25. Teacup (2024) (peacock)

Perhaps a surprise too many of you but Teacup earns a spot in my Top 25 because I really loved the horror and suspense part and I was really curious how the SCI-FI part was going to be explained. I would really have loved this show to continue because of this. Yvonne Strahovski and Scott Speedman were attached to this and I was particular impressed with Yvonne Strahovski in this. It does not do so well on IMDb but on Rotten Tomatoes there are more folks like me who apparently liked the first season, 76%.

24. Outcasts (2011) (BBC)

A British show from 15 years ago, only 8 episodes, about the resettlement on another planet called Carpathia. Pioneers who settle in the town of Forthaven. While they try to learn from mistakes made on Earth, there is no avoiding the human pitfalls of love, greed, lust and loss. I really liked the intrigue, the politics, yes, even on another planet, the same issues arise. It did have a slow start but I got hooked very quickly. It starred: Liam Cunningham, Hermione Norris, Amy Manson, Daniel Mays and Jamie Bamber. I suppose it is not for everyone, and I believe it ends on a cliff-hanger, still, I am convinced that I will soon take out my Blu-ray copy and do another rewatch!

23. Forever (2014) (ABC)

You can discuss if this has any SCI-FI elements or not, but this too was a really strong show with a really strong cast: Ioan Gruffudd, Alana De La Garza, Joel David Moore and Judd Hirsch. It was about a man who was an immortal and he and his son had an antique store. His son was a senior citizen and Henry Morgan looked as if he was around his 40’s but he was, I believe, about 200 years old. Burn Gorman (Torchwood, The Expanse, Halo) was the antagonist, someone who was also an immortal. It mostly reminds me of New Amsterdam with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau but of course also The Highlander with Adrian Paul as Duncan MacLeod. New Amsterdam is in this list also.

22. Night Sky (2022) (Amazon Prime)

Night Sky debuted in 2022 on Amazon Prime! When I started to watch this later in 2022, I didn’t realize it at the time but then it was already cancelled. It is about an older couple, played by Sissy Spacek and J.K Simmons. I was immediately intrigued by its premise, these two people had a doorway to another planet in their backyard. Sure, it is not a fast paced show, on the contrary even, but I was hooked in episode two. In the last two or three episodes it gets so good, but it apparently was already too late, because it was cancelled quite quickly. In the past TV shows got at least 13 episodes to prove itself, this got 8 episodes but nowadays people have no longer the patience to let a show grow.

21. Surface (2005) (NBC)

Surface came in the same year as Invasion and Threshold, also both in this list. All three were gone during or after its first season. Surface was my least favorite of the three, mainly because of that obnoxious kid who got so much screentime in the first half of the season but at some point it got really interesting and that kid also got less annoying. It was a show about sea monsters, starring Lake Bell, Jay R. Ferguson, Carter Jenkins and Ian Anthony Dale. It ended on a cliff-hanger which made you want more, much more! But more than 15 episodes we never got.

20. Jake 2.0 (2003) (UPN)

I was so excited when this show came around, a sort of Six Million Dollar Man kinda show, Lee Majors even was a guest star in one of the episodes. A predecessor to Chuck. Jake, an NSA computer technician, is transformed into a secret agent after he is accidentally infected with nanobots, based on nanotechnology that reduce the size of a computer to the molecular level, which gives him superhuman powers. Christopher Gorham is the lead character, he’d just come off the cancelled Odyssey 5, so I was familiar with him and I would have loved to see more seasons of Chuck’s predecessor.

19. Earth 2 (1994) (NBC)

First show from the 90’s, back when SCI-FI was so big, it truly was a SCI-FI paradise. Earth 2 was about a group of colonists, who crash land on an alien planet. They are way of course from where they expected to land and thus begins a journey to their originally designated landing place, facing alien and human threats. It turns out that humans have been there before this group of colonists. It had a great cast: Debrah Farentino, Clancy Brown, Sullivan Walker, Jessica Steen, Rebecca Gayheart, Antonio Sabato Jr. and recurring was Terry O'Quinn and Tim Curry as Gaal. It won’t surprise you when I say that my favorite episodes are with Tim Curry in it. It had a good mythology, and yes, it also had children, which did not always work in my opinion, but it was very promising. My last watch dates back to 2013, time for another watch!

18. New Amsterdam (2008) (FOX)

No, it is not that hospital drama from a few years ago, this was a show about an immortal John Amsterdam (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), born in 1607, he lived most of his life in New York. His real name is Johann van der Zee, a Dutchman. He is looking for his true love because he believes that when he has found her, he will be able to grow old and die with her. Besides Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, others stars are Zuleikha Robinson, Stephen McKinley Henderson and Alexie Gilmore. It is a shame it only got 8 episodes, as I described in my rewatch / anniversary blog two years ago: As if you were waiting in line in an attraction park at a certain attraction you were really looking forward to. That is how I felt with New Amsterdam, it had yet to become interesting, don’t get me wrong, first 8 episodes are good, but the mythology was still in its infancy.

