The Ultimate Guide to 70s Sci Fi TV Series

The 1970s was a wild time to be a science fiction fan. Sandwiched right between the optimistic, brightly colored space exploration of late-’60s Star Trek and the massive, cinematic blockbusters of the 1980s, the 70s sci fi tv series era carved out its own unique, beautifully chaotic identity.

It was a decade split right down the middle. On one hand, television networks gave us gritty, paranoid dystopias reflecting real-world anxieties. On the other, we got explosive, effects-heavy space operas trying to capture the lightning-in-a-bottle magic of Star Wars.

If you tune your dial back to the decade of disco, these are the legendary network shows that defined the classic 70s sci fi tv series landscape.

The Big Budget Space Operas

When Star Wars blew up the box office in 1977, television executives frantically scrambled to get their own lasers, starships, and alien worlds onto primetime television. The results were spectacular, brassy, and incredibly expensive.

Battlestar Galactica (1978–1979)

Created by Glen A. Larson, Battlestar Galactica was an absolute juggernaut of production design. It gave audiences a rag-tag fugitive fleet, a chilling robotic threat in the silver-plated Cylons, and the unforgettable scoundrel-hero energy of Lieutenant Starbuck.

While it only lasted a single season due to its astronomical production costs, it left a massive footprint on pop culture. The special effects, overseen by Star Wars alumnus John Dykstra, genuinely pushed what was thought possible for a weekly television broadcast.

Space: 1999 (1975–1977)

Before the late-70s space boom, Gerry and Sylvia Anderson (the masterminds behind Thunderbirds) gave us Space: 1999. The premise was peak '70s concept sci-fi: a massive nuclear explosion on the moon literally knocks it out of Earth's orbit, sending Moonbase Alpha hurtling into deep space. Starring Martin Landau and Barbara Bain, the show featured the iconic Eagle Transporter ships—miniature effects work that still looks incredible today.

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979–1981)

Bringing a lighter, more adventurous tone to the late 70s sci fi tv series lineup, Glen A. Larson struck gold again with Buck Rogers. Starring Gil Gerard as the frozen 20th-century astronaut thawed out in a sleek, spandex-clad future, and Erin Gray as Colonel Wilma Deering, this show perfectly bridged the gap between campy comic-strip fun and late-decade space opera.

The Paranoid Dystopias & Film Spin-offs

The '70s loved a good warning about the future. Overpopulation, corporate greed, and environmental collapse were regular primetime fixtures, often adapted from successful big-screen movies.

Logan’s Run (1977–1978)

Following the success of the 1976 hit movie, CBS brought the City of Domes to the small screen. Gregory Harrison took over as Logan 5, the "Sandman" who goes on the run with Jessica to escape a society where life strictly ends at age 30.

The TV series expanded the lore by introducing Rem, a charmingly eccentric android companion. Though it only lasted 14 episodes before being crushed in the ratings by The Rockford Files, its sleek hover-cars and utopian-yet-sinister aesthetic make it an absolute cult classic.

Planet of the Apes (1974)

Another big-screen transition, CBS brought the rod-and-ape makeup to television just a year after the fifth movie hit theaters. Following two human astronauts thrown through a time warp into a future ruled by talking primates, the series relied heavily on the incredible prosthetic work of the films, adapting it into a weekly "fugitive on the run" format.

Essential 70s Sci Fi TV Series: The Bionic & The Weird

You couldn't talk about television in this era without mentioning the superheroic, sci-fi adjacent shows that completely dominated schoolyard playgrounds and action figure aisles.

• The Six Million Dollar Man (1973–1978): Steve Austin (Lee Majors) gave us the ultimate pop-culture sound effect. Who didn't try running in slow motion while mimicking that metallic ch-ch-ch-ch bionic noise?
• The Bionic Woman (1976–1978): A massive spin-off success, Lindsay Wagner’s Jaime Sommers brought heart, high ratings, and equal bionic power to ABC (and later NBC).
• Project U.F.O. (1978–1979): Produced by Dragnet's Jack Webb, this series followed US Air Force investigators looking into alien sightings based on real-world Project Blue Book logs, capitalizing perfectly on the Close Encounters craze.
• Blake’s 7 (1978–1981): Across the pond, the BBC answered the sci-fi craze with a darker, cynical masterpiece. Following a group of antiheroes rebelling against a corrupt interstellar dictatorship, it was gritty, low-budget, and brilliant.

Why the '70s Era of Science Fiction Still Holds Up

What makes a 70s sci fi tv series so enduring isn't that it was technologically perfect—it's that it tried so hard. Legendary writers like D.C. Fontana and Harlan Ellison regularly lent their talents to these scripts, ensuring that underneath the silver spandex, bell-bottom space suits, and physical miniature effects, there were genuinely compelling stories about humanity's survival.

They don't make network television like this anymore, and that’s exactly why we keep coming back to these 70s sci fi classics.

What was your absolute favorite 70s sci fi tv series to watch? Were you matching wits with the Cylons, running with the Sandmen, or listening for bionic sound effects? Let us know in the comments below!