The Gay Geek (May 21, 2008)

Fall ahead:
Last week was the upfront presentations, where the broadcast networks announce their upcoming TV schedules and new shows. There’s certainly a few shows for gay geeks to anticipate. Fox has the new Joss Whedon series Dollhouse set for a midseason debut, which I’ve been excited about since I first heard of it. Whedon's history includes a good amount of gay inclusiveness, and, I'm hoping we'll see more of that with Dollhouse.

Dollhouse

In the fall, Fox also has a new series from Lost, Alias and Felicity creator JJ Abrams, Fringe, which is about FBI agents uncovering a massive conspiracy after an international flight crashes. To be honest, given how frustrated I got with Lost, I’m feeling a bit gun shy about sampling Fringe.

Fringe

ABC has one new sci-fi-ish series with its adaptation of the critically loved Brit drama Life on Mars. Focusing on a police officer who wakes up from a car accident to find himself transported to 1972, a time when police work and attitudes towards women and minorities were so different it feels like visiting another planet. After seeing the trailer for this one, I’m going to try my best to forget it exists and hope when it debuts, it stops inspiring flashbacks to NBC’s disastrous take on the classic British sitcom Coupling. Still, I’m curious if this version will have any LGBT characters, like the original series did.

Life on Mars

CBS, meanwhile, has two shows that might grab the attention of geekdom – The Eleventh Hour focuses on a man who investigates scientific oddities. I'm no longer one for investigation shows, but on paper this one reminds me a bit of Probe.

Hour is another British import, based on a mini-series by Stephen Gallagher, who wrote for Doctor Who in the 80s – did anyone catch the original version? Is this worth getting excited over?

It's another drama, Harper’s Island, that really has my attention. The series focuses on a series of murders that occur when family and friends gather for a wedding at a secluded island off the coast of Seattle. The mix of continuity and the murder mystery could have people making the kind of frame-by-frame analysis Lost inspires in fans, kind of a "Lost meets And Then There Were None." The trailer nicely captures a spooky atmosphere:

So which shows are on your radar for the upcoming season? Nothing could compare to my excitement over getting a new Bryan Fuller series last season, but there are a few promising shows.