Fall Sci-Fi Viewer’s Guide (2014)

Set your DVR! The 2014-2015 broadcast season is upon us, with the return of some great TV shows and the world premiere of some new hopefuls.

On the major U.S. broadcast networks the sci-fi and fantasy genre continues to be a popular place to develop new shows, though the green lights were a bit more conservative than last year. Comic book shows are certainly winning the day. The CW added Arrow spin-off The Flash, as well as angel drama The Messengers and zombie show iZombie. NBC has added Constantine and ABC has the immortality-themed Forever.

But perhaps the highest profile new series is Gotham, FOX’s Batman prequel show. We’re pretty excited to see it when Gotham officially kicks off the fall season this Monday (8/7c).

From the basic cable world Syfy is the one to watch, with the return of Haven this month and the launch of the space-based mini-series Ascension in November. TNT will also premiere The Librarians sometime in December.

At the end of the last broadcast season we announced that we will be covering a smaller list of shows here at SciFi Stream — traditional science fiction, comic book shows, and a select handful of fantasy favorites. All totaled we’re tracking six genre premieres in September, five in October, and one more in November.

Here’s the day-by-day list of what we are watching in the new fall season!

GOTHAM
NEW SERIES
FOX, 8/7c (September 22)

Maybe the highest-profile new genre premiere this season, Gotham takes us into the pre-Batman history of the dark and troubled city. See a young Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz, Touch) struggle with the murder of his parents; see young Selina Kyle become the cat burglar she is destined to be; and see the evolution of the Penguin, Riddler, Poison Ivy, and the rest of the infamous rogue’s gallery.

The show follows Detective Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) and his partner Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue). Count us in.

SLEEPY HOLLOW
SEASON TWO
FOX, 9/8c (September 22)

Things have gone from bad to worse now that Ichabod (Tom Mison) and Abbie (Nicole Beharie) have learned the identity of the second Horseman of the Apocalypse. The new season picks up on the cliffhangers from last season, with Crane buried alive and Abbie trapped in purgatory. Sleepy Hollow was one of the most imaginative new shows of last year, and we’re excited to see creepy monsters and American history back on our screens.

ASCENSION
NEW SERIES
Syfy, 9/8c (November 24)

An ambitious new, 5-part mini-series from Syfy Channel and Philip Levens (Smallville), Ascension tells the story of a ship of hundreds of human colonists who were secretly launched from Earth in the 1960s. Their mission: to populate another planet. Now, as the ship nears the point of no return, the mysterious murder of a young woman causes the ship’s population to question the true nature of their mission.

It’s an intriguing premise — one that will live or die based on its execution. Cast members such as Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica) bode well. But however it turns out we’re excited to see Syfy get itself back into outer space, where it belongs.

AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.
SEASON TWO
ABC, 9/8c (September 23)

What does a show called “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” look like when the organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer exists? We’re about to find out, as Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) and his team try to put the pieces together again. After a bumpy start this high-profile Marvel series found a good rhythm in the second half of its freshman year, and continues to dig deep into the roster of Marvel characters. Season Two looks to be even bigger.

The biggest outstanding question is (former) Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton). Now that he’s been outed as an agent of Hydra — and killed more than a few people in the coup — how is he still on this show? Is his character going to be redeemed somehow, and brought back onto the team? We can’t wait to find out where the story is going next.

THE FLASH
NEW SERIES
The CW, 8/7c (October 7)

Well, the news has been out for a while now: ol’ Barry Allen is getting his own show. After a 2-episode set up last season on Arrow, The Flash begins with Barry (Grant Gustin) awakening from a 9-month coma after he was struck by “lightning” — actually an energy discharge from an experimental particle accelerator. Now it’s Barry who has been accelerated, and he decides to use his new power to defend his city … while continuing his search for his mother’s killer.

This is a show that could turn out to be too much for the more realistic and grounded world of Arrow. It will depend entirely upon the execution of a true superhero (with superpowers) show, and from what we have seen so far The Flash looks very good.

ARROW
SEASON THREE
The CW, 8/7c (October 8)

Arrow had a terrific second season (check out our Blu-ray review), deepening its mythology and adding new dimensions to the supporting cast. We’re ready for something new in Season Three — new challenges, new villains, and new alliances — and it looks like the show’s writers are ready to deliver. Arrow is one of the most consistently entertaining genre shows on the air right now — certainly among the main broadcast networks.

