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?
After a long absence, the Time Lord known as the Doctor returns to Earth when the Autons show up as a threat to London. After defeating them, he invites Rose Tyler to join him in the TARDIS and travel through space and time. This kicks off a whole new set of adventures for the Doctor across six(-ish) incarnations so far and multiple companions.
Aired: BBC/BBC America/Disney+, 2005-Present, 15 Seasons Totaling 169 Episodes + Specials (So Far)
Starring: Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, Jodie Whittaker, David Tennant, Ncuti Gatwa
Developed By: Russell T Davies
Argument to Count It as One of the Greatest Sci Fi TV Shows:
While this exercise looking at the greatest sci fi TV shows is generally considering only shows that have ended, Doctor Who is such a long-running franchise (and could continue to go on for many more years) that it gets an exception. Classic Doctor Who was considered in a separate entry because the original version of the show wrapped up in the 1980s. The revival is sort of like Doctor Who‘s Next Generation, and just like the Trek entry, it is equally important.
When the show returned with Christopher Eccleston in the lead role in 2005, the revival immediately turned into a hit. Longtime fans were excited about the return of the Doctor, and a whole new generation of fans jumped onboard with the updated series. The show went through some changes—getting a bigger budget and exploring interpersonal relationships with the companions—but it also tapped into the spirit of the original series, delivering ambitious sci-fi adventures while bringing back many familiar villains. And it continued to have fun, adding bits of humor to lighten some otherwise dour moments.
How much people enjoyed the new series tended to vary, and has often been tied to which actor is playing the Doctor. And the show has tinkered with the central character, delivering a female incarnation and a black incarnation so far with more changes still on the way. This has kept things fresh even if it has distanced some long-time fans, and the stories have taken any of a number of twists and turns throughout the revival period. All of this has led to some great sci fi TV that pays homage to the original series while also charting a whole new course, and just like Classic Doctor Who, the revival should be counted among the all-time greats of genre television.
Argument Against:
The Doctor Who revival got off to an uneven start, and that’s pretty much the direction it has followed ever since. The first season introduced Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor but kicked things off with the rather boring Autons, then slipped into absurdity with the farting aliens, the Slitheen. But that first season also gave us the return of the Daleks, along with the introduction of Rose Tyler and Captain Jack Harkness—so it did have its moments. Eccleston was not long for the role, though, and David Tennant stepped in to deliver the best run of the character so far in the revival.
With Tennant, the show really shined, and his tenure alone might count as an all-time great for sci-fi TV, but unfortunately, his successors have proven far too uneven. Matt Smith had his moments, and Peter Capaldi seemed to deliver a throwback Doctor who would have fit in well during the Classic era. But the decision to bring in a female Doctor seemed like kowtowing to gender politics, while Ncuti Gatwa seems far too young for the role, and the show appears to be going through a soft reboot at this point. To make matters worse, the writing has been wildly uneven and far too derivative for too long throughout the revival. There are some really good episodes in there, but they seem to get lost between many more that are nothing but a mess.
The revival certainly has its moments, but most of those came early on. And as the show continues to try and remain relevant, it seems to instead be veering closer to absurdity and self-parody, and it would be hard to count the entire run of the revival as one of the greatest sci fi TV shows of all time.
Johnny Jay’s Take:
I was a huge fan of Classic Doctor Who, first jumping onboard when the Tom Baker era hit syndication in the States in the late ’70s—at a time when there wasn’t a lot of sci-fi TV to choose from on the Prime Time schedule. I followed the show through the ’80s when it switched over to PBS, all the way through its cancellation at the end of that decade. When the 2005 revival brought the Doctor back to the small screen, I eagerly tuned in and loved Christopher Eccleston as the newest incarnation of the character. I actually consider his one season the best of the revival run (I even liked the Slitheen) and still wish we had more time with him in the role.
I will admit that David Tennant did a heck of a job stepping in for Eccleston, and I won’t argue with anyone who considers him the best Doctor. But I felt like the quality of writing really dropped, especially with Tennant’s second season, and it’s been all over the place since then. The show certainly delivers some really good episodes, but it also has plenty of really bad ones, making it hard to watch on a continuous basis.
I was really on the fence when they decided to do a female incarnation of the Doctor, but I have to give Jodie Whittaker credit for delivering a heck of a performance during her tenure. I had no problem with them giving us a Black Doctor, though Ncuti Gatwa just seems too young for the role.
But more than anything, my issue with the revival has been the writing. Far too often it gets too derivative, and many times the stories just spin into a nearly incomprehensible mess. I made peace with them changing the gender and race of the Doctor—but could they please give these incarnations some good scripts to work with? Sadly, this has been an issue for far too long on the series, so I have a hard time placing the revival in the upper echelon of sci-fi TV shows. The Classic series definitely deserves its place there, and the revival should be mentioned in the Top 50—but not in the higher rungs.
Where Can You Watch It?
All of the revival seasons are currently streaming on Disney+ and on Max. They are also in the process of releasing the complete runs of each of the Doctors on DVD and Blu-ray.
Do you consider the revival of Doctor Who to be one of the greatest sci fi/fantasy shows of all time or is it not as successful as the Classic run? Chime in with your thoughts below or at our discussion thread at r/SciFiTV.
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