10 Sci-Fi Shows That Are Better Than They Get Credit For

The science fiction genre is ripe with fantastical tales that often go overlooked or unnoticed in a world full of more television shows than you could ever watch. In fact, there are so many great sci-fi shows out there that it's likely there are a few you've never even heard of. So, in our streaming age where there are more programs than you could bargain for, we've compiled a list of some of the shows that were better than they were ever given credit for.

These underrated sci-fi shows range from tales about robots and androids to alien invasions of both the extra-terrestrial and the deep-sea kinds. Whether you love hard sci-fi or softer ventures into the world of the unknown, many of these shows will likely be right up your alley. From short one-season dramas to long-form stories, give these often overlooked sci-fi gems a try.

10 ‘Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles’ (2007-2009)

It may be daunting to jump into a franchise as convoluted and misdirected at times as Terminator, but Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is easily one of the best entries in the entire time-traveling saga. All you need to know for this one are the basic plots of The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and from there The Sarah Connor Chronicles takes on a whole new life of its own. Following Sarah (Lena Headey) and her teenage son John (Thomas Dekker) as they escape the clutches of Skynet, they take the fight to the A.I. in the year 2007 to stop the apocalypse from ever occurring.

With compelling takes on what it means to be a cybernetic organism and powerful examples of how time travel can actively change the future, The Sarah Connor Chronicles is effectively what everyone wanted from the franchise after T2. Ignoring all other sequels besides the two James Cameron films, it spends 31 episodes diving deeper into the psychology of the Connors and their allies than any other medium. It's also just great television.

9 ‘Almost Human’ (2013-2014)

Another sci-fi series canceled by Fox too soon, Almost Human is set in the future of 2048 where crime has risen to exponential rates, leading to every human law enforcement officer being partnered with an android "synthetic" on the job. After returning to the field in the wake of a terrible accident, Detective John Kennex (Karl Urban) is paired with a unique DRN-0167 model nicknamed "Dorian" (Michael Ealy), who shows capability for near-human emotion. As the two learn to work together, they protect New Pittsburgh from new threats.

Created by J.H. Wyman, Almost Human was a compelling look into the future that, sadly, only lasted a single season of 13 episodes. Nevertheless, the performances of Urban and Ealy (who make a great "odd couple") are dynamite and could very well have carried this futuristic procedural for years if given the chance. Although it ended prematurely, it certainly deserves to be revisited.

8 ‘Continuum’ (2012-2015)

Another time-traveling take on the genre, Continuum follows City Protective Services (CPS) agent Kiera Cameron (Rachel Nichols) as she steps back in time from 2077 to pursue a terrorist group known as Liber8 to the year 2012. Set in contemporary Vancouver, Kiera must find a way to stop Liber8 from creating a world where her son no longer exists, only to find herself torn between wanting to rewrite history for the better or save her future son. It's certainly a mind-bending adventure that spans an impressive four seasons and 42 episodes.

Partnered with future tech mogul Alec Sadler (Erik Knudsen), who would become a corporate overlord by Kiera's time, and VPD Detective Carlos Fonnegera (Victor Webster), Kiera is one of the most complex protagonists in science fiction. A mother with a pure desire to keep her son from fading out of existence and also a cop trying to uphold the law, she finds herself trapped in a world where neither her son nor her futuristic rules exist. With plenty of flashbacks to 2077 (or are they flashforwards?) and alternate timelines to boot, this is one sci-fi series you won't want to sleep on.

7 ‘V’ (1983-1985)

Okay, this one is kind of a three-in-one situation, but you'll soon understand why. V began in 1983 as a miniseries that aired in two parts on NBC. The two-parter did so well that a sequel, the three-part V: The Final Battle, was released the following year. Despite its title, V continued onto NBC the next fall with V: The Series, continuing the project for another 19 episodes before it was unfortunately canceled. Still, with all that material, there's no reason not to give V a try.

An inspired take on the alien invasion genre, V introduces the world to the idea by strategically using the media to inform the opinions of those on Earth. The alien Visitors deceive humanity into believing that they look like them and only hope for what's best for the world, but it's all a lie. As Resistance fighters Mike Donovan (Marc Singer) and Julie Parrish (Faye Grant) soon discover, the Visitors are actually reptilian overlords who would sooner eat humans than enslave them. It's a great series that feels as relevant now as it did then.

6 ‘Fringe’ (2008-2013)

When it comes to sci-fi-based procedurals, perhaps the only show to come close to The X-Files' greatness is Fringe. Originally an episodic series that focused on weekly "fringe" events that united the FBI's Fringe Division — consisting of Oliva Dunham (Anna Torv), Peter Bishop (Joshua Jackson), and his father Walter (John Noble) — soon became a multiversal, time-warping adventure that was bigger than Fox gave it credit for. For five seasons, Fringe was a powerhouse on the network, ending on its own terms.

Fringe was a show that was never afraid to get weird or tackle the odd, unexplainable things. It took many of the concepts first explored on The X-Files and made them uniquely their own, grounded in fringe science and excluding alien life altogether. The chemistry between the show's leads is outstanding, and there's no denying that this show built up to something unbelievable in its fifth and final season, which is set almost entirely in a post-apocalyptic future.

