What Sci Fi to Watch After Firefly

I'm not a sci fi buff, I'll admit. I've never even seen any of the original Star Trek episodes. But I recently moved in with my beau who is all about sci fi, so he's been catching me up on what he considers must-sees. I've actually really enjoyed the shows we've watched together so far: Firefly and Dark Matter. Our next show on the docket is The Expanse. I've only seen the first two episodes so far, and I'm already hooked. I'll be a science fiction buff yet!

If you're into sci fi, chances are, you've already seen Firefly. It's a cult classic that's been around since the early 2000s, but in case you haven't seen it, it's basically a space western. Directed by Joss Wheadon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame, the show revolves around the crew of what amounts to a small cargo ship. Each episode tends to be centered on one delivery and the crew's interactions with the people on the celestial bodies to which they deliver. I know it's a bare-bones description that certainly doesn't do it justice, but a show is nothing without its characters, and Firefly's characters are everything.

If Firefly is all about its characters, then Dark Matter is all about its storyline. This show revolves around a crew that are jolted from their stasis pods to find they have no memory of who they are or why they're in space. Like the crew from Firefly, the characters of Dark Matter take odd delivery jobs to financially support themselves, as well as try to collect details of their past and present. Each member of the crew has their own past to unravel, and all of these plot lines are masterfully interwoven into a cohesive show. Unfortunately, Dark Matter was also canceled prematurely. It's especially infuriating because, like most of its predecessors, the very last episode ends with a highly dramatic cliffhanger. Despite this lamentable fact, I still highly recommend watching this Canadian sci fi if you haven't already.

The Expanse is the only show on this list to air until a reasonable conclusion. I only know this from reading the Wikipedia article on the series. Apparently the show's creators view the last season as a "pause" instead of a conclusion, so maybe we'll get even more of this great content. As I mentioned earlier, I've only seen two episodes. But there's already a huge amount of intrigue that leaves me eagerly awaiting the next episode.

My favorite historical era has always been the Cold War; it's a large part of why I majored in Russian studies in college. The Expanse takes that concept to a whole new level: the planetary level. The political drama is simply delicious. But the best part of the show, in my opinion, is its attention to scientific accuracy.

The whole notion of sci fi is to imagine what sort of technology will be available to us in the future, but the creators of The Expanse also take current scientific knowledge into account. Humans born on different planets are physiologically different from humans born on Earth, air and water supplies on colonized celestial bodies are a constant concern, and high speed space travel can be a deadly affair if the proper precautions are not taken.

Based on how much I enjoyed Firefly and Dark Matter, I think I'm going to love The Expanse. It's seeming like the best of both worlds so far. It's got the tongue-in-cheek humor of Firefly, and the complex webs of political conspiracy of Dark Matter. Can't wait for episode 3!