Best Fantasy TV Series of All Time

Troyaferd

It is debatable what one consider as "Fantasy" and often it`s overlapping with other Genres like "Science-Fiction", "Adventure", "Mystery" or "Horror". I tried to include only Series that are "Classical Fantasy" and did not include Series like Twin Peaks, The Twilight Zone, Les Revenants, Fanny och Alexander, Lost, The Leftovers or Angels in America ect. as they are not absolutely defined by that Genre, but clearly have some Elements. I always liked "Fantasy Stories" and I think it's a Genre that has much Potential on TV in the Future. So what are your choices?

Game of Thrones.

Troyaferd

Deleted User wrote: »

Game of Thrones.

don`t you think Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the better Series?

Hodors Appletart

GoT and it's not even a contest imo.

The production values and budget it got mean nothing can touch it.

It did lose it's way in terms of storytelling though, so maybe that can be considered, but I'm still placing it way out in front.

ThewhiteJesus

Never watched GOT as i couldn't stand the pompous english accent, i do like Sci Fiction but not sure if that counts ?
If it does all the stargates and star treks ect

flazio

Bit early to include His Dark Materials.
Side mention for Doctor Who. If longevity was a factor, this show would run away with it.

Troyaferd

Hodors Appletart wrote: »

GoT and it's not even a contest imo.

The production values and budget it got mean nothing can touch it.

It did lose it's way in terms of storytelling though, so maybe that can be considered, but I'm still placing it way out in front.

yet the best Season was the one with the lowest budget...:)

Cina

I think even including the horrible final two seasons, it has to be Game of Thrones. The first six seasons were on a completely different level to anything that had ever come before from a fantasy TV show. They also arguably had some of the greatest TV episodes ever and overall battles on screen in any medium.

Troyaferd

Cina wrote: »

I think even including the horrible final two seasons, it has to be Game of Thrones. The first six seasons were on a completely different level to anything that had ever come before from a fantasy TV show. They also arguably had some of the greatest TV episodes ever and overall battles on screen in any medium.

5th and 6th Season were problematic too.

also have you watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer?

Cina

Troyaferd wrote: »

5th and 6th Season were problematic too.

also have you watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer?

Yes. Are you going to ask that question to everyone who doesn't vote for it?

5th season wasn't great but the 6th was great. The last two episodes were two of the best TV episodes ever.

Anyway it's not even close, nothing else has ever come close to the impact of GoT.

It's like asking what the greatest gangster drama is and trying to argue it's anything other than The Sopranos!

Troyaferd

Cina wrote: »

5th season wasn't great but the 6th was great. The last two episodes were two of the best TV episodes ever.

The last two Episodes and the Door are great, but the rest of the Season was really messy.

Cina wrote: »

Anyway it's not even close, nothing else has ever come close to the impact of GoT.

Buffy has. Look at all what the series has done, it defined plotting, storytelling, character development and took many risks. It was one of the Series that changed TV the most.

Troyaferd

For me it`s between Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Game of Thrones, Berserk and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Buffy is probably the most influential and creative, Game of Thrones for it`s great worldbuilding and complex story of characters in it`s first few seasons, Avatar for it`s humanity and brightness and Berserk because it`s simply epic and wonderfully atmospheric.

Greyfox

Troyaferd wrote: »

Buffy has. Look at all what the series has done, it defined plotting, storytelling, character development and took many risks. It was one of the Series that changed TV the most.

It didn't really, it was above average tv at best. The main reason I kept watching it was because of how hot SMG was. The early seasons of GOT is some of the best writing in the history of television. The shows are on different levels.

Skerries

There are some pure fantasy series you left out such as
Hercules
Legend of the Seeker
The Shannara Chronicles
Once upon a Time..
Merlin
Outpost
Emerald City
He-Man

not that any of them are any good apart from He-Man of course

unplayable

GOT reached heights never to be seen again. they butchered the end of it but what a show.

some of the best action scenes but also just great characters. tywin, littlefinger, the viper to name just a few.

Final couple of seasons, notably the last, of Game of Thrones spoiled the whole show too much for me to vote for it.

At its peak it's unquestionably GoT but overall, Buffy gets my vote.

smilerf

Grimm and orphan black

Penn

I definitely have my issues with the final two seasons of Game of Thrones, but for me it still has to win. Some of the greatest scenes, characters and acting on television. And even though the last two seasons were poor by its usual standards, there were still some fantastic moments in it, and its biggest crime was not giving itself a few more episodes to flesh out the characters big decisions towards the end. Had they done that it would have gone down as one of the greatest shows of all time imo.

It loses marks, but it's still far above almost everything else on that list. As much as I enjoyed Buffy & Angel, they only sometimes hit the heights GoT did on a regular basis.

