SyFy Had Many Failures, But These 5 TV Series Are Easily the Best Ones

The period from the mid-2000s to the mid-2010s was the golden age of television. The combination of fresh ideas, big budgets and a creative approach helped create projects that are now considered cult classics.

Drama fans had TNT with ER and Law & Order, romance fans turned to Lifetime with hundreds of melodramatic series, and science fiction fans had the Syfy Channel.

1. Farscape, 1999-2003

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 90%

Scientist John Crichton tests a space module of his own design. According to John's theory, the module can use the Earth's gravity to reach speeds far beyond those of modern spaceships.

The day of the final test arrives, but something goes wrong and the module falls into a black hole that has appeared out of nowhere. The explorer and his ship find themselves on the other side of the universe, hundreds of light years from Earth.

2. Eureka, 2006-2012

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 81%

Unlike most shows that portray serious scientists as either crazy or nerdy, Eureka is populated by geniuses of all shapes and sizes. Some belong in a mental institution, others are pathologically normal; some are ambitious, others just want to sit in a lab and look through a microscope.

Diversity instead of stereotypes, love of new knowledge instead of fear of it, an exciting atmosphere in a town where anything is possible – few shows sell science as convincingly.

3. Resident Alien, 2021-...

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%

A creature incapable of empathy hides its true identity in a snowy provincial town. We are not talking about Dexter, but about one of the most unexpected hits of 2021 – the comedy series Resident Alien.

An alien sent to Earth to prepare to take over the planet disguises himself as a human and suddenly learns to live in society. The plot is not new and has long been a sci-fi cliché, but Resident Alien manages to modernize the concept and bring it to the screen in a way that evokes only positive emotions.

4. The Expanse, 2015-2022

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%

One of the best and most underrated sci-fi series of recent years remains The Expanse, an adaptation of the book series of the same name that resembles a mix of Firefly and Battlestar Galactica.

In the best tradition of space westerns, the series is dedicated to a group of charming but very different characters – crew members who plow the galaxy's expanses in the distant future, engaging in smuggling and trying to maintain parity in the universe to prevent another war.

5. Battlestar Galactica, 2004-2009

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%

In a distant star system of the future, there are 12 colony planets where humans live. Humanity has a truce with the Cylon robots.

40 years later, the Cylons attack humanity and destroy most of the population. Among the survivors is the crew of the cruiser Galactica, which goes in search of the thirteenth colony called Earth.

Battlestar Galactica was a remake of the TV movie and series from the late 70s, which appeared on the wave of success of Star Wars. Ronald D. Moore and David Eick, who revived the universe, left only the premise of their predecessor and gave their creation the darkness and drama of modern times.