CBS had another crack at this sci-fi staple as a way of driving paying subscribers to its own streaming service. Now into its third season, what started off as a novel way of injecting some life into the franchise is showing signs of turning off die-hard Trekkers (please don’t call us Trekkies, that’s just rude), by strip-mining more than 50 years of heritage in search of ever more fanciful and convoluted storylines. That said, the character of Philippa Georgiou is the second most entertaining one in this list; plus the plot twist at the end of season one is one of the best I’ve ever seen, rivalling the “I am your father” moment from “The Empire Strikes Back”.

Of course, if you really want to immerse yourself in the Star Trek universe, plus do nothing else over the summer, feel free to work your way through the entire back catalogue. That’s more than 700 TV episodes, 13 movies, and an unknown number of Tribbles.

Another corporate tactic to drive fans to a new streaming service, The Mandalorian is set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. It’s as much a Western as sci-fi, and this tale of a gun-for-hire who takes on the role of protector of a young child is more True Grit than the Star Wars your father knew.

Disney has done a better job than CBS of keeping old fans happy while bringing in a new audience. It can drag in places, but the overall quality of storytelling is high. There are also numerous nods to the original movies to keep the hard-core fans happy.

Battlestar Galactica was created in the 1970s as television looked to cash in on the huge success of Star Wars. The original series had its moments, but like so much TV from that era it has not aged well. By contrast the rebooted 2003 mini-series, four series and associated TV movies set a new standard for gritty, realistic military sci-fi. It tells the story of a remnant of human civilisation, fleeing from intelligent robots bent on the destruction of their creators. All that stands between them and annihilation is an aging space ship destined to become a museum.

The show mirrored the major themes of that decade, exploring terrorism, religious fundamentalism, and the tension between civil rights and the greater good. The writing is tight, and the battles are realistic. Some viewers (let’s be honest, many viewers), thought the finale was a cop-out. But for overall enjoyment, plot and character development, BSG is hard to beat.

If BSG set a new standard for “realistic” sci-fi on television, then The Expanse raised the bar even higher. Based on a series of novels, the show is set a couple of centuries into the future. Earth and Mars are on the brink of war, while on the outer edges of the solar system both a rebellion and a mysterious alien biotoxin are spreading.

The show is a perfect blend of good acting and great scripting, and includes the best sci-fi character on this list, Chrisjen Avasarala, played by Shohreh Aghdashloo. Watch it just for the pleasure of listening to Aghdashloo’s voice – you will not be disappointed.