Less politically revolutionary than philosophically engaging, Space: 1999 still has the fallen-kingdom feel that Star Wars, generally, plays with. In the future world of 1999(!), humanity is using the moon as a dump for nuclear waste. A chain reaction leads to an explosion that rips Luna from its orbit and propels it into space, along with the crew and visitors of Moonrise Alpha, the control center and monitoring station for the waste facility. Faced with the practical problems of surviving, as well as internal strife, there’s also the existential dread that comes with the knowledge that there’s no way to ever return home. The spirit here isn’t exclusively revolutionary, but the conflicts arise over differing views of how to form a new community, and who deserves to lead. The second series tends more toward the “space is so weird!” style of sci-fi storytelling, but the contemplative first season represents some of the most thoughtful TV of the genre…in spite of the rather wacky premise.
Where to stream: Peacock, The Roku Channel, Tubi, Shout Factory TV, Fubo, Crackle, Redbox, Pluto TV, Plex, Freevee, Vudu