I like these kind of shows. It started with the X-Files and Buffy for me. I'm a big fan of Medium, Heroes and Lost. Can't say anything about the rest, since they don't air where I live. Supernatural just started here today and also liked that one, although it kinda scared me now and then, which I didn't expect that much.

What I definetly don't like is Ghost Whisperer, since I think it's a cheap copy of Medium.

~'Thanks for nothin'...~

Buffy, Angel, and X-files was the beginning of the "sci-fi" revolution. I watch Lost, Heroes, Pushing Daises, Bionic Woman, Saving Grace, Supernatural and Journeyman. I would have to say that Sci-fi/paranormal is my favorite genre. Vampires, time travel, ghosts, zombies and so on intrigue me. There is obviously a market for these shows and I could not be happier! Maybe it is because most of the sci-fi shows have hot chicks that kick ass, Buffy had many, Angel had a few, X-files had Scully. Now with the new crop, each show has at least one hot chick that is badass or kick ass (even Supernatural has hot guest chicks) and for me nothing is better than that! : )

I don’t think that Pushing Daisies technically qualifies as a paranormal show.  Yes, it’s campy, fantasy land but bringing the dead back to life is a metaphor for the main character to fix his nightmare of a childhood.  Bryan Fuller’s other two shows: Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls were similar in theme.  It took George dying to force her to live and it took a talking wax lion to force Jaye out of her slacker mid-twenties slump.  Let’s say that Pushing Daisies is death sugar-coated and baked in a pie as opposed to a Grim Reaper and talking animals forcing the journey of the hero.  Maybe it’s not death sugar-coated but it’s a second chance at life from death in all its symbolic forms. 

As for the rest of the lot, I think that this wave of fantasy themed shows reflects the public’s retreat into lala land, thus avoiding everything outside of the idiot box.  Reality TV can only hold the nation in suspense until we finally acknowledge that reality is lala land dressed up as the human condition.  Fantasy themed series concede that reality exists in a defined space only known to the series writers.  If only Americans were more intelligent.  Oh wait, that’s my fantasy world. 

I will agree, some what, with the idea of trends—historically.  Paranormal is the new creature feature.  For those who watch movies older than thirty years, the 1950’s and 60’s featured many films with aliens, monsters, vampires, and other calamities that could strike a city or heaven forbid, the planet.  The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Body Snatchers, Son of Dracula, Daughter of Dracula, Them, Beast from 20,000 Fathoms—all had the same formulaic design of the world falling apart.  The culprit taking the form of some creature, something we can distinctly reject from ourselves: ‘the other.’  Americans have a hard time accepting ‘the other.’ The audience must identify with a character as a spectator in order to relate to the film or television program.  Easiest way to identify what character to be is by making the antagonist’s form beyond the human condition. 

Now that I have put my college degrees to use, I will answer why.  Order is chaos; chaos is order.  The idiot box doesn’t like it when order isn’t restored within thirty to sixty minutes including commercials and obvious product placements.  We want the mysteries explained or the problems solved with no ambiguous endings!  Supernatural creates the chaos and puts the chaos in order (in terms that an ordinary American with an 8^th grade education can understand.)  I mean that successful series create of world of chaos for the hero to restore to what the audience deems as order.  The better the series, the more the creators manipulate the audience into thinking that the restoration is what they were wanting. 

Sorry for the long rant.  I can go on for hours and for pages ;)  Thank you Prof. Rapf and the 40+ page term paper on women & the camera.  

Side note:  We need more series like Buffy. Attention to detail and references to past shenanigans make for more pleasurable viewing and character development.  I guess there is a reason that ‘smart’ series never last forever.  I will take a Torchwood, Pushing Daisies, Heroes, or any other well-made series over the crap that the networks throw at us.  

They cancelled Wonderfalls after four episodes; Dead Like Me after twenty-four; technically, Buffy should have ended after the fifth series but then we wouldn’t have the Spike episodes or the musical (the last season didn't pay as much attention to detail as the previous seasons). 

