13 best TV series about aliens

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

From nostalgic Alpha to modern Netflix projects.

1. Alf

• USA, 1986-1990.
• Comedy, sitcom.
• Duration: 4 seasons.
• IMDb: 7, 4.

The sitcom about a friendly home alien from the planet Melmak is one of the most popular American television projects of the 80s. A simple American Tanner family sheltered the alien Gordon Shumway, whom the head of the family named Alpha - short for Alien Life Form ("extraterrestrial life form").

Alpha was controlled by one of the creators of the series - Paul Fusco, and he also voiced the alien. There has been a lot of talk these days about plans to restart Alpha, but none of these projects has yet been implemented.

2. X-Files

• USA, 1993–2018.
• Science fiction, drama.
• Duration: 11 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 7.

The main characters of the series are partners Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, agents of the special department of the FBI specializing in supernatural phenomena. The I want to believe poster hanging in Agent Mulder's office clearly hints that Fox believes in the existence of aliens and other paranormal things. By the way, this famous phrase was invented by the creator of the series, Chris Carter. But Dana is a supporter of the scientific approach and often acts as a voice of reason, stubbornly repeating that she does not believe in anti-scientific nonsense.

At one time, the series found fans not only in the West, but also in the post-Soviet space: new episodes were recorded on cassettes and enthusiastically discussed. And in 2016, Fox revived the cult series.

3. Stargate: SG-1

• USA, Canada, 1997-2007.
• Science fiction.
• Duration: 10 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 4.

TV sequel to Stargate, directed and written by Roland Emmerich. The action begins a year after the events of the feature film. In the center of the plot is the SG-1 squad, which, together with other groups, is exploring distant planets using an alien portal located at a top-secret military base. The heroes are also looking for allies to protect the Earth from the Goa'uld, a race of intelligent space parasites.

Long-running project by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, which has received critical acclaim and several spin-offs. The creators did not skimp on special effects, which cost them dearly: the cost of each episode reached 400 thousand dollars. But for 10 years on television, the series has been repeatedly nominated for various awards. Among them were seven Emmy nominations.

4. Alien city

• USA, 1999-2002.
• Science fiction, teenage drama.
• Duration: 3 seasons.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

In the center of the plot - teenage aliens living among people in the city of Roswell. Aliens are trying to figure out where their real homeland is and how they can get home. Each hero has a unique paranormal talent - for example, creating a protective field, penetrating other people's dreams or moving things.

The series was canceled after the third season, despite fan dissatisfaction. But in 2019, the project was relaunched: a successful remake entitled "Roswell, New Mexico" was released on The CW TV channel.

5. Limit

• USA, UK, 2005-2006.
• Science fiction.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

The US Navy recorded an unexplained tragic accident on one of the American ships. Moreover, part of the crew from the damaged ship still survived. But can they be considered human after the survivors acquired very strange abilities? Dr. Molly Caffrey undertakes to resolve this difficult situation.

Brannon Braga, one of the creators of the Star Trek series, worked on the project. Unfortunately, "The Limit" was closed after the first season due to low ratings: the series could not compete with the more popular projects of the CBS channel.

A separate bonus for Game of Thrones fans: linguist Arthur Ramsey was played by Peter Dinklage, best known for playing Tyrion Lannister.

6. Doctor Who

• UK, 1963 - present.
• Science fiction, chrono fiction, drama.
• Duration: 37 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 7.

The central character of the series is Doctor who hides his real name. He is a genius alien who escaped from his home planet in a stolen TARDIS spaceship that looks like a 1963 police box from the outside. The doctor, together with his friends, travels through time and space both for his own pleasure and to help everyone who needs it.

The legendary Doctor Who series was born in 1963 and made a successful comeback in the early 2000s. We can talk for a long time about the merits of the project, but the aliens in the Doctor are definitely the most unusual - what are the raxakoricofallapatorians worth.

