Finally, on to my favourite categories of TV: sci-fi/fantasy dramas. I love how shows can really build a world and a universe; and really open up the experience of these kinds of imaginative characters and adventures in a way that movies just cannot do. I also love how streaming TV has given a channel for a lot of these outlandish series to find an audience (who may start out a bit more niche) and flourish, even to the point of spilling over into the mainstream. Star Trek is one of those franchises, so I am beyond glad that it’s back on the air. I’m checking out these other shows too, but eventually I’m going to run out of viewing time for all this exciting TV.

Star Trek: Discovery

Undoubtedly my favourite current show, I have already watched season one a couple of times and was eagerly awaiting the series’s return. Picking up from the end of last season, the crew is quickly given a new captain (Captain Pike from the starship Enterprise — yes, that one) and a new mission (to investigate some mysterious cosmic red lights that result in their going on some far-flung missions). I love that we’ve moved on from the Klingons (I’ve never been a big fan) and from Michael Burnham’s mutiny (though obviously that never quite goes away) and can get down to some “space cowboy” adventures. The new captain, Pike, is well-played by Anson Mount. He gives the character a great balance of maverick charm and somber respectability. It’s also nice to see some of the other crew members showing a bit more of a presence. Saru, Stamets and Tilly were reasonably prominent in the first season, but their characters seem to be developing further (Resident-alien Saru continues to grow into his command role, Stamets struggles with grief over his husband’s death, and Tilly is preparing for officer training program). Even the third-tier characters (the ones whose names we barely in season one) are showing their personalities and going on away missions, so it will be fun to get to know them a little more also. To top it all off, there is a big mystery to solve and somewhere at the heart of it is a young Mr. Spock (yes, that one). I think this is going to be a very exciting new season.

The Orville

Many may love The Orville for its sense of humour (so I’m not sure if it’s a comedy or a drama — and I fear the show doesn’t know either), and consider it a true inheritor of the Trek legacy of optimistic space sci-fi. I am not fully on board this starship, but I gave the show a chance and watched through the entire first season. It kind of grew on me (and we’ve not nearly maxed-out on quality space sci-fi). But there’s the rub; is The Orville a quality show with good sci-fi? The verdict is still way out. I have enjoyed a couple of episodes this season. There was some pretty good drama in what turned out to be the farewell episode for security chief Alara Kitan. Unfortunately there have already been too many episodes featuring the Klingons … I mean, Moclans. I’m kind of tired of them (and seeing a bunch of them nearly-naked in some simulated garden is something I can’t unsee). Then there’s the humour — I hate it. I hate how the jokes are always 21st century jokes making use of today’s slang. It’s so distracting that the writers want us to think that those jokes are somehow funny in whatever year this show is set. Finally, most of the characters seem juvenile and unsophisticated. I realize that The Orville is not the flagship, but are these really the best qualifying staff for any starship? Is Dr. Finn the mature one on this ship? She should be, and actress Penny Jerald has proven that she can do right by this character. Sadly, Dr. Finn is no First Lady Palmer (from 24) or even Captain Gates (from Castle) — characters who were both much better for Jerald. I made it through a bunch of episodes in season two, but I had to call it quits halfway through the fifth episode (which is sad because I love the title: “All the World is Birthday Cake”). Can somebody please wake me when the show gets better again?

Titans

The latest DC comics live-action TV series may not be new in 2019 for folks in the US, who stream it via the DC Universe subscription service, but it’s new to those of us in the rest of the world who watch it via Netflix. I have already stopped watching all of the “Arrowverse” superhero shows on the CW. Nevertheless, this new series about one of my favourite DC superteams, the Titans (aka Teen Titans), was promising and I have always had a soft-spot in my heart for the original characters, especially solar-beam blasting alien princess Starfire, half-demon empathic mystic Raven, and mech-enhanced hero Cyborg. However, the fact that they’ve made some major changes to the characters gives me pause. Raven now seems like just another “possessed” teenager (where a demon stands in for teen angst), lacking the serenity that her comic book character had. (I think they might have made these same changes to Raven in more recent comics, but I have only kept up with the classic Teen Titans.) Also, Starfire seems more like a kind of fiery avenging street-walker. I’m not quite sure what her character is about so far (approx. 5 episodes in). Finally, Cyborg is nowhere to be found, now that he joined the Justice League films. I’ve read that the show picks up as the first season progresses. There are a lot of introductions to other characters in the DCU including The Doom Patrol (who have their own upcoming spinoff series), vigilantes Hawk and Dove, and Jason Todd the successor Robin. I am going to consider this season a foundation-laying season, and watch it in preparation for future goodness. (Hopefully they’ll turn on more lights in later episodes too. The show is too dang dark!)

The Passage

To prove that the undead truly don’t die, another new TV series just debuted featuring vampire-zombies. This one is based on the acclaimed book series by Justin Cronin. It stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar as a government agent transporting a young orphan girl to a lab that is experimenting with the contagion that turned the vampire-zombies. As if you didn’t know that this Project NOAH was evil enough, they’re experimenting with children right off the bat. I’ve only watched the first episode, but so far things seem pretty typical. Evil lab is trying to harness a virulent undead plague (that will probably be their undoing) and government agent working for the evil lab is growing a conscience (taking his innocent target/surrogate daughter on the lam). Because the book series is comprised of three hefty volumes, I have to believe that the story gets much more elaborate and interesting, so for that reason I am going to keep giving this series, which otherwise seems pretty cliche, more of a chance. I hope Fox (which doesn’t have a reputation for doing so) also gives this series a chance to develop, otherwise it might just be approaching sunrise for these new vampires.

The Magicians

What started as a TV adapation that I didn’t love, of a book that I really didn’t like and could barely finish, has now become one of my favourite genre shows on TV. For starters, the quest for the seven keys last season was epic fantasy done well, with a wonderfully modern twist. Also, now that they’ve been through so much, and left school, the characters have seemed less whiny and brimming with ennui. This season has one of its main characters, Eliot, possessed by a super-evil child-like entity (which is kind of cliche) but maybe that storyline will turn out better than expected. For the other characters, they’re all stuck in alternate identities (not sure why yet) and quickly realize that they aren’t who they think they are. It was great to see the actors we’ve come to know play different characters who are actually the same characters. I’m also looking forward to the revelation of how they got that way (unless that was already explained and I missed it). One of my favourite characters is Margo, played by Summer Bishil, who not only started the ball rolling on the discovery of her true self, but has also been having encounters with the satyr god Umber (or was it Ember?) and got sent back to the magical world of Fillory (where she is the High King). I love how the characters get into these crazy magical situations, and I can’t wait to see how far we go this season.