Johnny Jay’s 2007-08 Season Final Wrap-Up

Another season of Prime Time television has come to a close, and what a season it has been. We had a record number of Science Fiction and Fantasy shows bow during the season, but all had their seasons truncated by a writer’s strike that both interrupted the season and cut short every series. So now that the last of the shows has wrapped (with last night’s Lost two-hour, thrill-a-minute finale), I will take the opportunity to reflect back on the season and what it brought us.

Must Watch TV

Not only did we see a record number of entries in the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre during the 2007-08 season, we also received quite a number of quality options to choose from. I know that my DVR ran full speed during the height of the season because I just could not catch each episode of each series as it aired (not a bad thing because then I get to fast-forward through the commercials). Through the season, I had seven series that remained on my must-watch list:

Lost – Feeding off the shocker of the third season cliffhanger finale, Lost really hit its stride during its fourth season. The writing was tight and each episode kept the viewers engaged and wanting to come back for more. Unless this series tanks over its last two seasons (with 2010 scheduled for its wrap-up), this show will definitely make it into my top 5 list of best Science Fiction and Fantasy shows.

Pushing Daisies – This show came out of left field and breathed new life into the Prime Time landscape with its Tim Burton-like, picaresque, dark fairy tale take on a man who can bring people back from the dead for just one minute. Its time on the schedule was brief as the writer’s strike cut it down to nine episodes, but we can only hope that series continues its trademark demented whimsy into its second season.

Jericho – Rescued from oblivion after last year’s fan campaign, Jericho was given only seven episodes this season to continue its story. This definitely effected the quality of the stories as the writers tried sometimes to cram too much into one hour’s time. Still, the series continued to deliver compelling drama and the show really raised the level of intensity from its first season. Unfortunately, though, not enough viewers tuned in and CBS gave it the axe for good. Series producer Carol Barbee quickly hit the streets after the cancellation announcement in an attempt to shop the series to other venues, so hopefully there are more episodes of Jericho yet to come.

Moonlight – This series started strong, but it encountered a few bumps along the way and then really stepped down a rung in quality over its post-strike episodes. Still, when it comes to crime fighters with a twist (and we’ve had more than our share of those), Mick St. John is tops on my list. Here’s hoping that another network decides to pounce on it after CBS unceremoniously decided put the nail in the coffin.

Heroes – During its first season, this series was second only to Lost (and in a tie with Jericho) on my must-watch list. But then it concluded that season’s story arc in a rather abrupt and unsatisfying wrap up followed up by a less than spectacular start to its second season. The series really seemed to stumble about during its early second season episodes and revisited many of the ideas already covered during its freshman year. However, the show really managed to redeem itself over its last four or five episodes and ended on a high point, which bodes well for the upcoming third season (which NBC plans to kick off with a major promotion).

Battlestar Galactica – This Sci Fi Channel entry got off to a late start in April and is only just now hitting its stride as it works through the front ten episodes of its final season. BSG has never been easy to watch as its intensity level often leaves you exhausted after watching each episode, and the fourth season has not let up a bit on this. It is probably a good thing that the creative team will wrap up the story after this season, otherwise viewership would probably drop off dramatically because of burn-out (and its ratings have slipped considerably). Still, the series appears to be setting the stage for an earth-shocking finale (literally), so there’s plenty of reason to stick around to the end (which will come in 2009 when it airs the back ten episodes of the fourth season).

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles – I really did not expect to like this one. It seemed like the movies had already exhausted the concept and I figured that the series would give us nothing but mindless action/adventure. I was proved wrong as the series focused on two people faced with a grim task along with the moral struggles they wrestled with as they carried it out. It shared some of the relentless intensity of BSG that made it at times exhausting to watch, but it still managed to present some engaging stories. And amazingly FOX (aka the Sci Fi TV series Terminator) renewed it for a second season despite the fact that it only pulled only moderate ratings. Hopefully it will get the chance to continue to delve into the storylines it started to explore during its initial, short nine episode run.

