SALE! My two cents worth - 50% off

As a lover of TV and a lunatic for lists, I have decided to share some of my favorite shows that you might not have heard of or maybe you have, but you never watched!  I gravitate to sci-fi and fantasy, but I also love a good drama, a laugh-out-loud comedy, and a well-done musical. (Oh, and westerns - love those cowboys, the scruffier the better - maybe one day they will be back in style).  Another long one, but here we go!

Sci-Fi - I got the bug from Star Trek back in the '60s.  Because of it, I started reading Sci-fi and later Fantasy, which in turn made me want to see it on the big and small screen. I'm always on the look-out for it.  Here's my picks, starting with the most recently seen:

1.  Dark Matter - I just started watching it recently and really like it. Brought to us by the creators of Stargate and Stargate Atlantis, it has a 'firefly' vibe to it with diverse characters who, while they don't aim to misbehave, they find themselves in the middle of it anyway.  Basically 6 people come out of stasis on a spaceship with no memory of who they are or what their past is.  They decide to use numbers instead of names. Naturally, I'm most attracted to the smart ass bad boy of the group, #3.  They have an android who they call 'android' lol.  I really hate the android's hairdo, other than that, I think it's shaping up to be a good show and it has been renewed for a second season.  I'm watching it via Netflix. If you like character-driven science fiction, give it a try!

2. Orphan Black - I was able to watch the first two seasons on Amazon Prime and really wanted to see the next one, but since I have to pay for it, I can't. I have to wait until it's free for prime members.  It's a fascinating show about clones and how they come to find each other and what happens when they try to figure out what the hell is going on.  The lead actress, Tatiana Maslany is excellent, playing each of the clones who look alike, but do not have the same personalities.  You want to keep watching!

3. Being Human, UK version - ok, so I'm late to the party!!  It's not in production anymore and quite frankly, after season 3 I couldn't watch anymore.  I keep thinking I should, but so far haven't been able to. Why? (hint: Aidan Turner) No spoilers, you have to watch!  Basically, a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost become roomies and try to live like normal human beings.  It proves to be a challenge! I promise you, you will become so invested in the lives of Mitchell, George, and Annie, you will want to watch it again and again.  Fine acting, good story, believable characters, blurred lines between good and evil, well-place humor makes this a hard show to not love.

4. Game of Thrones - I don't think I was ever more invested in a story when I was introduced to the books.  When I saw it was coming to TV and that SEAN BEAN was going to be in it, I couldn't wait.  Now I can't afford HBO, so I've had to wait to see each season, but I'm OK with that.  GoT is not for the faint of heart!  I watch it with my eyes closed a LOT - lol  I just don't like seeing body parts destroyed, but beyond that, I have to admit they are doing a fine job of bringing a complicated and intriguing story to life, though there are several changes from the books.  Solid performances from a huge cast, fantastic costuming and sets.  Be prepared for nudity, graphic sex, and blood.

5. True Blood - another cable show that I had to watch via Amazon.  What is there about vampires that fascinates so many of us?  True Blood ran for 7 seasons.  Synopsis from IMDB reads:"The series follows Sookie Stackhouse, a barmaid living in Louisiana who can read people's minds, and how her life is turned upside down when the Vampire Bill, walks into her place of employment two years after vampires 'came out of the coffin' on national television."  Each season expands the realm of fantasy by eventually introducing werewolves, fairys, witches, and demons into the show. LOTS of blood, eye-closing grossness, graphic sex, etc and yet a fascinating story with characters you care about and want to see survive and live happily ever after.  Also, I love the theme song.

6. Thanks to all the choices for viewing we now have (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, to name a few), we can almost always find access to the shows no longer on:

First and forever my all-time favorite is Firefly. Seriously, if you like sci-fi and haven't watched it, what are you waiting for??  The motley crew of the Serenity will become like family to you. Good stories, lovable characters, well-placed humor, visually perfect. It's been 15 years since it premiered and I'm still mourning the loss of it, along with thousands of other browncoats (fans).

Stargate SG-1- What's not to love?  It was on for eleven years, so they did something right. The movie that spawned the show is fabulous, one of my favorites. Once again, the main players will become family to you.

Battlestar Gallactica - 2004 version over the earlier one, though I never missed the Richard Hatch version back in the '70's.  I feel like the earlier versions was more campy than serious science fiction.

Star Trek - every incarnation, even Deep Space Nine - it started it all for me!!

Clearly, this posting is way too long!!  I will have to break it up into more than one post.  You don't mind, do you?  :-)

I'd love to hear your thoughts on what Sci-Fi you've watched and loved.  Enter a comment below.

Ned Stark