The 40 most popular 1990s sci-fi & fantasy TV shows, ranked. Click any show for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


Touched by an Angel
1994
country: United States
Monica, an angel, is tasked with bringing guidance and messages from God to various people who are at a crossroads in their lives.


Pokémon
1997
country: Japan
Join Ash accompanied by his partner Pikachu, as he travels through many regions, meets new friends and faces new challenges on his quest to become a Pokémon Master.


The X-Files
1993
country: United States
The exploits of FBI Special Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully who investigate X-Files: marginalized, unsolved cases involving paranormal phenomena. Mulder believes in the existence of aliens and the paranormal while Scully, a skeptic, is assigned to make scientific analyses of Mulder's discoveries that debunk Mulder's work and thus return him to mainstream cases.


Stargate SG-1
1997
country: United States
The story of Stargate SG-1 begins about a year after the events of the feature film, when the United States government learns that an ancient alien device called the Stargate can access a network of such devices on a multitude of planets. SG-1 is an elite Air Force special operations team, one of more than two dozen teams from Earth who explore the galaxy and defend against alien threats such as the Goa'uld, Replicators, and the Ori.


Charmed
1998
country: United States
Three sisters (Prue, Piper and Phoebe) reunite and unlock their powers to become the Charmed Ones, the most powerful good witches of all time, whose prophesied destiny is to protect innocent lives from evil beings such as demons and warlocks. Each sister possesses unique magical powers that grow and evolve, while they attempt to maintain normal lives in modern day San Francisco.


Star Trek: Voyager
1995
country: United States
Pulled to the far side of the galaxy, where the Federation is 75 years away at maximum warp speed, a Starfleet ship must cooperate with Maquis rebels to find a way home.


Futurama
1999
country: United States
The adventures of a late-20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J. Fry, who, after being unwittingly cryogenically frozen for one thousand years, finds employment at Planet Express, an interplanetary delivery company in the retro-futuristic 31st century.


Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
1993
country: United States
At Deep Space Nine, a space station located next to a wormhole in the vicinity of the liberated planet of Bajor, Commander Sisko and crew welcome alien visitors, root out evildoers and solve all types of unexpected problems that come their way.


Buffy the Vampire Slayer
1997
country: United States
Into every generation a slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a chosen one. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their number. She is the Slayer.


3rd Rock from the Sun
1996
country: United States
The high commander of an alien expedition lands on Earth -- what he considers to be the least-important planet -- in human form as Dick Solomon. Along for the ride are his alien compatriots Harry, Sally and Tommy -- who is the eldest of the group but is now angrily trapped in a teen's body.


Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
1996
country: United States
On her sixteenth birthday, Sabrina Spellman discovers she has magical powers. She lives with her 600-year-old aunts Hilda and Zelda as well as talking cat Salem in the fictional town of Westbridge, Massachusetts.


Yu Yu Hakusho
1992
country: Japan
After dying to save a boy, delinquent tough guy Yusuke Urameshi is granted another chance at life by redeeming himself as a "Spirit Detective."


Babylon 5
1994
country: United States
Babylon 5 is a five-mile long space station located in neutral space. Built by the Earth Alliance in the 2250s, its goal is to maintain peace among the various alien races by providing a sanctuary where grievances and negotiations can be worked out among duly appointed ambassadors. A council made up of representatives from the five major space-faring civilizations - the Earth Alliance, Minbari Federation, Centauri Republic, Narn Regime, and Vorlon Empire - work with the League of Non-Aligned Worlds to keep interstellar relations under control. Aside from its diplomatic function, Babylon 5 also serves as a military post for Earth and a port of call for travelers, traders, businessmen, criminals, and Rangers.


Dexter's Laboratory
1996
country: United States
Dexter, a boy-genius with a secret laboratory, constantly battles his sister Dee Dee, who always gains access despite his best efforts to keep her out, as well as his arch-rival and neighbor, Mandark.


