New Sci-Fi/Fantasy Television

It's September and the new television season is upon us. This year there are no less than six new Sci-Fi/Fantasy television series being offered to us by the major networks. Every year I am always hoping for some originality from my favorite genre of television. Hoping to discover a gem of a show like Firefly (foolishly canceled by FOX after only 11 episodes aired). Here is a list of the new shows and my take on them.

SURFACE (Originally this series was going to be called Fathom)

Premise: An extra-terrestrial invasion from a new sub-aquatic life-form begins, and average earth folks have to figure out what is going on.

Timeslot: Mondays at 8PM on NBC.

Lowdown: I don't know about this one. The idea of an invation from beneath the waves rather than space is original, but advanced buzz is not good. The early preview in Dreamwatch magazine only gave the Pilot a 4 out of 10. I'm also getting unfortunate flashbacks to the dreadful NBC crap-fest known as seaQuest DSV. I will probably watch the first episode, but if it does not grab me I will give this one a miss.

THE GHOST WHISPERER

Premise: Melinda Gordon (Jennifer Love Hewitt), a young, newly-married woman with the ability to communicate with the dead, uses her power to help her fellow man. Awwww...

Timeslot: Fridays at 8PM on CBS.

Lowdown: First the negative; this sounds like a blatant rip-off of the NBC show Medium (Monday nights at 10PM). Further, this is the show that is replacing Joan of Arcadia (which was unique and interesting and canceled before it's time). That alone pisses me off and makes me want to boycott it. Where Joan of Arcadia was challenging and did not provide easy answers to the audience, Ghost Whisperer looks to be cloying and saccharine. Now, to the fair, the positive... Hmmm. Well Jennifer Love Hewitt does have a tremendous rack... Yeah, I may just skip this one.

INVASION

Premise: An extra-terrestrial invasion in the wake of a hurricane, as the residents of a small town in the Florida Everglades deal with the weirdness. Yow. That's too close for comfort considering the havic wrought by hurricane Katrina.

Timeslot: Wednesday at 10PM on ABC.

Lowdown: I have not heard much buzz about this show one way or the other, however, it is produced by Shaun Cassidy who created such cool shows at American Gothic and Roar. Both of which were cool as hell but got canceled before they even had a chance. This alone makes me want to check it out. Also, this show looks to be an excellent companion piece to the wonderful Lost (Wednesday at 9PM on ABC).

THRESHOLD

Premise: When an extra-terrestrial craft is discovered in the Atlantic Ocean a team of experts, headed by Dr. Molly Caffrey (Carla Gugino), is assembled to analyze the intention of the craft and help prepare for an alien invasion. Hey, is it just me or are the plots of many of these shows starting to sound annoyingly familiar?

Timeslot: Fridays at 9PM on CBS.

Lowdown: This show has very good advanced buzz. One of the shows producers is David Goyer (the Blade Trilogy and Batman Begins) and Brent Spiner (Data of Star Trek: the Next Generation) plays Nigel Fenway, one of the scientists assigned to Operation: Threshold. I'm also a fan or Carla Gugino (last seen in Sin City). The premise isn't very inspired (three invasion shows this season), but the cast and creative people are very interesting, so I might just give this one a couple of episodes before I figure out if I want to watch it or not.

SUPERNATURAL

Premise: Sam and Dean Winchester (Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles) embark on a road trip around America, confronting ghosts and creatures out of folklore and urban legends as they try to locate their missing father.

Timeslot: Tuesdays at 9PM on The WB.

Lowdown: This show has excellent advanced buzz. Dreamwatch magazine gave it a 9 out of 10 in their advanced review of the Pilot. It is supposed to be genuinely unsettling and scary. I like the idea of two guys in a beat up 1968 Chevy Impala driveing from town to town confronting the supernatural and kicking it's ass. It's sort of like the X-Files meets Route 66. I think this show will be really cool.

THE NIGHT STALKER

Premise: Hard-boiled journalist, Carl Kolchak (Stuart Townsend) and his side-kick, Perri Reed (Gabrielle Union) embark on investigations into stories with ties to the paranormal.

Timeslot: Thursdays at 9PM on ABC.

Lowdown: I loved the original television movie The Night Stalker and it's sequel The Night Strangler, and the original TV series was not without it's charms. Alright, so the original series was kind of dumb, But the thing that made it so fun was Darren McGavin's portrayal of the weathered, rumpled and endearing Carl Kolchak. Stuart Townsend is nothing like McGavin and this show will succeed or fail based on his performance. Advanced buzz on the pilot is pretty bad, but I like this kind of premise and I really want to like this show so I am going to give it a few episodes before I decide whether or not it is worth my valuable time.

And that's the lowdown. If I can't find anything decent to watch this season, perhaps I'll write my own Sci-Fi show.

Decker out...