Welcome to Cybermage and this monthly retrospective.

It started with a happy new year and it still is.

Reading wise Ernest Cline‘s debut novel Ready Player One is Best read. All that gaming and 80′s nostalgia was fun. One of the greatest books of 2011 no doubt.  Of this years books I have to say Boneyards is the best read so far. I was a bit disappointing we didn’t get to explore the the mystic field of space ships they found but now I have something to look forward to in the next.

On the surprise side Mecha Corps was way better than expected. Fun military action. I am looking forward to the sequels.

I am happy with all my reading this month to be honest. League of Peoples and Legion of the Damned are series worth reading.

Television-wise  it is a new year too and I have had a look at the pilots. Not too shabby. Still not much space based science fiction, which is a downer. I would love to see the Adjustment Bureau as a serie. At the same time I am afraid Syfy might mess it up. There is also Beautiful People a pilot about a near future society where androids start to become self aware. We have a surprisingly good Swedish series called Äkta Männsikor [eng. True Humans] (SVT) with a very similar story (our androids are branded Hubots btw). But none of the pilots will be out this winter.

The Winter season so far… Chuck, Oh my god. Has left us. Not everyone liked the ending but I did. Too few series get the chance to have a planned exit like Chuck. Kudos to NBC for giving it. My other favorite series Fringe is up in the ratings but still in the danger zone. Newcomer Alcatraz looks promising as does Touch. Non genre comedy series Rob has also caught my fancy. The later maybe because he is a short guy with a tall beautiful wife like I.

/Ove

ps thanks for the 153.000 visits in January ds

Books Read

Click the covers for a larger image and linked titles for reviews.

1. Giant Thief by David Tallerman (Angry robot 2011)
2. Illegal Alien by Robert J. Sawyer (ACE 2012, 1st 1997)
3. By Force of Arms (Legion of the Damned 4) by William C. Dietz (Audible Frontier 2010, 1st 2000)
4. Expendable (League of Peoples 1) by James Alan Gardner (Harper Collins 2009, 1st 1997)
5. Vigilant (League of Peoples 2) by James Alan Gardner (Harper Collins 2007, 1st 1999)
6. Mecha Corps (Armor wars 1) by Brett Patton (Roc 2012)
7. Hunted (League of Peoples 3) by James Alan Gardner (Harper Collins 2009, 1st 2000)
8. Ascending (League of Peoples 4) by James Alan Gardner (Harper Collins 2009, 1st 2001)
9. Radiant (League of Peoples 5) by James Alan Gardner (Harper Collins 2009, 1st 2005)
10. For More Than Glory (Legion of the Damned 5) by William C. Dietz (Audible Frontier 2010, 1st 2003)
11. For Those Who Fell (Legion of the Damned 6) by William C. Dietz (Audible Frontier 2010, 1st 2004)
12. When All Seems Lost (Legion of the Damned 7) by William C. Dietz (Audible Frontier 2010, 1st 2007)
13. When Duty Calls (Legion of the Damned 8) by William C. Dietz (Audible Frontier 2010, 1st 2008)
14. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Century 2011)
15. Boneyards (Diving 3) by Kristine Katheryn Rush (Pyr) - uk us
16. A Fighting Chance (Legion of the Damned 9) by William C. Dietz (Audible Frontier 2011, 1st 2011)
17. Ganymede (Clockwork Century 4) by Cherie Priest (Tor 2011)

Please see my to be read list and request reviews

Books Received

Click the covers for a larger image

Review copies

1. Autogenesis by David Sikter (Wela Förlag 2012)

Books bought by me

1.  Illegal Alien by Robert J. Sawyer (ACE 2012, 1st 1997)
2. For More Than Glory (Legion of the Damned 5) by William C. Dietz (Audible Frontiers 2010, 1st 2003)
3. Mecha Corps (Armor wars 1) by Brett Patton (Roc 2012)
4. For Those Who Fell (Legion of the Damned 6) by William C. Dietz (Audible Frontier 2010, 1st 2004)
5. When All Seems Lost (Legion of the Damned 7) by William C. Dietz (Audible Frontier 2010, 1st 2007)
6. When Duty Calls (Legion of the Damned 8) by William C. Dietz (Audible Frontier 2010, 1st 2008)
7. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Century 2011)
8. Faith by Peter Love (Night Shade 2012)
9. A Fighting Chance (Legion of the Damned 9) by William C. Dietz (Audible Frontier 2011, 1st 2011)
10. Boneyards (Diving 3) by Kristine Katheryn Rush (Pyr) - uk us
11. Transmission (Ragnarok book 2) by John Meaney (Gollancz) - uk
12. Blue Remembered Earth (Poseidon’s Children Book 1) by Alastair Reynolds (Gollancz) - uk us
13. In the Lion’s Mouth (January Dancer 3) by Michael Flynn (Tor) – uk us
14. Count to a Trillion (Book 1) by John C. Wright (Tor) - uk us

Be warned this article may contain spoilers!

It will be interesting to see how it goes. I like to play a little game to see how right or wrong I am when the decision comes in May. But I don’t want to be too cynical so I am doing my dream lineup so I can bitch about how wrong the real pickup is. What’s your dream lineup?

My Dream Lineup

I prefere science fiction with aliens and space travel but there is not much of that in this bunch. I would love to see something that has to do with colonizing space.

666 Park Ave (ABC)

Based on Gabriella Pierce‘s series by the same name. Witches on the upper east side no less according to the books. TV series usually take some liberties.  The show is set in a historic apartment building in New York City and centers on the young couple that become its managers. They unwittingly begin to experience supernatural occurrences, which complicate and endanger the lives of everyone in the residence. Could be a mystery of the week kind of show. A drama pilot from writer David Wilcox (Fringe), Warner Bros.

Antichrist (ABC)

Not much is known about this pilot. It is a drama about a young astrophysics student who learns his destiny lies not in science but somewhere between heaven and hell. It will be set in New York City against the backdrop of the Presidential race of 2012. It is supposedly inspired by the latest presidential elections whatever that means.

Arrow (CW)

Smallville fans rejoice as CW makes a revised take on the DC Comics-turned-”Smallville” hero Green Arrow, a.k.a. Oliver Queen, a billionaire who dresses like Robin Hood and uses trick arrows to fight crime. Guggenheim and Kreisberg will pen the teleplay off a story by Berlanti and Guggenheim, which “sets him in a new world with an original story that is not based on the comics.

Beauty & Beast (CW)

Revival of the cult 1987-1990 series that aims to not only modernize and CW-up the love story but also add a procedural twist.

Beast (ABC)

The ABC orders a pilot of B&B a week after CW announced its pilot. The ABC version is from Jonathan Steinberg (Human Target, Jericho) and described as “a fantastical re-imagining of the classic fairy tale set in a mythical, dangerous world wherein a beautiful and tough Princess discovers an unlikely connection with a mysterious beast.”

