More June Shows - Charity and Space Travel

The number of shows rolling out of the summer is picking up speed. It was not so long ago that all these shows would shoot onto our TV screens (or computer screens) in September. I like the way they are spread out nowadays. We have some time to truly digest the various programs. Two to watch are noted below.

The Philanthropist started earlier this week (Wednesday) on NBC and is supposedly related to a true story. NBC bills it as a program that "...follows the heroic adventures of Teddy Rist, billionaire playboy-turned-vigilante philanthropist, taking him across the globe from Haiti to Myanmar, Kashmir to Paris, Kosovo to San Diego. But the story starts off in Nigeria." All I know is that I accidentally switched into it the other night and the main character was supposedly in Nigeria but the background music was Australia's Men at Work. I am not kidding. However, I plan to watch the whole show to give it a real chance. I will let you know. If you want to watch it for yourself and see an online episode then check out the NBC link above.

Note: I finally watched The Philanthropist. It's off to a good start, but not as interesting as I expected. Any program that wants to show American audiences that there is a world outside of NYC and Los Angeles is fine with me. And I don't count Lost or Survivor as international eye-openers, though some do consider Hawaii to be "foreign and exotic." Maybe I will find time for this new show at some point in the future, but I cannot recommend it all that highly right now with all the new shows rolling out.

Virtuality is a 2-hour sci fi drama on Fox that begins tonight at 8pm EST. Here is how Fox is selling it:

From Ron Moore and Michael Taylor, the minds behind "Battlestar Galactica," comes the World Broadcast Premiere of the new science-fiction thriller VIRTUALITY. As the crew of the Phaeton approaches the go/no-go point of their epic 10-year journey through outer space, the fate of Earth rests in their hands. The pressure is intense, and the best bet for helping the crew members maintain their sanity is the cutting-edge virtual reality technology installed on the ship. It's the perfect stress-reliever until a glitch in the system unleashes a virus onto the ship. Tensions mount as the crew decides how to contain the virus and complete their mission. Meanwhile, every step of the journey and every minute of the crew members' lives are being taped for a reality show back on Earth.

As someone who followed BSG for years, I am willing to give this show a chance. Unfortunately, I am hearing that Fox has not signed on for a first season, so we may see this teaser and no more. Maybe America is ready for another sci fi series and the ratings will show it. I hope so. With Terminator now canceled, we don't have a lot of such shows on TV right now.

If you want to learn a little more about the show, check out this interview with Ronaold D. Moore.