There are too many ‘smart’ series that can’t find an audience.  No audience, no ad revenue, no ad revenue makes the network no money. 

I implore everyone to make our opinions count because ultimately, we are the audience and the money driving force behind the ad revenue. 

Right now, reality television still rules prime time television many a night.  It's okay if you like it.  I watch it but I question why Cashmere Mafia is a mid-seaon replacement and why it will air on Tuesdays instead of Thursdays? What target audience are they trying to gain by the lead in programs of Carpoolers & Cavemen?  Wouldn't Grey's have the target audience already there?

ahh... this is a long post; i must apologize.

There's nothing that makes me happier than sci-fi/fantasy and pretty women on television. When it's funny, and well written, it's even better.

Bliss is absolutely right about the chaos thing; I know that if BSG took place on a Navy boat or in an office, I would have a hard time sitting through it. It's the same reason that I'll watch Passions when I'm home sick instead of some other soap; a mermaid in the kitchen is much more interesting than so-and-so hoking up with that other person(even if said mermaid has that exact storyline).

What's interesting to me is how far sci-fi/fantasy has come since crap like Alf and Bewitched. It's not camp anymore, it's drama with cool special effects. The special effects nowadays is I think what makes it possible. It's impossible not to laugh at a spaceship made of pie pans, but when it looks believable, it becomes reality, and then you can add all of serious the human connection that was always lacking before.

Anyway, YAY! for the networks finally realizing that weird is cool.

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http://noclafsaerie.blogspot.com/

i've been watching journeyman and i actually find it to be a great show so far.

the lead actor is from the series "Rome" which he was great in, and he doesn't dissapoint here. the woman who plays his wife is pretty great too (and easy on the eyes).

what i like about it is that the time travel aspect is done in the most realistic way possible (as realistic as time travel can be anyway).

Okay, I can't believe someone just called Bewitched crap, but I'm going to move on...

Trying to find a trend in paranormal shows is complex, because the occult can be used in completely different ways. I don't really watch lot of occult shows on today, but from what I can tell, many are escapist and a reflection of our intellectual shut-down as a nation. On the other hand, in a show like Buffy, the paranormal is used as a metaphor to explore real-life issues. It doesn't encourage us to believe that human lives are controlled by outside forces. And a show all about government conspiracy like the X-Files asks you to question society, not to be complacent. Nothing was ever really resolved on that show but kept the viewer with a constant sense of unease.

For the most part I can just choose not to watch occult shows that aren't as sophisticated as Buffy or the X-Files. What I HATE is when otherwise great shows that I'm already hooked on introduce the paranormal and allow it to take over the human story. I always hated the prominence of the Rimbaldi stuff in Alias. I find uninteresting the idea that our lives are pre-determined, and that anyone special and capable has to have some sort of paranormal "destiny" and be "chosen." This idea of "chosen-ness" is especially popular in stories about powerful women. It's as though there has to be some supernatural explanation for their power. They can't just be that way on their own. But people and their strivings are interesting mainly because we are all making our own way in a chaotic world, not acting out a script written by some all-knowing hand.

The same with Battlestar Galactica. That show has gotten worse and worse the more they rely on religion to propel the story. No one is just a person/cylon anymore, acting through their own motivations. Rather they are acting out prophecies or "god's plan." Why can't Starbuck just be a kick-ass pilot with a screwed up personal life? The idea that she has some sort of predetermined "destiny" dilutes the humanness of her character.

For me, a realistic portrayal of the complexities of the human condition, whether it uses the paranormal as a device or not, is infinitely more interesting than paranormal explanations and solutions.

bend down my way, and whisper in my ear.  Best thing about the show is Jennifer Love Hewitt and her . . . talent(s).

I could go on, but y'all don't need my 2 cents, you're doing quite well without 'em ... 'cept to say that genre-ally speaking, there's a difference between the paranormal and sci-fi, John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars aside.