Beautiful People (NBC)

Android stories seems to be on the rise. In the near future families of mechanical humans exist to service the human population. Everything is okay until some of the mechanicals begins to “awaken”. It centers on the very wealthy Lydia (Frances Conroy) whose late husband founded the firm that makes Mechanicals. James Murray then is set as her son, “a handsome and very successful attorney who’s lived a rich and privileged life but makes a name for himself by publicly suggesting that Mechanicals might have civil rights – a notion that’s largely scoffed at,” with Patrick Heusinger as “a family man employed as a servant in Lydia’s home who is in fact a Mechanical, but after one of his daughters is killed in a car accident, he proves to be ‘defective’ as he’s plagued with forbidden emotions like grief and loss.” This one sounds promising.

Cult (CW)

Silence of the lambs / Seven-esque drama that tracks the investigation of a string of mysterious deaths and disappearances surrounding the show-within-a-show entitled Cult. A bit iffy genrewise

Dracula (NBC)

Like we don’t have enough vampire shows. Tony Krantz and Colin Callender are developing a period drama at the Peacock and its international channels about Bram Stoker’s signature 1890s vampire, billed as “a big, sweeping international soap opera that is young, sexy and supernatural.” Cole Haddon is penning the script for the potential straight-to-series commitment.

Gotham Untitled Michael Green Project (ABC)

After pursuing a seemingly unsolvable case, a female cop discovers a magical world that exists within New York City.  A world that goes unseen by normal humans, and takes all of the familiar NY landmarks and reinvents them in a magical otherworldly manner

Intercept (ABC)

Intercept stars Danielle Panabaker (Shark), Austin Butler (Switched At Birth), Chloe Wang (The Nightlife) and Nolan Gerard Funk (“Aliens in America”). Intercept is a one-hour technology and action driven drama about a group of college students who get roped into solving crimes when one of them creates a high-tech communication device that intercepts conversations throughout the West Coast.

Isabel (NBC)

Isabel is a comedy centering on an otherwise normal middle-class family that wrestles with the challenges of everyday life while raising a daughter (Sophia Mitri Schloss, Grimm) who has magical abilities. Abigail Mavity and Skyler Gisondo also star.

Joey Dakota (CW)

Based on the Israeli format Danny Hollywood. In this romantic-time-travel-musical, a documentary filmmaker travels back in time to the 1990’s where she meets and falls in love with the rock star subject of her film. When she unexpectedly returns to present day, she must find her way back to the past to reunite with her love and prevent his untimely death.

Last Resort (ABC)

the crew of a U.S. nuclear submarine who, after ignoring an order to fire nuclear missiles, wind up being hunted and escape to a NATO outpost where they declare themselves to be the world’s smallest nuclear nation.

Midnight Sun (NBC)

Drama which revolves around a police investigation into disappearance of a remote cult that slowly uncovers the darkest secrets of the region and its inhabitants, as well as a grander political conspiracy and environmental disaster from which the cult members are attempting to escape. Genre?

Mockingbird Lane Munsters, The (NBC)

An imaginative reinvention of The Munsters

Revolution (NBC)

Described as a high-octane action drama following a group of characters struggling to survive and reunite with loved ones in a world where all forms of energy have mysteriously ceased to exist. In this epic adventure thriller, a family struggles to reunite in a post-apocalyptic American landscape: a world of empty cities, local militias and heroic freedom fighters, where every single piece of technology — computers, planes, cars, phones, even lights — has mysteriously blacked out … forever.

Rewind (Syfy)

The thriller revolves around a team of military field operatives and civilian scientists who must use untested technology to travel back in time to alter past events in order to change the future and avoid a devastating terrorist attack.

Selection, The (CW)

Based on the forthcoming series of books by Kiera Cass, The Selection is an epic romance set 300 years in the future which centers on a poor young woman who is chosen by lottery to participate in a competition to become the next queen of a war-torn nation at a crossroads.

Untitled Dan Fogelman Project (Fox)

About a family that moves into a highly desirable gated community in New Jersey only to discover that the entire neighborhood is made up of aliens disguised as humans. Gertz is on board as Debbie Weaver, the matriarch of the human family; with Templeman as Wilt Chamberlain, the leader of the aliens; Olagundoye as Jackie Joyner Kersee, the matriarch of the lead alien family; and Jo as Joe Montana, son of the alien family.

Untitled Kevin Williamson Project (CW)

Drama about a diabolical serial killer who uses technology to create a cult of serial killers, and the FBI agent who finds himself in the middle of it.

Zero Hour (ABC)

A bizarre twist of fate pulls a man who’s spent 20 years as the editor of a skeptics magazine into one of the most compelling conspiracies in human history.

Zombies & Cheerleaders (CW)

Disney Channel has ordered the music-driven pilot “Zombies and Cheerleaders.” Production on the pilot begins in December in consideration for a Disney Channel series to premiere in 2012. The story follows Zed Necrodopolis, a typical high school student with one small caveat; he happens to be a zombie. Despite a high-tech wristwatch designed to curb any appetite he may have for his classmates, he and his zombie friends remain unpopular with the school’s most influential group, the pom-pom wielding cheerleaders. Never one to back down from a challenge, Zed sets out to improve zombie student body relations and win the attention of Addison, the cheerleading squad’s newest member.

