Fall 2008 Science Fiction and Fantasy Television Preview: NBC

The peacock network jumped the gun on its competition and announced its Fall schedule at the beginning of April. This includes two new Science Fiction and Fantasy series, with two additional offerings waiting in the wings and two returning series. Bionic Woman and Journeyman both got kicked to the curb.

New Shows:

First on the list is My Own Worst Enemy with Christian Slater debuting on the small screen in a Jekyll-and-Hyde meets spy-series offering. This series will take Journeyman's slot at 10 PM following returning series Chuck and Heroes to round out NBC's Monday night Science Fiction and Fantasy block. Heroes veteran David Semel will executive produce the series which appears to show some promise.

Second on the list is one which I find much less promising. NBC's remake of Knight Rider has secured a spot on the upcoming Fall schedule after its backdoor pilot pulled good ratings in February of this year. I was never a big fan of the original series and I passed on the pilot which had the modernized version of K.I.T.T. the talking car facing off against evil automobiles. Maybe this whole thing is just for laughs, but I'm thinking the joke is on us as NBC rakes in the dollars on a recycled idea.

A reworking of the Robinson Crusoe story titled, simply enough, Crusoe also has a slot on the Fall schedule and may generate some genre interest. I have not heard enough about the show yet to make a judgment on it, though.

Waiting in the wings with a tentative Spring bow planned are two additional shows with genre interest. Kings presents a modern-day retelling of the biblical King David story with Heroes veteran Michael Green at the helm. The second offering, Merlin, sounds like Smallville meets King Arthur. I assume both of these are planned as mid-season replacements so the cast of crew of these shows will be routing for some show on the schedule to fall quickly so that they can pounce on its timeslot.

Returning Shows:

I am looking forward to the return of Heroes in hopes that it will prove that its second season was an aberration. The series definitely hit a sophomore slump, though it did pull things together toward the end and finish up pretty strong. NBC has promised a heavy promotional campaign for the series (and its lead-in Chuck) prior to the start of the Fall season. Still, no matter how many adds they run, if the quality of the writing is not there, chances are the viewers will not be there either.

The spy series Chuck will also return to continue its blend of light-hearted action and comedy. Its numbers were not too strong in its inaugural season, though, so expect NBC to keep it on a short leash while the cast and crew of Kings and Merlin check in on the nightly returns in the hopes of grabbing its timeslot.

Cancelled Shows:

Bionic Woman hit the air last Fall riding high expectations with fans of the original series checking in on the remake and with the reputation of David Eick (Battlestar Galactica) as its executive producer. Maybe we expected too much, but the fact is that the series never soared except when Katee Sackhoff (also from Battlestar Galactica) showed up as Jaime Somers' devious counterpart. The ratings declined fast from its initial premiere and NBC decided to chalk it up as a failure.

Journeyman also failed to register with viewers and went on a journey into TV oblivion. The series started out slow with episodes burdened by multiple contrivances which seemed to leave the viewers non-plussed. However, it ended quite strong and provided a rather satisfying set of explanations for what originally seemed like an endless stream of obstacles and contrivances thrown at the series' central character. Unfortunately, by this time not too many people were watching and NBC pulled the plug.

Full List of Science Fiction and Fantasy Shows on the Schedule for the Upcoming Season

For More News and Updates, go to Axiom's Edge Sci Fi