Is this the real Golden Age of Television? With hundreds of cable channels to fill, all manner of programming is trying to meet the demand. Billions of dollars are being spent to develop niche programming (DIY, animal documentaries, experimental comedy shows, and so much more). Thanks to all these networks, netlets and cable nets, science fiction and fantasy programming is too at its zenith - there are sci-fi series (some in disguise), fantasy series, big-budget event mini-series and more b-movies than you can shake a stick at.

Literally, there is something for everyone: space opera fans, hard science fans, fantasy fans, horror (dark fantasy) fans - you name it, there's probably a quality television program available for it. And that's just live action Add animated programs to the mix and we're talking TV nirvana. Now, making such a sweeping claim might seem presumptuous, but let's look at what's available as we speak...

In no particular order, here is a list of some of the quality programming available: Battlestar Galactica, Lost, Eureka, The Dead Zone, Stargate: SG-1 (which may not be dead, yet), Stargate: Atlantis, Doctor Who (its record-setting 28^th season began in September, in the U.S.), Zixx, Dark Oracle, Supernatural, Smallville, Kyle XY, Three Moons Over Milford, Blade: The Series...

If you include animation, the list more than doubles: Ben 10, Minoriteam, The Batman, Spider Riders, Harvey Birdman: Attorney-At-Law, The Venture Brothers, The Simpsons, Family Guy, Xiaolin Showdown, Fantastic Four, Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends, Danny Phantom, Loonatics Unleashed, Codename: Kids Next Door, Mucha Lucha, Di-Gata Defenders, Robot Chicken, InUyasha, Full Metal Alchemist, Atomic Betty, Naruto, The Life and Times of Juniper Lee, Delta State...

Add the possibility of syndication (on-air and cable), plus the truly daunting number of TV-on-DVD releases, and the result is that the dedicated fan can watch SFFTV twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. On any given day, I can check out classics like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Prisoner, The Dead Zone, and Noir (superb anime series) if there's nothing on regular or cable TV. Or even Babylon 5, Nowhere Man, Sapphire and Steel, Dead Like Me, and the original Twilight Zone.

Thanks to the internet, more and more people are becoming aware of genre productions from other countries.

Thanks to the internet, more and more people are becoming aware of genre productions from other countries.

Even mainstream series like the USA Network's Monk and Psych have fantastic elements. Like Doc Savage, who trained himself to become a superman, the protagonist of Psych was trained, by his near-abusive policeman father, to become super-observant, and uses his gift by pretending to be a psychic! Adrian Monk has preternatural detecting skills because of his obsessive-compulsive disorder being aggravated to the nth degree following his wife's death.

Of course, USA doesn't stop there. Two of the better sci-fi series on TV are USA's The 4400 and The Dead Zone. Both are character driven shows whose protagonists have earned them as many mainstream fans as genre ones. All four of these USA shows revolve around character first, and genre second - just like the best sci-fi (without great characters, Babylon 5 would've been pretty pictures; without great characters, Lost would be Gilligan's Island in an SF setting).

For pure adventure, check out the Stargates; the more politically aware will find plenty to think about in Battlestar Galactica. Philosophy and character study, deftly woven into an on-going adventure, inform Lost. Blade: The Series plays some new variations on the superhero/vampire themes. Sometimes, a genre show doesn't look like a genre show (Lost), nor is it marketed like one, which is likely why it is a mainstream hit.

Sometimes, a genre show doesn't look like a genre show (Lost), nor is it marketed like one, which is likely why it is a mainstream hit.

I love sci-fi and fantasy, and not just on TV; I also love bite-sized chunks as much as epic sagas. There is a renaissance of genre productions in both mini-series and made for TV movies. When it comes to non-series productions, the Sci Fi Channel seems to have taken it upon itself to keep genre b-movies alive. One week we're protecting our precious bodily fluids from a Mexican bloodsucking Chupacabra, the next we're running circles around the bad guys with a Stan Lee super-speedster. We can be demon-fighting she-demons, or a low-rent Marvel superhero with a non-existent pain threshold.

Sci Fi also leads the way in genre mini-series, spending tens of millions of dollars to produce such events as Taken, The Triangle and the less-successful Earthsea. Despite bringing in wrestling to boost ratings, Sci Fi continues to produce or acquire made for TV b-movies and finance mini-series. The upcoming six-hour The Lost Room (described as The Fugitive meets The Twilight Zone) seems likely to qualify as event programming, while movies like Sasquatch Mountain and Shapeshifter will keep the net's b-movie credibility alive.

The Golden Age of SFFTV is now. Easy to say, but supported by a wealth of evidence.

The Golden Age of SFFTV is now. Easy to say, but supported by a wealth of evidence.

SFFTV is a projected series of features that will undertake to look at the wealth of quality genre shows, movies and mini-series available to us. It will consist of reviews, interviews, theories, analysis and, occasionally, raves and rants. I will even watch bad SFFTV so you won't have to.

As I always say, "Please do not adjust your planet. Trouble originates with the universe!"