SciFi Weekly: 2008 Fall Preview: Part I
At SciFi.com's SciFi Weekly:
(Please follow the link for the complete article.)
REVIEWS: SCREEN
2008 Fall Preview: Part I
By Kathie Huddleston
While it wasn't a fun year, it was an important year for television, which kicked off with a devastating writers' strike that killed shows, affected storylines and reminded the studios that writers have the power to bring Hollywood to a grinding halt. Beyond that, the Internet continued to play an important role by offering episodes online and creating original content that has its own entertainment value, including comic books and Web series that added to the mythology of a show.
While we lost a couple important shows (The 4400, The Dead Zone), there were also some series that never really clicked with audiences (Cavemen, Bionic Woman) and those that could have used more time to reach their potential (Moonlight, New Amsterdam). Jericho proved that while fans may have the power to resurrect a series, they can't always gather the necessary viewers to keep that series on the air.
Fall still remains the prime landscape when it comes to launching new shows. And while cable prefers to launch during other seasons, some of the bigger cable outlets felt comfortable going up against the big networks this fall with series like HBO's True Blood and SCI FI's Sanctuary. The other big development had to do with the resurrection of syndication for scripted drama, thanks to Legend of the Seeker.
One of the main trends in new shows has to be the continued use of a sci-fi or fantasy element in otherwise mainstream shows (The Ex List, My Own Worst Enemy). This blurring of what is sci-fi or fantasy and what is mainstream continues to become increasingly acceptable to the mainstream audience.
However, the most notable trend this season involves where the new series ideas are coming from. Most of the new shows are based on foreign television series (Eleventh Hour, Life on Mars, The Ex List), novel series (True Blood, Legend of the Seeker) or a past television show (Knight Rider). Only four scripted series offer original material (Fringe, My Own Worst Enemy, Valentine). We'll throw Sanctuary in the original category even though it started life as a Web series, since the original creative team is still behind the series.
And, as always, irony plays a part this year. Considering it takes years to get a series on the air, how odd that we end up with two shows about cutting-edge science gone wrong (Fringe, Eleventh Hour) in the same year. Or shows about organizations that download personalities into people so they become more effective spies, only to have the personalities become aware that they are not who they think they are (My Own Worst Enemy and Joss Whedon's midseason entry, Dollhouse).
All in all, it seems like a good season with enough variety, even among the similarly themed shows, to give viewers something to sink their teeth into. And better yet, when we add these new series to the continuing shows (Stargate Atlantis, Primeval) and the returning shows (Heroes, Pushing Daisies, Terminator, Smallville), it adds up to a great fall season where our biggest issue will be "How do we find the time to watch it all?" And that's not a bad problem to have.
Check out next week's "2008 Fall TV Preview: Part II" to find out the scoop on all the returning shows, midseason replacements, movies and miniseries.
