I'd be suprised if anyone didn't expect to see this show on my list. It's one that appears in a lot of top tens and I feel it certainly deserves to be here. It's a show that combined fast, witty dialog, strong characters, point perfect plotting and placed it into a western. In space.

Yes, you must have guessed it by now.

7. Firefly

Firefly is Joss Whedon's finest hour and a cult classic. While it's only fourteen episodes (and a movie) long every single one of them is as close to sci-fi perfection as we've gotten so far. Firefly is set in the far future inside a somewhat dystopian setting where technology has both advanced and regressed at the same time. Essentially it's cowboys in space, but it's much more than that, telling the stories and adventures of a maverick Captain, his ship and his crew.

Firefly is iconic in every sense of the word, it's simultaniously bold, touching and funny. Able to flip from a deeply comedic moment into one that's shocking without feeling artificial. Of particular note is the decision to keep space scenes realistic by eliminating all non-radio sound in those scenes. A decision I wholeheartedly applaude as Hollywood's constant space sound nonsense just grates. The space scenes in Firefly do not lose any impact from a lack of SFX, in fact I'd go as far as to say they're stronger and more realistic as a consequence.

Leaving that point aside, Firefly stands as the greatest Sci-Fi show to date. It has everything that you'd want from a show and more. It will forever be a shame that FOX cancelled it, but at this stage that's no suprise to anyone. I'll always hold a small candle up in the hope that it will return, but I doubt it ever will. At least it's run was so short it didn't have a chance to jump the shark.

It is a must watch show for anyone, forget that it is Sci-fi and just enjoy superb storytelling with strong characters.

IMDB: 9.5
tv.com: 9.3