Scripts

• Adjustment Bureau, The (Syfy) - Drama based on the film (based on a short story by Philip K. Dick) of the same name about a secret organization with special powers, which uses them to ensure that people’s lives follow the chairman of the bureau’s plan for them
• Afterthought (NBC) - drama about an unconventional team within the FBI that uses the six-hour window between clinical death and cellular death to solve murders by entering the memories of the recently deceased
• Cyber Crimes (Fox) - Drama about a techno-phobe female FBI agent is partnered with a witty and handsome hacktivist to solve violent crimes with a cyber component
• Cloak & Dagger (ABC) - based on the marvel comic of the same name about tyrone “ty” johnson and tandy bowen, teen runaways in new york city who develop superpowers – he can engulf enemies in darkness, she can emit daggers of light – after being forced to take experimental drugs.
• Damned, The (Showtime) - Drama about a cursed man who is stuck in the middle of a turf war in modern-day chicago where mobsters are demons
• Dark Tower, The (HBO) - Built on Stephen King’s fantasy series about Roland Deschain, the Gunslinger. It has had an on and off status on the pilot list for some time now.
• Dave’s Dead (Fox) - comedy at the network billed as Shaun of the Dead meets My name is Earl.
• Deadman (CW) - small screen take on the DC Comics hero, the spirit of a murdered man who lives on as he inhabits other people’s bodies and helps them solve crises in their own lives
• End of the World (ABC) - comedy about three brilliant scientists who, after making a shocking discovery, and encouraged by their roguish friend to live their lives to the fullest
• Eye, The (ABC) - drama billed as a western with a paranormal twist set in 1871 arizona and centered on a team of pinkerton detectives who search for answers to unexplained phenomena
• Ghost Girls (Syfy) - comedy about a self-proclaimed psychic and a tech wiz who together they attempt to solve paranormal mysteries each week while trying to prove to themselves and their customers that they are competent ghost hunters
• Ghost Projekt (Syfy) - Based on the popular comic series, a female KGB agent and male American weapons inspector form an unlikely partnership when a deadly force is unwittingly unleashed from a Siberian research facility.
• Golddigger (CW) - drama about a young female treasure hunter who tracks down artifacts for a variety of mysterious and interesting clients. Genre?
• Last Hope (Showtime) - drama about the last hospital on planet earth.
• Magicans (Fox) - drama about a group of 20-somethings in new york who study magic and have access to a magical world
• Maybe Angels (CBS) - legal drama about two angels who help their former spouses
• Mockingbird (ABC) - drama featuring the marvel comics character
• RIP (NBC) - single-camera comedy about a reluctant angel who happens to be an asshole dies and in order to get to heaven is forced to return to earth and help people with the help of his simple minded brother
• Robots (Comedy Central) - What if robots attempted to take over the world well before they actually had the ability to do so? This animated show pits a group of household electronics against their slacker owner, Jeff.
• Sector, The (Cinemax) - A high-octane action-crime series in the vein of BLADE RUNNER/DISTRICT 9 which tracks the commander of a paramilitary unit who pursues a dangerous new race of genetically-enhanced humans.
• Seeing Things (Syfy) - a ghost after his violent death and the only person who can help close his last case is a socially awkward man who realizes that the hallucinations he’s had all his life may not be a figment of his imagination.
• Seven Wonders, The (ABC) - drama which tracks an unlikely five-member team as they search the world for seven pieces of an ancient and powerful relic
• Sleepers (CBS) - drama about a woman who has the gift to save people who are caught somewhere between life and death
• Source Code (CBS) - drama based on the film about three former federal agents who are part of a top-secret program that uses technology to jump into the consciousness of people involved in tragic events
• Spectre, The (Fox) - drama based on the DC comics hero, a former cop serving time in afterlife limbo who hunts down earthly criminals on behalf of the dead – and mortals soon to be dead if ultimate justice is not served
• Spellbinder (MTV) - drama about a teenage girl who can communicate with ghosts
• Spirited (ABC) - drama about a recently divorced mother of two whose life is forever changed through her unexpected relationship with Henry Mallet, the ghost of an ’80s English punk rock star
• Stranger Planet (Fox) - drama about a hard-boiled L.A. cop who stumbles upon the existence of aliens living among us and must team up with two aliens in order to solve intergalactic mysteries on earth
• Thunderstuck (AMC) - sci-fi drama about the residents of Great Falls, Montana who must grapple with the dramatic effects and growing mystery of repeated visitations by powerful and enigmatic entities that begin appearing all over the world
• Time Trumpet (Comedy Central)  - A satirical look at pop culture and current events, set 30 years in the future
• Under the Dome (Showtime) - drama based on stephen king’s novel about locals at a maine vacation spot who battle one another when a force field suddenly surrounds their town and cuts them off from the rest of the world
• Untitled Fazekas & Butters Project (CW) - drama about a young woman who, on the first day of her new job, discovers that the cosmetics company for which she is working is actually a cover business for a secret governmental project that monitors alien activity on earth
• Untitled Jeff Rake Drama Project (CBS) - drama about a female detective who finds she can interact with dead people – the victims of murders she investigates
• Untitled M Scott Veach Project (ABC) - no details are available other than it is a time-travel drama
• Untitled Robert Hewitt Wolfe Project (Syfy) - After decades of war, the newly formed Unity Democracy orders a volatile mix of humans and trans-humans to lead the Starship Defender on an expedition in search of lost worlds requiring law and order.
• Untitled Warehouse 13 Spin-Off Project (Syfy) - spin-off of the syfy hit centering on the character of h.g. wells and her adventures in a 1890s steampunk environment
• Untitled Will Gluck Project (ABC) - single-camera comedy about an angel expelled from heaven who is sentenced to live in New York City
• Wasteland (TNT) - drama about a U.S. marshal in the american southwest who is charged with hunting down the supernatural escapees on the run following a federal prison break
• Watchers, The (ABC) - drama about a fallen angel looking for his mortal love
• Wicked Good (ABC) - drama about a family of witches – soldiers in an eternal battle between good and evil – who are dispatched to suburban orange county, where they must root out dark forces while battling the challenges of everyday life in suburbia
• Zero Hour (Fox) - drama about a skeptical everyman who gets swept up in one of history’s greatest conspiracies: a spectacular mystery surrounding the Twelve Apostles
• Zombieland (Fox) - small screen take on the 2009 feature of the same name

/Ove

Featured posts

• 2011 Fall and Winter Science Fiction & Fantasy Recommendations

My Top Military Science Fiction Series MkIIhas 34 series or universes of interesting military scifi.

Monthly Posts

Cybermage’s Monthly Journal January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October

New SFF Books in November

My pick of books for November. Read my recommendations here or click on the covers for larger pictures.

Books Read

Click the covers for a larger image and the titles for reviews.

1. The Ninth Circle (Tour of the Merrimack 5) by R. M. Meluch (Daw 2011)
   
2. Anniversary Day (Retrieval Artist 8) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Audible Frontiers 2011, 1st 2011)
   
3. Duplicate Effort (Retrival Artist 7) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Audible Frontiers 2009, 1st 2008)
   
4. Recovery Man (Retrieval Artist 6) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Audible Frontiers 2008, 1st 2007)

Books Received

Click the covers for a larger image

Books bought by me

1. Anniversary Day (Retrieval Artist 8) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Audible Frontiers 2011, 1st 2011)
   
2. The Doomsday Vault (Clockwork Empire 1) by Steven Harper (Roc 2011)

I have become fascinated with Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s Retrival Artist series. It is a fascinating universe where treaties between sapient races sometimes lead to tragic consequences for humans that doesn’t understand the local laws. Some to human trivial transgressions can lead to death or slavery for life for you and your family. Thus disappearance services that help humans to new identities but also alien death squads that operates on Terran soil. Greed is the driving force behind status quo which does feel very current. The main character Miles Flint is a retrieval artist, something like a private detective that finds disappeared while protecting them from the law. I would characterize it as  futuristic criminal thriller with a bit of social critique. A warm recommendation to the audio-books too.

/Ove

Featured posts

• 2011 Fall and Winter Science Fiction & Fantasy Recommendations

My Top Military Science Fiction Series MkIIhas 34 series or universes of interesting military scifi.

Monthly Posts

Cybermage’s Monthly Journal January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October

New SFF Books in November

My pick of books for November. Read my recommendations here or click on the covers for larger pictures.

Books Read

Click the covers for a larger image and the titles for reviews.

1. Paloma (Retrival Artist 5) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Audible Frontiers 2008, 1st 2006)
   
2. Buried Deep (Retrival Artist 4) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Audible Frontiers 2008, 1st 2005)

Reviews of Earlier Reads

Click the covers for a larger image and the titles for reviews.

