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Here's a look at tonight's sci-fi TV:

Lost, 'Dr. Linus' – We jump back to the sideways world and catch up with Ben, who's working in Los Angeles as a simple schoolteacher (or is he an evil schoolteacher?) alongside our old buddy Arzt. On the island, Ben is forced to face the consequences of his lies while Team Jacob learn about The Lockness Monster's attack on the temple. Tonight's ep is supposedly the start of the season's second act. While I'm not exactly sure what that means, I'm excited about discovering what kind of person Ben turns out to be when he's not surrounded by Dharma bums, ageless others, smoke monsters, and killer polar bears. (9 p.m. ET on ABC)

Head after the jump for clips and more TV picks.

I've been a Lost devotee since the beginning. I've stuck with the show through the highs and the lows week in and week out, putting up with all the detractors' complaints of "But they never actually answer any questions!" the entire time. But even I am ready for the series to wrap up. As much as I love the show, I'm glad it has an end date.

ABC, on the other hand, doesn't share that love. They're oblivious as to how an end date has bettered the show by forcing the writers to abandon the waffling narratives that plagued seasons two and three. All they know is that come the end of season 6, they are no longer going to have the mysteries of the island to drive advertising revenue. Their solution? Lost spin-offs! From Variety:

"We've been talking about this for a couple of years now," says ABC marketing exec VP Mike Benson. "We want to keep it alive but make sure we maintain the integrity of the franchise. We're not about milking this thing for all that it is right now; it's important to see this live for years to come."

Now call me a cynic, but to me that sounds like 'we're not just about milking Lost for what it's worth now, we plan on draining its every drop for the foreseeable future.' And as it stands right now, those years to come likely won't find the original creators involved; as evidenced by Damon Lindelof's slightly more reassuring take on the matter, "People deserve an ending, and to promise a continuation of the story in any form in some way negates the finality in some way."

It's hard to believe, but Lost is almost over. With five seasons already aired, there's just one more season to wrap up the time traveling, island hopping, smoke monster and all the other hundreds of mysteries the series has yet to resolve.

With a show where characters die off only to return, who knows what's going to happen next. It's hard enough to keep track of what's already happened within the story so far. ABC has become very fond of recap episodes in the last few years, which is filler for most shows, but can be downright helpful for this one. After all, when you have people jumping around through time, and the dead talking to the living, it can be hard to keep up.

Lost has traveled a very uneven road in the last few seasons; last season started with the worst numbers for the show. It doesn't help that it's hard to keep track of what's relevant. Hopefully this eight minute recap of the last five seasons (after the jump) will help improve the numbers for it's final season.

A look at tonight's sci-fi TV:

Better Off Ted, "Battle of the Bulbs" - Tonight's episode sees Ted and Linda duking it out over who can build a better light bulb – his lasts forever, and hers features "aromas ranging from zucchini bread to fresh laundry," so its anybody's game, really. What we're really excited about is tonight's guest spot from News Radio's Khandi Alexander. She plays Lem's mom, a super genius scientist with a disturbing crush on our favorite underused character, Dr. Bhamba. (9:30 p.m. on ABC)

Outer Space Astronauts, "Vast Empitness" – In a possible nod to Star Trek's most popular illegal beverage, Romulan ale, Ka'ak serves up some mystery alien moonshine that leaves the crew with a hangover from hell. (11 p.m. on Syfy)

Head after the jump for clips and promos.

A look at tonight's sci-fi TV:

Better off Ted, "The Lawyer, The Lemur, and The Listener" – Even a giant corporation like Veridian Dynamics can't escape the current crappy economy. When layoffs hit the company, Veronica looks to an unlikely source for some inside info -- Ted's 8-year-old daughter! Elsewhere, Linda is writing a children's book with a main character who resembles our favorite squirmy and unhappily married scientist, Phil. And Lem scores with a hot lawyer who might or might not be billing him for their dates. (9:30 p.m. ET on ABC)

Outer Space Astronauts, "Undies," "Of Cannibals and Cuddlepuffs" – I'm still not watching this odd blend of live-action and low-fi animation, mostly because it seems to be full of unfunny poopie jokes. I don't know, maybe I'm wrong. Anyway, one of tonight's episodes features a pair of filthy underwear that exhibits superpowers. (11 p.m and 11:30 p.m. on Syfy.)

Head after the jump for clips.

Better Off Ted, "Love Blurts" – ABC's funniest comedy is back with more witty workplace gags and insane sci-fi hijinks. In tonight's season two premiere, Veridian hooks up Ted and Linda with their perfect genetic matches, while ice queen Veronica coaxes Lem for a sperm donation. Taye Diggs, who seems bent on appearing in every ABC show on the air right now, guest stars.