17. Terra Nova (2011) (FOX)

I don’t think that I was the only one who was really excited about Terra Nova when it first was announced. It was going to be a big budget show, an interesting cast and interesting producers and writers attached to the show. A doorway to the past is found and because our planet in the present day is polluted and such, a chosen number of people get the chance to start a new life in the past. Of course, where humans are, so is criminal behavior, deceit, political games, you name it. Like often, the show begins and the stories are…well, mediocre, mainly about the Shannon family. It wasn’t bad,  but it also wasn’t as exciting as we all hoped it would be. And yes, you may have experienced it also, the last 4-5 episodes you begin to see what this show can become, bring on season two, and than BAMM!!, cancelled!

16. The Lone Gunmen (2001) (FOX)

A spin-off from the The X-Files, to be honest, too late, this should have been done somewhere during the 3^rd or 4^th season of The X-Files. I believe it would have more successful because during that time, the popularity of these guys was about the highest during these early seasons. I can only say I really enjoyed the first and only season, Melvin Frohike (Tom Braidwood) definitely is my favorite character, I laughed my ass of so many times. A nice addition to the crew was the beautiful Zuleikha Robinson as Yves Adele Harwlo and also Stephen Snedden as Jimmy Bond. You can of course argue if this is SCI-FI, but whatever you call it, it was fun and it deserved at least another season.

15. Caprica (2009) (Syfy/NBC)

The spin-off of the Re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, a prequel, that is usually the way to go after a successful TV show, a prequel. I normally prefer a continuation instead of going back in time but in this case, I think I will have to make an exception. Although, when I started to watch this back in 2009, I wasn’t impressed with the first 9 episodes. So when part two came around later that year, I decided to skip it because I lost my interest. When it however was released on Blu-ray, in France, it was the first country to release it on Blu-ray, I decided to buy it and rewatch the whole thing. Still, the first batch of episodes are okay, but part two simply is fantastic! In my humble opinion, part two of season one can match with the quality of the first two seasons of Battlestar Galactica. Such a shame this didn’t get follow-up season and it had such a strong cast. A missed opportunity by Syfy.

14. Odyssey 5 (2002) (Space/Showtime)

Back when it originally aired in my country, I missed it, it aired after midnight and I forgot to tape it regularly, so, I thought, let’s wait for the DVD. I believe the DVD arrived in 2006, it had a great cast, Peter Weller, Christopher Gorham, Sebastian Roché, to name a few. It always made me grin, Peter Weller’s character Chuck swearing all the time, that didn’t happen too often back in the day. It had a good premise, a story-arc, character development, Manny Coto as the show runner. It had everything to become a success, unfortunately it didn’t. Rewatched it a few years ago, still holds up!

13. Journeyman (2007) (NBC)

Only 13 episodes, aired during the writer’s strike in 2007, a time travel story of a man, Dan Vasser (Kevin McKidd) suddenly begins to time travel back in time and he has no control over it, he suddenly is gone from one moment to the next. Really interesting idea and well executed, just watched in late 2025, great show, still holds up. Again, great cast, earlier mentioned Kevin McKidd, also Gretchen Egolf, Moon Bloodgood, Reed Diamond and Brian Howe. Unfortunately the viewership dropped in half from pilot to the final episode, even during that time when there wasn’t that much on during the writer’s strike, blows my mind.

12. The Middleman (2008) (ABC Family)

A personal favorite of mine, The Middleman, a quirky show about a team that you perhaps best can compare with the Men in Black or Special Unit 2, at least, comparing to what their job description is. This was so much fun, back in the day it aired on ABS Family, I don’t know what kind of a reach that network had but it quickly got cancelled. This is a show I MUST recommend to anyone who has a love for the weird, the quirky, the humor, the characters, it is really a must see show if you visit this website. It only got 12 episodes, 13 were commissioned but the last one didn’t see the light of day because of its cancellation. Rewatched it back in 2023 on DVD, it is so much fun, so disappointed it didn’t reach enough people when it originally aired.

11. Alcatraz (2012) (FOX)

Another FOX show that got cancelled prematurely. It is about a team who investigates the reappearance of convicted criminals, who disappeared from Alcatraz back in 1963, only to appear in the present day. I was hooked on this from the start, the how, the why this happened was what kept me interested. Every week was a procedural story but also during each episode, we got hints about what happened back then and why they have returned in the present day. Again, a strong cast, Sarah Jones, Jorge Garcia and of course Sam Neill. It ends on a big fat cliff-hanger, which is always obnoxious, still, I like to rewatch it every couple of years. The Hunting Party which currently airs, reminds me a bit about Alcatraz’ premise, except for the SCI-FI element part.

Final Word:

So, this was part one of my overview, next part will show you my Top 10 and as said in the beginning, in the final part, I will also name the shows that didn’t make the Top 25. I will release part 2 quickly after part one. In a near future blog, I will make a Top 25 of shows which ran 2-5 seasons but still got cancelled prematurely. I hope you enjoyed this first part, if you have any comments, please let me know below. If you want to share your Top 25 with and the other readers, you can also write that down in the comments.

Coming Soon!