I find it genuinely astounding (hahaha) that no-one has mentioned the sf/fantasy/adventure pulps of the 20's through to the 50's. It was the likes of
Amazing Stories and
Astounding/Analog that brought science fiction (or scientifiction, if you prefer) into the mainstream. Despite Verne, Wells, and others, SF was very much the oddity before this time - so many of the 'great' names in SF were inspired to start writing because of these magazines, and indeed many got their first break by being published in them. Without that dramatic explosion in awareness, science fiction in all forms would I'm sure occupy a pretty miniscule niche compared to what we enjoy in the here and now.
Ahem, of course, what I really mean to say is,
Doctor Who.
