Panels at the event included a talk with the cast of Past Life, the new drama that deals with Past Life regression. On hand was (L-R): Ravi Patel, Richard Schiff, Nicholas Bishop and Kelli Giddish.

The Human Target was also unleashed on the crowd and star Mark Valley came with his own mobile shooting gallery.

Battlestar’s Katee Sackhoff was there representing 24 and JJ Abrams arrived in support of Fringe.

All photos are courtesy of Fox (© 2010 FOX BROADCASTING).

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Fear not.

The long hiatus is becoming more common than ever before and even Fox’s hit Glee will be taking a four-month break after it airs its last new episodes in December. ABC’s V is also sitting out for months and Supernatural is in reruns now until late January.

Maybe the studios feel that absence will make the heart grow fonder. Extended breaks haven’t hurt 24 or Lost all that much, but generally they aren’t good for the health of a series.

On the good news side, former Fringe star Mark Valley will debut in his new series Human Target starting in late January, slotting in after American Idol. Futon Critic also reports that Past Life will take Fringe’s spot on Thursdays for much of the break.

HUMAN TARGET: Christopher Chance (Mark Valley) is the human target, a unique private contractor hired to protect his clients from dangerous and imminent threats in the new action thriller HUMAN TARGET airing with a special preview event Sunday, Jan. 17 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. ©2009 Fox Broadcasting Co. CR: David Gray/FOX/WBTV

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Human Target has several things going for it. It’s based on a DC Comics graphic novel and it stars Mark Valley from Fringe and Chi McBride from Pushing Daisies. It also comes from Wonderland Sound and Vision which is McG and Peter Johnson whom many of you know from Supernatural. Here’s how Fox describes the show:

It takes a brave, selfless man to make himself a “human target” in order to save the lives of those in danger. Based on the popular DC Comics graphic novel, HUMAN TARGET is a full-throttle action drama centered on CHRISTOPHER CHANCE (Mark Valley, FRINGE), a unique private contractor/security guard hired to protect. Call him what you like, because for Chance, it’s about one thing only: saving his clients’ lives. When there is an unusual or imminent threat that can’t be solved through “normal” means of protection, Chance is hired to completely integrate himself into his clients’ lives – to become the human target. If you’re a corporate manager whose disgruntled employee has gone violently off the deep end, Chance is your new auditor. If you’re the president of a bank who’s been tipped off to a potential heist, Chance is your unassuming bank teller. During each job, Chance, assisted by his business partner WINSTON (Chi McBride, “Pushing Daisies”) and hired gun GUERRERO (Jackie Earle Haley, “Watchmen”), puts himself directly in the line of fire as he races against time to save his client, while unraveling the truth behind the mission. With every new danger, Chance’s dark history will also unravel. Does anyone know who Christopher Chance really is, or what secrets lay buried in his past? What would make a man willingly become a HUMAN TARGET? (CR: Kharen HIll/FOX/WBTV)

The second show is called Past Life and it was inspired by a book by M.J. Rose called “The Reincarnationist.” I’m excited about this one because M.J. and I use to run in the same circles many, many years ago when she was just starting to make a name for herself. Makes me feel like I’ve still got a chance of inspiring a TV series — of course, I’d have to finish writing a book first! Here’s how Fox describes Past Life.

Have you ever experienced déjà vu or met someone you thought seemed familiar? Do you believe in karma, fate or love at first sight? From writer David Hudgins (“Friday Night Lights”), and inspired by the book “The Reincarnationist” by M.J. Rose, comes PAST LIFE, a new drama series about an unlikely pair of past-life detectives who investigate whether what is happening to you today is the result of who you were before. DR. KATE MCGINN (Kelli Giddish, “All My Children”) is not your typical psychologist. Confident, outspoken and highly educated, she works at The Talmadge Center for Behavioral Health in New York City, a world-renowned institute dedicated to the study of the science of the soul. After experiencing a past-life regression in her 20s, Kate became a believer in reincarnation. Using regression therapy and her natural gift for reading people, Kate helps solve the mysteries of her troubled clients who suffer from present-day problems caused by past-life traumas. She believes there are levels of consciousness and explanations for human behavior that science can’t begin to explain.

Accustomed to skeptics, but not bothered by them, Kate is an unapologetic believer and a force of nature who marches to the beat of her own drummer. Her partner, PRICE WHATLEY (Nicholas Bishop, “Home and Away”), is a different story. A former NYPD homicide detective, pragmatic and cynical, Price is a damaged soul who constantly battles grief and guilt over the accidental death of his wife. Price feels that Kate, though not certifiable, certainly operates on the fringes of science. It’s a volatile relationship, but with Price’s solid detective skills, and Kate’s penchant for out-of-the-box thinking, together they make a formidable, if somewhat dysfunctional, team. A fast-paced emotional thrill ride, each episode finds Price and Kate working with their colleagues to unravel a new mystery involving the past-lives of their clients. DR. MALACHI TALMADGE (Richard Schiff, “The West Wing”) is Kate’s mentor and the center’s namesake, an avuncular but gruff elder statesman who is a legend in the field of cognitive research. DR. RISHI KARNA (Ravi Patel, “Scrubs”) is the rookie of the group, a baby-faced therapist from Calcutta who loves bad American TV, Cuban jazz and driving everyone crazy.

Nice cast, interesting plot. I’m thinking this one is going to be a winner for Fox. (CR: Craig Blankenhorn/FOX)

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