Armed with a new Toshiba Laptop (prettiest darn laptop I've ever seen), I am gearing up with the new television schedule for the Fall 2009 - Winter 2010 season. Obviously, with the economy still in the dumps, we lost a lot of good shows. At least, some were given some closure with an ending, others simply fell into the void of cancellation. I am still pissed over the dumping of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

On the bright-side, we do have some impressive new entries in the scifi, fantasy and horror genres for television:

ABC has a jump-start with the new scifi series, Defying Gravity (which is, to my surprise, REALLY FRAKKIN' GOOD), will brew up witches of Eastwick, a mysterious mass event in Flash Forward, and a re-imagining of aliens visiting, or invading, our planet Earth with V.

CBS inherits NBC's Medium, while NBC gives us a new apocalyptic tale with Day One, and the currently running early Camelot tale, Merlin.

Yeah, yeah, I know ... ABC's new summer tv series, Defying Gravity, seems awfully similar to Fox's Virtuality (and don't even start with me Mz. Christina Cox, cause I have watched your work ever since the Forever Knight series, and not afraid of your Tae Kwan Do!!! :P~~~) ... hell, it even rhymes. But it's less science fictiony and more like

Grey's Anatomy in Space

... hey, I didn't nickname it that way, it's what the creators pitched it as. My beloved Blood Ties heroine, Christina Cox, stars as one of 8 astronauts on a six-year adventure in outer space. But, they aren't trekking to a distant Galaxy, just heading to our local neighbor Venus.

The year is 2052, and a crew of hand-selected astronauts from 5 countries travels on a six-year mission to Venus, 4 men and 4 women. You'd think they were all matched up for a million mile high club, but sex appears to be discouraged. But, anyone watching the promo clips know that sex will run rampant, as well as the melodrama that is inevitable to relationships:

Before David Tennant begins his transformation into Matt Smith (the next Doctor), he makes his US HD debut as our fav Doctor in tonight's premiere of Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead on BBC America. This time, the Doctor teams up with an uppity thief, Lady Christina (Michelle Ryan), trying to escape a swarm of flying nasties on a dead planet. For some bizarre reason, he decides to hijack a double-decker and take the passengers for a ride-into-time, only to wind up trapped on some sandy desert:

• Doctor Who - David Tennant (Doctor Who tv series, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and look for him in the latest version of Hamlet with Patrick Stewart, and St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold)
• Lady Christina, thief - Michelle Ryan (yup, the Bionic Woman herself ... which should never have been cancelled on NBC, IMHO, and you might recall her as Katherine in another cool BBC series - Jekyll, currently seen on NBC's Merlin as the evil witch, Nimueh)

For more info on Doctor Who: Planet of the Dead, check out the BBC America website:

http://www.bbcamerica.com/content/123/doctor-who-planet-of-the-dead.jsp

The remaining members of Torchwood return to BBC America with a special 5-night season - Torchwood: Children of Earth. Imagine if every child around the globe just STOPPED, save for a single haunting message voiced in unison repeatedly ...

WE ARE COMING

Who is coming? And from where?? And what evil is about to be unleashed upon the planet??? Find out beginning tonight on BBC America.

• Captain Jack Harkness - John Barrowman (Torchwood, Doctor Who, Shark Attack 3: Megalodon)
• Gwen Cooper - Eve Myles (recently seen in the pilot episode of NBC's Merlin, Doctor Who)
• Ianto Jones - Gareth David-Lloyd (Doctor Who)
• Rhys Williams, Gwen hubby - Kai Owen (Rocket Man tv series)

Torchwood: Children of Earth five night event begins tonight through Friday. for more info, video clips and fan goodies, check out the Official website at BBC America:

http://www.bbcamerica.com/content/262/index.jsp