YO MY DUDE
That theme song is 
and a ear worm
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I second Babylon 5. Got all DVDs for like $40 a couple of years ago. But esp. in the beginning some of the acting is rooouuuugggghhhhhhh. Still very charming, though and the arch is very cool. Also enjoyed the spin-off, though I already forgot its name.
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Can we add Australia to it? Cause I think Farscape is really great!
For those who may have missed it, Farscape was part of a block of Friday (or Thursday? I cant remember exactly) Sci-Fi Channel original series that aired from around 98-2002. It was primarily a showcase for the Jim Henson Creature Shop to do some insane creatures with puppetry and makeup. I love it so much.
I think Ben Browder is a better space-rogue than Harrison Ford, fight me
Does anyone even remember a show called Seven Days? It was from 1998 and featured a secret government lab that developed a time machine that could only go back in time seven days. The lab sets are lower budget than SG1, but not terrible. It had the combination of conspiracy and optimism that I loved from The X-Files. But, even among my sci-fi loving friends, no one else watched it.
Here’s the intro:
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Budget science fiction is definitely my jam at the moment, especially movies. When it comes to other television shows, Continuum is fantastic and pretty easy to binge. It’s 4 seasons, but only 42 episodes total (10, 13,13, and 6). I love it, but I know that some people find it uneven. I found it to be well worth the time.
Movies are hit or miss, but there are a crazy amount of really good lower budget science fiction films. Some bad too, but overall I’ve had good experiences. I’d highly recommend seeking out -
- Timecrimes (2007)
- Coherence (2013)
- Synchronicity (2015)
- ARQ (2016)
- Time Lapse (2014)
- Primer (2004)
- Upstream Color (2013)
- Another Earth (2011)
- The Machine (2013)
Of all of those, Coherence is probably the best, imo. It’s also super impressive, since it was done on a budget of only $50,000.
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Agreed on all points. I love how these low budget shows also have to look for less recognized actors, so you get people like Claudia Black or Gina Torres who have true talent. I find it interesting that actors in these roles start to get pigeonholed in roles, though. Not sure why that is. I’m always happy to see people break away to new genres in other series.
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For me, really great budget Sci-fi which is also Canadian, is Continuum. The first time I watched it, I was actually blown away by it. Strong female protagonist, hits you in the feels, looks pretty decent, and if you look at through the lens of cyberpunk, it’s actually pretty subversive and progressive. If all people know about cyberpunk is first wave, this show is usual equivalent of showing how writers can arrange those tropes in new and interesting ways. All the while also including a good female protagonist that anyone could empathize with, which I think is why Almost Human did not find an audience.
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Anything that takes place in an isolated community or space will have me instantly interested. There’s just something inherently worrying to me about having just enough familiarity for you to notice that something is amiss.
I think this just happens to work really well with budget sci-fi, since you’re working with reduced casts in smaller locations, and probably less “sci-fi” that you actually need to spend the money to render.
Most recently (I watched it last year?) was Wayward Pines. Small town, sinister events, and Terrence Howard eating ice cream (1:16).
I really enjoyed both The Adjustment Bureau and Source Code, which for me kind of hit that budget sweet spot. They’ve clearly got enough budget for the actors but still have to get creative and ambitious with the ideas.
What I like about Jupiter Ascending is that it’s ambitions may have been toward becoming a blockbuster franchise, but its execution was budget sci if and for that I really enjoyed what I got.
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oh man, I completely feel incorrect in stating agents of shield on here. can movies play a part in this genre mold as well? Because I really feel that Starship Troopers is the manifestation of this genre. I could be wrong, but between the aesthetics of the world, the characters, and everything else in between, I consider it to be “budget” sci-fi.
Yeah, sometimes more serious dialogue just flop totally, but pretty much everyone does a really good job with the humorous material. Despite a lot of dark stuff in there (I’m 10 eps in and I think someone has died nearly every episode + it’s already dealt with genocide/war crimes, child death, multiple types of mind violations, and racially motivated violence), it’s a really funny show?? I’d forgotten about that.
One of the most prevalent budget sci-fi things in the early 90s was, after the success of Knight Rider, to make the cheapest show imaginable but the main character has a sick vehicle or suit or some kind. Stuff like Thunder in Paradise, MANTIS, Supercop, Cobra, The Highwayman.
Anyway The Highwayman stands out to me, this is a stupid as hell campy show, and yet, it tried so hard to have a mythology across its run.
