Outer Worlds

For the most part, I write about movies here at IndieGala. And I love it. But The Outer Worlds inspired me to say goodbye (temporarily of course) to the movies and explore something else. The much loved TV shows. Let me explain.

Yes, in my recent tenure I’ve had post after post about great, fun awesome movies. Horror movies, sports movies, period piece movies and so on. And I’ve enjoyed not only watching them but also writing about them.

Outer Worlds

The Outer Worlds: The best TV shows belong here

However, in this particular post, I’m going to focus on TV shows. And not only that, Science Fiction type of TV shows. All inspired by The Outer Worlds. Yes, there are plenty of great movies that explore space colonization but I feel that over here TV shows will do the trick.

Furthermore, we do have The Outer Worlds on sale here at IndieGala, but before I dive into the worlds of fantastic TV shows, I want to elaborate on the video-game itself.

The Outer Worlds: What’s the game all about?

Developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by Take-Two Interactive, The Outer Worlds is a single-player first-person RPG for the Sci-Fi fan in you.

Set in the year, 2355, Outer Worlds will leave you lost in transit while on a colonist ship. And of course, bound for the furthest edge of the galaxy. The stranger (AKA the player playing this game) will awake decades later and in a tricky situation. Amid a deep conspiracy threatening to destroy the Halcyon colony. In the corporate equation for the colony, you are the unplanned variable.

Outer Worlds

Additionally, the Stranger allows you to customize to the player’s preferences, both genetically and physically. Some appearance options include gender, face (head, skin tone, eye color and so on). Other options like hair are also included (style, color, eyebrow, facial hair and color). And there are other features like makeup, dirt, scar, age and so on. It’s up to you to decide.

Not to mention, that your character can be flawed but in a good way. You can also lead your companions and explore the corporate colony. The one and only Halcyon.

So, with that in mind, what are some of the best TV shows that are a perfect fit here? TV shows that are both space westerns and deal with corporate satire at the same time? Or just deal with one or the other? Well, scroll down to check out my picks.

Let’s start, shall we?

Farscape

Think The Guardians Of The Galaxy, but from the late 90’s and in the form of a TV series. In fact, Farscape had a huge impact on James Gunn’s Guardians Of The Galaxy. And plenty of great similar projects since, but that’s probably a topic for another post. Ben Bowder is John Crichton in Farscape. An astronaut and a reluctant member of the bio-mechanical ship called Moya.

During a space flight test, he’ll pass trough a worm-hole and end up at the far end of the Universe. While on the Moya, he’ll encounter some fantastic characters and will join in their journey to come home. Wherever it may be. If you haven’t seen Farscape than I urge you to watch it. It’s incredible. However, it was abruptly canceled at the end of the 4th season and it also ended on a cliffhanger. After the cancellation, the mini-series Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars tried to wrap up the cliffhanger. Oh, and tie up some elements of the series in general, but yeah… It’s just not the same as another full season, is it?

Farscape

Firefly

Speaking of a series that was met with a similar fate, Firefly was canceled after the first season. Firefly is in fact Joss Whedon’s other masterpiece (aside Buffy of course) but I prefer Firefly over Buffy. I’ll pick Firefly any time any place. Why? Because I’m a huge fan of space westerns, and because I adore Nathan Fillion, Morena Baccarin, Alan Tudyk and Gina Torres. And luckily for me, all of them are in one place. On the Serenity. That’s their space-ship BTW. Fillion is the beloved captain of the Serenity- aka Captain Mal Reynolds, and along with his crew, they travel and perform all kinds of jobs. Legal or illegal. If you thought that Farscape is incredible, wait until you watch Firefly. A movie called Serenity tried to give the TV series some closure (after the cancellation) but yeah… Firefly deserved a lot more seasons.

sci-fi firefly GIF

Defiance

No, it’s not the Daniel Craig’s movie. Indeed a movie called Defiance exists, but this is not a segment for that. I’m talking about another space western TV show, and a good one at that. It’s probably the most recent TV show (well from all of the mentioned on this list), but it’s fantastic nonetheless. It has alien invasion, multiple alien races and fantastic cast to wrap up the series. Grant Bowler is Joshua Nolan in Defiance.

A veteran of the iconic Defiance battle that left Earth in disarray. Decades later after the battle, Nolan and his adopted daughter will arrive in Defiance (formerly St. Louis). A melting pot of alien and human cultures, and the main setting for the show. Once Nolan gets a job in Defiance, his next battle will begin. The city will never leave him alone. This is also a fantastic TV show. It’s well crafted and with a fantastic blend of human touch and alien technology. I recommend it.

Defiance

Profit

Something different to wrap up this post. It’s not a sci-fi show, nor it is a space opera. So, forgive me if you expected that. No, Profit is a very underrated 90’s series that had only one flaw. It was just ahead of its time. Profit set the tone for many TV shows to come (Mad Men, The Sopranos just to name a few) but it was a fantastic corporate satire in it’s core.

I feel that it had similarities with Outer Worlds in that department (the great corporate satire), so I’m including it in this list just because of that. Profit also had Adrian Pasdar in the lead role of Jim Profit. A newly promoted junior-executive at Gracen & Gracen. G&G is a multinational conglomerate with shady and unethical business practices while cultivating a positive public image. Sounds familiar? It’s almost every company that we know today. Like I said. It was so ahead of its time. But it’s also a TV show worth checking out. It also had only one season, but it’s was an incredible season for sure. It was gooood.

Outer Worlds: Your picks

What are some of your picks? Which TV shows should be included on this list? Tell us in the comment section. We’d love to know.

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