5 Shows that Should Come to Streaming

Now that Moonlighting and Northern Exposure are both streaming online, it got me thinking of other shows that deserve to be found by today’s audiences and should come to streaming.

V

A plot about invading aliens and a human resistance group. A standard one for many of science fiction’s iterations, V was a series based on the miniseries that was shown in 1983. It got a television movie (V: The Final Battle) and then lasted one season.

The show was an allegory for the Nazi invasion during World War II. According to Wikipedia, creator Kenneth Johnson was inspired by Sinclair Lewis’s novel It Can’t Happen Here. The series, which ended on a cliffhanger, did get a reboot/remake in 2009 and lasted two (short) seasons. With the return of Nazis and the rise of fascism, the themes of the series would resonate more than ever. If anything else, it’s nice to see Robert Englund in something other than horror.

Highlander

There can be only one – except for iterations of this plot about immortals, it seems. With news of Henry Cavill being in a reboot (although it seems to be of the movie), it’s only fair that audiences get a taste of the television series Highlander.

Starting in 1992 and lasting six seasons, Highlander took place in the same universe as the movies, but followed a distant cousin of our lead from the movie and only hinted at the first movie. It follows Duncan McCloud (Adrian Paul), a Scotsman who becomes immortal like his long-lost relative Connor. Each episode tended to have a fight. There were guests aplenty (you know how there’s the joke about how if you’re a British actor, you’ve been on Doctor Who? One could say the same about Canadian actors and Highlander), which included my favorite – Roger Daltry (you know, from The Who) as a fellow Immortal who had a recurring role.

It was a pretty decent hit and nominated for quite a few awards, and Paul’s character even ended up being in one of the Highlander sequel films. The news of Cavill’s reboot seems to be focused on the movie, but it’d be great to have some streamer pick up the show as part of the promotion.

Alien Nation

Also based on a film of the same name, Alien Nation was a police procedural. Also developed by Kenneth Johnson, the show used the alien overtones as a metaphor for racial tension. Starring the late Gary Graham as the human Sikes and Eric Pierpoint as his alien partner George, the two would come across a plethora of cases that showed what happens when a new minority pops up. It not only covered racial issues but feminism (the men gave birth in the alien culture) and sexuality (the way they have sex was different, leading to parallels – however weak – of the LGBTQ community.

Only going one season in 1989, the show had a devoted fanbase that helped spawn several made-for-TV movies that I would also want to see available on streaming. There was talk in 2009 of Syfy (remember them?) of a reboot with Tim Minear connected, but nothing ever came of it.

The Sentinel

One of the shows of the fledgling UPN network (talk about channels that are flashbacks!), The Sentinel was an action crime drama that premiered in 1996 and went for four seasons. It got a rebroadcast on Syfy.

Starring Richard Burgi as Jim Ellison and Garett Maggard as his partner Blair Sandburg, the show was unique (and science fiction) due to Jim being what is known as a Sentinel. This trope is now pretty well-used in fanfic, despite most people not being familiar with the show that spawned it. But basically Jim has heightened senses and Blair is an anthropology student that acts as his guide.

According to Wikipedia, the show was only supposed to last three seasons but got the fourth due to a cliffhanger and a massive fan campaign to get eight episodes to complete the show. It is available on DVD, but having it on streaming could easily tie into a fandom connection.

Max Headroom

Another show that left a cultural impact, Max Headroom was a science fiction satire that aired on ABC. Starring Matt Frewer as Editon Carter, a TV reporter who discovered things in the network, and Max Headroom, a computer reconstruction of Carter. It introduced many people to the world of cyberpunk and the concept of augmented bodies.

Starting as a mid-season replacement in 1987, it was a biting commentary on media – both control and ownership. It showed a dystopian future which is eerily familiar and in fact, there’s a good bet that’s why it was canceled mid-way into the second season (and probably why it’ll never air on streaming). It was rerun during the 1988 writer’s strike and re-run on the Sci-Fi Channel in the 1990s. It is available on DVD through Shout Factory.

Roar

Now, most of these may have been familiar to many Gen Xers and Millennials, but my final one is a show that is a deep dive.

Roar was a summer show in 1997 that was canceled after only 8 episodes, with the remaining 5 never broadcast. It was a fantasy adventure set in the year 400 AD in Ireland. While it was mostly historical, it did have its fantasy elements (one of the characters was the centurion who stabbed Jesus and was cursed with immortality as a result) and included both Christianity and Druidism.

Created by Shaun Cassidy and Ron Koslow, it starred an as-yet unknown Heath Ledger, and was the first time I ran across the late actor. It never reran, although there was a DVD release that included those 5 un-broadcast episodes.

Conclusion

When streaming first became a thing, having shows from the past like these five were what I had hoped would happen. Of course, not only did that not happen, but current shows are being shelved and moved off without even having a physical option available.

My next Fandom Friday will be five one-season wonders that should’ve gotten a second season. See all my 5 Fandom Friday posts here.