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The best geeky shows of the 21st century, ranked
No. 25: Dead Like Me
This early Bryan Fuller gem ran for two seasons on Showtime. After being smashed to death by a flying toilet seat, teenager George (short for Georgia) becomes a grim reaper.
Metacritic user rating: 8.3
(Photo by: Showtime)
No. 24: Almost Human
OK, OK, so this one didn't do quite so well among critics. But Metacritic users loved it (giving it an 8.5), and we think this series was gone way too soon. Almost Human was an awesome twist on the classic buddy cop show, and the futuristic crimes they solved certainly appealed to our geekier sides. Plus, one of them was a robot. A hot robot. (Photo by: Fox)
No. 23: The Big Bang Theory
This show is highly contentious among nerds, since it arguably portrays geeks in a less-than-flattering light. But on the plus side, it has some really interesting and hardcore science; it's wildly popular; and its main characters are all incredibly lovable dorks.
(Season 1 Metacritic score: 57)
(Photo by: CBS)
No. 22: Supernatural
We interpret "geeky" broadly to encompass shows with fantasy themes. Like this one, about brothers who hunt demons and monsters, and appear to have on-screen sexual chemistry in at least half of the episodes.
(Metacritic score: 59)
(Photo by: The CW)
No. 21: Stargate Atlantis
We can still pick out a wraith ship at a distance thanks to the hard work of Lt. Colonel John Sheppard and his crew.
(Metacritic score: 61)
(Photo by: Sci Fi Channel)
No. 20: Fringe
Fringe had alternate universes, science experiments, recreational drug use, evil twins, and more shadowy conspiracies and organizations that you can shake a magical stick at. Geek heaven!
(Metacritic score: 67)
(Photo by: Fox)
No. 19: Heroes
The first season of Heroes will live on in the hearts of nerds everywhere. The later seasons and the reboot... not so much.
(Season 1 Metacritic score: 67)
(Photo by: NBC)
No. 18: The IT Crowd
A cult geek favorite, The IT Crowd was a workplace comedy that showcased the mundanity that real-life geeks live every day. It's worth watching just for their stock answers to everyone's tech questions, including "Have you tried turning it off and on again?" and "Is it definitely plugged in?"
(Metacritic score: 67)
(Photo by: Channel 4)
No. 17: The Flash
Nothing makes our geeky hearts flutter like a superhero who's also a professional nerd.
(Season 1 Metacritic score: 73)
(Photo by: The CW)
No. 16: Arrow
Yeah, we're suckers for superheroes.
(Metacritic score: 73)
(Photo by: The CW)
No. 15: Chuck
By day, Chuck was a friendly computer tech. By night, he was a super-spy (and a big ol' Star Wars nerd, as evidenced by that Slave Leia bikini). Chuck made it cool to be a geek, and gave a whole new meaning to the idea of a secret identity.
(Metacritic score: 74)
(Photo by: NBC)
No. 14: Smallville
Back in Ye Olden Days -- aka earlier than five or six years ago -- shows about juvenile superheroes were a long shot on TV. That made this one on the WB (the network that became the CW) a rarity. It's also, based on its Metascore, underrated.
(Metascore: 75)
(Photo by: The WB)
No. 13: Star Wars Rebels
Please consider this a public service announcement to anyone who thinks the Star Wars canon begins and ends in the movies: You are wrong. As of April 2014, the canon consists of the six movies, books published after that month, and Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Get your geek on by binge-watching these to see what you've missed.
(Metacritic score: 78)
(Photo by: Disney XD)
No. 12: Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
It's impossible not to love anything starring Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Especially when he's channeling Carl Sagan and talking about space! Just how good is it? Put it this way: The trailer alone has a Metacritic score of 83. (Photo by: Fox)
No. 11: Better Off Ted
Like so many great geeky shows, Better Off Ted was canceled before its time. But a show about product development at a giant soulless corporation certainly deserved a spot on this list.
Metacritic score: 84
(Photo by: ABC)
No. 10: Adventure Time
Kids' shows can be geeky too. Especially one where the hero's catchphrase is "Mathematical!"
(Metacritic user score: 7.6)
(Photo by: Cartoon Network)
No. 9: Orphan Black
Clones, clones, and more clones! Honestly, the criminally underrated Tatiana Maslany can be on our TV screens in an as many incarnations as she wants. Critics may not love the show as much as we do, but we write the countdowns. They don't.
(Metacritic score: 73)
(Photo by: BBC America)
No. 8: Futurama
Good news, everybody! We didn't forget about Futurama, the little animated show that could. This series spoofed visions of the future while serving up surprisingly sophisticated plots and character development. And also ... that episode with the dead dog that makes everybody cry.