1. The Iron Jackal (Tale of the Ketty Jay 3) by Chris Wooding (Gollancz 2011)
   

Please see my list of books pending review and ask for a review

Books Received

Click the covers for a larger image

Books bought by me

1. Duplicate Effort (Retrival Artist 7) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Audible Frontiers 2009, 1st 2008)
   
2. Recovery Man (Retrieval Artist 6) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Audible Frontiers 2008, 1st 2007)
   
3. Paloma (Retrival Artist 5) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Audible Frontiers 2008, 1st 2006)
   
4. The Children of the Sky (A Fire Upon the Deep 2) by Vernor Vinge (Tor)
5. Buried Deep (Retrival Artist 4) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Audible Frontiers 2008, 1st 2005)
   
6. Daylight on Iron Mountain (ChungKuo 2) by David Wingrove (Corvus 2011)

Welcome to Cybermage and this look at October.

It has been an interesting month. Daring and Master of the House of Darts are my top books of the month but the others was good too. Military science Fiction seems to be a theme.

The last summer shows have ended and the ones I care for has been renewed. Haven‘s renewal was especially appriciated. Fall season is shaping up. I like many of the new shows even Terra Nova.

November will bring the return of many summer shows starting with Covert Affairs and Burn Notice.

Books Read

Click the covers for a larger image and linked titles for reviews.

1. Master of the House of Darts (Obsidian and Blood 3) by Aliette de Bodard (Angry Robot) – review copy
   
2. Daring (Kris Longknife 9) by Mike Shepherd (Ace 2011)
   
3. K55 Lögnernas Valv [English:K55 Vault of Lies] by Erika Oscarius (Foldspace 2011) – review copy
   
4. Consequences (Retrieval Artist 3) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Audible Frontiers 2008, 1st 2004)
   
5. Extinction (Star Force 2)  B. V. Larson (Audible Frontiers 2011)
   
6. Swarm (Star Force 1)  B. V. Larson (Audible Frontiers 2010)
   
7. Extremes (Retrieval Artist 2) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Audible Frontiers 2008, 1st 2003)
   
8. Into the Hinterlands (The Citizen 1) by David Drake & John Lambshead (Baen 2011)
   
9. Initiate (The Unfinished Song book 1) by Tara Maya (Misque 2010) – review copy
   
10. The Disappeared (Retrieval Artist 1) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Audible Frontiers 2008, 1st 2002)
11. Redoubtable (Kris Longknife 8) by Mike Shepherd (Ace 2010) – reread
12. Stark’s Crusade (Stark’s War 3) by Jack Campbell (Titan Books 2011, 1st 2002)
    
13. Stark’s Command (Stark’s War 2) by Jack Campbell (Titan Books 2011, 1st 2001)
14. Stark’s War (Stark’s War 1) by Jack Campbell (Titan Books 2011, 1st 2000)

Please see my to be read list and request reviews

Reviews of Earlier Reads

Click the covers for a larger image and the titles for reviews.

1. Rogue (A Freehold novel) by Michael Z. Williamson (Baen 2011)
2. A Beautiful Friendship (Honorverse YA) by David Weber (Baen)

Please see my list of books pending review and request reviews

Books Received

Click the covers for a larger image

Review copies

1. Tusen Solarars Rike [Eng: Thousand Suns' Realm] by Carl-Magnus Åsard (Wela 2011) – review copy
   
2. K55 Lögnernas Valv [English:K55 Vault of Lies] by Erika Oscarius (Foldspace 2011) – review copy

Books bought by me

1. The Other by Matthew Hughes (Underland Press 2011)
   
2. Daring (Kris Longknife 9) by Mike Shepherd (Ace 2011)
3. Ganymede (Clockwork Century 4) by Cherie Priest (Tor 2011)
4. The Iron Jackal (Tale of the Ketty Jay 3) by Chris Wooding (Gollanxz 2011)
5. Echo (Alex Benedict 5) by Jack McDevitt (Ace 2011, 1st 2010)
   
6. The Kingdom of Gods (The Inheritance Trilogy 3) by N. K. Jemisin (Orbit 2011)
   
7. Consequences (Retrieval Artist 3) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Audible Frontiers 2008, 1st 2004)
8. Extinction (Star Force 2)  B. V. Larson (Audible Frontiers 2011)
9. Swarm (Star Force 1)  B. V. Larson (Audible Frontiers 2010)
10. Extremes (Retrieval Artist 2) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Audible Frontiers 2008, 1st 2003)
11. The Disappeared (Retrieval Artist 1) by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (Audible Frontiers 2008, 1st 2002)
12. Into the Hinterlands (The Citizen 1) by David Drake & John Lambshead (Baen 2011)
    

This show looks somewhat promising – a mute kid that can see the future and Kiefer Sutherland as his single dad. Anything with Kiefer Sutherland should be good and the trailer is intriguing. I am looking forward to it. It was expected early 2012 but the press release now says Spring.

(from Fox’s press release, September 2011) Fox has ordered 13 episodes of the new drama series Touch, created and written by Tim Kring (“Heroes”), it was announced today by Kevin Reilly, President of Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Comp

“Touch is another ambitious series from Tim Kring that is beautifully executed and has incredibly resonant themes for our times,” said Kevin Reilly, President of Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company. ”With Kiefer back on the network as the face and force behind this creative new series, I’m confident it will resonate with viewers this spring.”

Touch, starring Emmy and Golden Globe winner Kiefer Sutherland, will join the schedule in the spring of 2012. The pilot was directed and executive-produced by Francis Lawrence (“Water for Elephants”), and the show comes from Chernin Entertainment and Tailwind Productions, in association with 20th Century Fox Television. Touch is a distinct and colorful drama in which science and spirituality intersect with the hopeful premise that we are all interconnected, tied in invisible ways to those whose lives we are destined to alter and impact. At the center of Touch is Martin Bohm(played by Sutherland), a widower and single father, haunted by an inability to connect to his mute 11-year-old son, Jake (David Mazouz). After multiple failed attempts at keeping Jake in school, Martin is visited by Clea Hopkins (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), a social worker sent to evaluate Jake’s well-being. Everything changes when Martin discovers that Jake possesses the gift of staggering genius – the ability to see things that no one else can and the patterns that connect seemingly unrelated events. Jake is indeed communicating. But it’s not with words, it’s with numbers. Martin meets Artur Dewitt (Danny Glover), a professor and an expert on children who possess special gifts when it comes to numbers. Now, it’s up to Martin to decipher the meaning and connect the numbers to the cast of characters whose lives they affect.

Cast:

• Danny Glover as Arthur DeWitt
• David Mazouz as Jake Bohm
• Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Clea Hopkins
• Kiefer Sutherland as Martin Bohm

Welcome to Cybermage and this look at September.

