SF&F TV shows airing this summer and in the 2010/2011 season

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Here's the lineup of one-hour science fiction, fantasy and comic books TV shows airing this summer and in the 2010/2011 season:

US broadcast networks

Smallville (CW) - season 10
Medium (CBS) - season 7
Supernatural (CW) - season 6
Chuck (NBC) - season 4
Fringe (Fox) - season 3
Human Target (Fox) - season 2
V (ABC) - season 2
The Vampire Diaries (CW) - season 2
The Cape (NBC) - season 1
The Gates (ABC) - season 1
No Ordinary Family (ABC) - season 1
Terra Nova (Fox) - season 1

It's not clear yet whether or not NBC's The Event will have any SF elements.

US cable networks

Eureka (Syfy) - season 4
Sanctuary (Syfy) - season 3
True Blood (HBO) - season 3
Stargate Universe (Syfy) - season 2
Warehouse 13 (Syfy) - season 2
Caprica (Syfy) - season 1B
Being Human (Syfy) - season 1
Fallen Skies (TNT) - season 1
Game of Thrones (HBO) - season 1
Haven (Syfy) - season 1
The Walking Dead (AMC) - season 1

Fallen Skies is the title that's been given to the Steven Spielberg science fiction series TNT has been developing. It's been picked up as a series and will premiere next year.

UK one-hour SFF shows currently running or lined up to run

Doctor Who (BBC) - season 5
Torchwood (BBC) - season 4
Primeval (ITV) - season 4
Ashes to Ashes (BBC) - season 3
Being Human (BBC) - season 3
Merlin (BBC) - season 3
Misfits (E4) - season 2
Outcasts (BBC) - season 1

Anything I've missed? What are you most looking forward to?

 

[startrekwatcher]

Smallville--crap

Medium (CBS) -used to enjoy it but haven't been interested in watching it in ages

Supernatural (CW) - felt the series should have ended this year but I'll see how it goes--will be watching next year

Chuck (NBC) - really enjoy this will be watching

Fringe (Fox) - a very uneven series--would love for it to go all out in terms of serialization and ditch standalones will be watching

Human Target (Fox) - fun little show--will be watching.
V (ABC) - crap! off my list

The Vampire Diaries (CW) - sleeper hit of the year and along with Legend of the Seeker had the two best seasons of all tv I watched this year--consistent, well balanced in terms of character and plot.

The Cape (NBC) - Not really interested.

The Gates (ABC) -summer series usually never get renewed but if I'm bored I might give it a look.

No Ordinary Family (ABC) - I might give it a check but not something I'm just jazzed all that much about.

Terra Nova (Fox) - I might check this out too.

Eureka (Syfy) - a stupid syfy show--Pass
Sanctuary (Syfy) - meh
True Blood (HBO) - pass
Stargate Universe (Syfy) - more meh from syfy
Warehouse 13 (Syfy) - not the least bit interested.

Caprica (Syfy) - gave it 10 episodes to win me over and it failed. Characters were boring, pacing was glacial and plotlines lacking.

Fallen Skies (TNT) - first I've heard of this might seek it out
Doctor Who (BBC) - too campy for me.
Torchwood (BBC) - pass
Primeval (ITV) - crap
Merlin (BBC) - I like this.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Thanks for the news about the Spielberg series getting a name! Looking forward to:

Chuck - Though I may watch this later on DVD since it'll be scheduled opposite The Event. My chief motive to watch shows in first run is to yak about them here, and good as it is, Chuck isn't a very yak-able show, but I suspect The Event will be.

V - It's kinda lousy, but at least it's fast-paced and I need to see aliens & spaceships on TV!

The Cape - I'll check it out. My hunch is that the approach will be too vanilla and corny.

The Gates - I'll check it out. My hunch is that it'll be too Desperate Housewives-y.

No Ordinary Family - I'll check it out. I have kinda high hopes for this one, but based on the promo clip, it looks a bit too much like "what if the only characters in Heroes was Matt Parkman and his family?" And it may have a bad case of Annoying Teens Syndrome.