(Season 10 Metacritic score: 76)
(Photo by: Fox)
No. 7: Doctor Who
Back at the dawn of this century, no one would have thought Britain's quirky sci-fi show about a time traveler would be reincarnated as one of the world's biggest shows. Not many beloved series get to live so many lives, and we're glad the BBC has brought this one back again and again.
(Season 8 Metacritic score: 80)
(Photo by: The BBC)
No. 6: The Walking Dead
Any zombie show based on a semi-obscure graphic-novel series that becomes a worldwide phenomenon more deserves to be here. Especially a zombie show that also, somehow, manages to be one of the best human dramas on the air.
(Season 1 Metacritic score: 82)
(Photo by: AMC)
No. 5: Sherlock
If you think about it, Sherlock Holmes was one of literature's earliest superheroes. Benedict Cumberbatch nails the modern-day version of the brilliant detective.
(Season 1 Metacritic score: 85)
(Photo by: The BBC)
No. 4: Battlestar Galactica
To this day, you find yourself humming "All Along the Watchtower" around all your friends to gauge their reactions ... just to be sure.
(Season 4 Metacritic score: 85)
(Photo by: Sci Fi Channel)
No. 3: Silicon Valley
As anyone who has worked at a tech startup will confirm, Silicon Valley is so spot-on that some parts are hard for real-life techies to laugh at. Remember to keep it global-local-social-mobile. GloLoSoMo.
(Metacritic score: 86)
(Photo by: HBO)
No. 2: Game of Thrones
A show about dragons, dwarves, dynasties, and casual incest doesn't sound like a recipe for one of the most-watched shows of all time. But Game of Thrones is definitely based on a dorky book series, and is definitely one of the most awesome shows to ever grace our television sets.
(Metacritic score: Like it even matters)
(Photo by: HBO)
No. 1: Firefly
We bet you clicked through this whole gallery just to see where Firefly landed ... or to make sure we included it at all. Oh, we did. In fact, we name Firefly the No. 1 geekiest show of the 21st century, thanks to stellar performances, intriguing characters, quirky and unexpected world building, and an unmatched blending of sci-fi dreaminess with down-home humanity. To this day, we hold out hope that it'll get the reboot it so richly deserves.
(Metacritic score: Utterly irrelevant)
(Photo by: Fox)
More...
This early Bryan Fuller gem ran for two seasons on Showtime. After being smashed to death by a flying toilet seat, teenager George (short for Georgia) becomes a grim reaper.
Metacritic user rating: 8.3
(Photo by: Showtime)
No. 24: Almost Human
OK, OK, so this one didn't do quite so well among critics. But Metacritic users loved it (giving it an 8.5), and we think this series was gone way too soon. Almost Human was an awesome twist on the classic buddy cop show, and the futuristic crimes they solved certainly appealed to our geekier sides. Plus, one of them was a robot. A hot robot. (Photo by: Fox)
No. 23: The Big Bang Theory
This show is highly contentious among nerds, since it arguably portrays geeks in a less-than-flattering light. But on the plus side, it has some really interesting and hardcore science; it's wildly popular; and its main characters are all incredibly lovable dorks.
(Season 1 Metacritic score: 57)
(Photo by: CBS)
No. 22: Supernatural
We interpret "geeky" broadly to encompass shows with fantasy themes. Like this one, about brothers who hunt demons and monsters, and appear to have on-screen sexual chemistry in at least half of the episodes.
(Metacritic score: 59)
(Photo by: The CW)
No. 21: Stargate Atlantis
We can still pick out a wraith ship at a distance thanks to the hard work of Lt. Colonel John Sheppard and his crew.
(Metacritic score: 61)
(Photo by: Sci Fi Channel)
No. 20: Fringe
Fringe had alternate universes, science experiments, recreational drug use, evil twins, and more shadowy conspiracies and organizations that you can shake a magical stick at. Geek heaven!
(Metacritic score: 67)
(Photo by: Fox)
No. 19: Heroes
The first season of Heroes will live on in the hearts of nerds everywhere. The later seasons and the reboot... not so much.
(Season 1 Metacritic score: 67)
(Photo by: NBC)
No. 18: The IT Crowd
A cult geek favorite, The IT Crowd was a workplace comedy that showcased the mundanity that real-life geeks live every day. It's worth watching just for their stock answers to everyone's tech questions, including "Have you tried turning it off and on again?" and "Is it definitely plugged in?"
(Metacritic score: 67)
(Photo by: Channel 4)
No. 17: The Flash
Nothing makes our geeky hearts flutter like a superhero who's also a professional nerd.