Shows Canceled or Not Returning
The 4400, USA
Bionic Woman, NBC
Blood Ties, Lifetime
Cavemen, ABC
Charlie Jade, SCI FI
Drawn Together, Comedy Central
The Dead Zone, USA
Flash Gordon, SCI FI
Jericho, CBS
Journeyman, NBC
Moonlight, CBS
New Amsterdam, Fox
Phenomenon, NBC
UFO Hunters, SCI FI
Who Wants to Be a Superhero, SCI FI
New Shows
Eleventh Hour
CBS, Thursdays, 10 p.m. ET/PT
Premieres Oct. 9
The Ex List
CBS, Fridays, 9 p.m. ET/PT
Premieres Oct. 3
Fringe
Fox, Tuesdays, 8 p.m. ET/PT
Premiered Sept. 9
Knight Rider
NBC, Wednesdays, 8 p.m. ET/PT
Premieres Sept. 24
Legend of the Seeker
Syndication, Saturdays primarily, but check local stations
Premieres Nov. 1
Life on Mars
ABC, Thursdays, 10 p.m. ET/PT
Premieres Oct. 9
My Own Worst Enemy
NBC, Mondays, 10 p.m. ET/PT
Premieres Oct. 13
Sanctuary
SCI FI, Fridays, 9 p.m. ET/PT
Premieres Oct. 3
Scream Queens
VH1, Sundays
Premieres Oct. 12
True Blood
HBO, Sundays, 9 p.m. ET/PT
Premiered Sept. 7
Valentine
The CW, Sundays, 8 p.m. ET/PT
Premieres Oct. 5
Kids Stuff For Adults
Spaceballs: The Animated Series, G4, premieres Sept. 21 at 3 p.m. ET
Superjail, Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network, premieres Sunday, Sept. 28
The Young Person's Guide to History, Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network, premieres in October
Kids Stuff for Kids
Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Cartoon Network, premieres this fall
GoGoRiki, The CW4Kids, premiered Sept. 27
Gundam 00, SCI FI, premieres this fall
Gurren Lagann, SCI FI, presently airing
Huntik: Secrets & Seekers, The CW4KIDS, premieres in January 2009
Iron Man: Armored Adventures, Nicktoons Network, premieres in the third quarter of 2009
Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight, The CW4KIDS, premieres Feb. 2009
Making Fiends, Nicktoons Network, premieres this fall
RollBots, The CW4KIDS, premieres in February 2009
The Secret Saturdays, Cartoon Network, premieres Friday, Oct. 3, at 8 p.m. ET
Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Cartoon Network, premieres Friday, Oct. 3, at 9 p.m. ET
Straight Jacket, SCI FI, premieres this fall
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Back to the Sewer, The CW4Kids, premiered Sept. 13
Wolverine and the X-Men, Nicktoons Network, premieres in the first quarter of 2009
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D, TheCW4Kids, premiered Sept. 13
Check out next week's "2008 Fall TV Preview, Part II" to find out the scoop on all the returning shows, midseason replacements, movies and miniseries.
(Please follow the link for the complete article.)
REVIEWS: SCREEN
2008 Fall Preview: Part I
By Kathie Huddleston
While it wasn't a fun year, it was an important year for television, which kicked off with a devastating writers' strike that killed shows, affected storylines and reminded the studios that writers have the power to bring Hollywood to a grinding halt. Beyond that, the Internet continued to play an important role by offering episodes online and creating original content that has its own entertainment value, including comic books and Web series that added to the mythology of a show.
While we lost a couple important shows (The 4400, The Dead Zone), there were also some series that never really clicked with audiences (Cavemen, Bionic Woman) and those that could have used more time to reach their potential (Moonlight, New Amsterdam). Jericho proved that while fans may have the power to resurrect a series, they can't always gather the necessary viewers to keep that series on the air.
Fall still remains the prime landscape when it comes to launching new shows. And while cable prefers to launch during other seasons, some of the bigger cable outlets felt comfortable going up against the big networks this fall with series like HBO's True Blood and SCI FI's Sanctuary. The other big development had to do with the resurrection of syndication for scripted drama, thanks to Legend of the Seeker.
One of the main trends in new shows has to be the continued use of a sci-fi or fantasy element in otherwise mainstream shows (The Ex List, My Own Worst Enemy). This blurring of what is sci-fi or fantasy and what is mainstream continues to become increasingly acceptable to the mainstream audience.
However, the most notable trend this season involves where the new series ideas are coming from. Most of the new shows are based on foreign television series (Eleventh Hour, Life on Mars, The Ex List), novel series (True Blood, Legend of the Seeker) or a past television show (Knight Rider). Only four scripted series offer original material (Fringe, My Own Worst Enemy, Valentine). We'll throw Sanctuary in the original category even though it started life as a Web series, since the original creative team is still behind the series.