Terra Nova - Definitely will check this out. I hope they spend massive amounts of money making it look fantastic and get big ratings because there's nothing else like it on TV so that everyone else will copy this approach. We need some new big success to kick everyone else in the butt because sf/f shows are getting too vanilla and samey samey lately.

The Event - My bet is that it will have at least light genre elements. I'm looking forward to this one a lot. Even in brief clips, John Ritter's kid seems charismatic enough to carry a show.

Stargate Universe - I'll watch when Robert Knepper joins the series, and then most likely bail when he leaves.

Caprica - Definitely looking forward to this!

Being Human - Has skiffy announced it's definitely been picked up? I'd check it out if it were - but for a premise like this, a lot depends on the casting. Any news there? There's so many great actors now "at liberty" who could use a good genre show. But my hunch is that the characters need to be in their 20s, which rules out too many good actors, bah.

Fallen Skies - Definitely looking forward to this. Hopefully it can teach V some lessons on "how to do an alien invasion series."

Game of Thrones - I'll see it on DVD someday. Fantasy doesn't usually appeal to me much, though.

Haven - Definitely looking forward to this. Could be great fun. Hoping it won't be another Happy Town type misfire, and have more weight than Eureka or Warehouse 13.

The Walking Dead - Definitely looking forward to this, even if I'm skeptical about the long-term prospects for the premise. This is one of those limited premises where I gotta think, "just do as many episodes as make sense and then get out."

Outcasts - I might check it out on DVD someday as long as it's not the preachy bore that it could easily devolve into.

Wow, things are not as bad as I've been thinking. 15 possibilities, and 6 or so seem pretty solid. Thank frak for cable! Most of the really promising stuff is showing up there. The networks are killing themselves by insisting on a way too vanilla approach to their genre shows. That might be what cop and doctor show fans want, but genre fans are a different breed. Why won't the dumbass networks ever learn?

The Vampire Diaries (CW) - sleeper hit of the year and along with Legend of the Seeker had the two best seasons of all tv I watched this year--consistent, well balanced in terms of character and plot.

I gotta admit, I've assumed this is "Twilight on TV" and didn't bother with it. Am I really selling it short?

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Being Human - Has skiffy announced it's definitely been picked up?

Yeah, it has a 13-episode order. No casting news yet, though.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

If they're going to air this summer, they better start casting and filming soon!

 

[Greg Cox]

The Vampire Diaries (CW) - sleeper hit of the year and along with Legend of the Seeker had the two best seasons of all tv I watched this year--consistent, well balanced in terms of character and plot.

I gotta admit, I've assumed this is "Twilight on TV" and didn't bother with it. Am I really selling it short?

Yes. It's more like DARK SHADOWS with teens, which is a good thing.

 

[startrekwatcher]

The Vampire Diaries (CW) - sleeper hit of the year and along with Legend of the Seeker had the two best seasons of all tv I watched this year--consistent, well balanced in terms of character and plot.

I gotta admit, I've assumed this is "Twilight on TV" and didn't bother with it. Am I really selling it short?

I thought it would be kinda like that. The first three or so episodes are okay--nothing great but about I would say 6 episodes in I was surprised how well it took off. It has an intriguing mythology, the characters are fun especially Ian Somerhalder's Damon character, they've had some pretty good guest stars, it isn't predictable with plenty of nice twists and cliffhangers. And while the Elena/Stefan relationsip plays a big role it hasn't been annoying to me in the slightest the way some teen romances can be and I've actually enjoyed it. I think part of it helps that the people involved worked on Kyle XY and treat the teen genre a bit better than a lot of CW writers do. It is a pretty serious drama that has tackled with some interesting subject matter.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

UK one-hour SFF shows currently running or lined up to run

Doctor Who (BBC) - season 5
Torchwood (BBC) - season 4
Primeval (ITV) - season 4
Ashes to Ashes (BBC) - season 3
Being Human (BBC) - season 3
Merlin (BBC) - season 3
Misfits (E4) - season 2
Outcasts (BBC) - season 1

Anything I've missed? What are you most looking forward to?

Nothing has been confirmed about Torchwood yet as far as I know.

There's also The Deep on BBC One... Not sure how Sci-Fi it is but it sounds like it might have some genre elements.

The Deep is a thriller written by Simon Donald. Set far below the Arctic ice, the action follows the crew of an oceanographer's submarine as they search the final frontiers of Earth for unknown and remarkable life forms. When inexplicable circumstances cause catastrophe to strike, the crew find themselves stranded with no power, limited oxygen and no communication with the surface. And they are completely alone – or so they think...

There's the pilot for Pulse on BBC Three which again I'm not certain there's any genre elements but seems like there could be...

Pulse

St Timothy's is one of the UK's top teaching hospitals, home to some of the country's most promising trainee doctors. But beneath its veneer of medical normality lies a secret network of dangerous experiments pushing back the boundaries of science with potentially horrifying consequences in this one-off 60-minute medical horror drama written by Paul Cornell.
Hannah Carter's mother was a consultant at the hospital, but died suddenly a year ago. Grief left Hannah (Claire Foy) teetering on the edge, but following a year off, she's back to resume her training. But Hannah remains fragile, so when she starts glimpsing peculiar events in the hospital and unsettling behaviour from her ex-boyfriend and star surgeon Nick (Stephen Campbell Moore), she's unsure what to believe.
Ignoring the pleas of those around her, Hannah puts her sanity on the line to uncover the truth about the hospital.

There's also the one off TV movie First Men in the Moon for BBC Four

Mark Gatiss is to star in his own adaptation of HG Wells' thrilling scientific romance The First Men In The Moon alongside Rory Kinnear, in a one-off 90-minute drama for BBC Four.
It's July 1969 and, as the world waits with baited breath for news of the Apollo 11 astronauts, a young boy meets 90-year-old Julius Bedford (Rory Kinnear) who tells an extraordinary story of two men's journey to the Moon, way back in 1909.
As a young man, Bedford chances to meet Professor Cavor (Mark Gatiss), a somewhat unworldly scientist with an amazing invention: Cavorite – anything to which it is applied becomes opaque to the force of gravity. Knowing a miracle when he sees one, and with a keen eye on profit, Bedford encourages Cavor to think big. And so the two men construct a copper and cast-iron sphere which will fly them to the Moon. But what terrors await them in the lunar interior? And will they ever succeed in returning to Earth?
This is the inaugural drama for Mark Gatiss and Damon Thomas's Can Do Productions. The pair previously collaborated on the acclaimed Antarctic drama The Worst Journey In The World and last Christmas's popular ghost stories Crooked House for BBC Four.
Mark Gatiss says: "I'm completely delighted to have the chance to bring this wonderful, funny, charming and scary story to BBC Four. It's very rare to be able to adapt a genius like HG Wells for the small screen and we hope to do full justice to his extraordinary vision."
The cast also includes Alex Riddell who will play Jim, the inquisitive boy listening to Bedford's story. Jim's father is played by Peter Forbes and his mother by Katherine Jakeways. Lee Ingleby will play Chessocks, and Julia Deakin will play Mrs Fitt.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Nothing has been confirmed about Torchwood yet as far as I know.

In Googling about the show's future I came across links to Barrowman saying he's signed up for a 13-episode fourth season, but I see you're right in that official sources downplayed that after he said it. Put a question mark on that one then.

In Smallville news, Tom Welling has revealed that next season will be the show's last. The CW should confirm this in their upfront presentation tomorrow.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Nothing has been confirmed about Torchwood yet as far as I know.

In Googling about the show's future I came across links to Barrowman saying he's signed up for a 13-episode fourth season, but I see you're right in that official sources downplayed that after he said it. Put a question mark on that one then.

Last I'd seen he said he hoped to be going back but he was busy for the next couple of years and Torchwood was pencilled in.

 

[Snaploud]

Actors are often signed up for seasons that never happen. It helps the networks plan out their schedules. You don't want to announce a pick-up order, put the show on your official schedule, and then have your lead decide to up the price. That would be a disaster.

 

[Trek4Ever]

The only US network shows I watch are Supernatural (CW), Fringe (Fox) and V (ABC though I'm wondering if I'll bother keeping up with it.). I heard good things about The Vampire Diaries (CW) so I may catch some reruns of it. Smallville, Medium and Chuck I've never watched and have no interest in tuning in. Human Target got the death slot so I won't waste time watching something that will be canceled soon. For new shows the only ones I'll check out are No Ordinary Family (ABC), The Event (NBC) and Terra Nova (Fox).

For US cable shows I currently watch True Blood (HBO), Caprica (Syfy, but I doubt I'll keep watching when it returns) and Stargate Universe (Syfy which I'm surprised that I enjoy since I don't like the other Stargate shows.). For the new stuff I plan to watch Being Human (Syfy just to compare it to the BBC version), Fallen Skies (TNT) and The Walking Dead (AMC).

On BBC America I currently watch Doctor Who, Torchwood (I thought it was canceled), Primeval and Being Human. If the other mentioned shows air I'll probably check them out.

While we're on the subject, whatever happened to NBC's Day One?

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

While we're on the subject, whatever happened to NBC's Day One?

They cut it down to a four-hour miniseries instead of running it as an ongoing series, but the mini has yet to be scheduled to air.

 

[23skidoo]

In Googling about the show's future I came across links to Barrowman saying he's signed up for a 13-episode fourth season, but I see you're right in that official sources downplayed that after he said it. Put a question mark on that one then.

Yeah, better do. The show isn't cancelled, but Barrowman has had to backpedal a bit from the comments. Remember this is the BBC and it's not uncommon for several years to pass between seasons of a series. There was something like 4 years between two years of Red Dwarf, and we've just come off what was technically a close to two-year layoff for Doctor Who (not counting specials). Part of the problem is the big question mark as to whether Davies and Gardner are able to get an American version mounted. Fox said no, but there's always a chance HBO or Showtime or F/X might go for it. Until this is settled, the BBC can't proceed because Davies only gave Doctor Who back to them; TW is still his baby.

As far as the list goes, I've been enjoying V and Doctor Who greatly, and that's actually pretty much it for me. At least in terms of watching broadcasts. Other shows I'm following on DVD/Blu-Ray, either because they're not actually being shown in my part of Canada, or if they are the timing isn't convenient and I'd rather own them anyway. That growing list includes Fringe, Being Human and Merlin.

Alex

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

And here's news of another upcoming SFF series: MTV (which has ordered a number of scripted shows lately) has given a series order to a TV remake of Teen Wolf.

 

[PlainSimpleJoel]

Was looking around imdb, and read a little about Outcasts. Kinder interesting, I am a fan of Mars Trilogy by KSR, and this something similar (colonising another planet)

Will watch Doctor Who on TV, and others on DVD.

 

[Vendikarr]

While we're on the subject, whatever happened to NBC's Day One?

They cut it down to a four-hour miniseries instead of running it as an ongoing series, but the mini has yet to be scheduled to air.

Then they cut it again from a four hour mini to a two hour TV movie, and then never scheduled it.

It's the perfect example of a pre-cancellation.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

From Deadline Hollywood regarding the chances of ABC picking up Ghost Whisperer for a 6th season:

More encouraging signs for a possible Ghost Whisperer afterlife on ABC. I hear all writer-producers on the show have deals in place for next season with ABC Studios, which is the leading producer on the series. (CBS Studios co-produces). I hear the writers have been asked not to take other jobs. Talks with the network continue.

 

[Vendikarr]

From Deadline Hollywood regarding the chances of ABC picking up Ghost Whisperer for a 6th season:

More encouraging signs for a possible Ghost Whisperer afterlife on ABC. I hear all writer-producers on the show have deals in place for next season with ABC Studios, which is the leading producer on the series. (CBS Studios co-produces). I hear the writers have been asked not to take other jobs. Talks with the network continue.

If ABC picks it up, I would expect it would get a 13 episode commitment and wouldn't show up until mid-season, or when one of their new shows goes into the crapper, whichever comes first.

 

[Kosh Naranek]

Which shows are starting this summer? I tried to look them up on IMDB but the only one that really pulled up anything was the one with Ritter's kid. Thanks!