5. Tripods (War of the Worlds)

To be honest this spot almost went to the Daleks from Dr. Who. But as I reassessed the #5 spot I decided to go with the Tripods. In Speilberg’s War of the Worlds these things are just brutal. Buried within the Earth and driven by an alien force that shows up in lightning storms. Their destructive power is showcased in an awesome moment when people try and investigate what’s happening. The theme of our own history with the Native Americans is another tremendous aspect to these ETs.  Aesthetically they are a pretty cool piece of alien technology that actually mirrors their physical appearance. The Tripods are a very ruthless, but very enjoyable extra terrestrial experience.

4. The Strangers (Dark City)

The Strangers are a very vampire-esque alien species.  In Dark City they create this total noir environment that really makes an impression, and puts them on this list. Their whole mission of human manipulation and study as their driving force just makes them so fun to watch. The fact that they are parasites just adds to the whole vampire aspect of them. They are ever present and all powerful and a great alien villain.

3. Zabrak  (Star Wars)

This species gave us Darth Maul and Savage Opress, that’s almost enough said right there. My reason for liking them is mainly these two characters. Darth Maul is basically everyone’s favorite part of Episode I (if not please let me know what else there is to like about that movie). He is a fast, furious lightsaberist who just flat out looks remarkable. Sure, he went out like a punk, but putting that aside he is still one of the coolest things to happen to Star Wars. Then you have Savage Opress. If you aren’t watching Clone Wars right now, you should be (it’s rad). This new character makes a good show even better. Honestly if a 3rd cool Zabrak character shows up, I may have a stroke.

2. Timelords (Doctor Who)

Sure they just look like normal dudes. They have two hearts and that’s about all that physically distinguishes them from humans. But the last of their species, the Doctor, has something that is so cool. The TARDIS. Being able to travel in time and space makes the timelords an easy number two for my list. They are able to see and do things other aliens can’t even dream of. On top of that, they regenerate. With each regeneration comes a new face, a new personality.. a new person! This makes for a lot of good television to watch as each doctor has his adventures with his human companion.

1. Krogan (Mass Effect)

The Krogan in the Mass Effect series are the end all be all of alien warriors. Living on a planet where predators are a constant threat, as well as the major cause of death, the Krogan embrace violence as a way of life. These reptilian looking aliens are hostile and impatient, but man when you have one on your side in Mass Effect, you are happy to have him. Their culture and mannerisms are very well developed for a video game species.  Whether it’s Wrex or Grunt, it’s great to have them in your shore party any chance you get. If you haven’t played these games yet your missing out on a ton, not least of which is a chance to experience these astounding alien behemoths of combat.

I decided to count down my top 5 favorite Stargate moments. This is in both Stargate Atlantis and SG-1. They might be different from your favorites, thus why I am saying they are MINE (for those of you who might choose to disagree with me).

5. “YOTZ!” – SG-1 spoofs Farscape:

For those of you who are both Stargate and Farscape fans, then, like me, you must have beamed with joy when you saw both Ben Bowder and Claudia Black in seasons 9 and 10 of Stargate SG-1. And, you probably flailed when Stargate did a short spoof of Farscape for their 200th episode.

4. Steve the Wraith + John Sheppard = BFF? :

You have to admit, Shep is pretttty amazing at naming things (unlike Ford, who had his naming privileges revoked), especially Wraith. Bob, Todd, Kenny and (my personal favorite) Steve are some names to be found among the Wraith our dear ol’ Shep has encountered. It’s the moments between Steve the Wraith and Shep that have brought me giggles and glee in the first season of Stargate Atlantis.

