Axiom's Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy

Back in the mid to early 80’s, most Americans associated Japanese animation with such shows as Speed Racer, Battle of the Planets, or Voltron. These were shows geared more for younger audiences and two of those three had undergone serious edits to their original content to make them more “kid friendly”. But other, more serious examples of what we would come to know as “Anime” started making their way to our television screens as well such as Star Blazers. Then, in the middle of the decade, Carl Macek would string together three unrelated Anime series and create the multi-generational series Robotech. While he did change several aspects of each of the original shows in his translation, he did remain true to the spirit of the shows and kept intact the more mature themes that were typically edited out of other “kidified” examples of the genre. Whether you love it or hate it, you have to acknowledge that Robotech introduced American audiences to a form of animation new to the states and he spearheaded a movement that would quickly explode in this country. And now you can go back and watch the series in its entirety on Hulu.com.

Another Anime entry recently added to Hulu is Prince Planet. This is a very early example of the genre (black and white, in fact) that first hit the states back in 1965 though it never quite gained the popularity of Astro Boy or Speed Racer. Some other, non-animated, shows in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre that have recently been added to Hulu include The Bionic Woman (the 70’s series), Three Moons Over Milford, FlashFoward, and V (the 2009 remake).

Also, TheWB.com has joined the list as a provider for online viewing. Warner Brothers has opened up their vault of television shows and made them available for viewing at this site. Among the shows available here and currently nowhere else on the Internet are Birds of Prey, Blade: The Series, Pushing Daisies, and the V television series from the 1980’s (though not the mini-series). This site also shares several entries with Hulu such as Angel, Babylon 5, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Firefly. TheWB.com appears to offer fewer episodes than Hulu and it looks like they cycle through what they have available, but at least they have expanded the number of shows available online.

Also, in conjunction with their mini-series remake, AMC has made all seventeen episodes of the original version of The Prisoner available for online viewing at their website.  They may not keep them there for long, though, so if you have never seen this one, take this opportunity to check it out.

Check out our Full Index of Science Fiction and Fantasy shows available for Online Viewing, and let us know if you come across new (legitimate) online providers that we can include on the list.