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" While science fiction has traditionally been reserved for a select group of small-screen super-fans, nowadays the genre has become so popular it seems like a new show is popping up every season. From V and The Event to the June 19 premiere of TNT&amp;#039;s Falling Skies, sci-fi is currently all the rage. But shows about aliens and outer space have a long history, which their cult following takes very seriously. Have a look at 10 sci-fi classics, from comedies to action and drama, that paved the way for today&amp;#039;s hits.  Star Trek   This popular franchise has taken the world by storm in various incarnations since the 1966 debut of the original TV series, which chronicled the adventures of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), his right-hand Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and their crew aboard the starship Enterprise as they explore space and defend the United Federation of Planets. The show has since been followed up with several TV spin-offs, including Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Star Trek: Voyager and Star Trek: Enterprise, as well as movies, the most recent of which was the 2009 Star Trek, starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Simon Pegg. Photo: courtesy of Getty Images Battlestar Galactica  First premiering in 1978, the original franchise was the brainchild of Glen A. Larson. But it was reinvented as a two-part miniseries in 2003 by Ronald Moore and David Eick, who later brought it back as a regular series from 2004 through 2009. After most of the human race is killed by Cylon robots, the crew of the battlestar Galactica leads what remains of civilization toward the mythic 13th colony known as Earth. The series, which won 24 awards, including three Emmys, was popular for many reasons, but it created particular buzz because it dealt with controversial issues like war and torture when similar topics were also making headlines around the world. Photo: courtesy of NBC Universal, Inc Mork &amp;amp;amp; Mindy   In this popular ABC comedy that aired from 1978 to 1982, Mork (Robin Williams), an alien from the planet Ork who was sent to gather information about Earth, meets Mindy (Pam Dawber) and the two become best friends. While the plot centered around Mindy teaching Mork about all things human, his famous voices and comical expressions\u2014including his most well-known phrase, &amp;quot;nanoo nanoo&amp;quot;\u2014stole the show. Photo: courtesy of Paramount Pictures ALF   This family-friendly show graced television screens from 1986 to 1990 and racked up two Kids&amp;#039; Choice Awards and one People&amp;#039;s Choice Award, among a slew of other nominations. In it, Gordon Shumway, a.k.a. &amp;quot;ALF&amp;quot; (Alien Life Form), an extraterrestrial from the planet Melmac, crashed into a suburban family&amp;#039;s garage and became a permanent and much-loved member of the household. His homesickness, culture shock, boredom, despair and loneliness created endlessly humorous problems for his new family as he tried to adapt to life on Earth.  The X-Files  It&amp;#039;s safe to say most everyone has seen at least one episode of this fan favorite. From 1993 to 2002, FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) delved into mysterious cases involving aliens as well as monsters and other paranormal phenomena. The show won numerous awards, including Golden Globes for both Duchovny and Anderson, and had two cinematic spin-offs: The X Files in 1998 and The X Files: I Want to Believe in 2008. Photo: courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Stargate   The Stargate franchise began with the 1994 movie, and went on to include three television shows\u2014Stargate Universe, Stargate: Atlantis and Stargate SG-1\u2014and two additional movies, The Ark of Truth (2008) and Continuum (2008). The premise was that an alien device found in Egypt creates a &amp;quot;wormhole&amp;quot; through which people can travel the universe. The different series followed military teams from Earth as they faced great discoveries and grave risks while traveling to distant planets and exploring the galaxy. Photo: courtesy of NBC Universal, Inc. 3rd Rock from the Sun  In this &amp;#039;90s hit show, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Lithgow and Kristen Johnston played aliens disguised as humans who are living on earth with no understanding of how or why people act the way they do. While the show was nominated for several awards over the years, it was Lithgow who won an Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series in 1996, 1997 and 1999, as well as a 1997 Golden Globe for best performance by an actor in a comedy/musical TV series. Photo: courtesy of Getty Images Futurama  This hilarious and critically acclaimed animated adult comedy has won three Emmys in addition to many other nominations since its 1999 debut. In it, The Simpsons creator, Matt Groening, depicts the life of pizza delivery boy Phillip J. Fry, who was frozen in 1999 and now lives in the year 3000. Fry works for the family business, Planet Express, while having escapades with his alien, robot and human friends. Stay tuned for a new season coming June 2011. Photo: courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Firefly   Despite being cancelled before its premiere season even finished airing in 2003, this show gained a cult following after being released on DVD. Emmy-winning creator Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel) produced the futuristic show, which followed a renegade crew aboard a small spacecraft in the year 2517 as they explored unknown parts of the galaxy, ran from warring factions and evaded agents hunting them down. Fan favorites Captain &amp;quot;Mal&amp;quot; Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), Zo\u00EB Washburne (Gina Torres), Hoban &amp;quot;Wash&amp;quot; Washburne (Alan Tudyk) and Jayne Cobb (Adam Baldwin) also appeared in the 2005 movie Serenity, which picked up where the series left off. Photo: courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Lilo &amp;amp;amp; Stitch: The Series  Based on the popular films Lilo &amp;amp;amp; Stitch and Stitch! The Movie, this Disney animated television series aired from 2003 to 2007. Still a favorite among children, the show featured Hawaiian youngster Lilo and mischievous alien Stitch, and the adventures they had together. Photo: courtesy of Disney "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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