7. Collapsed skies

• USA, 2011-2015.
• Science fiction, post-apocalyptic, drama.
• Duration: 5 seasons.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

At the center of the action is a group of civilians and military survivors of the alien invasion. Led by former history professor Tom Mason, the people try to resist the invading forces. They are confronted by green six-legged alien skitter soldiers and creepy killer robots.

There were some very talented people working on the show: director Steven Spielberg, who needed no introduction, and screenwriter Robert Rodet, who wrote the script for Saving Private Ryan. The story in the spirit of "War of the Worlds" was successfully aired: the finale of the first season attracted five million viewers from the screens.

8. Call

• USA, 2013-2015.
• Science fiction.
• Duration: 3 seasons.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

The series tells about how people and aliens had to live side by side on a dilapidated Earth after many years of war. The main events take place in the city of Defiance, built on the ruins of St. Louis and inhabited by humans and mutants.

The pilot episode of Challenge was watched by over two million viewers. An interesting feature of the series: in it you can find references to all the notable examples of film science fiction - from "Planet of the Apes" to "Star Wars".

9. Woven by fate

• USA, 2014.
• Science fiction, drama, melodrama.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 7, 4.

A romantic love story about an alien from the reservation and an ordinary schoolgirl. The aliens arriving from the planet Atria are accommodated in a guarded camp. After 10 years, several of them, by order of the authorities, are transferred to a regular school, where feelings flare up between the alien Roman and the girl Emery. Meanwhile, it turns out that preparations are underway for a large-scale alien invasion of Earth.

Woven by Fate is a pretty interesting mix of science fiction and romantic melodrama. Even the titles of the episodes, framed as quotations from the play by William Shakespeare, hint at the connection with "Romeo and Juliet".

9. End of childhood

Childhood's End

• USA, 2015.
• Science fiction, drama.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 6, 9.

Earth was visited by a race of powerful, highly intelligent aliens. The Overlords, as they were called, helped earthlings cope with incurable diseases and stopped wars, but not everyone likes this kindness: many suspect that aliens are simply hiding their true purpose. And as it turns out later, it was not in vain.

Arthur Clarke's science fiction novel was going to be filmed back in 1967. But the first production came out only at the end of 2015 on the SyFy channel. However, it was not without differences from the book: in the series, the super-rulers showed their true appearance to earthlings after 15 years, and in the novel - after 50.

10. Star Trek: Discovery

• USA, 2017 - present.
• Science fiction.
• Duration: 2 seasons.
• IMDb: 7, 4.

The action takes place 10 years before the adventures of James T. Kirk and his friend Spock. The crew of the USS Discovery NCC-1031 is set off on a space journey to discover new worlds and civilizations.

There has always been a variety of aliens in the legendary Star Trek media franchise. What kind of aliens have not met heroes and spectators in the back streets of the Star Trek: a complete list would be enough for a whole encyclopedia.

12. Lost in space

• USA, 2018 - present.
• Science fiction.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

The action takes place in 2046. Starship J2 crashes light-years from its intended destination. The passengers of the ship - the Robinson family - are forced to fight for life on an inhospitable planet.

The series is based on the project of the same name in 1965, but the creators of the show, Matt Sazama and Burke Sharpless, reimagined the history of space robinsons in a modern spirit. Now the tone of the whole series is set by a strong-willed woman - engineer Maureen Robinson, always ready to protect her family from numerous dangers.

13. Project "Blue Book"

• USA, 2019 - present.
• Science fiction, historical drama.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

The plot tells the story of secret UFO research conducted by professor of astrophysics Joseph Hynek and Air Force Captain Michael Quinn. The partners were instructed to analyze data on the contacts of Americans with representatives of extraterrestrial civilizations and draw a conclusion: are UFOs dangerous for the inhabitants of our planet? Gradually, Hynek realizes that not everything can be explained from a scientific point of view.

The series owes its name to a real-life project of the US Air Force. The show was liked by critics and brought the History channel solid ratings: at least three million viewers watched each episode of the first season.