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The 5 Most Influential SciFi Shows of the `90s


HU Simon at Whedonesque.com

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art30354.asp


SciFi TV



Helen Angela Lee
BellaOnline's SciFi TV Editor



The 5 Most Influential SciFi Shows of the `90s

Remember these shows? You'll find hints of them all over today's
television landscape, which makes them the most imitated, most
remembered and most influential SciFi shows from the previous
decade.

5. "Xena: Warrior Princess"

Itself a spinoff of the 1995-1999 series "Hercules: The Legendary
Journeys" with Kevin Sorbo, this 1995-2001 fantasy cult favorite may
seem an odd choice—but it's not. For one thing, it's one of the
first TV shows to feature buddy-buddy action between two sexy women
heroines who kick butt ("Charlie's Angels" notwithstanding). It
wasn't until the `90s that shows featuring girls and women in the
top roles became common—and before "Xena," your viewing choices of
female TV headliners would have included "Blossom" and
Nickelodeon's "Clarissa Explains It All."

But that wasn't all. There were the romantic overtones as well as
the true, abiding friendship between main characters Xena (Lucy
Lawless) and Gabrielle (Renee O'Connor), along with episodes that
really pushed the envelope. Who can forget "The Bitter Suite," a
musical episode/parody from the third season featuring Lucy Lawless'
own voice (and nude scenes from both actresses)? Since then, we've
seen lots of musical episodes from other TV shows—but none with the
lightheartedness and fun of "Xena."

4. "Star Trek: The Next Generation"

How could we not include this one? It revived the "Star Trek"
franchise in a big way when it aired in syndication in 1997 and
lasted seven seasons. Since "Star Trek: The Next Generation" we've
had the world of "Star Trek" on air in some form ever since. And for
good reason. This show had it all—a captain who could rival Kirk,
Jean-Luc Picard, a great supporting cast and adventures that stayed
true to the heart of the original while pushing television
boundaries.

Creating a template for SciFi TV adventures in general, Picard and
crew encountered ethical dilemmas, new lifeforms and languages along
their route, exploring human emotions and weaknesses along with
alien worlds. That's the best kind of science fiction, and "Star
Trek" did it well. Remember the episodes where Data's "humanity" was
questioned? Or "The Outcast," in which Commander Riker fell in love
with an individual whose culture brutally enforced androgyny? How
about "Darmok," in which Picard must decipher a language that no one
seems to understand even when translated? Then there were the big
space battles, as when they fought the Borg. Every week, we got this
sort of adventure from "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and all
other SciFi shows have been trying to live up to it ever since.

3. "Babylon 5"

There's no question that this 1994-1998 show was influenced by "Star
Trek"—but there's no question that "Star Trek," in turn, was
influenced by "Babylon 5." Aired around the same time as "Star Trek:
Deep Space Nine," this series was unique because of its vision—the
five-year story arc that informed and deepened every episode. In
fact, it was hard for newbies to get into "B5" because they wouldn't
understand what was going on without some work. But after "B5,"
other SciFi shows started to utilize multi-episode stories more—just
look at the Xindi plotline in "Enterprise," or the Cardassian-
Bajoran conflict in "DS9."

The nuanced writing, the complex stories, the relationships between
ambassadors, the Psi Cops, the different alien cultures on the
United Nations that was Babylon 5—all of these things made "Babylon
5" a groundbreaker, and a fun one. It proved that someone other than
Gene Roddenberry could do a quality one-hour drama that was true
SciFi and infuse it with life and density and new ideas. We've not
seen its like since—but people have tried.

2. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"

Just take a look at the SciFi shows in your TV Guide right now and
you'll see why "Buffy" is one of today's most influential shows.
Without her, we wouldn't have "Charmed," or "Smallville," or the
recently cancelled "Point Pleasant"—heck, there's a question as to
whether "Alias" would have made it on the air without "Buffy" having
made an example that others could emulate. What these other shows
haven't been able to imitate, as yet, is the fine writing that
marks "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and turned it into one of TV's most
popular shows from 1997-2003.

The formula is now a familiar one: a cast of good-looking kids who
have special powers or knowledge to fight the evil emanating from a
Hellmouth in Sunnydale, California. Buffy Summers is the chosen one—
unfortunately for her. Played by the luminous Sarah Michelle Gellar,
Buffy grows up with her high school pals while fighting vampires and
demons. "Buffy" pioneered the formula—and though many other shows
have tried, they haven't quite been able to mimic the complex
character development or the originality of this truly great series.

1. "The X-Files"

In 1993, "The X-Files" breathed new life into the television scene
with its talk of conspiracy and alien abduction, and continued to do
so for nine years. No one can deny that the dark plots and ambiguity
of "The X-Files" has informed dozens of TV shows ever since. For
awhile, it seemed every new SciFi offering was trying to capitalize
on "The X-Files" in some way. But Mulder (David Duchovny) and
Scully's (Gillian Anderson) adventures have yet to be duplicated in
such a spine-tingling way (remember those roaches?).

Today, the more or less straightforward SciFi plots of a "Star Trek"
are in short supply. No, viewers would rather be frightened and
amazed in the way "The X-Files" pioneered. The plot twists of shows
like "24" or "Lost" owe much to the ongoing drama of "The X-Files,"
and we wouldn't have it any other way. Oh, and the romance—in the
1990s, there was no more interesting couple than Mulder and Scully.
Would they? Or wouldn't they? Fueling our paranoia was a way of life
for the writers on "The X-Files," and we're a much more
sophisticated television viewing audience as a result.