Sci-Fi fix

Those of you who know me know I have a very strong affection for science fiction and fantasy. Some of my all-time favorite television shows have been sci-fi. This season, there were several new ones that I was particularly excited about, because we seem to have hit a dry spell science fiction-wise. Unless you count LOST, which is seeming more and more science-fictiony.

The newest one is New Amsterdam, on Fox. The premise is that this guy from 400 years ago is made temporarily immortal by some sort of Native American curse. Until he finds the one woman he's destined to be with, he will remain immortal. And after 400 years, he's pretty anxious to do that. To pay the bills, he's a police detective. All his many years of experience help him solve the cases, of course.

Now if any of this sounds familiar, that's because it was all done before. Back in the early '90s, there was a show called Forever Knight. This show was about a vampire who wanted to be human again after many hundred years of being a vampire. He was also a police detective whose immortality came in very handy. You might not have caught this show, because it was on late at night, but for those of us who loved it, we were disappointed to have it end after three seasons.

Back in the fall, there was Journeyman, which I now hear will not be renewed. Too bad, because it was a fascinating time-traveler story. The main character was suddenly thrust backward in time to help average people's lives come out right and fix "mistakes" in the past. He didn't know why it was happening or how to stop it.

Again, this should sound familiar. A little all-time-favorite of mine called Quantum Leap springs to mind. Sam is a time-traveler who created the experiment that sends him leaping through time but can't figure out how to stop it. Along the way, he "puts right what once went wrong." One of the greatest shows EVER, it ended disappointingly with the revelation that Sam never returned home. I, of course, had to write an alternate ending explaining that.

And finally, a show which won a Golden Globe this year, Moonlight. This is another vampire show. This is also about a vampire detective, only he's a private detective. He's in love with a mortal woman and desperately wants to be mortal again, even though he's only about 80 years old. Shades of Forever Knight, but with an interesting new angle. I like this show a lot and hope to see new episodes soon (it's on CBS).

How about you? Are you a sci-fi fan or does the whole thing just go over your head? If you are, what are some of your favorite shows?