Binge Recommendations - Day 2 - Robots And Aliens And Magic And That

This is first and foremost a place of supreme nerdiness so let’s direct the bingeing in a more geekily direction today. Again, I’m not going to go with some of the more obvious ones (if we’re talking bingeing, I’m going to assume you’ve already gone through Stranger Things) and, if you’re one of those people that has got a BritBox account, you can take it as read that I’m going to tell you crack on with classic Doctor Who (695 episodes over 26 seasons plus a TV movie too). Also, we all know about our Walking Deads and Games Of Thrones so let’s skip over them. Let’s go for a few different options here.

Babylon 5
Why’s It Good? Look, full disclosure, not only have I previously written a post about this but I even did my university on postmodernism in Babylon 5 (TL;DR - there is some..ish...) so it’s safe to say that I like this series. It’s good because it has a defined storyline with a beginning, middle and end with interesting and surprising character arcs. There are elements in the first episode of the series proper that pay off years down the line. It’s responsible for the modern concept of story arcs in TV. It’s very good (yes, I am biased on this one).
How Much Of It? 110 episodes over 5 seasons plus 5 TV movies, a direct to DVD special and one spin-off series (Crusade)

Battlestar Galactica
Why’s It Good? This was a series that tackled two subjects that are often glossed over or homogenised in sci-fi - politics and religion - and really ran with them. Like the currently airing Westworld series, it deals with notions of what makes life and intelligence and it did so in an action-packed war-based series. It also managed to erase memories of the original sub-Star Wars series* by reinventing the characters for a new audience. While it may stumble slightly with the ending (not quite as divisive as Lost was but close), it’s still a series with a lot to offer and well worth the watch.
How Much Of It? A two-part mini-series, 76 episodes over 4 seasons, 2 TV movies and a spin off (Caprica) 

Farscape
Why’s It Good? Because, at some point, Farscape decides that there is absolutely no reason why it can't take batshit crazy plotlines and just run with them to see where they go. Add in some genuinely alien aliens (courtesy of the Jim Henson Workshop) and a weird line in kinkiness and you’ve got a series that is utterly unique when it comes to space opera shenanigans. It’s certainly not a series that would be to everyone’s taste but if you’re looking for something a bit stranger then give this one a try.
How Much Of It? 88 episodes over 4 seasons and a 2-part mini-series finale

The Magicians
Why’s It Good? The elevator pitch for this - Harry Potter but at university - doesn’t do justice to this series at all. It’s unafraid to get grimy, it’s filthy, it’s funny and it never goes in the direction that you expect it to. It’s also unafraid to put its characters through the wringer - sometimes that doesn;t always quite pay off but it;s good that it’s willing to try. It’s currently airing the last few episodes of its fifth and final season so, by the time you’ve caught up, you’ll be just in time to see how it ends.
How Much Of It? 65 episodes (by the time it finishes) over 5 seasons.

Still after some more? Fair enough, we could all be at home for a while. Let’s cover off some more stuff next time.


* This may sound dismissive of the original (and, to be honest, I’m not a big fan) but it was genuinely conceived as a way to cash in on the success of Star Wars but on the small screen instead.