ate April may seem way too early to start talking about the fall television season, which as I write these words is still half a year away from launching its premieres. But the Hollywood trade papers have already begun publishing their roundups of the pilots that the broadcast networks have ordered to test their viability as potential series, which causes me to wonder what sort of treats might be waiting for us six months from now.
I need the hope that this list of possible series provides, because prospects have seemed particularly bleak for new sci-fi and fantasy shows on the airwaves recently. While we were able to write about eight new shows in the October 2002 issue of SCI FI magazine (the print publication that I also edit), everything from Firefly to John Doe, and we covered seven new shows, such as Tru Calling and Joan of Arcadia, in our October 2003 issue, the pickings were so slim last year that we were forced to title our feature story in the October 2004 issue "What the #$@*! Happened to Fall?"
But thanks to the surprise success of Lost (which prior to its first airing we had to take it on faith would have a science-fictional side) and Desperate Housewives (which we dubbed "pseudo science-fiction" due to its voice-over from beyond), things might be looking up. To capture audiences, networks suddenly feel compelled to embrace their weird and edgy side, which so often means series of the fantastic.
Spring forward—fall's back!
So here are the 10 pilots, out of a longer list of 123 possibilities, that might keep prime time from being inhabited by only cops, lawyers and doctors later in the year:
The Book of Daniel: Aidan Quinn stars as an Episcopal minister with a drug habit who converses with a modern-day Jesus. Ellen Burstyn also stars. (NBC)
Briar & Graves: A priest (Charles Mesure) teams up with a doctor (Elisabeth Rohm) to investigate unexplained religious phenomena. (Fox)
Fathom: Lake Bell and Rade Serbedzija star as investigators of mysterious creatures in the ocean deep, a la The Abyss. (NBC)
Invasion: William Fichtner and Eddie Cibrian star in a family drama about surviving the Lost-styled mysteries left behind after a hurricane. (ABC)
The Night Stalker: This updated take on the classic '70s series stars Stuart Townsend. From Frank (The X-Files) Spotnitz and Daniel Sackheim. (ABC)
Supernatural: Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles star as two brothers who travel around the country hunting supernatural creatures. (The WB)
Threshold: Scientists and the miltary (Charles S. Dutton, Carla Gugino and Brent Spiner) team up to contact a mysterious alien life form. (CBS)
Triangle: A Lost vibe is promised after a doctor (Ivan Segei) moves to the Caribbean to solve the disappearance of his wife during their honeymoon. (UPN)
(Untitled): Jennifer Love Hewitt is a newlywed who can communicate with the dead. Also starring Aisha Tylere and David Conrad. (CBS)
(Untitled): Natalie Kelley stars as a mermaid who decides she can make it on the dry land in Miami. Also starring Geoff Stults. (The WB)
Of course, the networks still have many months in which to make their final choices, and there are no guarantees that any of these will ever see the light of day. After all, there were several pilots a few years ago, such as Steven Boccho's future cop show NYPD 2069 and the revamped Lost in Space, that you would have thought had a lock on a fall slot but were never picked up. But still, these series hold out the promise that the fall will deliver more than just C.S.I.: Trenton and Law & Order: Traffic Court.
We need television that's out of this world, and if we're lucky, thanks to Lost, last year's dry spell might be over.
Scott Edelman started his trek to the editor-in-chief position at Science Fiction Weekly decades ago, when he began working as an assistant editor at Marvel Comics. Between these two positions, this four-time Hugo Award nominee in the category of Best Editor was the founding editor of the award-winning magazine Science Fiction Age, in addition to editing Sci-Fi Universe, Sci-Fi Flix and Satellite Orbit. Currently, he also edits SCI FI, the official magazine of the SCI FI Channel. His most recent short story appears in the new issue of The Journal of Pulse-Pounding Narratives.
