Items18The creator’s order
  1. 1Battlestar Galactica (2004)Battlestar Galactica (2004) 8.7/10 on IMDbFirst aired Oct 18, 2004The benchmark. One battlestar, its commander William Adama and the sole surviving member of the civilian government, Laura Roslin, have to protect the last of humanity while Cylon androids that look human may already be aboard. That split between military command and civilian authority drives the…0
  2. 2The Expanse (2015)The Expanse (2015) 8.5/10 on IMDbFirst aired Dec 14, 2015Earth, Mars and the Belt are one bad decision away from open war, with the United Nations and Mars exploiting the Belters for their resources. The military heart is Bobbie Draper, a Martian Marine Corps gunnery sergeant, and the main crew fly a captured Martian gunship they rename the…0
  3. 3Space: Above and Beyond (1995)Space: Above and Beyond (1995) 7.8/10 on IMDbFirst aired Sep 24, 1995The purest grunt's-eye series here. The Wildcards are the 58th Squadron of the US Marine Corps Space Aviator Cavalry, flying fighters and fighting as infantry from the carrier USS Saratoga after an alien species, the Chigs, wipes out Earth's first colony beyond the solar system. Its In Vitros,…0
  4. 4Legend of the Galactic Heroes (1988)Legend of the Galactic Heroes (1988) 9.0/10 on IMDbFirst aired Jan 8, 1988If you care about strategy at fleet scale, this is the one. The Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance are locked in a long war, and the story follows two rival commanders, Reinhard von Lohengramm and Yang Wen-li, as they rise on opposite sides. The campaigns are battles of planning and…0
  5. 5Mobile Suit Gundam (1979)Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) 7.9/10 on IMDbFirst aired Apr 7, 1979The 1979 original that turned giant robots into military hardware. The Principality of Zeon launches a war of independence, the One Year War, against the Earth Federation, and a 15-year-old civilian, Amuro Ray, ends up piloting the Federation's new Gundam from the warship White Base. It is…0
  6. 6Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans (2015)Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans (2015) 7.9/10 on IMDbFirst aired Oct 4, 2015The Gundam series that puts child soldiers front and center. On a terraformed Mars, orphaned boys hired out by a security company turn on the adults who treat them as expendable, refound it as the mercenary company Tekkadan under Orga Itsuka, and fight with an old Gundam, Barbatos, piloted by…0
  7. 786 EIGHTY-SIX (2021)86 EIGHTY-SIX (2021) 8.3/10 on IMDbFirst aired Apr 11, 2021The most pointed one here about who gets sent to die. The Republic of San Magnolia tells its citizens the war against the Empire of Giad's autonomous Legion is fought by unmanned drones. In fact the Juggernauts are piloted by the 86, a persecuted minority, directed remotely by officers called…0
  8. 8Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) 8.5/10 on IMDbFirst aired Oct 3, 2008Don't let the kids' cartoon reputation put you off. Across seven seasons, the clone troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic, Captain Rex above all, become individuals with their own loyalties, which makes the war's ending land hard. The early seasons are uneven and episodic, so plenty of fans…0
  9. 9Stargate SG-1 (1997)Stargate SG-1 (1997) 8.4/10 on IMDbFirst aired Jul 27, 1997The friendliest way into military science fiction. SG-1 is a team run out of Stargate Command, a top-secret US Air Force base, and most of the main characters are airmen in authentic Air Force uniforms. The Air Force worked closely with the producers, and two real Chiefs of Staff appeared as…0
  10. 10Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993)Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) 8.1/10 on IMDbFirst aired Jan 3, 1993The one Star Trek series that belongs here. It was the first set on a space station rather than a traveling starship, and the war between the Dominion and the Federation takes over its last two seasons, with the prototype warship Defiant giving the crew a way to fight beyond the station. The…0