The American-Australian science fiction TV series “Farscape.” The themes and characters were all so beautiful, the cast was talented, the writing was great, the season/series long plots were all tight with great pay offs. The story is kind of “Lost in Space” if it was set in a galaxy built out of the cantina scene from “Star Wars: A New Hope.” The Jim Henson Workshop built all the creatures for it and the CG effects actually hold up pretty well.

One character, a priestess named Pa’u Zotoh Zhaan (played by Virginia Hey), was the emotional heart of many an episode. One episode in particular, she’s literally debating a god who has come to collect the soul of another character. She chides the deity saying something to the effect of “as a priestess I have long ago come to terms with different peoples, different beliefs. But all must recognize that life values life.” As a teenager, that really stuck with me. Really shaped how I see the world.

(not an ad, but the whole series is on YouTube, “free with ads” if anyone wants to check it out.)