September is a hectic month with all the Fall season premieres and returning shows. That’s my excuse for not reading more and I stand by it. I read eight great books and REAMDE was the best book, easily Neal Stephenson‘s most approachable book for none genre fans. The Recollection was best science fiction with a lot of great ideas. I think I need to make an honorary mention of Armor by John Steakley too, a wonderful military science fiction that deserve to be read more.

New Shows

Person of Interest got a good start. Finch and Reese has interesting dynamics. Two believed to be dead guys fighting crime that is about to happen. Their first case is Anna ‘Handsome’ a district attorney. Surprising twists and a good cast. I like it so far.

A Gifted Man is kind of a genre show too. Mike lives to be a surgeon. One day he has dinner with his former wife. The day after he learns she has been dead for a fortnight. Not so much genre as human interest and drama but I want to watch a few more episodes.

I hold my opinion on Secret Circle for now.

Terra Nova‘s premiere was better than expected. I like where it is going with the mysterious scripts and the conflict with the sixes who are a mystery in themselves. It also has the usual family drama but I like the chemistry of the characters. So just because I liked it is probably going to be cancelled. I am not bitter just experienced.

Some new non-genre shows also premiered and I did watch some of them too. Prime Suspects got a spunky female detective you should check out. The boys club there was a great angle but it felt more British than American. Another female lead to check out is Carrie Wells in Unforgettable. Revenge however is more on the dark side with a female bent on revenge. Cute girls and sinister plans. Was that murder we saw in the beginning the end of the season? I hate knowing things like that. Charlies Angels première was a bit shocking but sexy girls doesn’t make a show, sexy girls, cars and guns though… I expected more humor and banter but that could be the old show talking. Comedy wise I liked Two Broke Girls and New Girl not so much which seems to be the opposite to the general opinion. One episode doesn’t make a show though, a new show deserves at least three episodes.

Returning shows

Lost Girl premiered the first Sunday with an excellent but a bit sad episode. Derek is back sans passion. The carnival people were creepy and Kenzi was hilarious. There is an added tension with this new crooked leader of the light Fae and I am just about to watch yesterdays episode. The lovers conundrum between Bo and Dyson reminds me of Buffy and Dark Angel. I am so looking forward to the rest of the season.

Fringe, my Fringe popped season four with the two Olivias discussing trust. Seems like there is very little of that going on between the two universes and what looked like a doppelganger attack doesn’t help either. The observers want to keep Peter’s disappearance hidden for reasons unknown while the cast keep missing something ore someone wherever they go. The “I need to check her anus” comment from Walter just cracked me up, especially by Astrid’s deadpan reaction.  The new enemies are cool and Peter is definitely around there somewhere. This is a season I am really looking forward to.

Supernatural continues where last season left off. Dean is fixing the car and Sam is fighting the memories from hell while Castiel visits his new flock. The news about god in a raincoat looking sexy is so typical of this show. This season is supposed to be a return to the road movie of the past but so far it has taken a different path than I expected. I did not expect that ending but the on the run Butch and Sundance talks makes sense now.

The wonderful Nathan Fillion returned with Castle. The murder of Becket’s father case grows into a full conspiracy and Castle would do anything to protect Kate even lie to her and she has already been shot once because of it. Nothing stops him from investigating on his own though. Looks like another great season. I know it is not genre but it is Nathan Fillion, which is enough.

The Big Bang Theory returned with the usual fun. I so understand why it was renewed for next year too. That is one of my favorite shows. Two and a Half Men came back without Charlie and the first episode was hilarious.

Finales

True Blood‘s finale Sunday the 12th closed a lot of this season’s plots and laid up for the next. Poor Lafayette but at least the witch is dead. Debbie Pelt survived longer than in the books wonder if the investigation and persecution will go along the same ways as the books though? Do Sookie leaving Bill and Eric leave a spot for Alcid? It didn’t look that way, maybe there is another were for Sookie? I remember a Tiger from the books. Russel is out of the foundation and the vampires are on the verge on civil war. Time for a peace conference? I don’t know. Next season could go many ways It might even be a fae war.

Another genre show bites the dust. ABC Family’s Nine Lives of Chloe King was canceled this month with hints that they would be remaking Beauty & The Beast instead. If you have not seen Nine Lives yet I advice strongly against it. The finale leaves a horrible cliffhanger you will never see the resolution of.

Next month has quite a few genre premieres Merlin, American Horror Story, Sanctuary, The Walking Dead, Once Upon A Time, Grimm and Chuck. It will be a sweet sorrow watching the final season of Chuck.

You can read about Haven and Doctor Who’s finales here

Books Read

Click the covers for a larger image and linked titles for reviews.
   
   

1. Rogue (A Freehold novel) by Michael Z. Williamson  (Baen)
   
2. Armor by John Steakley (Blackstone Audio 2009, 1st 1984)
   
3. War in Heaven (Veteran book 2) by Gavin G. Smith (Gollancz 2011)
4. How Firm A Foundation (Safehold 5) by David Weber (Tor)
5. Reamde by Neal Stephenson (William Morrow 2011)
6. The Departure (Owner Trilogy 1) by Neal Asher (Tor UK)
7. The Recollection by Gareth L. Powell (Solaris 2011)
8. The End Specialist by Drew Magary (Harper Voyager 2011) – review copy

Please see my to be read list and request reviews

Reviews of Earlier Reads

Click the covers for a larger image and the titles for reviews.

1. Debris (The Veiled Worlds 1) by Jo Anderton (Angry Robot) – review copy
2. The Highest Frontier (The Frontera Cycle 1) by Joan Slonczewski (Tor)  - review copy
3. Finders Keepers by Russ Colchamiro (3 Finger Prints 2010)

Please see my list of books pending review and request reviews

Books Received

Click the covers for a larger image

Review copies

1. Zone One by Colson Whitehead (Vintage Publishing) – review copy
   

Books bought by me

1. Rogue (A Freehold novel) by Michael Z. Williamson  (Baen)
   
2. Armor by John Steakley (Blackstone Audio 2009, 1st 1984)
   
3. War in Heaven (Veteran book 2) by Gavin G. Smith (Gollancz)
   
4. How Firm A Foundation (Safehold 5) by David Weber (Tor)
   
5. Stark’s War (Stark’s War 1) by Jack Campbell (Titan Books 2011, 1st 2000)
6. Stark’s Crusade (Stark’s War 3) by Jack Campbell (Titan Books 2011, 1st 2002)
7. Stark’s Command (Stark’s War 2) by Jack Campbell (Titan Books 2011, 1st 2001)
   
8. The Departure (Owner Trilogy 1) by Neal Asher (Tor UK)
   
9. Reamde by Neal Stephenson (William Morrow 2011)
   
10. The Recollection by Gareth L. Powell (Solaris 2011)
    

Premiere: Friday, September 23   Order: 23 episodes

My cover of the upcoming Fall season for science fiction and fantasy fans continues.

The Winchester boys will be back with season 7 in September. We left them after Castiel declared himself a god and the new season will continue the moments after.

