Hidden Gems: 20 Obscure Sci-Fi Shows That Are Secretly Masterpieces

Even though these series didn't become everyone's favorites right away, they have everything you want from sci-fi: wild inventions, epic space battles, and characters who make you think about what it means to be human; watching them is like finding a new best friend you didn't know you were looking for.

1. Quark (1977-1978)

Adam Quark, captain of a space garbage scow, navigates misadventures across the galaxy with his eccentric crew, including a transmute with dual personalities and a plant-based being, as they collect trash and stumble upon bizarre space phenomena and alien encounters.

2. Star Cops (1987)

In the near future, Nathan Spring, as the head of the International Space Police Force, tackles crime in the burgeoning colonies of space, dealing with the complexities of law enforcement in a new frontier alongside his multinational team.

3. The Middleman (2008)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%

A struggling artist, Wendy Watson, is recruited by a straight-laced superhero known as The Middleman to fight comic book-style villains, navigating through absurd situations and balancing her art career with her secret life.

4. Salvage 1 (1979)

Harry Broderick, a salvage expert, builds a spaceship from junkyard parts, aiming to recover valuable items from the moon, leading his makeshift team on missions that blend science with high-stakes adventure.

5. Misfits of Science (1985-1986)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 50%

A team of young "misfits" with unique abilities, including telekinesis and shrinking, are brought together by a scientist to tackle unusual problems and battle nefarious entities, blending humor with their superpowered hijinks.

6. Hyperdrive (2006-2007)

Rotten Tomatoes Audience score: 33%

The incompetent crew of the HMS Camden Lock, led by Commander Henderson, aims to promote British interests in a competitive and often ridiculous galaxy, dealing with diplomacy, trade disputes, and alien encounters in a satirical take on space exploration.

7. Dark Skies (1996-1997)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 67%

John Loengard and Kim Sayers find themselves battling a covert alien invasion in the 1960s, uncovering a government conspiracy to hide the truth about extraterrestrial activity on Earth, while facing personal and global threats.

8. Space: Above and Beyond (1995-1996)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 70%

Set in the 2060s, young marines of the 58th Squadron, or "Wildcards," engage in battles against an alien species known as the Chigs, facing the horrors of war and personal loss in a desperate fight for humanity's survival.

9. Odyssey 5 (2002-2004)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%

After witnessing Earth's destruction, the space shuttle Odyssey's crew, led by Commander Chuck Taggart, is sent back in time five years to prevent the catastrophe, uncovering a complex conspiracy involving artificial intelligence and alien life.

10. Earth 2 (1994-1995)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 63%

A group of colonists, seeking to escape a polluted Earth, crash-lands on a seemingly uninhabited planet, struggling to establish a new society while facing unknown dangers and the indigenous humanoid species, the Terrians.

11. The Lost Room (2006)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 77%

Detective Joe Miller discovers a mysterious key that opens a motel room, leading to a parallel universe filled with objects that possess unique powers, embarking on a quest to find his missing daughter and unravel the room's secrets.

12. Defying Gravity (2009)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 48%

Set in 2052, eight astronauts on the spacecraft Antares embark on a six-year mission through the solar system, confronting personal and mysterious cosmic forces that affect their journey and relationships.

13. The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. (1993-1994)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%

In the 1890s, Harvard-educated lawyer-turned-bounty hunter Brisco County Jr. seeks to avenge his father's death with the help of his loyal horse, Comet, and eccentric inventor Professor Wickwire, battling outlaws and futuristic technology.

14. Cleopatra 2525 (2000-2001)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 40%

Awakened from cryogenic sleep in the year 2525, exotic dancer Cleopatra joins two female warriors in an underground resistance against robotic oppressors that have taken over the surface world, navigating a post-apocalyptic landscape and fighting for humanity's future.

15. Seven Days (1998-2001)

Ex-CIA operative Frank Parker is part of a top-secret government time-travel experiment, using the Backstep Project to travel back seven days to prevent disasters and catastrophes, balancing the mission's demands with the toll it takes on his mental health.

16. The Invisible Man (2000-2002)

Darien Fawkes, a thief turned unwilling spy with the ability to become invisible, works for a government agency in exchange for the cure to his condition, using his powers to undertake dangerous missions while seeking freedom from the agency's control.

17. Land of the Giants (1968-1970)

The crew and passengers of the spacecraft Spindrift crash on a planet where everything is twelve times larger than on Earth, struggling to survive and find a way back home while evading the planet's authoritarian government and giant creatures.

18. UFO (1970-1971)

Rotten Tomatoes Audience score: 91%

Set in the near future, SHADO (Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation) under the command of Ed Straker, secretly battles an alien invasion threatening Earth, juggling the defense of humanity with the secrecy of their operations beneath a film studio.

19. Lexx (1997-2002)

Rotten Tomatoes Audience score: 93%

A group of misfits, including a love-slave, a dead assassin, and a living plant, commandeers the Lexx, the most powerful weapon in the two universes, embarking on a journey filled with bizarre encounters and existential dilemmas.

20. Earth: Final Conflict (1997-2002)

Aliens known as the Taelons arrive on Earth with seemingly benign intentions, but as their true motives unfold, a resistance forms to thwart their plans for control, revealing a complex interplay of alien technology, politics, and human collaboration and resistance.