3. Exchanging Recipes with the powerless Ori:

Now, of all the moments of SG-1 that I could choose for my 3rd most favorite, there are plenty I could have gone with.. but I had to choose this one. Why? Because it was the moment that I knew I would love SG-1. See, I did the Stargate thing all bass ackwards and watched SGA before SG-1. When I decided it was time for me to get into SG-1 it took me 4 months just to get through the first season. The first season just didn’t do it for me.. I don’t know why, maybe I wasn’t attached to any of the characters (except for Daniel.. but that’s because he was adorable and geeky, just my type). But I knew that there had to be something that people loved about the show, I mean, you don’t get a massive following and 10 seasons for nothing. So, I cheated and skipped ahead 8 seasons to season 9. I knew Ben and Claud were in it, so if I still wasn’t feeling it, it wouldn’t be a total waste. Season 9 had it’s moments, and I was enjoying it much more than I had season one, but it wasn’t until the scene where Cameron was telling the Ori his recipe for goat cheese omelette that I knew I would enjoy this show. I mean, if 9 season into the show they have a character doing something that random and silly, it can’t be that out of place compared to events that occurred previously.

2. “And a pretty girl and a caveman” – McKay got shot in the bum bum:

I adore Rodney in SGA. It took me a while to warm up to him, and now he’s one of my most favorite characters ever. I know he’s one that people either love or hate, and I love him. The whole scene from him getting shot in the ass to him laying face down on Beckett’s operating table describing the other members of his team, had me in tears from laughter. And that is when I realized, even though I started watching the show because of Sheppard’s amazingly beautiful pointy hair, I had started to stray from those strands of love and began to adore Rodney’s eccentricities and massive ego.

1. “In the middle of my back swing?!?!” – The events of Window of Opportunity.

Honestly, what can I say? This ENTIRE episode is one of my most favorite (non-Jossverse) episodes of television, ever. In SG-1 when both Teal’c and Jack get stuck in a time loop, and Daniel points out to them they can do anything without consequences… awesomeness ensues!

- Take a drink if the guys (Grant and Jay) are at a Roto Rooters Job and get a call about a case.

- Take a drink every time a “haunted” location claims to hear foot steps or doors opening and closing.

- Take a drink every time someone explains what an EMF, EVP, COLD SPOT or K2 Meter is.

- Take a drink every time someone asks:
“Hello?”
“Was that you?”
“Is anybody there?”
“Did you hear that?”

- Take a drink if someone jumps/screams/gets scared and there’s a cut to commercial break.

- Take an extra drink if it wasn’t because of something paranormal.

- Take a drink for every piece of evidence they capture.

- Take 2 drinks for every piece of evidence they debunk.

- Chug your drink if they have not captured any evidence.

**Please note : This post has NOTHING to do with whether or not you think everything in the show is real.. Any comments made on that subject will be deleted. Thanks

5. Dead Like Me

Dead Like Me is a show about a small group of reapers “living” in Seattle, WA where their job is to remove the souls of people, preferably right before they die, and escort them until they move on into their afterlife.  The show has that dark fairytale feel that Fuller tends to give his shows.  It  also has the intelligence and wit that you find on Fuller’s shows as well.  A perfect mixture of comedy and drama, with a dash of grim.

4. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

Alex actually got me into Studio 60 recently, and I am REALLY sad that it got cancelled, but I can see why.  Going up against a show like 30 Rock, which is in your face funny, Studio 60 is much more smart and witty.  Two totally different kinds of comedy. Even though you can compare it to 30 Rock, it is different in many ways. The cast is brilliant, I love watching Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford play off each other.

3. Freaks and Geeks

This show has everybody before they were somebody.  Okay, not EVERYBODY.. but some big names in comedy were on this show.  James Franco, Seth Rogen and Jason Segel to name a few. The show follows 2 groups of kids though high school in the 80s. The D&D playing, star wars watching, comic book reading “geeks”, and the music loving, class skipping, party going “freaks”.  The show is hilarious and brilliant. The characters are SO easy to relate to, and the cast is great.  This show was definitely ahead of it’s time.

2. Wonderfalls

Every time I try and describe this show to someone, I feel silly.  The show is about a sarcastic, antisocial slacker with a college degree who works in retail and lives in a trailer park named Jaye.  One day, out of no where, all the toy animals start talking to her and telling her to do things that end up helping people. It sounds ridiculous, but it’s actually hilarious. The dialogue is hysterical, the cast is full of unique and talented actors. The show is from the same creator as Dead Like Me and Pushing Daisies, so it has the fairy tale elements.