I am not sure Sam has dealt fully with his tortured soul so that is going to be an issue. The whole new godhood thingy is going to be an issue to be sure. I am a bit unsure about the new Castiel though. I loved the old one so much he was my favorite character. Cas will be having daddy issues and we will learn more in the first couple of episodes.

Crowley and Jo are returning too.

I feel a bit sorry for Dean he will have both Sam with the wall down reliving Hell and Cas on a power trip to deal with.

Slightly Spoilery Synopsis: Now, in season seven, the Winchesters will find themselves in an increasingly sinister, changing landscape, up against a new foe unlike anything they’ve ever fought. They’ll find their old tricks, weapons and hiding places all rendered useless. All they’ll have is each other. And the certainty that, like the last of the cowboy outlaws, whatever they face, they’re not going down without a fight. And the certainty that, like the last of the cowboy outlaws, whatever they face, they’re not going down without a fight. The series stars Jared Padalecki as Sam Winchester, Jensen Ackles as Dean Winchester and Misha Collins as Castiel.

The first episode is named Meet the Boss who would be Castiel.

Premiere: Friday, September 23   Order: 22 episodes

My cover of the upcoming Fall season for science fiction and fantasy fans continues.

Fringe is one of my favorite shows all categories. It is something of a modern Archive X with a great following even if one could be happier with the ratings. It will be back this Fall after a game changing season finale this Spring. Peter Bishop connected the two universes with the machine then he ceased to exist so this season starts with Peter gone. Much has Changed is Fox theme for this new season.

I doubt Peter is gone forever especially after his appearance at Comic-Con but we might have to wait and see. But one can speculate a bit about it. Rumors that he would come back as someone else has been denied and he has a contract for this season.  The question is rather when he is coming back.

The new situation can be interesting. We have two Olivia, Two Fringe teams and a lot of interesting technology not to forget the animosity between the two Walters. Will there be joint missions? or will they raise a new iron curtain between the two realms? A popular speculation is that Peter will become an Observer. I am interesting how people’s lives has changed without Peter. Olivia could be a totally different person and Walter never kidnapped Peter from the other universe so why did he go there? Interesting questions …

One thing we can be sure of is that the fringe events have not been stopped by the merger or there wouldn’t be a show.

The first episode will be called A Sort of Homecoming Neither Here Nor There but rumor has it that Peter won’t be in it.

Premiere: September 22   Order: 13 episodes

My cover of the upcoming Fall season for science fiction and fantasy fans continues with Person of Interest.

Extrapolate our current technology and apply significant funds to it and you could probably have something like what is used in this new show. It is not ‘real’ science fiction but rather csi-fi from those entertaining but mostly unrealistic crime lab shows. A software that uses pattern recognition to identify people about to be involved in violent crimes is not far beyond what we are able to do today.

Here Finch, a billionaire software-genius played by Michael Emerson (Lost) decides to do a Bruce Wayne but lack the physical talent so he recruits a presumed dead former CIA operative named Reese played by Jim Caviezel and together they work to stop crimes before they happens.

It looks like a mystery of week kind of thing that makes it easy to pick an episode here and there. Reese’s past is probably good for a background arc or two. How come he is presumed dead? The videos so far shows a lot of action but no female casts so I assume this is a testosterone feast - a mixture of Human Target first season and Enemy of the State?

Reese’s actions will catch the attention of the NYPD, including homicide detective Carter (Henson), and Fusco (Kevin Chapman), a cop who Reese uses to his advantage.

I find action without some love interest pretty boring so I hope there is some we haven’t seen yet. Maybe Reese have an old flame he pines over but can’t see because he has to stay presumed dead?

I will probably watch this expecting light entertainment, some spiffy state of the art surveillance technology and lots of action. CBS have a good track record for this kind of show and the trailer looks promising.

What do you think?

The “Person of Interest” cast includes Jim Caviezel, Emmy Award-winner Michael Emerson, Academy Award-nominee Taraji P. Henson and Kevin Chapman.

The “Person of Interest” TV show is produced by Warner Bros. Television. Emmy Award winners J.J. Abrams and Bryan Burk (“Lost”), Academy Award-nominee Jonathan Nolan (“Memento”), David Semel (“Heroes”) and Greg Plageman (“Cold Case”) are the executive producers.

Premiere: Thursday, September 15   Order: 22?

The Vampire Diaries is one of those teenage shows (like Nine Lives and Teen Wolf)that is entertaining enough to make my to watch pile. I have not started on season two yet but hope to finish it before the premiere.

I saved up the first season to watch last summer too. I remember being so impressed that I promised myself to watch every episode as it aired. But time constrained forced it to the pile again.

Season three teases a blossoming relationship between Elena (Nina Dobrev) and Damon (Ian Somerhalder) as Stefan’s (Paul Wesley) turn to the dark side.

Executive producer Julie Plec recently revealed that Stefan will still be out of town when the show returns in September. Stefan agreed to leave Mystic Falls with Klaus (Joseph Morgan) in the second season finale in order to save Damon’s life.

Plec previously announced that Elena will be celebrating her birthday when the show returns for its third season, confessing that Elena’s relationship with Damon will become increasingly complicated in Stefan’s absence.

“Over the course of the season, Elena will be struggling with a deep, deep attraction for Damon,” Plec said. “That’s going to be a big problem for her.”

The Walking Dead (AMC) – returning season 2

Premiere: Friday, October 16   Order: 13 episodes

This was one of the great new shows last year. Now it is back with more than the double number of episodes and zombies. Season 2 picks up about five seconds in an overlap with the first season’s finale according to what we learned at Comic Con. The group has just left the CDC.

Rick, Lori and the other survivors leave Atlanta for a more rural setting in season 2. Things are going to get though as they start to run out of food, ammunition and other resources. The group is threatened by inner strife.

For fans of the graphic novels I can reveal that Michonne wont be appearing until season 3, but she is officially in the series, which is good news. Hershel’s farm will most likely be in this season and maybe we will see the Prison and the Governor too.

Excited? Pity it is not October yet.

Premiere: Thursday, September 15   Order: 13 episodes

It is that time of the year again when casting news and occasional promotional photos turns into trailers. The Secret Circle is a new supernatural series from the people behind The Vampire Diaries. This one has a mystery at its center. Young Cassie is a witch but why was that covered up?

I am all for a series about teenage witches if it is the least playful. The trailer doesn’t give a clear answer so I will have to watch a couple of episodes first. How about you?

Cassie Blake was a happy, normal teenage girl – until her mother Amelia dies in what appears to be a tragic accidental fire. Orphaned and deeply saddened, Cassie moves in with her warm and loving grandmother Jane in the beautiful small town of Chance Harbor, Washington – the town her mother left so many years before – where the residents seem to know more about Cassie than she does about herself.

As Cassie gets to know her high school classmates, including sweet-natured Diana and her handsome boyfriend Adam, brooding loner Nick, mean-girl Faye and her sidekick Melissa, strange and frightening things begin to happen. When her new friends explain that they are all descended from powerful witches, and they’ve been waiting for Cassie to join them and complete a new generation of the Secret Circle, Cassie refuses to believe them – until Adam shows her how to unlock her incredible magical powers.

