Glad to see this thread catching off. Some musings based on the most common themes:
-Star Trek: Ironically, it was the Abrams film reboot that actually introduced me to the series, as in, I was aware of Star Trek before that but hadn't seen much of it. Right now though, my favorite era of the three film series I've seen enough of to judge would be TNG, the others being TOS and Enterprise. Though that said, well, ever heard of SfDebris? If not, change that.
Of the three above, TNG would be my favorite. As dreary as season 1 is, it does pick up in season 2, and I especially remember it for the episode "The Measure of a Man." TOS, I think has aged quite well. What's more, I appreciate in TOS how it parallels what was going on in the world at the time. The klingons are an obvious stand-in for the Soviets for example, the doomsday weapon the Enterprise faces represents the idea of nuclear armageddon, etc. As for Enterprise...well, "bleh." That's all I have to say of season 1. Archer just won't shut up about how special humans are, how nasty vulcans are, and...well, yeah.
-Babylon 5: Regretfully never seen it. Sfdebris's reviews have given me the basics, but it's just that, the basics. And because I'm mean, I'm going to half throw down the gauntlet, half get advice - which series should I get into first? B5 or DS9?
-Firefly: Y'know...I never really got into this. I mean, yeah, I've watched the TV series, seen the movie, I've got the novelization of said movie and a few of the comics on my bookshelf. And yet, while Firefly isn't bad by any means, I've never really got into it the same way so many other fandoms have.
Which is strange, because a lot of parallels can be drawn with Farscape. Band of outlaws on the fringes of civilization? Check. Quirky humour and whatnot? Check. Decent continuity that makes episodes have consequences? Check. And yet, even taking the first season of Farscape by itself (and it had some misteps), I'd still rate it higher than Firefly, even though for having one season, Firefly clearly found its stride early on. I guess if I had to say is that by its nature, the Firefly setting is static, that it's a band of outlaws doing their thing, and that's it. But even that's unfair because every Star Trek show I've listed above was arguably "just a starship doing its thing" (I know the borg and xinti change that up, but haven't got that far), and Farscape was "a spaceship fleeing the Peacekeepers" through most of season 1, and remained the same in season 2, only with the added layer of Scorpius/Harvey. So why is Firefly a problem for me?
Farscape, IMO, has far more going for it in its setting. We start off with "alien of the week," then by the end of season 1, introduced to Scorpius, the wormhole tech, etc. Season 2, chase continues, we're introduced to the scarrens. Season 3, stakes get higher, have two Crichtons, learn the nature of the scarren-Peacekeeper conflict, ends with the destruction of Scorpius's carrier. Season 4, now the scarrens are the threat, Earth's at risk, etc. Peacekeepr Wars, one final battle. Farscape is an excellent case of starting off small, then slowly building up your universe, the stakes, and the characters in it. Firefly, while one can speculate how it might have gone, is a series I can't see really going anywhere. Even after the film, I don't doubt that Mal and his crew will just do what they keep doing (though a sequel comic series is out that I haven't read, so that may change. Likewise haven't read the Farscape sequel comics yet either).
I dunno. Good show, but I don't hold it that highly on a personal level.
-Stargate: I have a weird relationship with Stargate. I saw the original film around the time it first came out (it was on DVD though), forgot about it, then started with Stargate Universe when it began airing, then made my way to SG-1, then made my way to Atlantis. The weird result is that I've seen every episode of the live-action Stargate series (and one episode of Infinity...oh God...) Of the three, I'd label SG-1 as the strongest, followed by Universe (different, but did its own thing, and definately picked up in season 2) followed by Atlantis (a.k.a. "SG-1 lite"). Not bad, but I feel playing it safe too much, basically face-lifting what SG-1 already did, and making it less interesting (the goa'uld have the whole god thing going for them and cultural oppression, while the wraith...eat people. Yay.)
Despite the cynicism, I still like Stargate. While I don't hold it as highly as other series (similar to Firefly), I think it's decent overall. SG-1 has its share of tongue and cheek, but does deal with interesting concepts (the entire goa'uld-human-cultural-religious thing), has elements of the military but isn't jingoistic about it (e.g. Russians are treated as rivals of sorts to the US Stargate program, but aren't lambasted), had a natural buildup (start off with the stargate, develop fighters, the Prometheus), and in a way, has its own version of "where no man has gone before."). If asked what Stargate was about, I'd actually label it as "discovery"). Discovering new worlds. New cultures. It's a bit like Star Trek actually, but with different means. It's probably why I like Universe as well, and not so much Atlantis.