1. Firefly

Surprise, surprise! I’ll admit, this show is pretty well known for Sci-Fi fans, but outside of that, not too many people have seen this show.  This show was my “gateway drug” into sci-fi tv.  A space western, the new frontier of the future, the show follows a team of outlaws trying to make their way in the verse. With the wit that you find in all of Joss Whedon’s shows and a cunning cast, Firefly was definitely a show before it’s time.

Here is my top 5 list of Summer TV shows that I love!

5. Burn Notice
Alex just recently started showing me Burn Notice and I fell in love instantly.  Even though I’m still on the first season, I hope to finish in time for this season.

4. Eureka
I’m not going to lie, one of my main reasons for loving this show as much as I do is the cast.  My first panel at my first year at Comic Con was for Eureka. It had just wrapped up it’s first season, and the cast had just found out there was going to be a 2nd.  All the main characters were up there (minus Neil Grayston who plays Fargo) and they were completely grateful for all their fans and for the chance to be a part of the show. During the Q&A, everyone from kids in first grade, to teenagers, young adults, adults and grandparents went up and asked questions.  And when they ran out of time for questions, the cast offered to hang out and talk after. This show is charming and original, the characters are fun and interesting and it does a great job of merging future technology and thinking with modern day living.  Oh, and this year, “No More Mister Nice” Gaius from Battlestar will be joining the cast.

3. Warehouse 13
This was my favorite new show last summer.  Its got character chemistry similar to Bones, the fun and futuristic feel of Eureka and is a bit like X-Files with less aliens, but still has an originality that is all it’s own.  The two main characters have a playful and endearing relationship, and the show itself is light and off beat.  Again, it’s a show that will appeal to all ages.  Also, sci-fi fans will love the guest appearances this upcoming season from people like Gina Torres, Jewel Staite and Sean Maher (firefly).  Last season Tricia Helfer (BSG), Michael Hogan (BSG) and Joe Flanigan (SGA) showed up along with Erica Cerra, Niall Matter and Joe Morton (Eureka) as well as Mark Sheppard (every sci-fi show I could think of).

2. Psych
Fake Psychics, Real Detectives. Psych is a show that I randomly caught a few episodes of in it’s first season, and instantly got hooked.  It’s hilarious, each episode has parts that make me laugh til my sides ache.  Shawn and Gus, the show’s main characters, have amazing chemistry and are the definition of “opposites attract”.  I love this show not only for James Roday’s hilarious outbursts, spontaneous rants, random pop-culture references and wacky covers, but also because the show spends almost no time on the characters being worried that their secret will be discovered.  Unlike most shows where the main character has a big secret they’re trying to keep, this show doesn’t lose itself in the typical, boring plot line where they’re trying to keep everyone from finding out.  It’s very much a modern day, American version of Sherlock Holmes with a twist.. and a psychic detective.. who isn’t psychic.

1. True Blood
In a world where all Vampires are painted as sparkley teenage boys who don’t kill, a show that isn’t afraid to take vampires back to what they really are. This show has a very southern gothic feel to it and draws you in with it’s variety of character personalities, satirical elements, soap opera like story lines and who aren’t afraid to be vampires.

It started on the street in the rain at about 10:00am.  I attended with my brothers and sister in law, all of us having watched Conan from his early years on the Late Show.  Our attendance to this of all shows was pure happenstance.  My older brother, John, had received reserved tickets for the January 22nd episode of the Tonight Show for Christmas from his wife.  As the NBC decision developed we were more concerned that we may not be going rather than seeing the final night of Conan as the host. But as it turned out we realized we would be witnessing a part of media history.  That being said, through our approximately six hours in the rain, the reality had not yet set in.  The moment we stepped inside to that beautiful set and took our seats the true meaning of the word bittersweet (my brother Adam’s words) set in.  Here we were seated in the front row (don’t believe me, I’m the guy in the red sweater with the black hat) for a show others had spent all night in the rain to get tickets for.  And a growing anticipation was met with an equally strong sense of sorrow.

