TVSquad

Many on this site, both reviewers and commenters, have complained for many years now on the way that Sci Fi Channel handles the airing of their original programs. The main complaint has been that viewers have had to wait nearly six months, or more, between the time part one of the season ended in the summer and part two began at the end of January. Most recently these complaints have been addressed about Stargate Atlantis.

Well, those complaints may have finally been heard by the programming wonks over at Sci Fi because Atlantis looks to be continuing its season through the fall. After completing the first half of its run on September 26th, with a break for Labor Day, Atlantis will return to the schedule on Friday, October 10th at its new time of 9:00 PM. The week before, it will be preempted by the two-hour series premiere of Sanctuary, which will move into the 10:00 PM slot in back of Atlantis.

Atlantis will continue to run through October, with a preemption on Halloween night due to the Ghost Hunters Live event. Whether or not the remaining ten episodes of the series will wind up in 2008 or continue into 2009, when the last half of Battlestar Galactica airs, has yet to be addressed.

It's coming. The table is set, the players are on the field, the sails are raised, and the pretty maids are all in a row. Of course, I speak of the 2008-09 television schedule. In just a few short weeks viewers will be able to dine on a number of favorite and new dishes that are being served by the networks as well as the increasing number of cable channels who are delving into original programming.

While other fall seasons have come and gone with nary a whimper, this season may be different. Due to the prolonged Writers Strike many shows ended their seasons quite early. Programs like Life, Private Practice, Pushing Daisies, and Heroes haven't aired original episodes since the end of 2007. Heck, there hasn't been a new episode of The Shield since June of last year! So, the beginning of the 2008-09 season will be a second chance for some of these shows, particularly the ones that premiered last season, to show their worth to fans and the networks.

As I said earlier, most of Sunday was taken up by panels for NBCU's cable channels. I heard, for instance, that the Oxygen panel for Coolio's Rules was a bit of a trainwreck, with Coolio actually getting up and singing. I wouldn't know, since I skipped most of the afternoon panels to check in at home and do some writing for you fine folks.

But I came down in time for the SciFi Channel's press conferences, which had the cast and producers of the series Sanctuary and the Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica.

Let's start with Caprica. Right now, it's a two-hour backdoor pilot; the SciFi Channel will decide to pick it up as a series once they see the pilot. I can see why they might be a bit reluctant. From the scenes I saw, it felt more like The Godfather with some science thrown in, rather than the BSG everyone knows.

Friends telling you Lost is the best thing since sliced bread? Everyone laughing at you at work because you're lost when they talk about that wacky island? Don't know who Jack, Kate and Sawyer are and whether or not John Locke is more than just some old dead philosopher? Ridiculed for being a Lost-less moron but too cheap of a bastard to go out and pick up those DVD sets? Well, good news.

Rarely does a show hit television that's so serialized it's almost impenetrable to come late into. And even more rarely does a network let it last past ten episodes; FOX'll yank it in one if they think they can get enough videos of aquatic life attacking compiled in time for a special. Well, never fear ... it's Sci Fi to the rescue!

That's right, starting September 15th, you can catch four episodes of Lost every Monday on Sci Fi. And Lost is a show that works even better in large chunks like that. I recorded the entirety of season three to my DVR before I even started it and wolfed it down in a weekend! But wait, there's more ... like what that picture has to do with this story!

I have just got back from the Sci Fi Channel's 2008 Upfront and the new year looks very exciting. Upon arrival, the press was treated to an interview with the cast of Battlestar Galactica along with co-producers Ronald Moore and David Eick. They were introduced onstage by Mark Stern, the Sci Fi Channel's executive vice president of original programming.

A few announcements were made regarding the upcoming season throughout the night. I tried to keep things spoiler-free, but stuff might leak through. You have been warned.

• The new season begins April 4th, if you didn't already know.
• A streaming version of the season premiere will be available on scifi.com that day at noon if you can't wait until that night.