It isn't always the episodes that teach these lessons, of course. Sometimes the stars and schedules are as educational as the very special messages of the stories themselves.

With that in mind, and with tongue planted firmly in cheek, here are the moral lessons many of our favorite shows taught us this year.

1. Tradition isn't what it used to be.

This "season" was scattered throughout the year, not least because of the SCI FI Channel's cunning strategy of showing reruns during the highly competitive sweeps months.

The good news is that the spread of new programming across the calendar virtually guarantees new space-related TV every week. On the other hand, showing the same six episodes of Lexx three times is taking recycling a little too far.

2. Borg make great moms.

Voyager heartthrob Seven of Nine has gotten in touch with her maternal instinct in a high concept "Borg babies" story arc that highlights everything great about Star Trek today. Isn't she a dead ringer for June Lockhart in that silver-gray jumpsuit?

3. Show me the money.

Counting a multimillion-dollar lawsuit settlement, David Duchovny will get $20 million for appearing in 11 episodes of The X-Files next season. Even the Friends have to be green with envy.

4. MacGyver has still got it.

He turned 50 in January, but Stargate SG-1's Richard Dean Anderson still has all the looks and style he needs.

5. TNT was not the last, best hope of SF television.

After earning praise for buying a fifth season of Babylon 5 last year, TNT conclusively proved last summer that wrestling, westerns and space opera don't mix after all.

What's truly sad is that even with its back broken by network-mandated rewrites, Crusade was still better than average for the genre. Let's hope the show fares better on the SCI FI Channel.

6. It's a long road back.

Earth: Final Conflict's third year was a vast improvement over its dumbed-down sophomore season. But the "evil plot of the week" writing and the gaping logic holes mean that it's still not living up to the promise of its first season.

7. Quit whining.

A little self-pity is good for the soul, but First Wave's Cade Foster needs to stop moaning about how alone he feels. That should free up some energy for kicking more alien booty.

8. Sometimes you can pick your family.

The growing bonds between its characters made the end of Farscape's first season a delight to watch. The vast differences among Moya's crew of outlaws only highlight how far they've come toward becoming a family.

9. Everyone's an alien on the inside.

Roswell set a unique tone by making its aliens believable teenagers. Can they maintain this level of realism next year while adding enough science fiction to distinguish the show from Dawson's Creek?

10. The future is always coming.

A few years ago, Babylon 5 changed science fiction television, and most of today's SF shows are cheerfully exploring the new territories of story and effects that J. Michael Straczynski opened. Will Andromeda be the next leap forward for science fiction television?