The Best Sci-Fi Series You’re Not Watching Is Back and It’s Perfect For Stargate Fans

Science fiction is easily one of the most popular genres for both movies and television but when it comes to where sci-fi stories truly shine, that would be the small screen. With multiple episodes and, often, multiple seasons available for stories to fully unfold their mysteries and build complex, fascinating worlds, sci-fi thrives on television, frequently resulting in truly iconic series. Series like Star Trek, The X-Files, Battlestar Galactica, The Expanse, and many more have all helped establish that great sci-fi lives on television. But while some sci-fi series are very popular, there are others that fly a little under the radar. That’s the case with one of the best, most fun sci-fi series in recent years and not only is it finally back for its third season, but it’s a perfect watch for Stargate fans, too.

The series we’re talking about here is Syfy’s The Ark. The series’ third season debuted on the network on July 29th, marking its return after almost two years after the Season 2 finale. The series was created by Dean Devlin who wrote and produced Stargate with Jonathan Glassner, who co-created Stargate SG-1, serving a showrunner. The series is set a hundred years in the future and follows a group of colonists on the Ark One spacecraft who are on their way to Proxima Centauri B, a new home following the devastation of the Earth. However, along the way the ship suffers a catastrophic event that ends up killing all of the ship’s senior officers and most of its technical crew, leaving the survivors to figure out how to work together and “does anyone know how to fly a plane” situation and not only is it an absolute delight, it’s also a surprisingly heartfelt series that deserves way more attention.

The Ark Makes Sci-Fi Fun Again Without Sacrificing A Good Story

The thing that makes The Ark such a great show and really makes it stand out is that it’s a sci-fi series that delivers a good, genuinely high-stakes story that is balanced by an unpretentious and almost campy vibe that feels more like the comfort sci-fi we got with ‘90s television than the much more serious prestige series of the modern era. The series achieves this by focusing directly on the characters and issues at hand rather than creating a complex subplot centered on a larger threat. While much modern sci-fi relies on shady corporations or machinations behind the scenes to offer up tension and threat, The Ark wears its issues right on its sleeve. The story deals with fairly regular people in a truly irregular situation largely putting out one fire after another and figuring out how to do it without killing each other in the process.

There’s something very comforting in that because, while it is still sci-fi, it is sci-fi that is relatable. When you watch The Ark, even when the scenarios are more far-fetched, they still feel like they are parallel to the issues and challenges you could face right here at home on a random Tuesday. One of my personal favorite episodes that embody this is “Anomaly”, the third episode of Season 2. The episode sees our characters dealing with an unexpected issue when an energy-based life form attacks the ship. That alone is pretty intense, but there are human tensions with the crew when a decision is made to spare someone involved in two murders — and it’s not necessarily a decision that everyone agrees with. The episode is a perfect example of a genuinely grounded story that is also bonkers with certain elements. It also has a bit of a Star Trek feel to it that just works. As an episode, it’s very much a microcosm of the whole series: a good time that is still classic sci-fi.

If You Loved Stargate, You’ll Love The Ark

But even beyond The Ark just being quality television in its own right, it’s also a great watch for fans of another great sci-fi world, that of Stargate. As I noted previously, The Ark was created by Devlin and Glassner, who both have Stargate in their creative DNA. To be clear, The Ark is not Stargate — this is a different world, different stories — but just like Stargate SG-1, there’s the human element that makes the show approachable in a way you don’t always get with sci-fi.  And, honestly, watching The Ark right now might even be a nice balm for Stargate fans. Earlier this summer Amazon announced that it had cancelled the new Stargate television series that was in development from Martin Gero and Joseph Mallozzi. While nothing can really replace that much-wanted series, The Ark has just enough of a familiar vibe, pacing, narrative structure, and other elements that make it a good choice to make the reboot’s loss a little easier to bear.

Seasons 1 and 2 of The Ark are free to stream (with ads) on Fandango at Home. New Season 3 episodes air Wednesdays at 10 pm ET on Syfy.