Most Scifi fans I have ran into can pretty quickly rank the four stars –BattleSTAR Galactica, STAR Trek, STARgate, and STAR wars, but what lesser-known or less-prestigious shows hold a special place in your heart?
No, Firefly doesn’t count as lesser-known.
Is His Dark Materials really science fiction?
I mean it’s debatable - as with much SF - but if you go by Asimov’s definition, “that branch of literature which deals with the reaction of human beings to changes in science and technology,” I think it would have to qualify - heck, the opening chapter involves a researcher asking for money to find a scientific expedition, and discoveries concerning the nature of Dust drive an awful lot of the plot line.
And genre-marker-wise, it involves parallel universes and steampunk-y vehicles / machines / etc, and doesn’t really have any of the traditional fantasy ones like elves and goblins and dragons and wizards, or really much of any reliance on “magic” that’s not mediated through technology.