SyFy Continuum: Good, Yet Awfully Familiar

If you have yet to watch last week's premiere episode of SyFy's new show Continuum, I recommend you take a look if you enjoy sci fi political intrigue, fast-paced action, and an updated version of The Bionic Woman (okay, a second updated version since NBC already tried it in 2007).  Here is the SyFy version of the new show:

When a group of fanatical terrorists escape their planned execution in 2077 by traveling back in time to 2012, they inadvertently take City Protective Services officer Kiera Cameron with them. Trapped in a more “primitive” past, Kiera infiltrates the local police department to try to track down the terrorists before they change the course of history. 

And here is what I saw in the first episode:   

• An interesting premise where the government failed to pay its bills and the corporations stepped in to save, and take over, said government.  Sound familiar?
• The new "country" is called Vancouver District within the North American Union.  This is due to the show being produced in Canada (and funded in part by the Canadian government, which I hope they can do without going into debt and needing a corporate bailout).
• A female lead who is eerily similar to a young Jodie Foster, married to a man who is eerily similar to a young Christian Bale.
• A futuristic world (2076) that is eerily similar to Caprica in that this peaceful future is being threatened by terrorists bombs.  Moreover, the terrorist bombing is eerily similar to the destruction of the World Trade Center.
• The return of Brian Markinson, who played detective Durham from Caprica investigating terrorist attacks, as detective Dillon of Continuum investigating terrorist attacks.
• A police station attack that is eerily similar to Arnold Schwarzenegger's shooting spree in the first Terminator film.   

Even with all of these similarities, or maybe because of them since it is creative repackaging, I will continue to watch the new series.  That said, the future version of the show struck me as the more interesting part of the series so far.  I hope flashbacks and other devices may allow us to learn more about the North American Union.  

While the show was originally created for the U.S. market, it was picked up by the Canadians after little interest in the States (you can read an interview with creator Simon Barry for more).  The show has already been approved for a second season in Canada, so SyFy will most likely continue with the new series if it finds a U.S. audience.