EFFORTPOST Extremely long reply to: I've rewatched all of star trek multiple times over the past few weeks. What should I watch now?

[EDIT: I'm adding shows as people suggest them but sticking to ones I've actually seen and can vouch for.]

Number one pick: Space Above and Beyond. It's largely about WW2 (they will mention during the show stuff like this "hey this is like Guadalcanal") and Vietnam but told as sci-fi which gives them the opportunity to open it up to other stories. Made by Morgan & Wong, the guys who did all the really good parts of the X-Files. Hence the nerd in "Jose Chung's From Outer Space" (best episode of tv ever) wearing this t-shirt.

Probably the most underrated TV show of all time. It's not just the same stock war movie characters you've seen since the 1940s, there's interesting stuff going on. Much of it was very directly ripped off for Battlestar Galactica. Canceled after one season in a pretty epic ending.

You may have seen me post my crippled brother Col. McQueen describe how I feel about slumming it with you tards:

Other sci-fi shows from that era that you may have overlooked (at least I did). I ignored these at the time because Trek had my expectations too high, but they're quite watchable:

• Stargate SG-1 - Doesn't take itself as seriously as Star Trek but in a good way. It's fun. The problem is you've got to watch the episodes in order because you have to actually know the lore.

• Total Recall 2070 - Blade Runner turned into a TV show, except they couldn't get the rights to Blade Runner so they bought another Philip Peepee property. Very underrated. Maybe the closest to a Star Trek show on this list.

• Battlestar Galactica - As I said earlier, ripped off a lot from SAAB. It was kind of a breath of fresh air at the time as it was a little bit more real and post-9-11 than the slop we'd been served before. Goes off the rails toward the end because the writers had no idea what to do. Stop watching when you get to a plot twist that's just too much for you.

• Earth: Final Conflict - I've only seen maybe 15 episodes but it's got some interesting stuff going on. The best depiction I've ever seen of how an alien invasion would really work.

• The Outer Limits (1990s) - Surprisingly really good, actually better than the original probably. I totally missed this back when it was on. I guess it wasn't broadcast here.

• Max Headroom - Late 1980s cyberpunk show. Pretty good. To me one of the most interesting things about sci-fi is what it says about the time when it was made. It's very interesting for that. That era when people involved with computers understood the internet was coming soon and the general public had a vague idea that it was.

• Farscape - I've seen scattered episodes and I'm ambivalent. I do not like the puppet aliens. There's a reason why in Star Trek the aliens are all just people with ridges on their forehead or funny hats. But there's a few episodes of this I got sucked into and really liked. I intend to watch more.

Older TV shows that must be watched (that aren't completely obvious):

• The Rockford Files - A couple weeks ago I was talking to this random old boomer on the train and I was like "Man, how about the Rockford Files." And he's like "James Garner amirite." And I'm like "We don't have anyone that cool anymore." Private investigator who is a gigachad but also vulnerable and half the time he's clueless about what's going on and getting the shit beaten out of him. Has some very high-brow episodes.

• Hawaii Five-O - Again, cop show with better scripts, actors, people giving a shit than usual and a fascinating setting.

• Columbo - The mystery genre flipped around on its head. You see who committed the murder in the beginning. The mystery is how Detective Columbo is going to catch him. It's based on the interplay between Peter Falk's Columbo, who fakes being an annoying slob, against the guest star playing the murderer who is just as good. You'll recognize a lot: Montalban, Shatner, Nimoy, Vaughn, McGoohan, let's see... Culp, Landau... basically all the top actors of the time. Even if it doesn't sound interesting, give it a try.

• The Outer Limits (1960s) - An inferior rip-off of The Twilight Zone, but still pretty good most of the time. If nothing else, watch the episode that James Cameron ripped off to make Terminator just to see how he never had any good ideas of his own.

• Relic Hunter - Tia Carrere is being Indiana Jones but she also needs to take her shirt off at least once an episode. Surprisingly good for what it is.

• Honey West - Early 1960s show with Anne Francis (of Forbidden Planet, Twilight Zone, etc.) as a sexy private detective who has a pet ocelot and a pet man. Again, fascinating if nothing else for seeing how a female action hero was depicted then.

Cop shows:

• The Shield - A team of corrupt LAPD detectives against all the scum on the street and their honest fellow cops. Remarkably realistic about how people really are. No Hannibal Lecter genius cannibals.

• Miami Vice - There's actually a lot of overlap between the writers here and TNG. It's a cop show in an interesting setting where they just try a little harder than usual. The writers, directors, everyone is just about 50% better than usual.

Korean and Japanese dramas:

If you're willing to step outside your comfort zone a little, there's endless hours of great content out there. This is what I did when I'd run out of American TV to watch. I don't watch as much anymore but I can recommend lots of stuff.