Science Fiction TV as of March 2017

First off, if anyone out there actually watched the execrable ABC pilot for Time After Time, I have a suggestion—immediately, as soon as possible, rent the 1979 version with Malcolm McDowell, Mary Steenburgen, and David Warner. The difference between it and the ABC pilot?  The 1979 movie was made by people with brains (director Nicolas Meyer) and talent (the above listed cast), two traits absent from everyone associated with the lame remake.

As we near the end of the 2016-17 season (or what passes for seasons nowadays), let’s check in on some science fiction TV shows:

Supergirl:  Big changes as it switched networks from CBS to CW, and lost regular Callista Flockhart.  Winners: Winn Schott (Jeremy Jordan).  This character was so underwritten last season, who knew his last name?  His sole purpose was to be the “Xander” the platonic friend who wanted more from the superheroine lead.  He ditched his job as a low-level tech guy at Catco Media and got a job better suited to his supposed kills, head tech guy with the DEO.  He also got over Kara, got a hot alien girlfriend, and a cool hobby as the brains behind Jimmy Olsen’s Guardian.

Another winner was Alex Danvers (Chyler Leigh), who got a lot more screen time and more back story thanks to the juicy story line of her realizing she was a lesbian.  This could have been handled awkwardly, but they generally handled it with aplomb (she’d tell people her “big news” and they’d usually go, “And?”).  Her new relationship with her gal-pal developed aspect of her character that didn’t come out when she was with Kara.

The big loser is Jimmy Olsen (Mechad Brooks), who has been AWOL from several episodes.  As the focus shifted away from Catco and on the DEO the interim head of Catco is suddenly superfluous, he was replaced as a love interest by Mon-el, and who needs Guardian when you have Supergirl and J’onn J’onzz around?  He suddenly wasn’t needed as a love interest or as a member of Team Supergirl.

Legends of Tomorrow:  Someone, I think at Hollywood Reporter, had this on their “bottom 10” TV show list.  Maybe its first season was hard to defend, but this show has improved significantly.  The show was even self-aware enough to make fun of itself for having a charisma-challenged bad guy (Vandal Savage) in season one.  The show has found the fun, letting different characters (even the bad guys!) put their own stamp on the show’s overtly pretentious opening monologue (the best one was the one read by gruff good guy Mick Rory (Dominick Percell) who ended by saying, “Who writes this crap?”).  The show added a big bad with charisma to spare, the “Legion of Doom” featuring Damien Darhk (Neal McDonough) and Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman) from Arrow and Eobard Thawne (Matt Letscher) from The Flash.  The show still struggles with time-travel gaps in logic and a limited CW budget, but any show that doesn’t make me hate Brandon Routh is doing something right.

I deeply miss Wentworth Miller, but I keep hoping they will find some time loophole and bring him back as more than a hallucination.

The Flash.  Sigh.  When The Flash started I praised it for eschewing the angsty baggage that most post-Dark Knight superheroes wallowed in and brought a sense of (here is that word again) fun to the material.  Now close to wrapping its third season, The Flash is all about the angst.  Barry Allen went back in time to save his mother, but that had consequences, so he went back in time again and let her die, but THAT had consequences.  That sentence demonstrates the pretzel-logic that has taken over the show.  Now every episode is all about how Barry must save his beloved Iris from being murdered by the evil speedster Savitar.  Who?  Why?  What??  Every week some member of Team Flash makes a selfish decision, then bravely apologizes just before consequences set in.

Thank the stars for Tom Cavenaugh, a beacon of (here it is again) fun in an otherwise dreary offering.  Cavenaugh has now played three different roles, or three versions of the same role, and he manages to make each amusing in a unique way.  If there was a category for MVP of a show, my vote would be for Cavenaugh hands down.

Timeless.  Sigh again.  There is much to like about Timeless, mostly the wonderful Malcolm Barrett (late of the wonderful sitcom Better Off Ted).  But the whole thing MAKES NO SENSE.  If the bad guy, the improbably named Garcia Flynn (he’s what, Mexican-Irish?) had a time machine (which he did), wouldn’t there be some way for him to accomplish is nefarious (or noble) goal by only taking ONE TRIP back in time?  Two max?  Instead he goes back in time, over and over, and always to an inexplicably convenient major historical event.  The plot has gotten so complicated I have no idea who to root for as both sides seem bad, and the season one finale hinted that there may be multiple universes vying for reality.  Throw in a leading man who is the definition of wooden and a story that wasn’t on any rails to go off of, and my desire to see this series return is 50-50.