GFSTaylor

It sounds like American sitcoms were say behind British ones.

We had popular sitcoms in the 70's about prisoners, mean landlords and their tenants, and short-tempered hotels keepers. Nice sitcoms about muddle class families were just part of the mix, not the norm.

Some of the biggest shows of the 70's and 80's were ensemble pieces: the Home Guard in Dad's Army, a war-time concert party in It Ain't Half Hot, Mum, shop staff in Are You Being Served ?

So the number 1 on the list is a design so iconic we can't even get an image of it ?

Two great ships you missed entirely are the Liberator from Blakes 7 - still utterly unlike any other sf ship, inside and out, and Moya, the living ship from Farscape, who was literally a character in her own right.

The Millennium Falcon works beautifully as an on-screen ship: it's very distinctive.

It's an absurd shape for a freighter though, which is supposed the be its actual function.

Blakes 7 introduced elements that influenced other shows. It had season- long story arcs and cliffhanger series endings. It addressed issues around when does rebellion cross into terrorism. The heroes were flawed and contradictory. Blake wanted to make the galaxy better, but sometimes at a cost to his own conscience. Avon was self- centred and mercenary, but with flashes of kindness.

Blakes 7 should be on any list of important TV sci-fi, but young Americans keep compiling lists without knowing their subject in depth