Outer Space Astronauts, "Diplomatic Hat" - This homegrown sci-fi send-up mixes live action with web-style animation to deliver an endless stream of hit-and-miss gags. Watch the entire premiere below or at SlashControl.

Head after the jump for promo clips and previews.

I have a like-hate relationship with ABC's new sci-fi series, FlashForward. On the one hand, it's just intriguing enough to keep me tuning in each week to see why the entire world blacked out for roughly two minutes. On the other hand, it's tendency to do stupid things like set every building on fire and write its main character (Joesph Fiennes) like an action movie cliche is starting to wear thin. So when it was announced recently that ABC had put the show on a production hiatus, I went along with the general consensus that it was a sign the network was canceling the series after a string of unimpressive ratings returns.

Robert J. Sawyer, the man who wrote the book that Brannon Braga and David Goyer based the show on, has gone on record to say that's no the case. Not only is the show on the verge of cancellation, he says, but Sawyer feels that the new delay (the show won't be returning until March of next year) is actually a great thing for viewers. And with the justification he posted on his blog, I've got agree with him.

Sawyer pointed out that without the hiatus, FlashForward would have been a victim to the moronic programming decisions that befell LOST years ago, as the show would have aired new episodes in short spurts, then gone back on break, then airing, then break and on and on. With the new schedule, however, ABC will be able to air a new episode every week starting March 4th and running to the season's end on May 27th. The several month gap between then and now clearly isn't going to win the show any new watchers, but at least ABC has shaken their LOST syndrome.

A look at tonight's Sci-Fi TV:

V, "It's Only the Beginning" – It's the final V of 2009, and early reviews say it's the best episode so far. That's good news for ABC, considering the show is going on a three-month hiatus after tonight.

This week's ep is reportedly full of big reveals, mind blowing plot twists and some much-anticipated Morena Baccarin nakedness. I'm looking forward to catching it, especially since V has yet to really wow me in a big way.

"Beginning" finds FBI agent Erica (Elizabeth Mitchell) combating a biological threat with help from the Visitor resistance. Elsewhere in the episode, alien queen Anna (Baccarin) reveals more about the Visitor's plan for Earth and courts Erica's annoying son, Tyler (Logan Huffman). And let's not forget about conflicted TV journo Chad Decker (Scott Wolf), who makes a starting discovery while working on an investigative report about the V's healing centers. (8 p.m. on ABC.)

Head after the jump for a ton of preview clips.

Never underestimate the appeal of a good alien invasion yarn. Last night's premiere of ABC's V remake scored a whopping 13.9 million viewers and a 5.0 preliminary rating for adults 18-49. That's good enough to make it the top rated new series premiere of the fall, even besting that seemingly unstoppable NCIS spinoff. It looks like ABC might be rethinking its decision to split V into four episode blocks aired three months apart – I know I would.

V gave ABC its best Tuesday night premiere since 2003, and the highest debut for any network since 2005 among the 18-49 demo. Plus, the series had the best demo rating for an 8 p.m. premiere since Lost kicked off in 2004.

This is an amazing start for a promising – if not perfect – new take on a classic sci-fi franchise. Let's just hope the Heroes syndrome doesn't set in here anytime soon.

[Via: The Live Feed]

Call me a cynic, but I find this whole story highly suspect. Kenneth Johnson created, among other vintage hits like "The Bionic Woman", "The Incredible Hulk" and "Alien Nation", the original 1983 "V" mini-series about visitors from beyond the stars who integrate themselves into our world. Despite being the show's parent, Johnson did not retain the television rights to his series, which is why he has absolutely nothing to do with the ABC remake that will be making its debut on November 3rd, save for a "created by" credit.

However, Johnson does own the film rights to the "V" story, and according to Variety he is actively trying to create a theatrical version to compete against ABC's new offering. Now here is where my cynicism kicks in. Johnson tells Variety that, "If the show succeeds, it gives us an opportunity to go out with a one sheet that says, 'You like the show, now see the original classic reborn.' And if the show doesn't do well, we can always say, 'Here is the "V" you've been waiting for.' "

I admire his optimism, but both of those scenarios are hugely hypothetical to me. First off, sci-fi on TV has a woefully high infant mortality rate, so I'll be amazed if "V" is not only popular, but popular enough to entertain the grandiose fantasy of turning it into a summer blockbuster. And if it doesn't, I find it an even harder stretch to imagine that anyone would want to watch yet another attempt at the already-familiar material in a year's time; particularly so considering the amount of money and interest Johnson claims Hollywood already has for the in-theory film project: