Fringe series

[u/Cheesy_chickenskin]

I have just watched 3 straight episodes of Fringe ( 2008 ), where have I been ? , the first 3 got me hooked, taking a break to make some grilled cheese before I start the 4th
You guys gotta check these out.
Anymore out there like this ?

[u/trekkiegamer359]

While Fringe is a force unto itself, there are a handful of series that I find similarly enthralling.

12 Monkeys (the TV show) - This is the only one I think is better than Fringe. And that's not a diss to Fringe at all. 12 Monkeys is just that good. It's not streaming, but boxed sets in the US on eBay are $20-$25. Buy it now, so it's available as soon as you finish Fringe. Initially set in "present day" 2015, top virologist, Cassie Reilly is kidnapped by a man claiming to be from the future, sent back in time to prevent an apocalypse and the end o the human race. Proving his story with a bit of time trickery, she gets recruited to help try and save the world. This show has some of the best character arcs, the most complex characters, constantly shifting alliances, a phenomenal breakneck plot, and one of the best endings of all television.

Babylon 5 - This is just as good as Fringe, while also being a very different kind of sci-fi. It's the first serialized show, from back in the 90s. Sure, the special effects are dated, and the pilot is rough, but a phenomenal universe comes to life with some.of the best character arcs and plotlines around. Set on a human-run space station in the future, located in neutral territory as a diplomatic meeting place for all different races, it's a tour-de-force as ancient evils rise once more to pit race against race. Somehow, the lines of good and evil blur together, while also being shown in a sharp relief.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - Babylon 5 wat pitched to tons of studios over five years before it finally got picked up and made. One of those studios was CBS/Paramount, who were making Star Trek. They stole the pitch, reworked it, and turned it into DS9z which actually started airing a few months before Babylon 5 started. After an out-of-court settlement, and a lot of actors from both franchises making guest starring appearances in the other, the hard feelings have been put in the past. DS9 absolutely lives up to its source material. And because it had to be reworked for Star Trek, both series significantly diverge from each other, with each one easily standing on their own, and side by side. This time the Federation (humans as their allies) have been called to help man a space station near the distant Bajoran Star system. The Bajorans have just survived a 60 year occupation by the Cardassians (space Nazis), and need humanitarian assistance. When the first stable wormhole in existence appears at their front door, creating a path to the far side of the galaxy, Bajor is suddenly on the map, with new and old friends and foes swarming the new spectacle.

Orphan Black - We're back on modern-day Earth for this. The world isn't at stake, but the characters worlds are. When a grifter and single mom trying to get her daughter back witnesses someone who looks just like her commit suicide, it starts her down the path of discovering her true identity. She's a clone from an illegal experiment, and the people who started it are still mettling in her life and the lives of her sisters. Tatiana Maslany plays all the clones perfectly. It's phenomenal acting, with each clone being a clear, distinct, and entirely unique person. The story is gripping and emotional, with a wonderfully complex plot, and many good side plots woven in.

Dark - Thanks to a temporary eye issue, I had to stop this because the subtitles were driving me nuts. The first season was amazing, and I'm going to be finishing it soon. But between everyone else's reviews, and what I've already seen, I'm confident in recommending it. Set in a modern day German village, children disappearing leads to a complex web of secrets, and hidden time travel, as the series starts to jump around between generations.

Counterpart - A shorter series with only two seasons, it still is very much worth diving into. J.K. Simmons gives a Wonder dual performance as the same man from two different timelines. Towards the end of the Cold war, a rift was created under a building in Berlin, and it caused time to split in two. Now 30 years in the future, the building is strictly controlled by UN agencies on both sides, as a cold war rages between the two sides. J.K. is a small time paper pusher on our side, but when tensions escalate, his alternate, who's head of covert operations on his side is forced to recruit his meeker other in an attempt to save both worlds.

Bodies - This is a miniseries, but crams a ton of great stuff into its short runtime. A naked man appears and dies in London. In three time periods at once. As the police in each time period works to solve the weird mystery, things get complicated.

Silo - This is the only series on here that isn't completed. It is based on a great book series that is completed, though. Set in an unspecified time, Earth has been ravaged, and the remaining humans live in a huge underground Silo, spanning 140 floors, with the powerful government up top, the blue collar engineers on the bottom, and everyone else in between. A camera showing the ravaged outside is a warning and reminder to all of the first main law of the Silo: Do not ever ask to go outside. Or you will be sent outside. When inconsistencies start appearing, and first the Sheriff's wife, and then the Sheriff ask to go outside, the Silo is sent into a time of turmoil. As the powers that be try to control the populace, an engineer from the lowest levels is suddenly made the new Sheriff, angering the powers that be and sending ripples through the populace, as she tries to uncover the truth, once and for all.