Sci-Fi TV is meant to expand and challenge our imagination with thrilling adventures that explore the possibilities of science. Unfortunately,not all series live up to those expectations. While great sci-fi television captures the attention of viewers with fascinating technology, intricate environments, high stakes, and riveting storylines, weaker series suffer from meandering plots, poorly written characters, low stakes, and sluggish pacing.
While there are plenty of thrilling sci-fi series, this list examines some of the least intense shows of the genre. From NBC’s ill-fatedHeroes, to dinosaur snoozefestTerra, these are 10 sci-fi series that are simply not that intense.
10’Heroes' (2006-2010)
Created by Tim Kring
Heroesis a series that blends elements of sci-fi with fantasy, and depicts various ordinary people who suddenly discover they have superpowers. As the series unfolds, they work together to prevent catastrophic events.HeroesfeaturedMilo Ventimigilia,Hayden Panettiere,andMasi Oka. WhileHeroeswas an initial hit among fans and critics alike, the series plummeted in quality in the second season andfailed to recover from its poorly written storyline.
Heroeswas initially a phenomenal series during its first season, but in the second season it featureda meandering plot that shoehorned new characterswith arcs independent of the main storyline. The decision to also try and force romantic relationships that didn’t seem believable to audiences also contributed to the show’s decline in quality and its inability to captivate viewers in the same way it initially did. With aslow-moving plot, and a plethora of unnecessary charactersthat didn’t resonate with audiences,Heroesis a series that ultimately lost much of the momentum that made it popular in the first place.
9’Total Recall' 2070 (1999)
Created by Art Monterastelli
Based onPhili K. Dick’sclassic short story, “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale”,Total Recall 2070takes its name from the action-packed classic sci-fi filmTotal Recall.The film starsMichael Eastonas Detective David Hume, who solves crimes and occasionally visits Mars with his android partner, Ian Farve (Karl Pruner). While the series draws much of its inspiration from Dick’s short story, and, to a greater extent,Bladerunner(also based on his work) the series failed the generate the same momentum and excitement as the source material or the films.
Total Recallwas a thrilling action-packed film that remains a classic in the genre, andBladerunneris easily one of the greatest works of sci-fi of all time. This is due to excellent writing, riveting action sequences, and meticulously crafted world-building.Total Recall 2070failed to generate the same level of excitement because it leaned far less into the action and mystery aspects of its predecessors and more into thephilosophical elements of the source material. While this isn’t an inherently negative approach, especially when it comes to adapting rich texts like the works of Dick,Total Recall 2070was unable to balance these elementswith more enthralling, action-packed material and ultimately left many viewers confused and disengaged.
8’Andromeda' (2000-2005)
Created by Gene Roddenberry and Robert Hewitt Wolfe
Andromedais a space opera television series set in deep space, where the crew of the Andromeda Ascendant, led by Captain Dylan Hunt (Kevin Sorbo), embark on a mission to rebuild the Systems Commonwealth, a governing body that was once responsible for a time of peace and prosperity. The series is based on unused material fromGene Roddenberry.
The premise ofAndromedasounds relatively exciting, and its deep space setting would be an ideal location for thrilling adventures and epic space fights, but when all’s said and done,Andromedajust isn’t all that exciting. The series struggled withan inconsistent tonethat clumsily vacillated between epic space drama and mediocre comedy, and thecast itself wasn’t particularly captivating. Despite its underwhelming qualities,Andromedaran for a surprising 5 years and isconsidered an iconic space seriesin the sci-fi community.
7’Star Trek: Enterprise' (2001-2005)
Created by Rick Berman and Brannon Braga
Star Trek: Enterpriseis a prequel series toStar Trekthat was created with the aim of showing audiences what humans' first voyages into space were like. Captain Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) heads the United Earth Ship Enterprise during the incipient years of Starfleet, before the Federation’s golden age. While the premise was met with excitement, the series ultimately suffered from poor execution.
Star Trek: Enterprisewas a profoundly underwhelming series that failed to live up to the expectations of its intriguing premise; instead of offering something new to audiences, which would’ve looked like the show actually leaning on the show’s whole “space frontiersmen” thing,Star Trek:Enterpriserecycled familiarStar Trektropesand a slew of stand-alone episodes that’s rarely achieved any degree of worthwhile momentum. The “safe” approach of the seriesfailed to generate any palpable excitementin viewers despite later attempts at more riveting arcs in later seasons.
Star Trek: Enterprise
6’Caprica' (2009-2001)
Created by Remi Aubuchon and Paula Malcomson
Set 60 years before the events ofBattlestar Galactica,Capricatells the story of how humanity created the first cyclon androids who would later come to wage war on them. WhileBattlestar Galacticawas a series that was known for its explosive, well-directed space battles,Capricawas a more subtle, slow-moving series that focused more on corporate intrigue.