(Season 1 Metacritic score: 73)
(Photo by: The CW)
No. 16: Arrow
Yeah, we're suckers for superheroes.
(Metacritic score: 73)
(Photo by: The CW)
No. 15: Chuck
By day, Chuck was a friendly computer tech. By night, he was a super-spy (and a big ol' Star Wars nerd, as evidenced by that Slave Leia bikini). Chuck made it cool to be a geek, and gave a whole new meaning to the idea of a secret identity.
(Metacritic score: 74)
(Photo by: NBC)
No. 14: Smallville
Back in Ye Olden Days -- aka earlier than five or six years ago -- shows about juvenile superheroes were a long shot on TV. That made this one on the WB (the network that became the CW) a rarity. It's also, based on its Metascore, underrated.
(Metascore: 75)
(Photo by: The WB)
No. 13: Star Wars Rebels
Please consider this a public service announcement to anyone who thinks the Star Wars canon begins and ends in the movies: You are wrong. As of April 2014, the canon consists of the six movies, books published after that month, and Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Get your geek on by binge-watching these to see what you've missed.
(Metacritic score: 78)
(Photo by: Disney XD)
No. 12: Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
It's impossible not to love anything starring Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Especially when he's channeling Carl Sagan and talking about space! Just how good is it? Put it this way: The trailer alone has a Metacritic score of 83. (Photo by: Fox)
No. 11: Better Off Ted
Like so many great geeky shows, Better Off Ted was canceled before its time. But a show about product development at a giant soulless corporation certainly deserved a spot on this list.
Metacritic score: 84
(Photo by: ABC)
No. 10: Adventure Time
Kids' shows can be geeky too. Especially one where the hero's catchphrase is "Mathematical!"
(Metacritic user score: 7.6)
(Photo by: Cartoon Network)
No. 9: Orphan Black
Clones, clones, and more clones! Honestly, the criminally underrated Tatiana Maslany can be on our TV screens in an as many incarnations as she wants. Critics may not love the show as much as we do, but we write the countdowns. They don't.
(Metacritic score: 73)
(Photo by: BBC America)
No. 8: Futurama
Good news, everybody! We didn't forget about Futurama, the little animated show that could. This series spoofed visions of the future while serving up surprisingly sophisticated plots and character development. And also ... that episode with the dead dog that makes everybody cry.
(Season 10 Metacritic score: 76)
(Photo by: Fox)
No. 7: Doctor Who
Back at the dawn of this century, no one would have thought Britain's quirky sci-fi show about a time traveler would be reincarnated as one of the world's biggest shows. Not many beloved series get to live so many lives, and we're glad the BBC has brought this one back again and again.
(Season 8 Metacritic score: 80)
(Photo by: The BBC)
No. 6: The Walking Dead
Any zombie show based on a semi-obscure graphic-novel series that becomes a worldwide phenomenon more deserves to be here. Especially a zombie show that also, somehow, manages to be one of the best human dramas on the air.
(Season 1 Metacritic score: 82)
(Photo by: AMC)
No. 5: Sherlock
If you think about it, Sherlock Holmes was one of literature's earliest superheroes. Benedict Cumberbatch nails the modern-day version of the brilliant detective.
(Season 1 Metacritic score: 85)
(Photo by: The BBC)
No. 4: Battlestar Galactica
To this day, you find yourself humming "All Along the Watchtower" around all your friends to gauge their reactions ... just to be sure.
(Season 4 Metacritic score: 85)
(Photo by: Sci Fi Channel)
No. 3: Silicon Valley
As anyone who has worked at a tech startup will confirm, Silicon Valley is so spot-on that some parts are hard for real-life techies to laugh at. Remember to keep it global-local-social-mobile. GloLoSoMo.
(Metacritic score: 86)
(Photo by: HBO)
No. 2: Game of Thrones
A show about dragons, dwarves, dynasties, and casual incest doesn't sound like a recipe for one of the most-watched shows of all time. But Game of Thrones is definitely based on a dorky book series, and is definitely one of the most awesome shows to ever grace our television sets.
(Metacritic score: Like it even matters)
(Photo by: HBO)
No. 1: Firefly
We bet you clicked through this whole gallery just to see where Firefly landed ... or to make sure we included it at all. Oh, we did. In fact, we name Firefly the No. 1 geekiest show of the 21st century, thanks to stellar performances, intriguing characters, quirky and unexpected world building, and an unmatched blending of sci-fi dreaminess with down-home humanity. To this day, we hold out hope that it'll get the reboot it so richly deserves.
(Metacritic score: Utterly irrelevant)
(Photo by: Fox)
More...