-Red Dwarf: I actually have the DVDs on my "to get list." But apart from Sfdebris, my only experience is the novel 'Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers'). Good read overall.
-Futurama: Seen the first two seasons and a few of the later episodes. Overall, quite like it. I have to hand it to Matt Groening in that unlike, say, the library of Seth McFarlene (Family Guy-American Dad-Cleaveland Show...ugh), it's its own thing from the Simpsons. Fry, Leela, and Bender are clearly the main characters, whereas the Simpsons is more eclectic in who it focuses on. Also like how Fry develops as a character (at least in later seasons) over time, slowly becoming more responsible. I haven't seen enough of Futurama to comment on it deeply, but overall, quite like the series. Lighthearted fun and sattire that manages to do drama and emotion quite well also.
-Battlestar Galactica: Only familiar with the rebooted series (and Blood and Chrome, seen the DVD movies as well, namely Razor and The Plan). Overall, solid series. Season 4 really had issues though, it felt like two seasons being compressed into the space of one. IMO, season 4 should have been everything from Kara's return to Earth, and a season 5 should have covered everything from Earth to 'new Earth'). I understand that this was due to the Writer's Guild Strike as well.
But overall, like it. It does try to be a bit too 'gritty' at times (how willingly characters frak), but overall, solid. Last cast of characters, but many of them get development. Space combat is good, and something we haven't seen before in other sci-fi shows that much (e.g. Stargate, Star Trek). Universe is bare bones, drama is on the ships, but it works. All in all, good job.
As for the low tech aspect, that was another thing that kind of bothered me. We have a society that's mastered FTL travel, but apparently hasn't advanced in any other area. Telephones still use chords, paper is used instead of pads, the weapons are basically pop-guns against Centurions, etc. While it's quintisential to the series, it does remain iffy from a worldbuilding standpoint.
-Defiance: Only seen the first season. Overall, rocky start, but I feel the setting has a lot of potential. Characters are okay, but not that interesting, but granted, that may have changed over season 2. Overall, not that large a fan, but I'm glad to see it continue.
But oh God, the effects. It's not a dealbreaker, but the volge at the start of season 1, the creatures they confront in the mines (the ones creating the gulanite)...ugh. I'm more tolerant of CGI than most, but...gah!
-Cowboy Bebop: Not a large anime fan, but seen this series. Overall, quite like it. It's a bit hard to explain why, and what's more, it's in a similar position as Firefly. Beatdown ship, ecletic cast just doing their thing, etc. However, if Cowboy Bebop has a theme (and I'll spare a lecture on what I percieve as the "meaning" of Bebop), it is, in my mind, nihilism. And it carries that well. Oh, and Ed's adorable.
-Andromeda: Oh why. Why?
I've only seen the first two seasons on DVD, but from what I understand, the series takes a nosedive onwards, and arguably I could label the point where that nosedive occurs as the point when future Trance shows up. Andromeda...Andromeda is a lot like Star Trek: Voyager, going by what a lot of people say about the latter. Andromeda had so much potential. Sometimes in the first two seasons, it lived up to it. It has a great premise, but it so rarely felt like it was actually living up to it. Season 1, solid overall, it establishes the characters, the goals, and by the Worldship, we've established the stakes as well. First half of season 2, good character development, such as Harper's magog issue, the growing tension/friendship between Dylan and Tyr, the introduction of Terezed, etc. And then...then we get future Trance. The costume change. Rev Bem leaving. And a season finale that is, well, ugh.
I could go on. Overall, I'm fond of Andromeda. But of what I've seen, I can't rate it that highly. It had all the potential to be something excellent. But so often it would not, or could not, seize the greatness it could have been.
Oh, and http://www.cyberspace5.net/agentrichard07/coda.htm may be what Rattja's looking for. Haven't read it yet, I want to see the series as a whole before going down the path of "what if?"