The fall 2007-08 television season started with quite a line-up: in addition to the existing TV series such as ?Stargate: Atlantis,? ?Heroes? and ?Battlestar Galactica,? viewers received an impressive assortment of new shows to whet their science-fiction appetites.

Unfortunately however, the vast majority of these because causalities of this schedule, and their ranks now include the wonderfully crafted (and shortened) second season of ?Jericho,? time traveling ?Journeyman,? ?Bionic Woman?s? revved up reincarnation, immortality incarnate ?New Amsterdam? and more recently ?Moonlight.?

So I ask you this: is this the end of long-running sci-fi?

Each of these cancelled shows launched with an inspiring write-up, particularly ?Bionic Woman? which, after only a handful of episodes, failed to deliver anything of real substance. Katee Sackhoff?s evil Bionic Woman character brought a twisted level of symmetry to the series with some possible foreshadowing, not to mention the genuine personal natures of the stories that kept the show moving. But all of that vanished the second she took a sabbatical and the series was of course bumped from the NBC schedule and mothballed following the three-month writers strike that blotted out the vast majority of scripted television.

The biggest mystery of all, however, is the staking of the undead series ?Moonlight.? In its single-year run, the series consistently held on to viewers (even through the writers strike) and towards the end, even the show's main players were convinced a second season was inevitable. Initially the series looked set to be a second shot of Joss Whedon?s ?Angel? series (or maybe a third shot at ?Forever Knight?), but very quickly established itself as something else entirely with a totally original mythology.

Fans banded together to give blood, showed their support by sending in garlic and even now are bombarding other networks with requests to breath some new life into the show. So much show that SciFi Wire, the news service of the SciFi Channel, was forced to issue a statement: Stop sending emails to SciFi Wire requesting a pickup ... We have nothing to do with it.

?Pushing Daisies? has been the only real success of the new season and has consistently been the most impressive, obscurely unique and creatively rich series of the new line-up (and potentially also of the last few years). Each episode includes an assortment of Burton-esque wit and style in a tightly written plot filled with incredibly fast-moving dialogue and humor. Unfortunately, the attention required to keep the series moving might be too much for some people to latch on to. This of course begs the question of how long will that series survive? If ?Dead Like Me? and ?Wonderfalls? are any indication, then the number of daisies the Piemaker (Lee Pace) can push may very well be numbered.

The situation doesn?t bode too well for the existing shows that returned this season either. Just now there is also a dark cloud hanging over the heads of even the most established shows. ?Stargate: Atlantis? has made a few creative decisions over the last season and a half which has both alienated fans and brought new viewers on board. First and foremost is the shocking replacement of Dr. Elizabeth Weir (Tori Higginson) who brought so much to the series. Carter -- in her disappointingly limited involvement -- has been great, but she?s no Weir. The upcoming fifth season will see some additional changes with Woolsley (Robert Picardo) taking over the expedition -- Will another exodus of fans follow? In any event, it doesn?t matter ... not with a third Stargate series currently in the works.

Also on the SciFi Channel is ?Battlestar Galactica,? which is winding itself down with the series finale already shooting and the fifth and final Cylon revealed. But after four thrilling years, is that really enough ?Galactica??

Across the pond in the United Kingdom ?Doctor Who? is flourishing, and the BBC is even making plans to keep the show on the air as long as possible by accommodating show star David Tennant with what can essentially be considered a year out (with the exception of a handful of specials). Its spin-off series, though, is in a state of flux following a cast cull at the end of its second year, and it may only be a matter of time before the adult-rated series is transformed into another ?sci-fi for kids? show.

The sad reality is that if you are not part of an existing franchise then there is no long-term home for you on network television. Lets hope that ?Fringe? and ?Dollhouse? have better luck next season.

Alan Stanley Blair is the assistant news editor of Airlock Alpha and its sister site Rabid Doll. Contributing from his home country of Scotland, he is currently studying for a diploma in Freelance Journalism and Feature Writing and can be reached at any time at ablair@airlockalpha.com..

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