Remote Fantasies ; Science Fiction Provides Premise for Several Fall Shows, but Others Stick with Tried-and-True Ideas, Formulas

Gazette, The; Colorado Springs, Colo. › October 08, 2007

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Summary

A VAMPIRE AND A TIME TRAVELER. A collector for Satan and a bionic woman. A man who can bring people back from the dead, but only for a minute. And a slacker turned secret agent with a spy database inside his skull. Add it all up and what do you get? Well, you get the slate of new fall TV shows, but more than that, you get evidence of television's newfound love for science fiction and fantasy. Blame it on "Heroes." Blame it on "Lost." Blame it on "Battlestar Galactica." But reality is out and unreality is in this fall. TV does this, of course: A bandwagon is better than a BMW for TV execs. Last year, the bulk of new shows were serials, with complicated, ongoing plots that aped "Lost" and "24." Nearly all of them tanked. But "Heroes" was the serial that survived. And so the networks went looking for shows that looked like comic books, shows about people with superpowers, shows about the battle between good and evil. If Harry Potter and "The Lord of the Rings" left you cold, however, never fear: There are also police procedurals (only some of which involve vampires and superpowers), a handful of pretty standard sitcoms, a teen soap opera or two, and the usual spate of lawyer shows. So, you won't be forced into fantasy. Here's everything you need to know about the new shows to plan your remote possibilities. Shows marked with a star are my favorites. WHAT'S NEW FOR THE FALL TELEVISION SEASON

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Extract

Remote Fantasies ; Science Fiction Provides Premise for Several Fall Shows, but Others Stick with Tried-and-True Ideas, Formulas

"SAMANTHA WHO?" 8:30 p.m. Mondays, premieres Oct. 15

The plot: A woman awakens from a coma with amnesia and discovers that the old her wasn't a very nice person.

The buzz: Christina Applegate tries on yet another sitcom for size. It's mildly funny, but formulaic.

"CAVEMEN," 7 p.m. Tuesdays, premieres Oct. 2

The plot: Cavemen step out of Geicoads and into modern society.

The buzz: The pilot turned the cavemen into a not-so-subtle allegory for race in America. That was apparently too touchy for the ...

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