But it’s not until Cassie discovers a message from her mother in an old leather-bound book of spells hidden in her mother’s childhood bedroom, that she understands her true and dangerous destiny. What Cassie and the others don’t yet know is that darker powers are at play, powers that might be linked to the adults in the town, including Diana’s father and Faye’s mother – and that Cassie’s mother’s death might not have been an accident. The series stars Britt Robertson as Cassie Blake, Thomas Dekker as Adam Conant, Gale Harold as Charles Meade, Phoebe Tonkin as Fay Chamberlain, Jessica Parker Kennedy as Melissa, Shelley Hennig as Diana Meade, Louis Hunter as Nick, Ashley Crow as Jane Blake and Natasha Henstridge as Dawn Chamberlain. Based upon the book series by L.J. Smith (author of “The Vampire Diaries” book series).

See more The Secret Circle – Series Preview (6.31 minutes)

Premiere: Monday, August 29  Order: 12 episodes

This one was flying under my horizon until I stumbled on it online. MTV has been doing some fine with Teen Wolf and this one is about zombies, vampires and werewolves. What is not to like about that? I know it is a bit early for Fall but I included it anyway.

Death Valley is a scripted horror-comedy that captures the exploits of the men and women of the Undead Task Force (UTF) – an elite branch of the LAPD that was formed in 2009 when the San Fernando Valley became overrun by zombies, vampires and werewolves. While scientists frantically search for an answer to what caused the outbreak, the UTF is responsible for eradicating the monsters, or at least containing them to the Valley. Documenting each case and paranormal encounter is a daring camera crew that is embedded with the UTF from the beginning to end of every shift.  As a result, the documentary crew becomes central to the storytelling and is as much a part of the action as the young cops and the undead they encounter. Always alternating between humor and horror, Death Valley at times borrows from the conventions of reality television creating a visual style that is a blend of follow documentary and sci-fi action. The series stars an ensemble cast including Caity Lotz (who plays “Stephanie” on MAD MEN) Tania Raymonde (who played “Alex Rousseau” on LOST) and Charlie Sanders (Funny or Die’s The Big Dog).

This has been an exhausting week. I think the Americans have the right idea with AC in every room. Too hot weather to do anything coherent for any extended period this week. I haven’t read any books at all which is unusual. I don’t think it has happened once since I started this blog.

I have done some TV and started trimming the to-watch pile. No Ordinary Family was not as bad as everyone said it was in the end but I can see why the network canceled it. I would have liked to see what a second season would have taken them with the government knowing and all though.

This summer’s new shows has so far been a surprise. I felt almost like mocking Teen Wolf as yet another supernatural show about angsty teenagers but it surprised me. It is indeed quite entertaining even if it doesn’t blow my socks off. The other new show on ABC The Nine Lives of Chloe King isn’t quite as good but the show is finding it’s way. There are some bad acting that I have trouble with there and it is already starting to diverge in major ways from the books. It is still one of the episodes I watch first every week.

Next week is going to be my first holiday week so I have not planned anything. I will take the days as they come and do whatever I feel like.

Torchwood: Miracle Day is something I am looking forward to on Friday though. One day nobody dies. Torchwood is dead or so everybody thinks but Jack and Gwen are back to save the day. This is a cross-Atlantic venture both in the real world and on the small screen. I am looking forward to see how they handle the new American additions to the show named Oswald and Esther. It is an interesting clash of cultures as British shows tend to take a different path than their American counterparts. British shows are shorter and more deadly to the main characters and they are in my opinion more realistic from a social perspective. I recommend that you tune in for some intelligent entertainment I will.

/Ove

Featured posts

• Cybermage’s Summer Reading Recommendations
• The New TV Season for SciFi Fans [Summer 2011]
• Forthcoming SF&F Books (May 2011-2013) is out and we cover most of this years covers by now.

My Top Military Science Fiction Series MkII has 34 series or universes of interesting military scifi.

Monthly Posts

• Cybermage’s Monthly Journal June 2011
• Cybermage’s Monthly Journal May 2011
• Cybermage’s Monthly Journal April 2011
• Cybermage’s Monthly Journal March 2011
• Cybermage’s Monthly Journal February 2011
• Cybermage’s Monthly Journal January 2011

New SFF Books in July

My pick of books for June. Read my recommendations here or click on the covers for larger pictures.

New SFF Books in June

My pick of books for June. Read my recommendations here or click on the covers for larger pictures.

Read this week

I think this is the first week in a long time I have not read any books.

Reviews of Earlier Reads

Click the covers for a larger image and the titles for reviews.

1. Dead Reckoning (True Blood 12) by Charlaine Harris (Gollancz 2011)
   

Please see my list of books pending review and request reviews

..

Alphas (Syfy)
New Series – July 11 (12 episodes)

Five ordinary people becomes an extraordinary team of Alphas – imbued with hyper-normal mental and physical abilities. Working for the Defense Department they investigates cases involving other Alphas. Sounds familiar and the early trailers was plain action. So at first I thought of it as less brainy Heroes but the more I see of it the more positive and expectant I become. I am definitely going to tune in.

Here is the latest trailer:

For more summer TV check out The New TV Season for SciFi Fans [Summer 2011]

Primeval (Watch)
Returning season 5 - May 24 (6 episodes)

The returning Primeval cast still looks great. It is more than a bit cheesy but has a certain entertainment value. This season will focus more on Matt Anderson’s secret mission and Philip Burton’s true ambitions for Connor Temple and the ARC. Most series are over and we wait on the summer shows to wait so this is a great time to get us some time-travel fun.

For more information on the Summer Season go to the New SFF Season

• Science Fiction Series: 1 new and 4 returning
• Urban fantasy/Supernatural: 2 new and 2 returning
• Superhero: 1 new
• Animated: 1 returning

The Nine Lives of Chloe King (ABC)
New Series – June 14

This is said to have a sci-fi backdrop but looks like pure urban fantasy about a young girl, Chloe King who dies only to discover that she lives again. Guess that’s were the nine lives comes in.  She is the protector of an ancient race hunted by human assassins for millennia. Corny? maybe, but the trailer looked like good fun. Chloe is played by Skylar Samuels (The Gates). It is based on the book series The Nine Lives of Chloe King by Liz Braswell.

Alphas (Syfy)
New Series – July 11 (12 episodes)

Five ordinary people becomes an extraordinary team of Alphas – imbued with hyper-normal mental and physical abilities. Working for the Defense Department they investigate cases involving other Alphas. Sounds familiar and the trailers so far was plain action. A less brainy Heroes? Personally I think the whole superhero thing has been overdone a bit but I will give it a try. It is summer.

