- The Expanse (Best space opera, period)
- Person of Interest (started out as a police procedural with a mysterious element, and by the end was a full-scale battle between artificial intelligences for control of the world; I know a lot of people who love Jim Caviezel for Passion of the Christ, Count of Monte Cristo or Sound of Freedom, but this is his best work, for my money, likewise Michael Emmerson & Amy Adams, who were MVPs of other shows further down)
- Andor (flat out best Star Wars show & best post-Lucas content)
- House of the Dragon (made the best season of the IP, from the worst book in the series; is a lot more historically plausible and better at politics and characterization than GoT, looks much nicer, too)
- Angel (lot of dumb filler episodes & could not compete with the production values of above)
- Fringe (the timeline shenanigans that basically meant we were following entirely new characters at the end really hurt this one for me)
- Firefly (doesn't hold up as well, long term)
- Grimm (never really reached greatness, and could be glacial in its plot progression, but by the end, it was comfortable & fun as everyone knew their roles)
- Lost (a big bloated mess that clearly was just winging it, but I do think they stuck the landing with characterization if not with the worldbuilding)
- Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles (while I regret the early cancellation, I think it might have started going off the rails near the end, also, could be pretentious as fuck with the literary references & philosophizing over AI; IMO Person of Interest handled that issue better)
I wonder how many of these shows, in their entire runs, could have fit into the budgets of Rings of Power & Wheel of Time?
Honorable mention:
No Ordinary Family (Michael Chiklis' better attempt at a live-action "Incredibles" )
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Didn't know when to end, I hated most of the characters and its best work was a topic I loathe on screen - the "horrors" of high school; also, in hindsight, the Whedonisms are kind of tired now)
Supernatural (I don't care what the later seasons were doing, it's amazing it lasted as long as it did)
Invasion (I liked the family dynamics, and William Fichter's character a lot)
Legends of the Seeker (the adaptation that was not great, nor all that faithful, but about what "The Sword of Truth" deserved, bearing in mind that it culminated in the Evil Empire being brought down by a football tournament)
Original Star Trek
- I saw of TNG, the pilot, the finale and the one with Scotty, I saw of DS9 an episode where Dax was on trial for something her parasite was accused of doing in a previous host body - turned out the parasite was innocent, but withholding its alibi to protect the reputation of the woman he was having an affair with; I also refused to watch Voyager after the pilot episode, in which Janeway should have been shot for her actions - it was a cherry on the shit-sundae that was Nemesis to reveal in that film that she made admiral. Plus, the fact that they had a Hispanic Klingon and a black Vulcan will never not make me laugh and have difficulty taking it seriously. Becoming aware of Jerri Ryan joining the cast and her reason for being there didn't help, either. Even my brother, who was a fan, admitted it was basically pandering. So, really, Star Trek Original flavor is the only one I really have any engagement with.
I have never seen Battlestar Galactica, Dr Who, Stargate, Babylon 5, Once Upon a Time, aside from the pilots in a couple of cases.
I feel like Human Target, 24 & House should be on here, too.
“Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions.” GK Chesteron
Inde muagdhe Aes Sedai misain ye!
Deus Vult!
*MySmiley*