This has always been what good science fiction is about: fiction first, science second. If this is what you’re looking for and you haven’t seen it already, do check out Battlestar Galactica: the 21st-century reboot, not the original from the 1970s. This was a show that grappled with serious issues of philosophy, religion, politics, humanity. Watch the first episode and you’ll be hooked for the full ride.

As far as Star Trek is concerned, I always found Deep Space Nine to be a cut above, if you can get past Avery Brooks’s wooden acting. Not up to Galactica’s standard, but still good stuff.