Today marks the day that Cowboys & Aliens finally hits theaters. The film, which stars Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford (pictured right with Olivia Wilde), features the most blatant mash-up of two very different genres since, well, perhaps ever. We decided that, in honor of the release of this sure-to-be-cult film, we’d take a look at the best of both genres: cowboys on television, and aliens on television. Over the next few pages, we’ll take a look at some of our favorites. We’ll start off on page two!

DEADWOOD (COWBOYS)

This HBO drama will sadly be remembered for its lack of resolution (it was cancelled after its third season), but it was a fantastically scripted western that featured some wonderful acting. Centering on the town of Deadwood, South Dakota in the 1870s, the show set its vividly written characters against a backdrop of cultural change and morality. For three twelve episode seasons, the show was one of the best things on television — and it ended too soon.

THE X-FILES (ALIENS)

You can hardly mention “aliens” and “television” in the same sentence without at least referencing The X-Files, and for good reason. One of the most culturally significant shows to air on television in the past twenty years, the series introduced us to FBI Agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) as they began to solve strange cases and eventually stumble upon a secret government plot for an alien invasion of earth. While the series went on for too long, it still is deserving of its legacy.

JUSTIFIED (COWBOYS)

TImothy Olyphant seems born to play a lawman. He was Sheriff Seth Bullock in Deadwood, but his most defining role will probably turn out to be that of U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens in FX’s fantastic modern western Justified. It’s actually more of a midwestern (it’s set in Kentucky), but the cowboy-hat-wearing Givens is as close to the modern cowboy as we’ll probably ever get on television. A gunslinging, justice-dispensing good guy, Givens locks horns with a great supporting cast using his sharpshooting skills — but, more importantly, his sharply written dialogue. The second season of the series finished earlier this year with a slam-bang finale, leaving us praying that we’ll be seeing Givens in Harlan for years to come

FUTURAMA (ALIENS)

Futurama could have easily been “that other show from the guy who did The Simpsons,” but it’s become a cult favorite in its own right. Though it was cancelled by FOX after just four seasons (compared to The Simpsons‘ whopping 22+ season run), Futurama was such a cult hit that it was revived by Comedy Central in 2008. It’s now in the middle of its ever-funny sixth season. Fish-out-of-water Fry, who was accidentally frozen in 2000 and thawed out in 2999, interacts with a variety of crazy characters — most notably the one-eyed Leela (Katey Sagal) and the psychotic sociopathic robot Bender (John DiMaggio). Storylines are zany, and occasionally incoherent, but Futurama is still one of the funniest comedies on television.

FIREFLY (COWBOYS & ALIENS)

We’ll stop you before you tell us: we know that Firefly doesn’t have any actual aliens. The cast are all human, though they traverse about in spaceships to alien worlds. Despite the fact that the series only lasted a half season, Firefly is rightfully one of the most celebrated television shows of all time. Starring Nathan Fillion (Castle) as Captain Malcolm Reynolds, and featuring a cast of genre favorites such as Morena Baccarin, Alan Tudyk, Adam Baldwin, and Summer Glau, the series was a strongly written space western. Partially settled planets became settings for laser gunfights, complete with desert climates and ramshackle towns. And, unlike Cowboys & Aliens, it didn’t feel remotely cobbled together or out of place. It all felt so natural, so right, that we’re still not happy that the 2005 follow-up film Serenity might be the last we see of Captain Mal and his crew. If Cowboys & Aliens is a success, then darn it, Serenity 2: Mal Rides Again* will be too.

*Or Serenity 2: Return to Jaynestown.