A Notch Above the Rest

Just below my must watch list were three new shows that managed to generate enough interest for me to tune in on a regular basis, if not every week:

Reaper – The pilot episode was actually one of the funniest things I have seen on television in a long time, but unfortunately after that the series quickly descended into formulaic damned-soul-of-the-week stories. And worse yet, the laughs started to fade as well. I could deal with the formulaic approach as long as they kept us in stitches, but that was not the case. The series found its way again after the writer’s strike, though. It started to expand on its basic premise and build up a mythology for the show. And the laughs came back. Its strong finish almost became a moot point when the CW Network nearly pulled the plug on the show, but the Devil had some tricks up his sleeve and the series received a last-minute renewal as a mid-season replacement for 2008-09.

Journeyman – I was really non-plussed with this series early on. Burdened by contrived, unnecessary conflicts, each episode just left me annoyed. However, for some reason I kept coming back. I’m not certain what exactly drew me back each week, but in the end I was glad. In the final episode, the series pulled everything together and actually provided a satisfying explanation to why Dan Vasser had to experience these conflicts. It also set the stage for the next story arc, but by that time few people were watching and NBC decided to let the series journey into oblivion.

New Amsterdam – This series seemed like nothing more than a conglomeration of clichés thrown together to justify filling up an hour on the weekly schedule. And because of that I almost gave up on the show halfway through the first episode. I stuck with it, though, and was glad I did. True, there was little new about its premise which mixed elements of The Highlander, NYPD Blue, and Beauty and the Beast, but somehow the writers managed to find a way to get a fresh spin on a stale stock of ideas and in turn produce a rather watchable show. Still, FOX never seemed to have faith in the show and pulled the plug after its short run despite the fact that it pulled respectable ratings.

Worth Tuning in for

Along with the standouts on the schedule, quite a number of the other Science Fiction and Fantasy shows provided reliable, watchable episodes on a weekly basis. Among these were staples such as Stargate: Atlantis, Ghost Whisperer, Medium, Smallville, and Supernatural. I have to confess that I did not tune into any of these on a regular basis, but when I did stop by for a look-see, each series met expectations. And all of these series maintained their ratings well enough to receive renewals for the 2008-09 season.

Along with these returning series, NBC’s Chuck was worth a look from time to time. It focused on a computer nerd turned into an unwilling spy and was good for a laugh or two. It also managed to deliver sufficient ratings returns to receive a pickup for a second season.

Had a Promising Start but . . .

One new series got off to a strong start but quickly faded:

Bionic Woman – This series left the gates with high expectations from fans of the original show as well as fans of executive producer David Eick’s other show, Battlestar Galactica. The first couple of episodes delivered on these expectations (with the help of Katee Sackhoff’s portrayal a wayward bionic woman), but the quality quickly slipped and the ratings followed suit. The series bogged down with unnecessary, contrived conflicts (mostly involving Jaime Somers younger sister) and seemed to lose its way (Sackhoff disappeared as well). Ongoing, behind the scenes conflicts didn’t help the matter and finally NBC decided it had enough and it axed the series.

And Then, the Dregs

Every year you have them. Series that make you scratch your head and say what the heck were they thinking . . .

Caveman – This series had the potential to be the worst show and biggest miscalculation ever on Prime Time television. To its credit, it was neither. However, it still wasn’t very good. How ABC thought that they could take a series of mildly funny 60 second commercials and turn them into a weekly sitcom, we may never know. That fact is that the series was just not very funny (remember that is was a sitcom), and viewers tuned out in droves. ABC quickly made it extinct after only a handful of episodes aired.

Flash Gordon – How do you take one of the most colorful Science Fiction and Fantasy characters of all time and make him just plain boring? This series answers that question. I realize that the creative team had a limited budget and that they wanted to re-invent the character. But all that they gave us was hackneyed stories with familiar names tacked on to provide some connection to the original character. The series never found an audience and the Sci Fi Channel zapped it after it completed its 22 episode run.

Looking Ahead to Next Season

This past season brought us a record number of Science Fiction and Fantasy series, but based on recent schedule announcements, it appears that the 2008-09 season will trump that. Currently, there are in the neighborhood of 30(!!) shows (based on the current schedule) set to air at some point during the season with a handful more waiting in the wings. Based on the early returns, there are only a few of the new offerings that really seem like standouts, but then I thought the same thing about the 2007-08 season about this time last year, so who knows? What I do know is that I will need to get my DVR ready and plan on cutting back to about four hours a sleep at night if I have any chance of following all the Science Fiction and Fantasy shows next year. Well, there could be worse problems to contend with . . .

-JJJ

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