And, as always, irony plays a part this year. Considering it takes years to get a series on the air, how odd that we end up with two shows about cutting-edge science gone wrong (Fringe, Eleventh Hour) in the same year. Or shows about organizations that download personalities into people so they become more effective spies, only to have the personalities become aware that they are not who they think they are (My Own Worst Enemy and Joss Whedon's midseason entry, Dollhouse).
All in all, it seems like a good season with enough variety, even among the similarly themed shows, to give viewers something to sink their teeth into. And better yet, when we add these new series to the continuing shows (Stargate Atlantis, Primeval) and the returning shows (Heroes, Pushing Daisies, Terminator, Smallville), it adds up to a great fall season where our biggest issue will be "How do we find the time to watch it all?" And that's not a bad problem to have.
Check out next week's "2008 Fall TV Preview: Part II" to find out the scoop on all the returning shows, midseason replacements, movies and miniseries.
Shows Canceled or Not Returning
The 4400, USA
Bionic Woman, NBC
Blood Ties, Lifetime
Cavemen, ABC
Charlie Jade, SCI FI
Drawn Together, Comedy Central
The Dead Zone, USA
Flash Gordon, SCI FI
Jericho, CBS
Journeyman, NBC
Moonlight, CBS
New Amsterdam, Fox
Phenomenon, NBC
UFO Hunters, SCI FI
Who Wants to Be a Superhero, SCI FI
New Shows
Eleventh Hour
CBS, Thursdays, 10 p.m. ET/PT
Premieres Oct. 9
The Ex List
CBS, Fridays, 9 p.m. ET/PT
Premieres Oct. 3
Fringe
Fox, Tuesdays, 8 p.m. ET/PT
Premiered Sept. 9
Knight Rider
NBC, Wednesdays, 8 p.m. ET/PT
Premieres Sept. 24
Legend of the Seeker
Syndication, Saturdays primarily, but check local stations
Premieres Nov. 1
Life on Mars
ABC, Thursdays, 10 p.m. ET/PT
Premieres Oct. 9
My Own Worst Enemy
NBC, Mondays, 10 p.m. ET/PT
Premieres Oct. 13
Sanctuary
SCI FI, Fridays, 9 p.m. ET/PT
Premieres Oct. 3
Scream Queens
VH1, Sundays
Premieres Oct. 12
True Blood
HBO, Sundays, 9 p.m. ET/PT
Premiered Sept. 7
Valentine
The CW, Sundays, 8 p.m. ET/PT
Premieres Oct. 5
Kids Stuff For Adults
Spaceballs: The Animated Series, G4, premieres Sept. 21 at 3 p.m. ET
Superjail, Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network, premieres Sunday, Sept. 28
The Young Person's Guide to History, Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network, premieres in October
Kids Stuff for Kids
Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Cartoon Network, premieres this fall
GoGoRiki, The CW4Kids, premiered Sept. 27
Gundam 00, SCI FI, premieres this fall
Gurren Lagann, SCI FI, presently airing
Huntik: Secrets & Seekers, The CW4KIDS, premieres in January 2009
Iron Man: Armored Adventures, Nicktoons Network, premieres in the third quarter of 2009
Kamen Rider: Dragon Knight, The CW4KIDS, premieres Feb. 2009
Making Fiends, Nicktoons Network, premieres this fall
RollBots, The CW4KIDS, premieres in February 2009
The Secret Saturdays, Cartoon Network, premieres Friday, Oct. 3, at 8 p.m. ET
Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Cartoon Network, premieres Friday, Oct. 3, at 9 p.m. ET
Straight Jacket, SCI FI, premieres this fall
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Back to the Sewer, The CW4Kids, premiered Sept. 13
Wolverine and the X-Men, Nicktoons Network, premieres in the first quarter of 2009
Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D, TheCW4Kids, premiered Sept. 13
Check out next week's "2008 Fall TV Preview, Part II" to find out the scoop on all the returning shows, midseason replacements, movies and miniseries.
