Reptilian alien 'visitors' disguise themselves as humans and tell everyone that they're here to help. They're not… and yet another alien resistance movement has to fight to save the day. It all seemed over by the second mini-series dubbed The Final Battle, but a brief 19 episode series dragged things out for a while longer.
Alien Nation 21 episodes plus movies (1989-90) 60/120m
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Based on the 1988 feature film, a group of enslaved aliens crash on Earth, survive the anti-immigration lobby, and settle in LA. A cop is assigned an alien as a partner and they go about analysing prejudice and discrimination while fighting crime. With the recent rise of racism and the far-right, the series seems more relevant than ever.
The X-Files 202 episodes (1993-2002) 60m
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The truth is out there… but trust no-one while trying to find it. The now familiar Mulder and Scully investigate the FBI's X-Files, which seem to contain a pattern of alien activities. Nebulous cover-ups and conspiracies, however, seem to be keeping the entire operation under wraps. Took sci-fi TV to a whole new level.
Dark Skies 19 episodes (1996-97) 60m
X-Files imitator that lacks both the subtlety and savvy of its far-superior prototype. Bureaucrat uncovers a conspiracy involving the Magestic 12 secret organisation and its conflict with presumptuous aliens. Of course, no-one believes him except his wife - and the two of them end up on the run from just about everybody.
Earth - Final Conflict 110 episodes (1997-2002) 60m
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Tried and true premise has a group of benevolent alien 'Companions' arriving on Earth and generally doing all the great things we should be doing ourselves. An underground resistance movement forms when someone remembers the "never trust a nice alien" rule. The hero lives out the danger of being a double agent.
Stargate SG-1 In production (1997-present) 60m
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Archaeologists find a long-forgotten stargate which makes travel to far-distant planets possible. A disillusioned military officer leads the SG-1 team of explorers to other planets where they constantly run into the nasty ancient-Egyptian looking Goa'uld System Lords. Richard Dean Anderson is perfect as the droll team-leader.
Sci-fi soap has clandestine aliens staying close to the fabled 1947 crash site in Roswell, New Mexico. There's lots of teen relationship drama and romance while the main characters try and get in touch with their alien selves. Based on the Roswell High books by Melinda Metz and has a strong following with younger audiences.
Following a hurricane some aquatic ETs do the body snatching thing in small-town Florida. The timing couldn't have been worse, as real-life Hurricane Katrina made TV execs nervous, never quite managing to get the marketing back on track. Healthy early ratings deteriorated rapidly and, despite the best efforts of a sizable cult following, the show didn't make it past its first season.
