Upcoming Sci-Fi TV Series: Midseason 2011-2012 (updated)

As before, I have been looking out for upcoming TV Series. In this Hub, I discuss the upcoming science fiction and supernatural shows that will premiere in Midseason 2011-2012. I have included a synopsis and a preview for each of them, plus my thoughts on the shows. Finally, I’ve included a list of Do's and Don'ts.

Find out on the right side how these shows are doing in the ratings and whether they'll get cancelled or renewed for a second season:

‘Awake’, also known as ‘REM’, is an NBC science fiction crime series starring Jason Isaacs (‘Harry Potter’). The show will premiere in March 2012, with the exact date still to be announced. The theoretical issue of quantum immortality, dying in one reality but staying alive in another, is taken on in this show, with one person able to cross over to the other reality by falling asleep. Like ‘Alcatraz’, ‘Awake’ was one of the eight ‘Most Exciting New Series’ at the 1st Critics’ Choice Television Awards.

Update: After moving 'The Firm' to Saturday nights, NBC announced that 'Awake' will premiere on March 1st, in the Thursdays 10/9c timeslot.

After a tragic car accident involving police detective Michael Britton (Isaacs), his wife Hannah (Laura Allen, ‘The 4400’) and son Rex (Dylan Minette, ‘Prison Break’, ‘Lost’), Britton starts to live in two separate realities. In the one reality, his son died in the car crash, but his wife survived. When he falls asleep, he wakes up in the other reality, where his son survived the crash, but his wife did not. To better grasp what this constitutes, you should watch the preview below, because that makes things a lot clearer.

Not willing to let go of either of his loved ones, Britton starts living a double life, in each reality dealing with other work partners and problems following the death of either Hannah or Rex. To keep track of which reality he is currently in, he wears a red rubber band when he is in the Hannah-reality, and a green one when he is in the Rex-reality. Then, he starts noticing strange connections between the two realities.

The premise of this show looks very promising, and the preview seems very intriguing already. I’m wondering whether the series will just revolve around Britton switching reality and his coping with that, or that we’ll really get some answers to how this is possible. Either way, I’ll definitely be watching.

On one of her murder cases, SFPD detective Rebecca Madsen (Sarah Jones) finds a fingerprint that leads her to Jack Sylvane (Jeffrey Pierce), a long dead Alcatraz inmate. Madsen is immediately interested, as she has two former Alcatraz guards in her family, and once government agent Emerson Hauser (Sam Neill, ‘Jurassic Park’) tries to impede her investigation, she gets even more committed to find out what is going on. Madsen teams up with Dr. Diego ‘Doc’ Soto (Jorge Garcia, ‘Lost’), an Alcatraz expert and comic book writer. They find out that Sylvane is not only still alive, but he is terrorizing the streets of San Francisco. And if that is not enough, it turns out that he is not alone.

‘Alcatraz’ is the second J.J. Abrams show premiering in the 2011-2012 season after CBS’s ‘Person Of Interest’. The show will premiere on Monday January 16th, 2012 with a 2 hour episode at 8/7c on FOX, before assuming it’s regular timeslot at 9/8c on January 23rd. In June 2011, ‘Alcatraz’ was one of the eight ‘Most Exciting New Series’ at the 1st Critics’ Choice Television Awards.

Watching the preview, this is indeed an exciting new series, definitely one I’m looking forward to watch. Just from the preview, I’m already dying to know what this government agent Hauser knows, where those inmates have been all those years and what they are being set up to do.

On February 7th, paranormal/adventure/horror series ‘The River’ premieres in the 9/8c timeslot. For the first season of this Steven Spielberg produced series, 8 episodes have been ordered. The show stars Bruce Greenwood as Dr. Cole, Leslie Hope (‘24’) as his wife and Paul Blackthorne (‘24’) as Dr. Coles ex-producer. ABC and NBC got in a bidding war for ‘The River’ in September 2010, with ABC eventually out-bidding NBC.

Dr. Cole is a famous explorer, who entertains millions of kids with his nature show. Six months ago, he disappeared during an expedition in the Amazon trying to find ‘magic’. Lincoln, Dr. Cole’s son, has a troubled relationship with his father, but is now finally ready to bury the past. Just then, Cole’s emergency beacon goes off. Reluctantly, he joins his mother’s rescue expedition, which they fund by agreeing that Cole’s ex-producer films the search to make a documentary out of it.

For the horror series this is, the surrounding story is quite elaborate. Because of that, the show might attract a broader audience. The documentary style filming adds to the horror, which make the show a little less watchable for the average person. The so-called ‘magic’ that the crew finds seems a little weird to me, and the success of this show depends on the depth that this ‘magic’ has (are they just weird attacking monsters, or is there more to it?) and the balance between the adventure and expedition part and the horror and magic part. However, if you dig horror or other creepy shows, it’s worth trying this one out.

After reading these synopsises, watching the previews and listening to the rumors, here are the Do's and Don'ts for the Midseason 2011-2012 Sci-Fi TV series:

Do:

• Awake (NBC, March 1st, 2012)
• Alcatraz (FOX, January 16th, 2012)

Maybe:

• The River (ABC, February 7th, 2012)