In the early 1960s, when Gene Roddenberry was selling "Star Trek" to the networks, he supposedly used the immortal words "Wagon Train to the stars" to describe it. Of course he didn?t actually mean his creation was at all like the show "Wagon Train," he was just drawing a comparison for the network executives.

He wanted to compare it to something they would understand, seeing as Westerns were all the rage on television in the '50s and '60s.

We still make comparisons between the new and the familiar. Case in point, "Virtuality," the new pilot coming from Ronald D. Moore and Michael Taylor for Fox. The original Hollywood Reporter describes the show as:

"The sci-fi project, from Universal Media Studios and producers Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun, is set aboard the Phaeton, Earth's first starship, on a 10-year journey to explore a distant solar system. To help the 12 crew members endure the long trip and keep their minds occupied, NASA equipped the ship with advanced virtual reality modules, allowing them to assume adventurous identities and go to any place they want. The plan works until a mysterious 'bug' is found in the system."

Immediately, the show was being compared to the worst episodes of the Star Trek universe involving the holodeck episodes. The comparisons weren?t made to be complimentary, but to tear down the show. This same attitude was found last spring, when the broadcast networks unveiled their new schedules for the new season.

The CW show "Reaper" was derided as a "Brimstone" clone, even though it only had a superficial resemblance to it. The same was true of the Fox series "New Amsterdam," which was unfavorably compared to both "Forever Knight" and "Highlander." The most common attacks were people saying they didn?t want the new series, but instead would rather have more of the "original."

People seem to forget that there are very few original ideas now, seeing as western civilization has been creating stories for thousands of years. Trashing a new show simply because it has plot elements similar to an older show is just silly. The magic in any show is what they do with the plot, and how the characters are developed. Instead of looking at the possibilities, these fans tear it down for its perceived similarities to something long gone.

The show I think fared worst because of these comparisons is "Journeyman." This show was constantly compared to "Quantum Leap," and I read posts on the net from more than one person who said they wouldn?t watch it because it was "ripping off" QL.

I fear that these people might have actually avoided "Journeyman," and the show suffered for it. I think "Journeyman" was the best new genre series introduced last fall, and that its death due to lack of viewers might tie to genre fans preconceptions.

I have to admit, I have made these same comparisons in the past, but recently, I have seen that I have been unfair to these programs and their creators, but judging them before the facts were in. I am going to be making an effort to avoid making snap judgments on shows based on their initial plot descriptions. Genre programming deserves every chance it can get.

Pilot Watch

The networks are really into genre related series this year, and besides the above-mentioned "Virtuality," I have another pilot or two to mention.

ABC has given the OK to a pilot for the show "Captain Cook's Extraordinary Atlas," which is centered on a young girl who finds a magical atlas that reveals a secret world below our own.

Also NBC picked up Two internet series for future development. They are the Rosario Dawson series "Gemini Division," and a zombie comedy "Woke Up Dead."

Fifty three-minute episodes will air on various NBCU media platforms. Additionally, these episode well be reformatted as seven half-hour episodes to air on television. NBC also has first rights at developing the concepts as a full fledged TV series.

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Ed Left is a columnist for Airlock Alpha, who was lives in the beautiful city of Chicago. He also is the Webmaster of Sci Fi On TV. He can be reached at eleft@airlockalpha.com.