Battlestar Galactica (2003- 2009)
No one expected much from a remake of a campy '70s artifact, a cheap "Star Wars" knock-off mostly remembered for some cool production design. It didn’t help that it was being produced by a network more typically known for programs like this year's “Sharknado.” BSG defied all expectations by not just being decent, but at times awe-inspiring. Though the show would make a number of missteps in its later seasons, its first few seasons were a nearly flawless age-of-terror allegory. The show did well by taking its premise seriously. The vast majority of the human race was dead, and the survivors were traumatized by the loss. Vicious killing machines were hunting the remainder, whose edges became increasingly frayed with exhaustion. Worst of all, embedded enemies were known to walk among the survivors. They could be your friends, your co-workers, or your lover…and you just would never know. The show took its internal politics seriously as well, with an unprepared Secretary of Education promoted to president and forced to make choices she would never dream of. For instance, do you still protect abortion rights when the entire human population has been reduced to 16,000? It was intelligent thinking like this that elevated the show above its corny origins.
