By John J. Joex

Yesterday, I covered slots 10 through 6 of the Top 10 Science Fiction and Fantasy shows from the past decade (plus a first alternate), now I will take a look at the five who took top honors on the list.  (Links are to the series page for each entry at TV.com)

5. Battlestar Galactica – Sure, this remake of the iconic 70’s series ended on a rather lame note, but it still managed to deliver more than its fair share of hard-hitting Science Fiction during its four seasons.  Unlike the more family-friendly original version (with cute kids and cuddly robot dogs), this series showed the last remnants of the human race in a desperate struggle for survival and did not shy away from the morally questionable decisions people in that position would have to make.  That’s where this series made its mark.  Ignore the more mystical storylines that suggest the writers had a plan for how this show would eventually wrap up (they didn’t) and focus instead on the hard-hitting drama of survivors fighting for their lives.  You will find yourself less disappointed with the ending that way.  (DVD Availability: Entire Series)

4. Carnivale – The fact that this supernatural-tinged HBO entry from creator Daniel Knauf has gone mostly unnoticed is a great injustice.  The show follows a carnival travelling through small-town America during the Great Depression and gives us an engaging, epic story of free will vs. destiny.  It also delivers well-drawn characters and intricate stories in a fully realized world with all of its Dust Bowl grittiness.  Unfortunately, HBO closed the curtain on the show after two twelve-episode seasons, but what an intense ride this carnival gave us across those twenty four episodes!  (DVD Availability: Entire Series)

3. Farscape – Sure, this series started in 1999, but it ran through 2004 (including the Peacekeeper Wars mini-series) so I’m including it on the list (and for those who object, I provided a first alternate on the previous list).  This one follows a human astronaut catapulted through a wormhole where he encounters multiple races struggling to control their section of the universe.  Coming from Jim Henson productions, the show placed muppet-like characters next to human actors and delivered one of the most cinematic productions TV had seen up to that point.  The series has its fair share of downright bad episodes, but it really soared when hitting on all cylinders which it did more often than not.  There are still talks of the show returning in some form (possibly a web-series) and it has also lived on in comic books.  (DVD Availability: Entire Series)

2. Firefly – Joss Whedon gave us a well-written, witty space western with this series populated by an assortment of fully realized characters brought to life by a cast that clicked from the word go.  It only lasted fourteen episodes (with FOX committing one of the greatest injustices in television history by cancelling it), but that short run gave us one of the all-time best shows in the genre.  (DVD Availability: Entire Series)

1. Lost – This series about a group of castaways stranded on an island with many mysterious secrets (both the island and the castaways) changed the game.  It brought Science Fiction back to the broadcast networks (for good or bad), kicked off a trend of serialized shows (again, for good or bad), and actually made the genre cool (people everywhere were talking about this show, not just sci fi geeks).  It’s also a pretty darn good show.  With its well fleshed-out characters and dense, intricately plotted storylines, the show has engaged and fascinated a whole new generation of TV viewers and actually given us an intriguing, heady story that people will watch.  (DVD Availability: Entire Series through prior season)

Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, and Lost are available for online viewing.  See out Sci Fi TV Online page for more info.

Next, the Honorable Mentions.  The shows that did not quite make the list.