10 Best Sci-Fi TV Shows Set In Space
To boldly go where many shows have gone before...
Space: the final frontier! We, mere humans, are obsessed with the possibilities of the great unknown. For over a hundred years popular culture has run amok with wild fantasies about space exploration and alien species on distant planets.
Our fascination with space dates as far back as the late 1800s, with novels from Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. Soon came the birth of cinema, and George Méliès' 1902 French short film, A Trip to the Moon, which is considered the first ever science-fiction film, focusing on a group of astronomers flying to the Moon and confronting a hidden race of aliens.
Over time, as film and TV became more widely common, so too did our imagination grow. From the Flash Gordon series in the 1930s, to The Twilight Zone series in 1959, to 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968, and Avatar in 2009 - the science-fiction genre is arguably the most exciting.
Now, with TV being more accessible than ever before due to the numerous streaming platforms, it's time to take a look at some of best sci-fi TV shows set in space.
10. Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is a wacky and largely bizarre space opera, which has amassed a great cult following over the years. The show first aired in 1994 and ran for a total of five seasons, consisting of twenty-two episodes each, until 1998. The show focuses on various human military personnel and alien staff aboard the titular space station 'Babylon 5', which act as a neutral ground for diplomatic quarrels.
Babylon 5 does have some prestigious credit to its name, and is known for being the first of its kind in terms of story-telling. At the time, especially in the science-fiction genre, it was unusual for a TV show to include a consistent story that spanned the entirety of the show's run, but Babylon 5 achieved this feat. They did away with self-contained episodes and opted for one long continuous arc.
The season four poster for Babylon 5 includes the log line 'Lightyears ahead of anything else on television', and for the most part this is true considering that the show was one of the first to approve legalised gay marriage. Babylon 5 may not be a masterpiece, but it is a long, wonderful and wild ride.