The Greatest Sci Fi/Fantasy TV Shows: Considering the case for the sci fi and fantasy television shows that should be counted among the greatest of all time.
What Is It?
This superhero ensemble series follows a ragtag team of heroes and antiheroes, brought together by time traveler Rip Hunter, as they journey across different eras to prevent threats that could alter history. They face off against immortal villains, time-traveling demons, temporal anomalies, and Beebo the God of War while trying not to break the timeline themselves.
Aired: The CW, 2016-22, 7 Seasons Totaling 110 Episodes
Starring: Caity Lotz, Victor Garber, Brandon Routh, Franz Drameh, Ciara Renée, Falk Hentschel, Amy Pemberton, Dominic Purcell, Wentworth Miller, Matt Ryan
Developed By: Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, Andrew Kreisberg, Phil Klemmer
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Argument to Count It as One of the Greatest Sci Fi TV Shows:
Legends of Tomorrow is the second spin-off to come out of the Arrow-verse, and it ended up outdoing all of the other entries in that franchise. Instead of focusing primarily on one hero, this series delivered an ensemble, with characters that would come and go. That created an interesting group dynamic with a cast well-suited to their roles, and the show also shakes things up from time to time. In addition, its focus is much more on sci fi and less on the superhero elements that are core to its premise.
But what makes this one really stand out is the fact that it fully embraces the limitless possibilities of the genre while refusing to take itself too seriously. At its core, it is a time travel series with superheroes, but it uses that premise to explore everything from alternate histories and paradoxes to mythology, aliens, and reality-bending threats. Unlike many sci fi shows that stick to a rigid tone, Legends of Tomorrow evolves over time, leaning into its own absurdity and creativity to deliver stories that are both wildly imaginative yet still entertaining.
In addition, the show demonstrated a willingness to break the mold. While most superhero and sci fi series aim for epic stakes and grounded drama, this show mixes those elements with humor, self-awareness, and outright bizarre concepts, all without losing sight of character development. The rotating team dynamic, unexpected emotional arcs, and constant reinvention allow it to stay fresh across multiple seasons, something few long-running genre shows manage to achieve. In doing so, Legends of Tomorrow proves that sci fi can be adventurous, character-driven, and just plain fun, earning its place among the all-time genre greats.
Argument Against:
Legends of Tomorrow stumbled out of the gate with a mediocre, by-the-numbers first season that failed to take advantage of its interesting premise and excellent cast. On any other network, it would have been cancelled after its first year, and rightfully so. But it kept going (for seven seasons), and while it did improve, the show was wildly uneven throughout its run. It embraced the sci fi side of its premise, but it played fast and loose with its science and often descended into absurdity. This was intentional at times, as the show did not take itself too seriously, but all too often it became just plain silly instead of being clever, sometimes verging on pure camp. And really? Beebo? That took things a bit too far…
The show had an excellent cast and plenty of potential, but it failed to realize the latter or fully utilize the former more often than not, and it does not deserve to be considered among the greatest sci fi TV shows.
Johnny Jay’s Take:
When Arrow hit The CW’s schedule in Fall 2012, it seemed to deliver a very different sort of superhero series from what we had seen on television previously. It offered an interesting and grounded take on a character who is one of my favorites from the comics, and it merged in elements of Lost with Oliver Queen’s flashbacks to his time on a mysterious island where he developed his superhero abilities. The Flash spun out of this show two years later, and that one embraced the sci fi elements of its premise while offering another strong entry in the developing Arrow-verse franchise. Then Legends of Tomorrow arrived, and it proved somewhat of a disappointment at first.
The premise was fantastic, as it seemed to be giving us Doctor Who with superheroes as the Doctor’s companions. The first season did follow that to an extent, but it just didn’t seem to come together very well, and it leaned heavily into copy-and-paste storytelling. I dropped out about midway through the second season, but began to hear some buzz for the show during its third year and heading into its fourth. I started watching again and got hooked, even going back and catching up on what I missed.
Legends of Tomorrow hit its stride around its third season when it decided to stop taking itself too seriously and just have fun with its premise. It had also shed some of the characters that did not fit too well (particularly Rip Hunter), and the superhero ensemble really gelled at that point. Sure, some of its time travel rules were a bit questionable, and its science definitely did not hold up (which was true of all the shows in the franchise), but they had plenty of fun with that, as the show had its tongue firmly planted in cheek. For me, Legends of Tomorrow became the go-to series among the Arrow-verse entries, and the only one I stuck with all the way through. And while I definitely would not place this one as a Top 10 to Top 20 sci fi TV series, it certainly counts as a notable genre entry and has earned its place among the all-time greats.
Where Can You Watch It?
All seven seasons are available on Netflix which is where it has been since it started streaming (The CW had a deal that sent most of its Arrow-verse shows to that streamer for encore runs). The complete series has also been released on DVD and Blu-ray, and you can purchase it VOD.
Do you consider Legends of Tomorrow to be one of the greatest sci fi TV shows of all time or did it venture too far into the absurd? Chime in with your thoughts in the comments below.
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