Troyaferd

Penn wrote: »

It loses marks, but it's still far above almost everything else on that list. As much as I enjoyed Buffy & Angel, they only sometimes hit the heights GoT did on a regular basis.

Buffy had higher heights imo and never fall so low as Game of Thrones.

- The Body
- Restless
- Hush
- Once More With Feeling

Buffy did some of the most creative and innovative things on TV ever and was one of the Series alongside Twin Peaks and The Sopranos that changed how stories on TV are told. On almost every series that came after you can see some influences of these Series.

Also the character development on Buffy is much better and more subtle than in GOT. GOT mostly aims at shock value (the books not necessarily), Buffy on character growth. But I have to say that the first 3-4 Seasons of GOT are more consistent than any Buffy Season.

Penn

Troyaferd wrote: »

Buffy had higher heights imo and never fall so low as Game of Thrones.

- The Body
- Restless
- Hush
- Once More With Feeling

Buffy did some of the most creative and innovative things on TV ever and was one of the Series alongside Twin Peaks and The Sopranos that changed how stories on TV are told. On almost every series that came after you can see some influences of these Series.

Also the character development on Buffy is much better and more subtle than in GOT. GOT mostly aims at shock value (the books not necessarily), Buffy on character growth. But I have to say that the first 3-4 Seasons of GOT are more consistent than any Buffy Season.

The trouble with Buffy is, out of 144 episodes the vast majority of them were filler. Buffy hit great heights, no doubt, and some of the episodes like the ones you listed are incredible. But there's a lot of fluff in there too, a lot of plodding along. Even in Season 7 where they're facing the very incarnation of evil, you get episodes like "The young women of Sunnydale are falling for the high school quarterback as a result of a 'magic' jacket; Xander and Spike become reluctant roommates, but try to sort out the confusion."

The character development in Buffy wasn't that amazing either. Buffy, Xander Giles and Willow are all basically the same characters they started out as. They go through their ups and downs (Willow most notably) and they grow as people, but they're still the same base character (unlike say Wesley in Angel who evolves naturally into a completely different character through his story).

GoT always progressed far more naturally, its characters growing and changing over time. The constant game of chess between characters, the constantly shifting pieces. The dialogue between characters which was just so well written the majority of the time. Even in the episodes of Buffy you listed above, they're all 'gimmick' episodes. As brilliant as they were, the relied on alternative methods of storytelling to separate themselves from the regular episodes. GoT never did that. It just had stronger storytelling through its dialogue and characters.

Many of the best scenes in GoT were just two people talking in a room. Just talking about what drives them, what they love, what they fear.

GoT has also had a much greater impact on the cultural landscape than Buffy did, and it became proper mainstream 'event' television.

I genuinely love Buffy & Angel, and they'd be right up there in 2nd and 3rd place for me (probably Angel 2nd). But GoT surpasses them in almost every aspect imo, even with the last two dud seasons (Buffy Seasons 4, 6 & 7 weren't all that great either bar the few special episodes throughout).

TheIrishGrover

Avatar got my vote. (Don't mention the "movie"). I enjoyed Thrones to various degrees and did think it lost its way in the last few seasons and last two especially but I still quite enjoyed it and don't totally understand the overreacting hate the last two received. But I can't see myself re-watching it anytime soon.

Avatar was most definitely a kids' show. Arguably unlike the masterful Batman The Animated series. And what I mean by that is that the series protagonists and antagonists were (initially) primarily kids. A lot of the stories revolved around growing pains, young love, teenage angst, peer and parental pressure etc.

The show was fun, with multi-dimensional characters (Again, not mentioning the "movie"): Aang had amazing powers but was still just a kid. He made very human mistakes. Kitara was the voice of reason but sometimes came across as overbearing (As displayed hilariously by The Ember Island Players). Zukko was just trying to please his father, a father that he despises more and more. Sokka was the comedy relief but also smart with plans, courageous while full of self-doubt about his place surrounded by people with immense powers.

As for the fantasy aspect: The bending was beautifully worked out with different real martial arts representing each element.

The different nations each had their own flavour and you had one single overriding Story-arc that spread from the very first episode to the very last. It showed kids the consequences of war with "Good guys" and "Bad guys" dying and, y'know, STAYING dead! It showed a diverse group of characters (Well, I suppose the movie did this too: Good guys white. Bad guys Asian......). In The Firelord And The Avatar episode it shows a very slightly different side to The Bad Guys and it makes sense. In the sequel, Korra

She walks off in the end with her girlfriend and nobody batted an eyelid

So, yes, Avatar is a kids show but it's on Netflix so give it a blast. Trust me, by the end of Season 1 you will hate me 'cos there goes your next two weekends finishing it.