Then the cold open, where we truly got a sense of closeness to this staff.  Many were exchanging hugs and looking, almost tearfully, at the audience.  And as the band started up the audience came alive in support and joy.  Mark Pender comes into the crowd as yet other band members move towards the audience.  Max Weinberg then goats pender to “hold that note” and he does for at least 90 seconds.  Being here and seeing first hand I truly came to believe this was an end of an era. The last time these people would perform this show at this theatre.  I began to wonder; what will it be like without Conan? But everything was about to get more intense and in the greatest way possible.

From the moment Conan took the stage and began his monologue, he was no longer just a likable television character, he was a real man just a few feet away from me.  Seeing that majestic hair in person, hearing his shoe clicks, hearing him talk over his microphone, all gave it an overwhelming sense of real.  I had thought that seeing these gags in person might make them less funny but in truth I laughed harder than I would seeing it on TV. As well as the things the television watchers missed.  Andy Richter had his final tonight show dialogue with Conan.  He asked him that if through all of this has he talked to Jay (Leno). Conan responded with stating the last time he spoke with him was in September.  Now I am sorry to all you Leno fans but if you are about to take a man’s job, despite the circumstance, you owe it to him to at least call and express your condolences.  In fast Leno’s whole conduct through this entire affair makes me think he is a miniscule percent man.  He had time to give his staff the chance to look for other jobs and decide what to do with his future, not fail at his experiment then go back to his old job. NBC’s time slot from after the news in to their late night programming slips and the response is to change it back to the way it was.

Then, well most of the rest you can watch on TV.  The last major thing left out was after the Freebird performance.  He said that we were the greatest audience in the history of television and “we’ll see you…somewhere.” Then the cameras were turned off and Conan was given a standing ovation.  His last moments on stage were spent with a mic saying that he meant every word he said during the broadcast.  Then Conan O’Brien left his Tonight Show stage forever leaving a heartbroken but appreciative audience.  It was intense being there and seeing people cry and take pictures during commercial breaks.  Family and friends who were off stage were also taking pictures and saying goodbyes.  This man and the people he had surrounded himself with were sincere and did not deserve what was happening to them.  He truly cared about his staff and his fans.  When he gave his goodbye if you thought he sounded tearful I guarantee you would have felt more intense being there.  And as we exited the theatre unsure of where we will see Coco next I was filled with a new optimism.  We will see him again and when we do we are going to have as much fun watching it as they do making it.  So I for one cannot wait to see what is next for the man who I consider the greatest entertainer of my generation.

It’s common knowledge among my friends that I watch way more British television than American television.  I’d wager that a majority of the people living in the states have had very little exposure to British Television, and that makes me sad.  If there’s one thing I love about British television, it’s the complete originaliy of almost every show that airs overseas. With British television you get unique plots that present storylines and ideas that are far from the norm.  So if you’re sick of the typical shows that air in the states, or you’re tired of seeing shows with plots that have been done before, you should check out the shows listed below.

Oh.. and so you don’t get really confused, in the UK, a series is what the US calls a Season.. so when I say “Series 1″.. in US terms it’s actually “Season 1″.

Blackadder

Best described as a Historical Sitcom, this brilliant tv show went through four series, each series set in a different historical period: The Middle Ages, Elizabethan England, the early 19th century and World War 1.  Though the show has recurring actors such as Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie and Tim McInnerny, it has 2 main recurring characters Edmund Blackadder (played by Rowan Atkinson) and his servant/sidekick Baldrick (played by Tony Robinson).   It’s sharp, witty, crude, cynical and down right silly at some points.  My favorite bits? There’s an episode where Hugh Laurie dresses like a woman, in one of the series a male character has the name “Darling” (“What are you playing at, Darling?”) and one where Blackadder accidentally burns the first ever copy of the Dictionary and attempts to re-write it.
Anyone who is a fan of Monty Python, Rowan Atkinson, Stephen Fry or Hugh Laurie will appreciate Blackadder.