Falling Skies (TNT)
New Series - June 10 (10 episodes)

People try to survive and fight back after an alien invasion that destroyed most of the human race. It is a rare bird – real scifi without supernatural elements, at least I hope so.  Good cast and a twist, the aliens kidnap teenagers and turn them into killing machines. This could be the really good.

Teen Wolf (MTV)
New Series - June 5 (12 episodes)

Another supernatural highschool show? Might be watchable but I doubt I get anything more than girls in short skirts out of it and while that might attract a younger audience but I want some fun too like in the original movie. This might get a bit teenage-angsty from the look of it. I will check out the first episodes but most likely just put them on a pile for a rainy day.

Primeval (Watch)
Returning season 5 - May 24 (6 episodes)

The new Primeval cast is light on the eyes. It is more than a bit cheesy but has a certain entertainment value. This season will focus more on Matt Anderson’s secret mission and Philip Burton’s true ambitions for Connor Temple and the ARC. It airs in a period with not much else on so I am game.

Futurama (Comedy Central)
Returning season 6 – June 23 (13 episodes)

This is the second part of season six. This is one of my favorite animated series and just right for some summer fun. It is a science fiction sitcom so we will have to take as it comes, prepare to be entertained. Bender and company are renewed for season 7 with at least 26 episodes to air in 2012 and 2013.

True Blood (HBO)
Returning season – June 26 (12 episodes)

My favorite non urban fantasy returns with witches and a nude Erik running in the woods. Freely built on Charlaine Harris’ fourth and maybe fifth Southern Vampires novels Dead to the World and Dead as a Doornail. Last season was a bit twisted and added some great new characters which of some will return this season.

Torchwood: Miracle Day (Starz)
Returning season 4 – July 4 (10 episodes)

This year’s mysteries starts with the day no one dies. Captain Jack Harkness and Gwen Cooper are back and one of the season arc is about how they team up with CIA agent Rex Matheson and Ester, an analyst who has no idea what Torchwood is. It sounds a bit like they will take us back to the inter-personal drama that was so delightful the first seasons. This is a given watch for me.

Eureka (Syfy)
Returning season 4.5 – July 11

Eureka is a favorite. One have to embrace lighthearted fun when one finds it today. After Eureka’s time shift last season things continues to unravel. Add an astronomical accident, a race to go where no man gone before and dark forces. Sounds like the ordinary romp maybe with a bit of space adventure?

Warehouse 13 (Syfy)
Returning season 3 – July 11 (13 episodes)

I wonder if Wells will be back? Myka left the team last we saw them, but I am pretty sure she is back now or soon again. There is a new agent though, Steve Jinks played by Aaron Ashmore (Smallville), an ATF agent with an innate ability to detect when someone’s lying.  Another lighthearted show just right for me. Last year they did a crossover with Eureka. Will we get one with Haven this year?

Haven (Syfy)
Returning season 2 – July 15 (13 episodes)

The continued adventures of FBI agent Audrey Parker as she tries to uncover her past and deal with the supernatural mysteries of a little town called Haven. This season Audrey and her two men are joined by recurring guests Jason Priestly who will play Chris Weekly, a handsome but anti-social marine biologist who must deal with an affliction most would consider a blessing and Vinessa Antoine who will play Evidence “Evi” Ryan, a former con-artist and lover of Duke’s (Eric Balfour). This fun should hold a bit into fall and be back for a Christmas special.

That was all I got genre wise for summer. There are a few non-genre shows I will watch too. The Glades (A&E),  Switched at Birth (ABC), Covert Affairs (USA), Memphis Beat (TNT), Suits (USA), Wilfred (FX), The Great State of Georgia (ABC), Royal Pains (USA), Necessary Roughness (USA), Rizzoli & Isles (TNT) and The Closer (TNT) to name a few.

Which ones will you be watching?

Heroes Ripoff?

This is the first trailer from Syfy’s upcoming summer show Alphas. Syfy has picked up Alphas for a 13 episodes (90 minute pilot + 11 episodes) for a release in July this summer.

It is easy to think of this is yet another superhero show but it has some redeeming features, with the connection to CIA, FBI and Pentagon, the quirky members and the different kind of superpowers the heroes have. On the other hand it is just another plain-cloth superhero drama and the trailer reminds me of Heroes. The first season of Heroes was great even if I usually don’t go for superheroes shows. I am reluctantly positive to what they are doing here and it looks a bit more action oriented which I like. I will watch it, will you?

Alphas started life as Section 8 which went to ABC after a bidding war in 2007 but there it cooled off during the writer’s strike and now Syfy has dusted it off and renamed it.  Will the writer behind  X-Men: The Last Stand make this a great show? The pilot was directed by Jack Bender (Lost).

Alphas follows a team of ordinary citizens who possess extraordinary and unusual mental skills. Using physical feats and uniquely advanced mental abilities, this unlikely team takes the law into their own hands and uncovers what the CIA, FBI and Pentagon have not been able or willing to solve. These gifted individuals must balance their quirky personalities and disparate backgrounds with their not always visible powers as they work to solve crimes, stop the ticking time bomb and catch the enemy

Cast

The following contains spoilers!

• David Strathairn as Leigh Rosen the overseer/team leader/prescribing doctor and all around mother hen to the team: an eccentric, absent-minded professor at times, who is also a cunning and manipulative power-player willing to bend the rules in pursuit of his objectives.
• Ryan Cartwright (Bones) as Gary Bell a member of the team who has Asperger’s syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder. His Alpha ability allows him to “read” wireless transmissions passing through the ether – e-mails, cell phone communications, television signals, etc.
• Warren Christie (Happy Town, October Road) as Christian Hicks a new recruit on the team with a history of psychological problems, drug abuse and an anti-authoritarian streak whose Alpha skill is hyperkinesis – near-perfect dexterity and hand/eye coordination.
• Malik Yoba (Defying Gravity, New York Undercover) as Bill Harken a former FBI agent from working class roots. Harken’s Alpha skill allows him to intentionally activate a “fight-or-flight mechanism” producing a power surge of adrenaline giving him increased strength, speed and immunity from pain.
• Laura Mennell (Watchmen) as Nina Theroux a complicated team member, seductive, intelligent and confident, Nina’s Alpha ability allows her to influence people into doing whatever she wishes but her power can sometimes spin out of control. Her skill also comes with a personal drawback in that she can never be sure if anyone’s feelings for her are real. Nina was the first team member enlisted by Dr. Rosen to whom she remains extremely loyal.
• Azita Ghanizada will have a regular role if the show goes forward as a series. She plays Rachel who, from an early age, has been able to “hyper-intensify” her senses, one at a time—vision, hearing, taste, and smell. Her mother and father—who are conservative parents—thought she was cursed and discouraged this unique and amazing ability. Overly sensitive—literally—Rachel has always felt ashamed and rejected. With Dr. Rosen’s help and encouragement, she’s learning to appreciate her skill and grow increasingly confident and adventurous.
• Callum Keith Rennie plays Don Wilson, a Washington bureaucrat, and Lee Rosen’s superior and contact inside the Pentagon.