tv

The Sci Fi Channel's new television series The Dresden Files brings to life Jim Butcher's Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, a wizard residing in modern day Chicago. In fact, Dresden is so modern that he is even listed in the phonebook under “wizards.”

It’s been several weeks now since the fall finale of Lost (3.06- “I Do”), and I’ve spent my time wisely processing the plethora of perils presented (alliteration is such fun). Now, by perils, I do not necessarily mean the precarious situations our favorite (and not-so-favorite) islanders are in.

What would you do if you woke up one day and realized you could fly, see the future, stop time, or even walk through fire unscathed? "Heroes" ask several people the same question. The pilot introduces several characters in different parts of the world that are aware they are no longer "normal." Peter Petrelli (Milo Ventimiglia), a New York nurse, believes he can fly, while his politician brother Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar), does not believe him, but unknowingly can fly. Niki Sanders (Ali Larter), a Las Vegas single mother struggling to raise her genius son, Micah Sanders (Noah Gray-Cabey), has a split personality in her reflection. Claire Bennett (Hayden Panettiere), a Texan high school cheerleader, can regenerate her body in a blink of an eye. Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka), a Japanese comic book geek, can teleport himself anywhere in the world. Isaac Mendez (Santiago Cabrera), a drug addict artist in New York, can foretell events of destruction. These are just the few characters introduced in the first hour of the series. Not to mention cast members who are not endowed with superpowers. Namely the Indian genetics professor Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy), whose wild theories of human evolution are actually not that wild anymore. Additionally, you cannot have a series titled Heroes without villains. The villains do not exactly make an appearance, but there is an air of conspiracy that is bound to tie each character together as they all marvel at the phenomena of the solar eclipse not knowing their destiny is bring them together, most likely in New York.

At Comic-Con 2005, I sat down at a panel to see the premiere of a new show on the WB. Truth be told, I was just waiting for the Veronica Mars panel to start, but I figured that a show about solving ghost stories might be fun, too. As I watched, I found myself mostly disappointed. While the mystery was interesting, and one of the lead characters was both gorgeous and sarcastic, it was my opinion that the mystery-of-the-week formula wasn’t going to work for very long. By the end of the pilot, however, I had changed my tune a bit -- the show managed to connect an event from the beginning of the episode to a later event, and thus a story arc was born. I decided to give Supernatural a shot after all, so long as Dean Winchester (Jensen Ackles) continued to be gorgeous and sarcastic and the arc kept coming back.

The first few minutes of a TV pilot are massively important. A show has to hook viewers in quickly, lest the entire series get written off as dull or lackluster. The writing must be sharp and distinctive, the acting deft and subtle, and the directing offbeat enough to set it apart from everything else on the air. Not unlike a job interview, watching a pilot puts the viewer in the employer’s seat. We want to know in five to fifteen minutes why we should hire this show for the privileged position of “series recording” on our DVRs. A viewer internally asks him or herself during these first crucial minutes, “What can I get from this show that I can’t already find in half a dozen other things on the air?”

The term “peer pressure” doesn’t always have to carry a negative connotation. I became a fan of quite a few good urban fantasy novels, obscure wines, and fabulous indie rock bands on the recommendation of friends and loved ones who possess tastes and preferences akin to my own. Believing your confidantes when they gush about a film or DVD is hard not to do. How many times have you added something to your Netflix queue because a pal expressed affinity for it?

The Sci Fi Channel’s new original series Eureka finally made its debut on July 18th. Over the past few months, Sci Fi’s promotional tagline for Eureka read, “Small town. Big secrets.” Being a science-fiction fan, one is liable to be sucked into stories of uncovering secrets and conspiracies, and Eureka has its fair share of things to reveal.