Current Sci-Fi / Fantasy Shows
By Mark Wilson, About.com Guide to Sci-Fi / Fantasy
What's going on with your favorite sci-fi / fantasy shows? Who are these characters, and what are they about? What's going on behind the scenes? You'll find answers here. (For times and networks, see What's On When.)
- Pushing Daisies
- Reaper
- Sanctuary
- Sarah Connor Chronicles
- Smallville
- Stargate Atlantis
- Supernatural
- Torchwood
- Canceled Shows
Battlestar Galactica
The last survivors of humanity, escaping the destruction of the twelve colonies by the artificially created Cylons, battle internal friction and enemy infiltration on a quest to find the home of the lost thirteenth colony -- Earth.
Chuck
Chuck Bartowski is an ordinary computer techie helping shoppers at a big-box electronics store when an old college buddy sends him an email that downloads millions of government secrets from a destroyed supercomputer straight into Chuck's head. Now shadowed by secret agents, including the beautiful Sarah, Chuck reluctantly uses insights from the database in his brain to foil bad guys.
Doctor Who
The Doctor -- 900 years old and the last of the Time Lords -- travels the universe in a space-time machine called the TARDIS, fighting injustice and evil wherever he finds it.
- Essential information
- Characters and cast
- Review: Season 3
- Review: Doctor Who New Beginnings
- Quiz: How well do you know regeneration?
Fringe
FBI agent Olivia Dunham finds herself in the midst of a series of terrifying and unexplained events. Desperate for help she turns to fringe scientist Walter Bishop and his son, Peter, in an attempt to discover whether super-advanced technology is being used to experiment on humanity.
Eureka
Eureka is a secret town in the American northwest, a community of geniuses constantly advancing our technological capabilities. With all the strange experimenting that's going on, not to mention the even stranger personalities of its high-strung residents, keeping order in Eureka is a singular challenge. Former U.S. marshal Jack Carter (Colin Ferguson) solved a crisis on his way through town, revealing his knack for finding solutions even in inexplicable situations. Most of the experiments are run by Department of Defense-funded Global Dynamics.
Kyle XY
Kyle (Matt Dallas) is a teenage boy who woke up in the woods with no memory, no social skills, and no navel. Taken in by a friendly family, the Tragers, Kyle discovers that he has unusual intelligence, reflexes, and other abilities as he slowly peels apart the mystery of his past. Kyle now knows he was created by Adam Baylin in a cloning experiment. Though concerned for their safety, Kyle has returned to the Tragers so he wouldn't be alone. But Adam's corporate partners, Madacorp, control a second clone (called Jessi XX) and want to reclaim their "asset," Kyle; while Adam's friend Foss may not be what he appears.
Legend of the Seeker
Richard Cypher was a simple woodsman until a glamorous woman in white named Kahlan appeared in his secluded province looking for the Seeker -- a legendary recurring hero, not seen in a thousand years, prophesied to destroy evil. The wizard Zedd confirms that Richard is in fact the Seeker, but this fact has been hidden from everyone -- even Richard -- to protect him. Now the three quest to find a way to defeat the gathering strength of the evil Darken Rahl.
Life on Mars
Homicide detective Sam Tyler wakes up from a near-fatal car accident to find he's somehow back in 1973. Trapped in the past, encountering figures from his childhood, Sam decides his only hope for waking up from his delusion is to keep doing his job, solving cases and looking for clues as to why he's in 1973. Unfortunately, the cops in 1970s New York do things a little differently.
Heroes
Ordinary people discover that they have extraordinary abilities, and that they're not alone -- not only are there others like them scattered around the world, but there are those who seek to use their abilities for destruction and domination, and others who want to rid humanity of those with special powers.
Medium
Patricia Arquette stars as a mother who uses her psychic gifts to track down dangerous criminals. Allison's dreams provide answers to appalling crimes, some of which have remained unsolved and forgotten. Meanwhile devoted husband Joe struggles to come to terms with his wife's gifts even as their daughters start showing signs of psychic ability as well.
Pushing Daisies
Ned can touch dead things and bring them back to life. But if he touches them again, they go back to being dead, forever. So he can never touch the girl he loves, a woman named Chuck whom he accidentally brought back to life. Meanwhile Ned works with a private detective named Emerson to solve murders by momentarily bringing the victims back to life and asking them who killed them.
Reaper
Sam's stress-free life as a college dropout working at a home supply store is suddenly complicated by the news that his parents sold his soul to the devil before he was born -- and the devil has shown up to make good on the deal. Now Sam must work as the devil's bounty hunter, tracking down hell's escaped souls with the help of his friends Sock and Ben; but he can't share his secret with the girl he likes, a co-worker named Andi.
Sanctuary
Helen Magnus invites forensic psychologist Will Zimmermann to join her in providing sanctuary to the creatures of the hidden world Will has always suspected existed -- a world full of deviations from the normal both benign and harmful. Some of these "abnormals" Helen helps and protects; others, more dangerous, she keeps secure, protecting the outside world. Ashley, Helen's daughter, helps track and, if necessary, capture the creatures that are out there.
Sarah Connor Chronicles
A sci-fi drama based on the Terminator movies, following the fugitive Sarah Connor (Lena Headey) and her son John (Thomas Dekker) on the run from cyborgs sent from the future.
Smallville
Clark Kent faces new complications in his already strange life when his Kryptonian cousin, Kara, arrives on Earth and immediately becomes an object of Lex Luthor's obsession. Meanwhile he finally is able to be with Lana Lang, whom he's loved for years -- but has Lana been tainted by her abusive marriage to Lex?
Stargate Atlantis
Having discovered a means of traveling to the Pegasus Galaxy by means of the stargate technology created by the race of humans known as the Ancients, Stargate Command sent an expedition to the Ancients' long-abandoned base there, Atlantis. Only after arriving does the expedition discover that the Pegasus Galaxy is infested with the life-sucking race that defeated the Ancients -- the Wraith.
Supernatural
Sam and Dean Winchester are demon-hunters trained by their father. With hundreds of evil souls having recently been released from hell, the brothers find themselves facing a war, while Sam must deal with Dean's bargain to be sent to hell in a year in exchange for saving Sam's life.
Torchwood
In this spin-off of Doctor Who, Jack Harkness heads a secret task force to protect the Earth from alien threats called Torchwood. He's unusually well qualified for the job -- not only is he a friend and occasional traveling companion of the Time Lord known as The Doctor, he also -- thanks to a strange accident in the far future -- has become a "fact in time" who cannot die.
Canceled Shows
Recently canceled shows appear here. For older shows, see Classic Sci-Fi.