THE 100
SEASON TWO
The CW, 9/8c (October 22)

This show was a late-comer last season, premiering in mid-March — and so it really hasn’t been around for very long. But very quickly The 100 showed viewers that it was not going to be an ordinary CW teen angst show. This is serious science fiction, with well-drawn characters and a fascinating premise: after a century on an orbiting space station, the survivors of a nuclear holocaust are re-settling on the ground.

But the 100 have learned that there are already human survivors living on the Earth’s surface, thank you very much. And in the midst of a war with the hostile and sometimes barbarous “Grounders,” the group from the Ark have been taken captive … and learned that the Grounders are not, in fact, the only survivors of the old war.

HAVEN
SEASON FIVE
Syfy, 8/7c (Now Airing)

If you thought Audrey’s split personalities would be resolved by the time Season Four wrapped up, the start of Season Five is proving that things are just getting going. Now the evil Mara seems to be completely in control, and Nathan and Duke worry that their friend may be lost forever.

GRIMM
SEASON FOUR
NBC, 9/8c (October 24)

Who’d have thought that the little show about monsters in Portland would become a cornerstone for NBC’s Friday night line-up? Grimm has built a rabid fan base and returns the week before Halloween with its fourth season. Detective Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli) continues to keep the world safe from the less savory Wesen he encounters, while Monroe and Rosalee are forging a new life together.

As the new season begins Nick struggles with having lost his Grimm abilities, and must dig deep and decide what type of person he wants to be. Juliette (Bitsie Tulloch), meanwhile, continues to try to come to grips with Nick’s recent “betrayal.”

DOCTOR WHO
SEASON EIGHT
BBC America, 8/7c (Now Airing)

The new Doctor is here, and actor Peter Capaldi is certainly making the role his own. Steven Moffatt and his team are also writing the show very differently, leaving behind much of the quirkiness and levity of the Matt Smith era (though retaining some much-needed and off-beat humor). So far it seems to be Jenna Coleman’s Clara who is really coming into her own as a companion and a three-dimensional character, after starting out mostly flat last season.

Though we’re still getting to know the Doctor, at the end of the day Doctor Who is still at the top of our must-watch list each week.

ONCE UPON A TIME
SEASON FOUR
ABC, 8/7c (September 28)

One of the biggest cultural phenomena of the year — at least if you have kids — is Disney’s Frozen, and the writers of Once Upon A Time were thrilled when the Powers That Be at Disney agreed to let them use the characters for the hit ABC fantasy series. When the new season begins we’ll meet Anna (Elizabeth Lail) and her sister, Elsa (Georgina Haig), who finds herself in Storybrooke and creates a snow monster to protect herself from its residents. We’ll also explore the sisters’ past in flashbacks to the realm of Arendelle.

RESURRECTION
SEASON TWO
ABC, 9/8c (September 28)

Last season the small Missouri town of Arcadia was turned upside down by the stunning return of Jacob Langston, an 8-year-old boy who had drown decades earlier. As the story unfolded more people returned from the dead, evidently with no memory of their time away … but of an eerie connection to one another. As the second season begins things are about to get even more insane, as dozens of the dead return … evidently including Martin Bellamy’s (Omar Epps) own parents.

This is a watchable family drama that is spinning a decent mystery, though we’re ready for an answer or two to maintain our interest. We’ll definitely be watching for guest star Michelle Fairley (Game of Thrones‘ Catelyn Stark), who plays the late Langston matriarch Margaret — mother of Henry (Kurtwood Smith) and Fred (Matt Craven).

THE WALKING DEAD
SEASON FIVE
AMC, 9/8c (October 12)

AMC’s moody adaptation of Robert Kirkman’s venerable comic series is the king of cable television. Last season was definitely a creative rebuilding year, with several new characters introduced and anti-hero Rick Grimes deliberately taking a back seat. There was blood, there was death, and the march toward hope in Terminus only ended in a new kind of terror.

This season the group must escape from captivity at the hands of their fellow survivors, and try to get Eugene to Washington, D.C. in the hope of finding a cure to the zombie plague. And please, please … don’t kill Beth!

Which new and returning shows are you most excited about?