Fall 2009 Science Fiction and Fantasy Television Wrap Up, Part 1

The year is almost over and most all of the Fall television shows have wrapped up for the holidays and have settled into their Winter hiatuses, so this gives us a good opportunity to check in on how the Science Fiction and Fantasy entries are progressing so far season. I will start with the five shows I had at the top of my Must-Watch list as the season began. (The links are to the entry for each show on TV.com and I have also provided links to my reviews of the shows).

Fringe (FOX) - This show turned out to be my favorite among those five. Even though it got off to a slow start last year and hit a few rough patches, it finished its first season strong. And it kept that momentum going into its second season as it fleshed out its mythology and kept the cute kids and annoying government meddlers mostly in the background. The show did have a few clunker episodes, but more weeks than not it delivered the goods, along with our weekly Walter-fix. I'm a bit worried about this one, though, because FOX's poor scheduling has really hurt its ratings, but I'm hopeful they will stand by it and give it a third season. (Read my review)

Supernatural (CW) - I was concerned going into the season that this show might do a bait-and-switch on us seeing as they promised to deliver the Armageddon this year. They did stick to their guns with that storyline, but they've done it in a very roundabout way. I understand they don't have the budget to give us all the trappings of Hell on Earth, but I would like to feel a bit more of sense of urgency on the part of Sam and Dean and maybe the indication that things are going badly on other parts of the planet. Still, I have enjoyed this one so far in its fifth season. (Read my review)

Dollhouse (FOX) - I really had high hopes for this show based on the direction it took during the second half of its first season as well as the excellent, DVD-only episode "Epitaph One". But the show seemed to lose focus and meander when it started up its sophomore season and I found myself somewhat disappointed with it. It started to correct course somewhat with its fourth episode, but by then FOX had already pulled the plug. And as it is airing out its final episodes, I still feel it's a bit erratic. I still like it enough to tune each week and I still feel like the premise had much potential, but I won't be completely heartbroken once it is gone. (Read my review)

FlashForward (ABC) - This show had a huge promotional push from ABC and it actually captured quite a significant audience out of the gate. But that audience started to slack off right away, and I understand why. They gave us an intriguing premise with a lot of promise and the show could have become, as many predicted, the next Lost. But instead of really exploring the implications of the black outs and the flash forwards, the series veered more toward the standard procedural storylines with soap opera elements thrown in as well. And the more it progressed, the less interesting it became. Now, with its ratings in freefall, it seems almost certain to be a one season wonder and I can't say that I will miss it when it's gone. (Read my review)

The Prisoner (AMC) - I definitely approached this one with caution as the original was a classic and I personally rank it in my Top 5 Science Fiction and Fantasy television shows. And unfortunately, as I feared, the remake failed to meet up to its predecessor. AMC's version tried to take the concept in a completely different direction, which is an acceptable approach, but it committed one of the worst sins: it was just plan boring. On top of that, it didn't make a whole lot of sense at times and they wasted the talent of top notch actors Ian McKellan, James Caviezel, and Lennie James. The original series still stands as a classic and will be remembered many years from now. This one, on the other hand, will likely fade away into TV obscurity. (Read my review)

Next, a recap of the five shows I thought were entering the season facing big questions marks.