The US fall line up includes the following new series:

• Bionic Woman
Action drama, NBC
Former EastEnder Michelle Ryan takes the role of the bionic Jaime Sommers. (ITV2 is screening this show in the UK)
Official Site: www.nbc.com/Bionic_Woman

• Pushing Daisies
Romantic comedy, ABC
Premieres 3 October 2007
Pushing Daisies is a love story about a pie-baking young man with a very special gift… the ability to return dead people briefly back to life with just a simple touch — enabling him to help a P.I. crack murder cases by asking victims to name their killers. Director Barry Sonnenfeld, writer-producer Bryan Fuller, and the producers of Big Fish blend romance, crime procedural and high-concept fantasy to create a fairytale in the spirit of Amelie, Stranger than Fiction, and Chocolat. Features a stellar cast.
Official web site: http://abc.go.com/fallpreview/pushingdaisies/

• Cavemen
Sitcom, ABC
Premieres: 2 October
Over the last hundred thousand years, mankind has evolved from primitive creatures to sophisticated beings, except for a small minority who unfortunately didn’t evolve physically at all. Now three sophisticated cavemen (who already have a fan base from their popular GEICO commercials) are living in modern-day Atlanta, where they are at odds with contemporary society as they struggle to overcome their physical appearance and the accompanying stereotypes.
Official web site: http://abc.go.com/fallpreview/cavemen/index

• Reaper
Comedy, CW
Premieres 25 September
Ray Wise plays an engaging Satan who enlists a young mortal as bounty hunter for escapees from Hades. This one looks great fun — check out the preview.
Official web site: www.thewb.com/shows/reaper

Moonlight
Drama, CBS
Premieres 28 September
Mick St. John is a private investigator who has truly seen it all after being bitten by his vampire bride on their wedding night 60 years ago. He now lives between two realities, fighting his adversaries among the undead while being in love with a mortal woman. St. John must cautiously balance these two lives before they clash, proving that life’s gravest dangers are found in the moonlight.
Official web site: www.cbs.com/primetime/moonlight

New Amsterdam
Drama, Fox
Premieres – Unknown – mid season launch
A soldier in the 1600s, granted immortality by a native tribe, is now a 21st century New York detective. (Great Shades of Adam Eterno!)
Official web site: www.fox.com/newamsterdam/

The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Midseason action drama, Fox
Premieres January 2008
Follows Sarah Connor where “Terminator 2: Judgement Day” left off.
Info (includes links to clips): www.fox.com/programming/new/sarahconnorchronicles.htm

Chuck
Action comedy, NBC
Premieres 24 September
Computer geek becomes secret agent when a glitch downloads national secrets into his brain.
Official web site: www.nbc.com/Chuck

Journeyman
Mystery drama, NBC
Premieres 28 September
Kevin McKidd, who was brilliant in Rome, plays Dan Wasser, a San Francisco newspaper reporter inexplicably begins traveling through time. The set up of this new drama looks like the set up for the comedy Goodnight Sweetheart, but with different time periods involved.
Official web site: www.nbc.com/Journeyman

Here are most of the new season start dates for US SF/Fantasy shows, sourced via the brilliant web site SFTV.org…

August
Jekyll (BBC America): Aug 4 (US Debut)
NEW Masters of Science Fiction (ABC) : Aug 4 (Series Debut)
NEW Flash Gordon (SciFi): Aug 10 (Series Debut)

September
Doctor Who (BBC America): Sep 8 (Series Two BBC America Debut, already on SciFI)
Torchwood (BBC America): Sep 8 (US Debut)
NEW Chuck (NBC): Sep 24 (Series Debut)
Heroes (NBC): Sep 24 (Season Two)
NEW Journeyman (NBC): Sep 24 (Series Debut)
NEW Reaper (The CW): Sep 25 (Series Debut)
NEW Bionic Woman (NBC): Sep 26 (Series Debut)
Ghost Hunters (SciFi): Sep 26 (Season 3 Resumes)
NEW Haunted (SciFI): Sep 26 (SciFi Debut)
Smallville (The CW): Sep 27 (Season Seven)
Ghost Whisperer (CBS): Sep 28 (Season Three)
NEW New Amsterdam (FOX): Sep 28 (Series Debut) NEW Moonlight (CBS): Sep 28 (Series Debut)
Numb3rs (CBS): Sep 28 (Season Three)
Stargate Atlantis (SciFi): Sep 28 (Season Four)
Dexter (Showtime): Sep 30 (Season Two)

October
NEW Pushing Daisies (ABC): Oct 3 (Series Debut)
Supernatural (The CW): Oct 4 (Season Three)
Blood Ties (Lifetime): Oct 13 (Season One Resumes)

December
NEW Tin Man (SciFi): Dec (Miniseries Debut)

January 2008
NEW Sarah Connor Chronicles (FOX) January 2008 (Midseason – Series Debut)

A syndicated article picked up by the Charlotte Observer offers a good overview of now US TV shows and the pitfalls of chasing hit shows in the hopes of another one.

John Freeman

The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.

He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.

Categories: Television