Top Ten Tuesday: My Top 10 Genre TV Shows

Top 10 Tuesday is a weekly event hosted by the bloggers over at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week, there’s a different theme to write a top 10 list about. This week’s theme was to pick a TV-themed topic. Since I just came from DragonCon, I thought I’d share my Top 10 Genre TV shows, which feature supernatural, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and superhero elements. Also, I’m going to apologize for the lack of photos this week, I’m writing my post pretty late in the day and figured expedience in getting it up may be better…

1. Dark Matter (Syfy, currently airing season 2)

Dark Matter is a sci-fi gem about a crew of a ship who wakes up and has no clue who they are and why they’re together. The simple answer to their question of who they are comes rather quickly, but they spend the rest of the season finding different clues to fill in the pieces. I will admit it took me a few episodes to get into this one, but the characters are well-rounded despite having amnesia, the show definitely picked up, and season 2 has been fantastic thus far. It stars Roger Cross, Anthony Lemke, Melissa O’Neil, Zoie Palmer, Marc Bendavid, Jodelle Ferland, and Alex Mallari, Jr.

2. Supernatural (The CW, starting Season 12 in October)

The longest running genre TV show, Supernatural is the story of two brothers who run around fighting monsters on its most basic level. However, as the series has gone on, the characters have grown, the cast has rounded out, and the show has even developed its own interesting theology. I love the relationship between Sam & Dean, and I love that their brotherly love is the focus and it’s authentic and real. It’s always fun to watch them and the show evolve each season. It stars Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins, and Mark Sheppard, among others.

3. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (ABC, starting season 4 on September 20)

Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a Joss Whedon show, as are approximately 3 other shows on this list. I will watch anything Joss Whedon makes. Even if it was something like the Yule log. The first foray of Marvel into network TV, the show follows a group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, led by Phil Coulson from the other Marvel movies. A rag tag team at the beginning, they grow and change into family…a somewhat dysfunctional one. I love the personalities, and the surprises and hits are always coming. If you haven’t seen it, you need to just at least finish Season 1 if you’re truly going to give it a shot, because around episode 17 it implodes and the whole ballgame changes. It stars Clark Gregg, Chloe Bennet, Brett Dalton, Ming-Na Wen, Iain De Caestecker, Elizabeth Henstridge, and others.

4. Torchwood (currently on Netflix, no longer airing)

Torchwood  is hands-down one of my favorite TV shows of all time. A spin-off of Dr. Who, the next show on the list, I started with this before beginning Dr. Who. I love the characters, especially Captain Jack Harkness, whose sexuality is never made into a huge issue, but nonetheless stretches the boundaries of what anyone else has attempted to do with a hero before. I love the representation of different sexual identities, and the grown-up show it is. The show follows a team of top-secret agents tasked with taking care of anything that falls out of a rift in time and space that runs through Cardiff in Wales. Seasons 1 & 2 were good, but the show really hit its stride in season 3, which was a shorter series entitled Children of Earth. You will cry. Season 4 aired on Starz in the US, and wasn’t the best…but I miss the show nonetheless. Big Finish is currently making new audio dramas, which I have yet to check out. The show stars John Barrowman, Gareth David-Lloyd,  Eve Myles, Naoko Mori, Burn Gorman, and Kai Owen.

5. Doctor Who (on hiatus until the Christmas special in December, series 10 will run in 2017)

Dr. Who is a British cultural landmark. The new series is the only one I’m familiar with, but I just love the story of an alien who travels the world seeking to provide help, comfort, and also seeking to study the universe from an intellectual standpoint. I also think they’ve built in the greatest failsafe for actors leaving of any show ever, with an alien who regenerates into a different person every time he dies. The cast changes very frequently, but the doctors so far have been Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith, and Peter Capaldi.

6. Continuum (currently on Netflix, no longer airing)

Continuum  was an extremely smart sci-fi show that required absolute concentration, focus, and definitely made you think. It follows a police officer from 2077 Vancouver who is sucked back in time with a bunch of terrorists to the present-day when they stage an escape from their execution. You never knew who could be trusted, and since the show refuses to show the future after they leave, you never know what effects their actions are having on their future. While it ended too early, it does end in a way that does the show justice and I highly recommend it. It starred Rachel Nichols, Victor Webster, Roger Cross, Stephen Lobo, Erik Knudsen, Omari Newton, Luvia Petersen, Brian Markinson, Lexa Doig, Jennifer Spence, Richard Harmon, Terry Chen, and Magda Apanowicz.

7. Orphan Black (BBCAmerica, final season airs in 2017)

Another British sci-fi show Orphan Black follows Sarah Manning, who discovers she’s not exactly unique, but one of many identical clones. Their trials and tribulations make up the bulk of the show, including corporate conspiracies and lots of death. Each clone is unique, with her own personality and backstory, and I find Tatiana Maslany to be one of the most accomplished actresses I’ve ever seen anywhere as she plays all of them. Definitely worth checking out. High action, high violence, and all kinds of emotional rollercoaster-ing. The show starts Tatiana Maslany, Jordan Gavaris, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Kristain Bruun, Kevin Hanchard, and others.

