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In- depth articles on genre TV, including this issue The Strain, Hemlock Grove and Under The Dome.

A few years ago we polled our online readers to find the top 15 “honorary”

SFX shows – TV shows that aren’t strictly sci- fi or fantasy, but feel like the kind of thing we would cover if only the makers would chuck in a moon wizard or some time travel shenanigans. Dexter came top at the time, but I’ve been watching a few shows recently which have got me thinking about that poll all over again.

First is Hannibal, Bryan Fuller’s series about Will Graham’s relationship with Hannibal Lecter during his organ-munching heyday. The series has a surreal, almost supernatural feel. Will is able to recreate grisly crimes in his head with superhuman accuracy due to a unique cocktail of mental disorders, which also causes him to see a sinister black stag in his waking dreams. Second is Banshee – Alan Ball’s

True Blood follow- up in which an ex‑con assumes the identity of a small town sheriff while on the run from a gangster. It’s a thrillingly plotted, wincingly violent police procedural with a dark fairytale sensibility. It also features enough sexy-times to make

Game Of Thrones look prudish. Finally there’s Utopia, a twisted conspiracy thriller about a group of strangers who try to solve the mystery of a cult graphic novel. It’s populated by cartoonish, larger than life characters, the evil scheme at its heart is an SF trope and there are hints that one character might be the devil!

All three are a hair’s breadth away from SFX territory, but sadly we have to draw the line somewhere. Regardless, I couldn’t recommend these almost- SFX shows enough.