I've been watching some of the new, and returning, SF-ish shows on TV and I thought I'd post my thoughts so far. This was inspired by John's Eureka post, but also follows up on my previous SF on TV post. Note that half of the TV shows in that post haven't aired yet which is why I won't be covering them and I will be covering some returning shows too.

On with the shows!

• Eureka - I like Eureka quite a bit because it's silly, goofy and eccentric. Sure it has a lot of technobabble and the plots may not be original, but its the characters that keep me coming back. Jack Carter seems to act like any one of us (the management!) at SF Signal would act in the same circumstances. In fact, I see Tim as the sheriff, I don't know why. I'll keep watching, at least until they have some snot-nosed teenager save the day every other episode.
• Heroes - I'm really liking Heroes especially after the dark turn of events in the second episode. As of right now, this is not a campy, people-in-tights show. It has 'real' people having to deal with obtaining special powers and with those trying to hunt them down. There is, of course, the obligatory conspiracy, but we don't have enough info to figure out what is going on or who is behind everything. This one reminds me a lot of the Rising Stars comics. If you've missed the latest episode, you can download it from the Heroes website or iTunes. In addition, there is a nice companion site run by the people behind the show called 9th Wonders. So far, this is the keeper of the new shows on TV.
• Jericho - I'm not too sure about Jericho. The premise sounds interesting, but the last two shows haven't really been that great. I found the second episode to be totally unbelievable given the short amount of time involved, and the third one I'm on the fence over because I haven't finished watching it yet. There also appears to be a conspiracy here too, as tanks have been reported racing towards Denver, one of the new residents of Jericho seems to have a small arsenal of M-16s and other military gear stashed away in a rental warehouse (and he seems to know alot about nuclear bombs and radiation, hmm), and Jake himself possible knows more than he has let on. The mystery of the bombings is intriguing, but once that is solved, is there enough here to keep coming back for? I'm not sure. If they keep producing unbelievable situations for the characters, then I'm out.
• LOST - It's back for a third season, and still has me hooked. This season is supposed to be about the Others and what they are doing on the island. It's about freaking time. Supposedly the first six episodes will be more character oriented, then a 13-week! break, and the final 16 episodes will be about the island's mysteries. Hopefully they won't drop the ball in the first 6 episodes, although last night's was pretty good. It gives you just enough to want to come back for more.
• Battlestar Galactica - Do I even need to say anymore? I don't think so. My DVR is already set to record this Friday's episode. I know some of you think BG has jumped the shark. I disagree. It's definitely gone in a different direction than expected, and that's a good thing. I'm still interested in the characters and Moore has already said <Spoiler for Tim!>that they will leave New Caprica after about six episodes</SFT!>. I'm still in for the long haul on this one.

I haven't seen Six Degrees yet, and I'm not sure I want to, although the first episode is available from ABC. So, I've gone from two must-watch shows (LOST and BG) to four (add Heroes and Eureka), with one (Jericho) on probation. All of them, with the exception of Jericho, seem to be doing well with audiences too, which bodes well for more seasons. Now I just have to cram two, or three, more shows into my exceedingly rare spare time...

Update: Fixed 9th Wonders link.

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Posted by JP Frantz at Thursday October 05, 2006 at 2:47 PM
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