Sci-Fi TV Doesn't Have to Be 'Prestige'--It Can Just Be Fun

You live, it's true, in a Golden Age of Television, and at least some of that gold comes in the form of lucky coins from leprechauns that reanimate unfaithful dead spouses. Which is to say, some of the most premium-est of premium TV right now is genre--science fiction and fantasy. Not long ago, Mad Men got the recaps, after-shows, and literary-minded critiques; now, those hosannas go to squabbling deities, swords-and-sorcery, zombies, killer robots, and raptures. It ought to be a fan's dream. Yet, the relentless grimdark of those shows, and the grinding search for Meaning, can be numbing.