5 ‘Dark Skies’ (1996-1997)

Back in the '90s, The X-Files was so popular that NBC decided it needed something similar to rival Fox. That's where Dark Skies came in. Originally thought of as an X-Files clone, the show was so much more. From the minds of creators Brent V. Friedman and Bryce Zabel, the show takes place in the 1960s as the D.C.-based couple John Loengard (Eric Close) and Kimberly Sayers (Megan Ward) find themselves accidentally in the middle of a government-wide cover-up concerning the invasion of an alien species called "The Hive," which has found its way into American history by manipulating and murdering real-life historical figures.

Unfortunately, most wrote Dark Skies off as just another take on The X-Files, despite the fact that the shows couldn't have been more different. Indeed, perhaps the most disappointing thing about Dark Skies' 19-episode run is that it didn't go on longer. According to Friedman and Zabel, the show would have evolved over the course of multiple seasons, jumping decade after decade until it reached contemporary times, with The Hive waging full-on war with humanity at the turn of the century. While that plan never came to fruition, Dark Skies remains a fascinating tale of what could have been, offering an alternate take on history through an extra-terrestrial lens.

4 ‘Warehouse 13’ (2009-2014)

After U.S. Secret Service Agents Pete Lattimer (Eddie McClintock) and Myka Berring (Joanne Kelly) find their way to North Dakota on their new "Warehouse 13" detail, their lives are turned upside down in the best way. Joined by Special Agent in Charge Artie Nielson (Saul Rubinek), tech-wiz Claudia Donovan (Allison Scagliotti), and a host of other quirky characters, Warehouse 13 sent the agents across the world to collect and store dangerous artifacts that could otherwise threaten to unmake the world. In a world full of great sci-fi shows, this one is too often overlooked.

For five seasons and 65 episodes, Warehouse 13 pushed the limits of what a small SyFy series could do. Its characters are some of the best in any sci-fi drama, full of multi-fascited motivations and personality quirks that make them feel more like real people than simulated personalities. It doesn't hurt that Warehouse 13 also features plenty of alternate history explanations and exciting world-ending plots to keep things interesting in all that time.

3 ‘Invasion’ (2005-2006)

Right around the time that Lost became popular, ABC greenlit another ensemble sci-fi drama that took the basic concept of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and replaced pod-people with underwater alien creatures that are meant to usher humanity into the next stage of evolution — whatever that means. Invasion was a solid series that only lasted a single 22-episode season, but it managed to introduce us to some memorable characters and stars in the process. However, it probably aired too close to Hurricane Katrina for comfort.

A blended-family drama at its core, the series followed park ranger Russell Varon (Eddie Cibrian) and Sheriff Tom Underlay (William Fichtner) as they did everything in their power to keep their respective families together as the world shifted around them. Canceled too soon, Invasion asked and answered the question, "What if extraterrestrials didn't come from the skies above but instead the water beneath?" Unfortunately, we never got to see their endgame, but the potential was certainly there.

2 ‘Alphas’ (2011-2012)

Venturing back to the world of SyFy, Alphas actually takes place in the same shared fictional universe as Warehouse 13 (and Eureka) but follows a completely different group of characters. In this Zak Penn-crafted drama, psychiatrist Lee Rosen (David Strathairn) has compiled a team of superhuman operatives (called "Alphas") to help solve criminal cases that no one else can. What starts as a more procedural series quickly becomes serialized as a terrorist group called "Red Flag" threatens to expose the "Alphas" to the world.

With an electric cast of characters who couldn't be more different, Alphas took the idea of "normal people with superpowers" quite literally. In fact, for every exceptional ability these characters demonstrate, there is a clear downside or weakness in the power's overuse. In taking the superhero concept to a strictly grounded level, Alphas accomplished what so many other attempts failed to do in truly humanizing its exceptional characters. Sadly, it was canceled on a massive cliffhanger after only two seasons and 21 episodes.

1 ‘Falling Skies’ (2011-2015)

When it comes to often-overlooked sci-fi shows, there are few as underrepresented as Falling Skies. For a show executive produced by Steven Spielberg, created by Robert Rodat, and starring Noah Wyle, this one should've been a series for the ages. But even after five seasons and 52 episodes, most have forgotten about TNT's premiere alien invasion drama in the years since it concluded. Following the 2nd Massachusetts militia, the show takes place in the aftermath of an alien war as the human survivors band together against their oppressors.

Falling Skies was unique from the get-go in that it attempted to bring actual U.S. history into the realm of science fiction. In many ways, the events of Falling Skies were meant to mirror the American Revolution, with the comparisons drawn by Wyle's Tom Mason himself, a former history teacher turned revolutionary. Alongside his sons and the rest of the militia, Mason battles the alien invaders head-on and fights for the freedom of not just their nation, but all the Earth. It's a phenomenal journey that deserves much higher praise than it got while on air.