Science fiction fans have enjoyed space-y stories on television for as long as TV has been around. But what’s the best space TV show of all time? How about the worst?
On this episode of This Week in Space (opens in new tab), Rod and Tariq are back to argue across the generational divide about the best and worst space sci-fi on TV ever.
Tops on the list? “For All Mankind” and (of course) “Star Trek” ride high… but the worst? Anyone ever see “Starlost”? “Lost in Space”? “Rocky Jones–Space Ranger”? Before you poke a pencil in your eye to avoid seeing more, you’d better listen to this indispensable guide to everything space on TV.
Also this week, SpaceX’s Starship takes another step closer to launch from Starbase in South Texas, China makes an E.T. signal claim (but no, it’s not aliens) and don’t miss an amazing planetary alignment in June’s sky.
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This Week in Space (opens in new tab) covers the new space age. Every Friday we take a deep dive into a fascinating topic. What’s happening with the new race to the moon and other planets? When will SpaceX really send people to Mars?
Join Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik from Space.com (opens in new tab) as they tackle those questions and more each week on Friday afternoons. You can subscribe today on your favorite podcatcher.
Rod Pyle
Rod Pyle (opens in new tab) is an author, journalist, television producer and Editor-in-Chief of Ad Astra magazine (opens in new tab). He has written 18 books (opens in new tab) on space history, exploration, and development, including Space 2.0, Innovation the NASA Way, Interplanetary Robots, Blueprint for a Battlestar, Amazing Stories of the Space Age, First On the Moon, and Destination Mars
In a previous life, Rod produced numerous documentaries and short films for The History Channel, Discovery Communications, and Disney. He also worked in visual effects on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and the Battlestar Galactica reboot, as well as various sci-fi TV pilots. His most recent TV credit was with the NatGeo documentary on Tom Wolfe’s iconic book The Right Stuff.
Tariq Malik
Responsible for Space.com’s editorial vision, Tariq Malik has been the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com since 2019 and has covered space news and science for 18 years. He joined the Space.com team in 2001, first as an intern and soon after as a full-time spaceflight reporter covering human spaceflight, exploration, astronomy and the night sky. He became Space.com’s managing editor in 2009. As on-air talent has presented space stories on CNN, Fox News, NPR and others.
Tariq is an Eagle Scout (yes, he earned the Space Exploration merit badge), a Space Camp veteran (4 times as a kid, once as an adult), and has taken the ultimate “vomit comet” ride while reporting on zero-gravity fires. Before joining Space.com, he served as a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering city and education beats. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University.