The origin story of the cyclons offered a potentially exciting premise for the showrunners to explore, but instead audiences got a somber, sedate series that wasunable to deliver the punch ofBattlestar Galactica.Capricawasabrooding series that focused on grief, religion, and politics in a way that seldom left room for any action. Scenes often featured characters scheming, mourning, or pondering, with little action in between. Audiences were often frustrated bya plot that seemed to drag on and onwithout ever kicking into high gear. ThoughCapricahad plenty of potential, it was a messy series that wasnever sure what it wanted to be.
5’Terra Nova' (2011)
Created by Kelly Marcel and Craig Silverstein
Everyone loves dinosaurs, right?Steven Spielberg’sJurassic Parkandthe franchise the followedproved that dinosaurs are a roaring recipe for success. Naturally, it stands to reason thatTerra Nova, a series about a family traveling back in time to the Cretaceous period, would also be a success, especially with Spielberg attached to the project. Shockingly enough, this was not the case.
Although the premise is cool enough, the series suffers the same fate as many doomed sci-fi series: an unbearably slow plot and charactersbankrupt of any compelling qualities. Despite the family being on a land invested with all sorts of dangerous dinosaurs and a villainous rebel group threatening their attempts at building a civilization, the story moves with aconfounding lack of urgency. Many episodes featured domestic squabbles and familial issues that were neatly resolved, and the flat cast of characters failed to leave any lasting mark on the audience. Naturally,Terra Nova’sfailure to resonate with audiences led to its own extinction.
Terra Nova
4’Marvel’s Inhumans' (2017)
Created by Scott Buck
Inhumansis a Marvel series that centers on Black Bolt (Anson Mount) and the other super-powered members of the Inhuman Royal family. The series follows the family as they fight to protect themselves after a military coup. A military coup and a super-powered royal family might sound like great ingredients for an intense series, butInhumansultimately failed to deliver for audiences.
Inhumansis a short series of only 8 episodes, but due to its poor executionit feels like an eternity. It suffers from stiff acting,cheaply thrown-together effects, and a story that fails to ever take off.Inhumansfeatures an excess of characters moping around Hawaii (which is admittedly scenic) and a scarcity of action. When the action does happen, it’sawkwardly choreographed and over in seconds. For viewers, this was both underwhelming and unromantic.
3’Nightflyers' (2018)
Created by Jeff Buhler
Adapted from a novella by the legendaryGeorge R.R. Martin,Nightflyerswas pitched as an exciting blend of horror and sci-fi. The series follows a group of scientists who travel into space to respond to a mysterious alien signal, but soon find that they may not be alone on the ship. Terrifying, right?
Unfortunately,Nightflyters’sinister premise failed to deliver for audiences, and instead the ill-fated series wasa yawn-inducing space flight to nowhere. Despite a few gory moments and atmospheric visuals,Nightflyerswas panned by both critics and viewers alike, who were quickly bored with itsclichéd plotting and irredeemably uninteresting characters. The underdeveloped characters made it difficult for viewers to empathize with the threats to their lives, robbing the series of any potential tension it might’ve capitalized on. Ultimately,Nightflyerswas canceled by Syfy after just one season.
nightflyers
2’Another Life' (2019-2021)
Created by Aaron Martin
Netflix’sAnother Lifeis proof that simply tossing together space missions, alien artifacts and a recognizable lead actor isn’t enough to guarantee a successful series. This short-lived series follows the crew of the Salvare starship, a fleet who travel on a dangerous mission to investigate the origin of a mysterious alien artifact.Another Lifequickly developed a reputation for being an unintelligible soup of sci-fi homages that careens from one plot point to another.
Another Lifefeatures a string of incidents that seem like they’d be ideal for an exciting series. Alien viruses, mutinies and hallucinations are all depicted, but becauseits stakes are never earned,Another Lifenever manages to build tension and ultimately falls flat. The dialogue of the series is trite, the characters are insufferable, and the plot’s messiness ultimately makesAnother Lifean agonizingly underwhelming series to sit through.
Another Life
1’Invasion' (2021-Present)
Created by Simon Kingberg and David Weil
Apple TV+‘sInvasionis a case study in how to completely drain all the urgency out of an inherently thrilling premise. When an alien species invades Earth, events unfold, in a fashion that’s not particularly eventful, through the eyes of distant strangers as people across the globe try to make sense of what’s happening. They’re not the only ones who are confused. Audiences in the real world struggle to understand how such a promising show can offer so little excitement to its audiences.
Instead of focusing on the actual aliens,Invasionspends a great deal of time on the personal lives and struggles of the humans on Earth as they navigate the chaos of this extraterrestrial event. It’s natural to include some drama in a show like this, to help humanize the characters and build out a story that’s inherently more relatable.ButInvasionfails to execute thisin a way that resonates with viewers, or even in a way that can maintain their attention. Its achingly slow pacing makes for adevastatingly boring watch. Nonetheless,Invasionis not without its fans, and witha new season recently confirmed, it may have the potential to make up for lost time.
