1. Kolchak: The Night Stalker
Before Mulder and Scully ever sniffed a conspiracy, Kolchak was out there, trench coat flapping, battling everything from vampires to succubi in Chicago's shadows. Yeah, it was 1970s TV, so the monsters were often rubbery, but that just added to the charm, didn't it? Darren McGavin’s grumpy, persistent reporter persona made it work, turning what could’ve been monster-of-the-week schlock into genuinely creepy, serialized proto-horror. It practically invented the network cult hit.
2. UFO
Gerry Anderson went live-action and psychedelic with this one, and man, was it a trip. Moon-based defense, those iconic purple-wigged women, and aliens who needed human organs to survive—it was all so gloriously bonkers. The tech looked cool, the uniforms were sharp, and the constant threat of invasion kept things tense. It had this incredible, almost dreamlike quality, like a high-budget B-movie beamed in from another dimension. Definitely a foundational piece of weird sci-fi.
3. Automan
Remember when computers were just starting to get cool, and Tron blew everyone’s mind? Well, Automan was the TV show that tried to bring that glowing, vector-graphic magic to the small screen. He was a holographic crime-fighter who could manifest a light-cycle or a glowing Lamborghini from thin air. The effects were clunky by today’s standards, sure, but back then, it was mind-blowing. Pure 80s neon sci-fi spectacle, a glorious mess of ambition and early tech.
4. Liquid Television
This wasn't just TV; it was a goddamn art exhibition on MTV, late at night, when you were supposed to be asleep. Liquid Television was a glorious, chaotic explosion of experimental animation, short films, and proto-internet weirdness. It was where Aeon Flux and Beavis and Butt-Head first flickered into existence, pushing boundaries with every frame. Each segment was a mini-brain scramble, proving that animation wasn’t just for kids. Absolutely essential viewing for anyone wanting their mind bent.
5. The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr.
Bruce Campbell riding a horse, hunting artifacts, and cracking wise in a sci-fi Western? Yeah, Brisco County Jr. was as wild as it sounds. It tried to blend high-tech gadgets with dusty cowboy tropes, and while it didn't last long, it left an indelible mark. This show was pure, unadulterated cult material, the kind of genre-bending brilliance that Fox was famous for briefly trying then canceling. A true gem that was just too damn weird for its own good.
6. Wild Palms
This was appointment viewing for anyone who loved their TV dripping with paranoia and surrealism. Wild Palms was a six-part miniseries that felt like David Lynch had a fever dream about virtual reality, corporate conspiracies, and secret cults, then gave it a massive budget. It was dense, confusing, and absolutely captivating. Filled with bizarre imagery and a plot that twisted itself into knots, it was the definition of maximalist, mind-bending cable television. It dared you to keep up.
7. VR.5
Before The Matrix made VR cool, there was VR.5, a show that plunged you into a darker, more analog vision of virtual reality. Sydney Bloom could enter people's subconscious through her computer, uncovering deep conspiracies and personal traumas. It had this gritty, almost proto-cyberpunk aesthetic, a serialized mystery that felt genuinely ahead of its time. Another brilliant, ambitious show that network TV just wasn't ready for, leaving us hungry for more digital delves.
8. American Gothic
This show was pure Southern Gothic horror, and it was glorious. Lucas Buck, the evil sheriff played by Gary Cole, was one of the most chilling villains to ever grace the small screen. It was dark, atmospheric, and genuinely unsettling, tapping into small-town dread with a supernatural edge. Sam Raimi was behind it, so you knew it was going to be twisted. American Gothic proved that network TV could still deliver genuinely scary, psychologically dense material.
9. Profit
Profit was so dark, so cynical, and so utterly brilliant, it's a miracle it ever aired. John Profit was a corporate psychopath who would literally murder and manipulate his way to the top, and somehow, you were rooting for him. It was a brutal, uncompromising look at ambition and greed, years before anti-heroes became mainstream. This show pulled no punches; it was shocking, disturbing, and profoundly ahead of its time. A true cult classic for those who like their protagonists rotten.
10. Lexx
Lexx was a Canadian-German co-production that felt like someone took a bunch of acid and then designed a sci-fi show. It was a living, sentient spaceship shaped like a giant insect, piloted by a motley crew of misfits including a dead assassin. Dark humor, gratuitous sex and violence, and some truly bizarre alien designs – it was low-budget, maximalist, and completely unhinged. If you wanted your sci-fi weird, raunchy, and genuinely unpredictable, Lexx delivered.