Wikipedia |  IMDB

Black Books

From the hilariously sarcastic mind of Dylan Moran (Run Fatboy Run and Shaun of the Dead) comes a show about a reclusive, anti-social book store owner named Bernard Black.  The foul tempered Bernard hires a sweet, caring and gentle man named Manny to be his assistant.  Take that awkward duo, throw in their cooky, eccentric friend Fran, add a few bottles of wine, toss in a couple books, then top it off with bizarre behavior and quick whit, and you have the recipe for a deranged comedy like Black Books.
Anyone who is a fan of Shaun of the Dead, Run Fatboy Run or Hot Fuzz will appreciate Black Books.

Wikipedia | IMDB

Doctor Who

There are two shows that I have seen in my life that I have formed strong emotional connections to… one is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the other is Doctor Who.  Doctor Who is a science fiction tv show about a time traveler named “The Doctor”.  Without getting into too much about the show (because attempting to tell it all to you in one small little paragraph might confuse you), you should know that is BY FAR the most original show I have ever seen in my life.  Doctor Who has episodes that will make you laugh, make you think, make you scared and make you sad.  It is a mix of emotion and wonder that keeps me SO hooked on this show.  Each episode takes you to a different time or a different place, where you meet new characters and reconnect with old.  The costumes and make up is gorgeous, the plot twists are mind-blowing, and the characters you meet will stay in your memory for a lifetime… There is a reason why this is the UK’s most well known show.  If you haven’t seen Doctor Who before, I recommend starting off with the series reboot that started in 2005.
Anyone who is a fan of X-Files, Star Trek, Farscape or Stargate will appreciate Doctor Who.

Wikipedia | IMDB

The IT Crowd

A sitcom about two geeks and a woman (who knows nothing about computers) who work in the IT department of an office building.  The best way for me to describe The IT Crowd to anyone is that this show takes itself beyond hilarity and straight into pure insanity.  Each episode starts off simple, and with each scene that passes it gets crazier and crazier, and next thing you know – it’s pure chaos.. and I love it.  It’s got the perfect mixture of jokes that only geeks would get, silly antics and randomly absurd situations.  As for the characters.. Moss could have come straight out of “Revenge of the Nerds” – he’s smart but lacks social skills.. and he lives at home.. and his mom still dresses him.  Roy is more of a slacker, has some social skills, but mostly tends to make a fool of himself.  Jen is head of IT and knows nothing about computers.  Richmond is the goth that Roy and Moss keep locked up behind the red door (because Goths just bring everyone down and.. well, Roy and Moss just don’t like him).
Anyone who is a fan of Revenge of the Nerds, Chuck or The Big Bang Theory will appreciate The IT Crowd.

Wikipedia | IMDB

Life On Mars

Before the American version.. the UK did it first, and they did it better.  This sci-fi drama is about Sam Tyler, a police officer who goes into a coma, and ends up in 1973.  Now, somehow stuck 33 years in the past, he’s struggling to get back to his reality, and is doing whatever he can to make that happen.  The show is based around Sam Tyler (played by the brilliant John Simm) who is a strong willed by-the-book cop, emotional and stands by what he believes is morally right, and his superior DCI Gene Hunt (played by Phillip Glenister) who is your typical 1970s cop – he’s loyal to the force, but is rough and will bend the rules any way he wants to get the job done.  Obviously the two characters bump heads more than once, but it’s this relationship that makes the show amazing.  Simm (as Tyler) and Glenister (as Hunt) have a chemistry on screen that is rare to find, but the way they play off each other is brilliant!  I will warn you, half the time you will finish an episode and find yourself wondering what the heck just happened.  It differs from your typical cop show by adding random, surreal moments as part of Sam’s past trying to get back to him.  Lastly, the soundtrack to this show is EPIC.. the show would not be complete without it’s early 1970′s, Bowie-centric music.

Wikipedia | IMDB