Some of the best sci-fion television first appeared in the 1960s, shaping much of what followed on the big as well as the small screen. It’s hard to imagine what the genre would be like today withoutStar Trek,Doctor WhoandThe Twilight Zone, and harder yet for many baby-boomers to imagine what their childhood would have been like withoutThunderbirds,The Time TunnelorAstro Boy.
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In a strange and often nostalgic journey, what follows are the top 10 sci-fi television shows from the 1960s according to IMDb. While some favorites miss out - not a singleIrwin Allenproduction made the cut, for example (what, noLost in Space?) —there are one or two surprises.
10’Thunderbirds'
IMDb Score: 7.8
OnlyDoctor Whohad greater influence thanThunderbirdson British sci-fi television in the 1960s, and if often rated by British baby-boomers as one of the best television shows of all time. Created by the legendary team ofGerry and Sylvia Anderson,Thunderbirdsfeatured puppets that were partly electronically controlled, a development called ‘Supermaionation’ by the Andersons and refined in earlier shows such as 1964’sStingray.
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Starting in 1965, and comprising 32 50-minute episodes, the show followed the adventures of the Tracy family and their International Rescue, a secret organization using advanced rescue craft called Thunderbirds to save those threatened by natural disasters, criminal activities and things just generally going pear-shaped. If the show’s story line now seems a little dated, its design - especially the Thunderbird craft - and special effects still impress.
9’Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons'
The Andersons' follow-up toThunderbirds, 1967’sCaptain Scarlet and the Mysteronsfeatured more lifelike puppets as well as the usual attention to special effects and great design. The show’s 32 episodes, each running 25 minutes, covered the war between Spectrum, defending Earth, and a Martian race called the Mysterons. One of Spectrum’s top agents, Captain Scarlet, acquires the Mysterons' ability to recover from any injury, effectively becoming invincible.
Perhaps because it’s more violent and darker in tone than previous Anderson productions,Captain Scarletstands up better these days thanThunderbirdsorStingray, and almost certainly helped pave the way for best of the Andersons' television shows, the live-actionUFO(1970).
8’Out of This World'
IMDB Score: 7.9
This 1962 British anthology series (not remotely related to the American sitcom from the 1980s) is so popular in the memory of its audience that it makes the list despite there being only one episode known to still exist. Each of the 14 episodes wasintroduced byBoris Karloff, and featured stories by well-known writers such asJohn Wyndham,Terry Nation(who went on to invent the Daleks forDoctor Who) andIsaac Asimov.
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These days,Out of This Worldis perhaps best remembered as the precursor to the BBC’s more successful and better known sci-fi anthology seriesOut of the Unknown, which ran from 1965 to 1971.
7’The Stranger'
IMDb Score: 8.0
The first sci-fi television series ever made in Australia, 1964’sThe Strangeris a first-contact story about an alien coming to Earth to find a new home for his people. The alien, human in appearance, is taken in by a man and his family who, convinced he is suffering from amnesia, decide to name him Adam. It is only later they discover his true and alien nature.
Over two series, the peaceful start is complicated by militant forces on both sides, a perhaps too-common plot device in sci-fi television in the 1960s and 1970s. Despite this,The Strangeris an interesting attempt to describe what a first contact might be like, and an example of how competent writing and acting, and often clever design, can overcome the disadvantage of a tiny budget.
6’The Invaders'
This 1967 American show is also a first-contact story of sorts, but in this case there is no question of the aliens' malign intentions. Architect David Vincent stumbles on human-looking invaders leaving a spaceship that has just landed in a remote and rural part of the US. He learns they are slowly infiltrating human institutions to help them gain control of the planet, and in each episode thwarts the aliens' plans and, somewhat less successfully, fights official skepticism to make the world aware of the danger.
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If not as tense as the BBC’s earlierQuaterrmass II(1955), which employs exactly the same plot device but over 6 episodes instead ofThe Invaders' 43,Roy Thinnesis compelling as a continually frustrated but determined David Vincent.
5’The Wild Wild West'
IMDb Score: 8.1
Before there was ‘steampunk’ there wasThe Wild Wild West, a Western with spies, sci-fi gadgets and a great sense of fun that was broadcast between 1965 and 1969. Centered on Secret Service agents James West (Robert Conrad) and Artemus Gordon (Ross Martin), each episode involved anachronistic gadgets used by our heroes - together with a huge dash of élan and whip-smart dialogue - to overwhelm villains with overweening, not to mention anachronistic, ambition.
The series lasted four seasons before being canceled not because of falling viewing numbers but because its studio, CBS, decided to sacrifice it as proof to the powers-that-be it was serious about limiting violence on television. Considering the violence that can be seen now on television, this is sharply ironic.The Wild Wild Westis one television series from the 1960s that could be resurrected today without any hint of anachronism.
4’The Outer Limits'
IMDb Score: 8.2
If not quite as famous asThe Twilight Zone,The Outer Limitshad one great advantage over its rival: for the duration of its run, from 1963 to 1865, more of its episodes were sci-fi rather than horror or fantasy. With stories of from great writers likeHarlan Ellison(‘Demon with a Glass Hand’) andClifford Simak(‘The Duplicate Man’), the show gained a devoted following.
And as withThe Twilight Zone,The Outer Limitswas later revived (in 1995), taking advantage of the resurgence in interest in sci-fi on the big and small screen and the enduring reputation of the original. This time around, the series lasted 7 years and broadcast more than three times as many episodes!
3’Star Trek'
IMDb Score: 8.4
On big screen or small, it’s possible that only theStar Warsfranchisehas more street cred among sci-fi fans thanStar Trek. So successful has it been, and with so many spin-offs, that this television show now has to be calledStar Trek: The Original Series. Many of its original fans would insist it should be calledStar Trek: The Best Series, but that’s an argument for another time.
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It’s hard to overstate just how influentialStar Trekhas been. From relatively humble beginnings in 1966, its great stories, vivid main characters and the promise of a future that seems both idyllic and exciting at the same time, has ensured this series - despite its age - is still a standard-bearer when it comes to television sci-fi.
2’Doctor Who'
If not as influential internationally asStar TrekorStar Wars, no other sci-fi show has run as long or can claim a more faithful audience thanDoctor Who. In its initial run,from 1963 to 1989, it became as much a part of British popular culture asCoronation StreetorMonty Python.
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Revived in 2005, and still running,Doctor Whomay yet end up beingthe longest running television series ever. Until then, its most recent fans will have to find room on the couch with its first fans, still watching devotedly after60 years of great doctors, loyal companions and terrifying enemies.
1’The Twilight Zone'
IMDb Score: 9.1
Because so much science fiction is produced as short stories, it is entirely fitting that 3 of the top 10 sci-fi productions from the 1960s should be anthology series, and even more fitting that the top-ranking sci-fi television show from the 1960s should beThe Twilight Zone. By successfully running for 5 years, from 1959 to 1964, it convinced American studios that science fiction could be popular on the small screen.
In the end it isn’t the genre that cements its position at the top of the ladder, but the quality of its episodes and the influence of its creator, executive producer, presenter and most prolific writer,Rod Serling, one of the most important figures to emerge in the first generation of American television.
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