Angel
1999
country: United States
The vampire Angel, cursed with a soul, moves to Los Angeles and aids people with supernatural-related problems while questing for his own redemption. A spin-off from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.


Passions
1999
country: United States
Passions is an American television soap opera which aired on NBC from July 5, 1999 to September 7, 2007 and on The 101 Network from September 17, 2007 to August 7, 2008. Passions follows the lives and loves, and various romantic and paranormal adventures of the residents of Harmony. Story-lines center around the interactions among members of its multi-racial core families — the African American Russells, white Cranes and Bennetts, and half-Mexican half-Irish Lopez-Fitzgeralds — as well as the supernatural including town witch Tabitha Lenox. Created by writer James E. Reilly and produced by NBC Studios, the series was subsequently picked up by direct broadcast satellite service DirecTV, which broadcast new episodes airing on its exclusive channel The 101. In December 2007, DirecTV decided not to renew its contract for the series, and the studio was unable to sell the show elsewhere. The final episode aired on DirecTV on August 7, 2008.


Xena: Warrior Princess
1995
country: United States
Xena is an infamous warrior on a quest to seek redemption for her past sins against the innocent. Accompanied by her comrade-in-arms Gabrielle, the campy couple use their formidable fighting skills to help those who are unable to defend themselves.


The Pretender
1996
country: United States
Raised in a secret facility built for experimenting on children, Jarod is a genius who can master any profession and become anyone he has to be. When he realizes as an adult that he's actually a prisoner and his captors are not as benevolent as he's been told, he breaks out. While trying to find his real identity, Jarod helps those he encounters and tries to avoid the woman sent to retrieve him.


Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
1993
country: United States
A much more lavish version of the popular Superman television series which had first aired forty years earlier, Lois & Clark focused more on the Man of Steel's early adult years in Metropolis. With the unknowing help of Lois Lane, Clark Kent created Superman there in Metropolis after finding work at the world-famous Daily Planet newspaper, where he meets fellow reporter Lois Lane.


Batman Beyond
1999
country: United States
As new villains overrun Gotham City of the future, the aging Bruce Wayne hangs up the cape of the once invincible Batman. But when troubled teenager Terry McGinnis stumbles upon the Dark Knight's secret, a new alliance is forged. And a triumphant new Batman is born.


Sailor Moon
1992
country: Japan
One day, Usagi Tsukino, clumsy 2nd-year middle school student, stumbles upon a talking cat named Luna. Luna tells her that she is destined to be Sailor Moon, "champion of love and justice", and she must search for the fabled Moon Princess. Usagi finds friends that turn out to be destined senshi as well, and together they fight to save the world from the certain doom brought upon by the Dark Kingdom.


Relic Hunter
1999
country: Canada
Sydney Fox is a professor and globe-trotting "relic hunter" who looks for ancient artifacts to return to museums and/or the descendants of the original owner. She is aided by her linguistic assistant Nigel and occasionally by her somewhat air-headed secretary Claudia. She often ends up battling rival hunters seeking out artifacts for the money.


Early Edition
1996
country: United States
Gary Hobson thinks he may even be losing his mind when tomorrow's newspaper mysteriously arrives today giving him a disconcerting look into the future. What will he do with tomorrow's news?


Courage the Cowardly Dog
1999
country: United States
The bizarre misadventures of a cowardly dog named Courage and his elderly owners in a farmhouse in Nowhere, Kansas.


Highlander: The Series
1992
country: United States
Duncan MacLeod cannot die -- he is a 400-year-old immortal, who has seen his share of humanity's history. Still, he risks his life in battle against other immortals and tries to save people from harm.


Superman: The Animated Series
1996
country: United States
Superman, an incredibly powerful alien from the planet Krypton, defends Metropolis from supercriminals. Superman hides his identity behind the glasses of Clark Kent; a mild-mannered reporter for the newspaper the Daily Planet. At the Daily Planet Superman works with fellow reporter Lois Lane and photographer Jimmy Olsen.


