Scene from EUREKA
© SciFi Channel
Summer Preview
By: Stephen LackeyDate: Wednesday, May 09, 2007
I’m happy to see the idea of summer television seasons starting to catch on with the major networks as well as basic cable. Several networks are trying out new series this summer and others like USA and SCIFI are bringing back successful summer shows that premiered in previous years. SCIFI Channel is easily the most notable network to be attempting to take advantage of less competition for viewers in the summer with six series starting up at various points in the summer, three of which are returning series Doctor Who, Ghost Hunters and Eureka. There are other series starting up this summer not on the list but they are mostly nighttime soaps and reality programming. There are some reality/magazine series listed here but they are the most appealing of the genre that I could find. Which of these series will you be watching this summer? Did I miss any worth mentioning?
Destination Truth
Network: SCIFI Channel
Premiere Date: Second Quarter 2007
In Destination Truth world adventurer Josh Gates travels the globe seeking the truth while investigating stories of the unexplained. Each week this six episode series will visit a new locale that features a mysterious or paranormal story such the Fire Worm of Mongolia or the Chilean Chupacabra, a haunted village in Thailand, the wolfman of Argentina and many others. Josh searches for evidence to prove the existence of the phenomena or disprove it through interviews with eyewitnesses and experts on the local culture. This series sounds like a cross between Globe Trekker and Ripley’s Believe it or Not. I’ll check out a couple of episodes of this one…
Doctor Who
Network: SCIFI Channel
Premiere Date: 07/06/2007
The Doctor is an alien adventurer traveling through time and space battling evil wherever it shows its ugly face. Doctor Who, in his many iterations over the past 30 years has garnered a huge fan base that’s been reinvigorated by this newest series. I watched a couple of early episodes and liked what I saw as far as the acting went but I was done when the Doctor went back to the Charles Dickens era. I was reminded of the holodeck episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation that I hated so much. I like my SCFI grounded in the modern or the future. I may give this series another shot this summer though….
Eureka
Network: SCIFI Channel
Premiere Date: 07/10/2007
Imagine a small town that looks like Mayberry from the outside but inside it features some of the greatest minds in the world working on technology years away from public consumption. Then take a regular guy, a one time U.S. Marshall and drop him among these geniuses to be the town’s sheriff. Here you have a recipe for quirky fun! Season One of Eureka was a surprise hit featuring good writing and production and a great cast of eclectic characters. There’s a slight serialized element that’ll be easy to catch up with too if you didn’t catch Season One. I’ll definitely be following this one this summer.
Flash Gordon
Network: SCIFI Channel
Premiere Date: 08/10/2007 (Barely a summer show, I know)
This series is an adaptation of the classic 1930’s comic strip series that eventually got turned into shorts films and then a feature in the early 80’s. All the main characters are back; Ming, Dale, Dr. Zarkov, and Flash himself for over the top and campy interstellar battles and adventures. I haven’t heard anything about the feel of the series but I’m really hoping we get that campy humorous take that made the feature film so much fun. It does have one strike against it; it comes from the same people responsible for the weak Earthsea miniseries that aired on SCIFI Channel.
Who Wants to be a Super Hero?
Network: SCIFI Channel
Premiere Date: 07/25/2007
Stan Lee’s reality series featuring a bunch of super hero wannabes is back for a second season! Personally I thought this series was weak after watching the first episode. I know people who really enjoyed it so I might watch the opening episode this season to see if I still feel the same. If you don’t already know, in this reality series, “Stan the Man” gives potential heroes a task to perform that test their skills, reveals their true nature, and make them prove their worthiness to be a super hero. At the end of each episode, Stan will send home a contestant until the one winner is left. The winner gets immortalized as a comic book hero and gets a SCIFI original film made about his/her character.
Ghost Hunters
Network: SCIFI Channel
Premiere Date: 06/06/2007
In Ghost Hunters a team investigates supposedly haunted locations each week all across the country from houses, inns, restaurants: they investigate it all. I haven’t ever checked this one out but I hear it’s pretty good.
The 4400
Network: USA Network
Premiere Date: 06/17/2007
This series tells the story of 4,400 people who disappeared over a period of 50 years. One day, they all suddenly reappear not having aged a bit since they disappeared. Many of them return with special abilities, good and bad, and some are bad people that use their abilities in negative ways. The series is well acted and produced with a strong serialized element. If you plan to watch season 4, I highly recommend you rent or buy the first 3 seasons to catch up. They’re short 13 episodes seasons so hopefully it won’t take you too long!
The Dead Zone
Network: USA Network
Premiere Date: 06/17/2007
This series is based on the original story written by Stephen King about a man who emerges from a coma with fantastic psychic abilities. He can see the future of anyone he touches and now he’s made saving people his life’s work. He saves a new one in each episode. The series returns for its 6th season.
Burn Notice
Network: USA Network
Premiere Date: 06/28/2007
In this series premiere, Michael Weston is an undercover spy who gets fired from his job for no apparent reason. Cut off from his typical spy contacts, he continues to do his job of righting wrongs while trying to discover why he was let go. I don’t know about this one, just sounds like a disgruntled employee to me, but there you have it, it’s on TV!
Traveler
Network: ABC
Premiere Date: 05/30/2007
In this new series Jay, Tyler, and Will are preparing for a summer trip when they decide to pull a prank together involving rollerblading through New York’s most popular museum. When the museum is destroyed by a terrorist bomb Jay and Tyler are prime suspects. They are hopeful that Will can help prove their innocence until they discover that they can’t even prove that Will ever existed and as far as they know he’s been missing since the bomb went off. Even in photos from the past two years, Will has managed to obscure his face. Jay and Tyler go on the run from the FBI to try and unravel the conspiracy that they have become pawns in where the government may not even have their best interests at heart. This one’s a hard call but it comes from good people including director David Nutter (The X-Files, Supernatural) and the producers of American Beauty, so I’ll give it a shot.
On the Lot
Network: FOX
Premiere Date: 05/22/2007
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