I just love it because at first The Highwayman is this mythical figure of the west, but then the X-Files came out so now suddenly The Highwayman is possibly an alien? But then even later they decided he was an elite super secret agent of the US government.
I loved those changes because such three radically different backgrounds all of course require a massive 18 wheeler with a helicopter built into it.
OOH OOH I’VE GOT A FEW MORE!
the first one is CUBE. It’s a 1997 sc-fi ensemble feature with a really cool premise. the film essentialy takes place in just one location but they do some creative things to keep things interesting.
The second one is called TELEIOS. It’s more recent (came out in 2016) and it’s production value is slightly higher but it is still VERY cheap. It’s about a future where a new breed of humans, created by big corporations, was designed in order to accomodate a much more polluted earth. A squad of these is sent in order to retrieve a cargop shipment that will supposedly help save Earth’s dwindling water reserves and, As you might imagine, things go south fairly quickly.
Now, neither of these films is good. They both feature poor acting and lackluster directing, but both work with fairly strong premises which they atleast somewhat deliver on
My third reccomendation Is a podcast called Hunt the Truth. It is set in the Halo universe and It is literally the BEST piece of fiction to come out of the Halo universe. It’s like serial, except with MUCH higher stakes, an incredible cast ( the show is hosted by Keegan Michael-Key - of Key and Peele, yes) and a bunch of incredibly cool sci-fi concepts thrown in the mix. Seriously. Check it out.
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It’s just so obvious when compared to Deep Space Nine (which also had rough early seasons, I think). It’s too bad because the stories are actually pretty good SF genre fare. On the other hand, I enjoyed the camp very much watching the show for the first time in 2009.
I also just remembered Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda and Gene Roddenberry’s Conflict: Earth (or what it was called). Those were pretty campy, too! I just loved flicking through the channels and finding one of those shows on. Sometimes it’s nice to know how a thing will go from the beginning, really non-threatening storytelling.
As far as budget sci-fi movies go, one of my favorites ever is Galaxy of Terror. This movie is mostly famous for it containing a scene of alien worm/human woman intercourse, but the entire flick is very very very alien and creepy. I mean what little story is present is out there by the end, it’s awesome, and despite the cheapness of the movie it at times looks incredible.
A lot of trashy sci-fi exploitation movies like Mutant/Forbidden World actually reused the sets from it, giving them all this veneer of looking good while still be absurdly cheap and rushed affairs.
OH! EVENT HORIZON. That movie was madness…but in a good way.
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Space Precinct 2040 will always hold a special place in my heart. Mainly because I won a random competition for a load of dress-up gear and toys when I was a kid.
But wow, that intro - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkW_k8FZMGY
Wait wait wait depending on where we draw the line here, does the Fifth Element count? $90mil budget. (Maybe, maybe, someone reminded me that existed and I just want to talk about how great it is)
This thread is extremely me.
I actually started watching Orphan Black when it first came out, having no idea it was going to be a sci-fi series (I thought it might be a separated at birth thing) and watched it get steady more and more cyberpunky as it went along.
Recently I’ve been watching the Twelve Monkeys TV Series, which is actually surprisingly good! It isn’t afraid to play about with fun time travel tropes (loops, paradoxes, predestination) and does some interesting stuff with the dark moral choices characters make with the knowledge of time travel (Is it right to kill someone if you believe you can undo their death? Would you allow someone to change time so that a loved one never existed?). It takes a few episodes to get going, but it really comes into its own. Then the second series gets even weirder.
Oh and if you like comedic camp budget sci-fi, then definitely try and track down The Middleman.
I deffo like how some budget sci-fi does the complete opposite of the Moon or Orphan Black thing and just goes, “Well, it’ll look goofy no matter what we do—so let’s go for broke and tell stories about galactic hegemonies and psychic computers!” And then similarly keep the projects afloat on strong performances and striking writing.
I’m surprised 70s British sci-fi hasn’t come up much yet, with its wobbling sets and paper mache monsters. Doctor Who, of course, is the canonical example, but I’m also very fond of Blake’s 7, a show about a group of ex-cons who steal a high-tech spaceship and wage a (surprisingly complex and muddy) rebellion against the repressive government of the galaxy. It sure is something to watch two characters debate the ethics of guerrilla warfare as they run a light-bulb festooned fishtank (the most powerful computer in the universe!) across some British farmer’s apple orchard.
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