Farscape
1999
country: Australia
A freak accident during an experimental space mission catapults Astronaut John Crichton across a thousand galaxies to an alien battlefield.


The Outer Limits
1995
country: United States
Anthology series composed of distinct story episodes, sometimes with a plot twist at the end, with occasional recurring story elements that were often tied together during season-finale clip shows.


Northern Exposure
1990
country: United States
After receiving a scholarship from the state, a recent Columbia University medical school graduate is required to set up his practice in an eccentric Alaskan town.


Yonimo Kimyou na Monogatari Tokubetsuhen
1990
country: Japan
No overview available


X-Men
1992
country: United States
The X-Men are an elite team of mutants, genetically gifted human beings with superpowers, sworn to fight for mutant rights against hostile Government agencies, whilst at the same time protecting mankind from mutant supremacist Magneto who seeks to destroy the human race in return for the atrocities committed against mutant kind.


Digimon: Digital Monsters
1999
country: Japan
While at summer camp, seven kids come across seven Digivices and are transported to a strange digital world. In this new world they make friends with creatures that call themselves Digimon who were born to defend their world from various evil forces.


Sliders
1995
country: United States
In his basement in San Francisco, boy-genius Quinn Mallory unlocks the doorway to an infinite number of Earths. During a test run, Quinn invites co-worker Wade Welles and his teacher Professor Maximillian Arturo to see his new invention. But an increase in power and an early departure leave all three, plus a washed-up soul singer named Rembrandt "Crying Man" Brown, lost in a parallel world. Now they must "slide" from world to world, not only adapting to their changing surroundings, but also trying to get back to their world. Will they ever make it home?


Dinosaurs
1991
country: United States
Dinosaurs follows the life of a family of dinosaurs, living in a modern world. They have TV's, fridges, microwaves, and every modern convenience.


Hunter x Hunter
1999
country: Japan
Gon Freecss discovers that the father he had always been told was dead was actually alive the whole time. Ging is a famous Hunter: an individual who has proven themself an elite member of humanity. Gon becomes determined to follow in his father's footsteps, pass the rigorous Hunter Examination.


Earth: Final Conflict
1997
country: Canada
Years ago, the Taelons came to Earth, offering friendship and technology to humanity. But there are those who believe the Taelons have more sinister motives.


Cowboy Bebop
1998
country: Japan
In 2071, roughly fifty years after an accident with a hyperspace gateway made the Earth almost uninhabitable, humanity has colonized most of the rocky planets and moons of the Solar System. Amid a rising crime rate, the Inter Solar System Police (ISSP) set up a legalized contract system, in which registered bounty hunters, also referred to as "Cowboys", chase criminals and bring them in alive in return for a reward.


Gargoyles
1994
country: United States
In Scotland, 994 A.D. Goliath and his clan of gargoyles defend a medieval castle. In present day, David Xanatos buys the castle and moves it to New York City. When the castle is attacked the gargoyles are awakened from a 1000 year curse.


Tales of the Bizarre
1990
country: Japan
Inspired by American TV movies like "Hitchcock Theater" and "The Twilight Zone," the show features multiple works with Tamori as the storyteller and actors as the main characters. While horror and supernatural themes are predominant, a variety of genres like comedy and drama are also produced. Most episodes, however, have a bad ending.


Cardcaptor Sakura
1998
country: Japan
Sakura Kinomoto, an elementary school student who discovers that she possesses magical powers after accidentally freeing a set of magical cards from the book they had been sealed in for years. She is then tasked with retrieving those cards in order to avoid an unknown catastrophe from befalling the world.
1990s television was the last era of true mass audiences, when a network sitcom or a season finale could be a shared national event.
Science fiction and fantasy on television get to build worlds across dozens of hours, which is why the genre's most detailed universes are TV universes. Effects costs long constrained it; streaming budgets no longer do.