre entry and certainly counts as one of the greatest sci-fi TV shows of all time.
Argument Against:
It is true that The Walking Dead got off to a strong start, and after nearly derailing in its second year, it picked up steam again for a while. But despite the occasional high points (mostly early on), the show stretched out too long and drove its post-apocalyptic themes into the ground. It followed a formula that grew somewhat tired of the survivors finding a location or group that seemed to offer promise but that eventually led to death and disaster. Run that arc across a season or two, then rinse and repeat.
The writing for the show was also wildly uneven. It definitely had some moments of intense drama and good storytelling, but far too often it went on autopilot and repeated themes that had already been covered or just devolved into a mess of sloppy writing and tired tropes. It also regularly delivered characters that you started to care about, then killed them off just for the shock value. At times, the show even seemed to verge on torture porn, particularly when Negan was introduced.
So while The Walking Dead had its moments and certainly counts as a notable genre entry, it lumbered on far too long and delivered an uneven run across its eleven seasons. For those reasons, it falls short of counting as one of the greatest sci-fi TV shows.
Johnny Jay’s Take:
This series turned into a hit out of the gate and would grow in popularity throughout its first seven seasons. And in part due to its success, it attracted a lot of haters. I recall reading episode recaps when the show was at its high point that would just rip it apart and ding it for nitpicky details that other genre entries were allowed to get away with. And while the writing could go off course at times, in broad strokes the show did an excellent job dealing with post-apocalyptic themes.
The zombies are right there in the title of the show, but this one was never really about the walking dead. It was about humans and the choices they faced when reduced to a state of nature, and the show did an excellent job of dealing with the moral dilemmas they faced. And TWD also delivered good drama, something that the rather high-brow and intellectual sci-fi genre often misses on. TWD really emphasized the dramatic struggles that the characters went through, and it drew the audience into the very real challenges of living in a world where society has collapsed.
The characters are essential to the show as well, both those who were around for the long term along with those who had a shorter tenure. And while many of the deaths did deliver some shock value, that reinforced the reality of the harsh world the show created. And there was truly some redundancy in themes across its eleven-year run, but during that time the show did some important world-building. The Walking Dead certainly had its flaws, especially in its later years. But it succeeded at delivering a great post-apocalyptic drama more often than not, and it certainly counts as one of the best sci-fi TV shows of all time.
Where Can You Watch It?
The entire series has been released on DVD and Blu-ray, and it is also available to purchase VOD. It also currently streaming on Netflix, and Pluto TV has a channel that live-streams episodes of the show.
Stream or Purchase VOD
Do you consider The Walking Dead to be one of the greatest sci fi/fantasy TV shows of all time, or was it too uneven and did it last too long? Chime in with your thoughts below or at our discussion thread at r/SciFiTV.
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