Merlin to Meteor: It’s a Sci Fi Summer on NBC

It’s going to be a scifi summer on NBC with some new shows featuring familiar faces.

Sunday, June 21, Merlin comes to NBC from the BBC. This 13-part drama stars Buffy’s Anthony Stewart Head as King Uther, Colin Morgan as Merlin and Bradley James a Prince Arthur. This is an updated version of the Arthurian legend set in Merlin’s early days.  Here he is played as a young man gifted with extraordinary magical powers who arrives in the kingdom and quickly makes enemies, including the heir to Uther’s crown, the headstrong Prince Arthur. But guided by Uther’s wise physician, Gaius, Merlin is soon using his talents not just to survive but also to unlock Camelot’s mystical secrets.

On June 4, we’ll get our first look at The Listener, aka Toby Logan (Craig Olejnik, whom I’ve been watching on the new DVD release of The CW show Runaway).  Toby is a 25-year-old paramedic who has a big secret — he’s a telepath. Until now, Toby kept his ability hidden, exploring its possibilities only with his long time mentor and confidant, Dr. Ray Mercer (Colm Feore, 24: Redemption). As he makes the rounds with his energetic paramedic partner — “Oz” Bey (Ennis Esmer), The Listener follows Toby as he tries to help people in crisis, and in the process, unravel the truth about his past. This series comes to us from CTV.

NBC has two disaster-style mini’s planned, Meteor and The Storm.

In Meteor, two massive rocks, tumbling debris older than the solar system itself, collide in space. The course has been altered. The target is Earth. In a remote observatory, Dr. Lehman (Christopher Lloyd, Back to the Future), discovers a meteor approximately three times the size of Mount Everest barreling its way towards Earth. His devoted young assistant Imogene O’Neill (Marla Sokoloff) feverishly types in the coordinates only to find the previously identified meteor named Kassandra is headed their way. It’s only the beginning of their troubles as showers of smaller meteorites begin to lay waste to major cities around the globe. The meteor hits June 7.

In July, NBC takes on The Storm. Billionaire Robert Terrell (Treat Williams) has fulfilled a lifelong obsession and made history with “weather creation” technology though his Atmospheric Research Institute. But during a test run, a blast of energy is sent into the ionosphere with unexpected results. The experiments hurtle the planet towards destruction—hurricanes change course, winds go instantly from hot to cold, torrential rains bring regions to a standstill, and buildings crumble into ruins under explosive lightening storms. It’s only the beginning.

Only one scientist, Dr. Jonathan Kirk (James Van Der Beek), steps forward to demand that the system be terminated. Terrell is undeterred and continues to push his team to move forward. His motives for the initially philanthropic technology is in truth far more opportunistic. With government cohort, Army General Braxton (David James Elliott), Terrell envisions the technology as a key military weapon to ensure super power status.

Realizing he’s powerless to stop the project by himself, Kirk contacts news reporter Danni Wilson (Teri Polo ) with plans to expose Terrell and explain the catastrophic weather to a bewildered and frightened world. It’s a task that won’t come easy, as Kirk quickly discovers the motives and loyalties of authorities are not in his favor. As devastating and extreme weather events hammer down on every corner of the Earth, it will be a race against time to shut down the system before the edge of extinction.

Sounds like an action packed summer and I can’t wait to see Anthony Stewart Head back on my TV.

Photo: Newscom