Supernova

I like Supernova, saw it on public TV when it was new, and I've never forgotten it. That's a show with some power to it, and I'd expect it to be a cult favorite someday.

It's certainly not lowest common denominator comedy, there aren't any belly laughs or one-liners. It can be goofy as well as intellectual, mostly it's just offside. The central character is nervous, neurotic, and though he and everyone else consider him odd-man-out in the place, actually they're all so strange, he fits right in.

For me, the best character was the younger bed partner for the woman heading up the observatory's work. He's indigenous Australian from a very tiny settler's town nearby, and perhaps the most modern-day well adjusted of the bunch. The town's rough pub is the only other setting, and the observatory people can drink as dedicatedly as townspeople who seem to seldom leave the bar.

If you're bored by average sitcoms, I'd recommend this. After all, if you don't like it, you've wasted very little time. It's completely non-mainstream, no doubt that's why the series is so short.