Geeking Out Over New TV Series

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Fall brings cooler temperatures, the return of football, and, most importantly to the geek, a brand new crop of television shows. Every new season brings in a different crop of shows that can be a little daunting. As the popularity of shows like Lost, Fringe and Big Bang Theory have shown that the mainstream public will support science fiction, the fantastic, and even nerds, choosing which shows to take a risk on can be difficult. Here’s a brief listing of some of the most intriguing.

The Cape

When NBC gave Heroes the ax last season, it seemed doubtful that they’d go searching for another superhero show to fill the gap. However, the immense popularity of Iron Man, Batman, and Wolverine seemed to lead the network to believe that there is still a place for superheroes in entertainment. For this season they’ve opted for something a little more focused. The Cape is the story of a framed detective who has to take on the identity of a superhero from one of his son’s comic books to bring hope to the corrupt city where his family still lives. What makes this hero extraordinary is his cape, which has amazing properties. With ER alum David Lyons playing the lead role, this show has the promise to explore the potential of an ordinary man trying to bring hope to a falling city. There’s an element of Zoro in the fantastic movements of the prehensile cape, and it seems that the effects of this show may have an element of understated awe.

The Event

Another new NBC series, The Event, seems to be hoping to takes advantage of the initial success of Flash Forward to draw in an audience. The commercials have been very vague as to the nature of the series, but according to their NBC website, The Event is a conspiracy drama that threatens to leave no character untouched. With Jason Ritter, Blair Underwood, and Zeljko Ivanek onboard, the possibilities to investigate the darker side of humanity and society certainly lurk within the cast. When hidden events endanger the fate of the entire world, who can save the day? The Event Premiers Monday, September 20th at 7:00 central.

Nikita

Taking its name from the French movie, known in America as “La Femme Nikita”, this Fox series follows an ex-government assassin who’s out to avenge the death of the man she loved. With great source material like the original movie, "Point of No Return", and the television series La Femme Nikita to draw on, this series has serious action potential. And while the lead of this series, Maggi Q, looks nothing like La Femme Nikita’s Peta Wilson, Q’s acting credits support that she is very capable of handling an action packed role having experience from movies such as “Live Free or Die Hard” and “Mission Impossible III”. With ER’s Shane West and Lyndsy Forsica (Big Love, Desperate Housewives, How I Met Your Mother) adding their television experience to the cast, Nakita has promise as a diverting, high energy series. Premiering on the CW September 9th at 8:00 central time, this show is one of the earliest premieres of the season.

No Ordinary Family

Possibly hoping to fill the void left by Lost ABC has picked up a series focusing on an ordinary family that becomes extraordinary when a plane crash in the jungle of South America changes their lives in unexpected ways. After returning home, the family must deal with the emergence of individual superpowers that may tell us more about the way they feel about themselves than might be expected. With Michael Chiklis (“Fantastic Four” and The Shield) heading a cast that includes Dexter’s Julie Benz, “Star Trek’s” Jimmy Bennett, and Kay Panabaker (Summerland), this show has the ability to really push it’s actors to with some difficult content. The only superhero show to premeire in the initial rush, No Ordinary Family airs Sept 28th at 7:00 central time.

Undercovers

Creator J.J. Abrams has brought us brilliant shows like Alias, Lost, and most recently Fringe. Now he’s set to go “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” with his newest series Undercovers. Some things about marriage never change, even when the spouses are retired CIA spies. After settling into a life of the mundane and average, the Bloom’s find they have to come out of retirement to investigate the disappearance of an old friend. Played by Boris Kodjoe, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, the Bloom’s promise to be one of televisions sexiest married couples while they gallivant about the globe to exotic locations. Another of NBC’s new series, Undercovers premieres on Wednesday September 7 at 7:00 central.

$h*! My Dad Says

There’s one big reason to watch this series based on the Twitter phenomenon, and that is William Shatner. In spite of being best known for his role as Captain Kirk, some of Shatner’s most entertaining work has actually come in recent years as he’s started to tackle more comedic roles. Following up on his wonderful success on Boston Legal, and “Miss Congeniality”, Shatner has decided to try his hand at his first sitcom. Age has brought the ability for Shatner to laugh at himself, and as such there is great promise for this comedy to be a laugh out loud half hour. Given CBS ability to find hit sitcoms like How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, and Big Bang Theory, $h*! My Dad Says definitely deserves a glance on September 23rd at 7:30 central.

While this list is by no means a comprehensive look at all the new shows coming up this fall, it is a list of some of what I find to be the most interesting shows to come up in the next few months. If you can spot anything I’ve missed, give a shout out below.

LeAnn Tiede "Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising everytime we fall." Confucious