8. Warehouse 13 (no longer airing, and no longer streaming on Netflix, but available on DVD)

A now ended Syfy show, Warehouse 13‘s special effects left a lot to be desired at times, but the show itself was full of heart, humor, and history. The show follows agents who work at a top secret Warehouse that houses dangerous artifacts unwittingly created by the famous and infamous of history. The agents find artifacts, neutralize them, and bring them back to the Warehouse for safekeeping. The show had its share of villains, but it really shined in the characters and the family they formed. It starred Eddie McClintock, Saul Rubinek, Joanne Kelly, Allison Scagliotti, Genelle Williams, Aaron Ashmore, and CCH Pounder.

9. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (currently on Netflix, no longer airing)

Buffy was my high school obsession. Strong female characters, love stories that seemed realistic, and of course, interesting villains. The sense of dry humor was out of this world, and it made high school demons into literal demons. This was when I fell in love with Joss Whedon, and David Boreanaz. If you’ve never seen the show, you should give it a shot…and just look past the 90s style clothes, and somewhat inconsistent special effects. It’s possible I’ve seen the whole series approximately 3-4 times all the way through. Eventually, I’ll also make it to the comic books, in which the story continues. It starred Sarah Michelle Gellar, David Boreanaz, Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon, Charisma Carpenter, Seth Green, James Marsters, Anthony Stewart Head, Amber Benson, Emma Caulfield and Kristine Sutherland.

10. Angel (currently on Netflix, no longer airing)

The spin-off to Buffy, it’s the grown-up version of the original show. Angel, the vampire with a soul, sets off for LA, joined by the somewhat random companions Doyle (RIP Glenn Quinn), Cordelia, and, eventually, Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, Fred, Spike, Gunn, and the Host (RIP Andy Hallett). Together, they face off against monsters and a monstrous law firm. Sadly, another show that was cut short too soon. It starred David Boreanaz, Glenn Quinn, Charisma Carpenter, Alexis Denisof, J. August Richards, Amy Acker, Andy Hallett, Christian Kane, and Stephanie Romanov.

11. Firefly (currently on Netflix, no longer airing)

Yet another Joss Whedon show, Firefly was WAYYYY too short. Plagued by multiple problems in its short run, including a network that didn’t air the episodes in order and changed the time slot at random, it’s a phenomenal show following the crew of a spaceship who gets by doing odd (not quite legal) jobs, and who eventually tap into a very large universe-wide conspiracy. I loved the characters: Mal, the captain who pretends he doesn’t care about much, Zoe and Wash, the best couple in all of Whedon-dom, Kaylee, the sweet and adorable mechanic, Jayne, the simple yet strong mercenary, and Simon and River, the brother and sister with tons of secrets. The show was so well-loved that it did eventually get a movie sequel. The show starred Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher, and Summer Glau.

12. Chuck (currently on Netflix, no longer airing)

Chuck was an unexpected delight. A combination workplace comedy and spy show, for real, it follows Chuck who works for a fictional version of Best Buy’s Geek Squad after getting kicked out of Stanford. Chuck’s old frenemy sends him a video file, and all of a sudden, he’s a walking supercomputer of information that the CIA needs. Along with his handlers, Sarah and Casey, Chuck secretly works for the CIA, while still attempting to be a good brother to his sister and a great best friend to Morgan, who is amazingly wonderful himself. The show ended much too soon, but I can still appreciate the way it ended. Someday, there will hopefully be a movie. The show starred Zachary Levi, Adam Baldwin, Yvonne Strahovski, Joshua Gomez, Vik Sahay, Scott Krinsky, and Ryan McPartlin, with some fairly memorable guest stars, like Scott Bakula.

13. Jessica Jones (season 1 on Netflix)

A Netflix Marvel show, I cannot hype Jessica Jones enough. It follows the title character, who is an alcoholic superpowered woman with PTSD after an extended situation with a villain. I don’t want to give too much away, but the show was chillingly good. It’s definitely an adult superhero story, complete with issues of consent, and overwhelming moral choices. Jessica is far from perfect, and she knows it. Watching her and how she interacts with the world around her, as well as following her fight to get rid of the main villain, was something that was hard to stop. Definitely a binge watch. Also, I love David Tennant, and his performance made my skin crawl in this one. I haven’t even tried to watch him in anything else yet. The show starts Kristyn Ritter, David Tennant, Rachael Taylor, Eka Darville, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Mike Colter.

14. Daredevil (seasons 1 & 2 on Netflix)

Another Marvel Netflix show, Daredevil follows the title character as he attempts to become a superhero in Hell’s Kitchen. Trying to keep his identity as Daredevil secret, he fights the good fight as a lawyer by day, with fully developed friends. A very dark and violent show, the characters still suck you in, even the villain who you find yourself feeling bad for. It’s also important to note that there will eventually be a Defenders series on Netflix, starring Daredevil, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage (whose series comes later this month). Daredevil stars Charlie Cox, Deborah Anne Woll, Elden Henson, and Vincent D’Onofrio.

What was your TV list for this week? Going to check any of these out? Let me know below!