Here are five recent SF/Fantasy TV shows that I tried to like but gave up on (perhaps too soon in some cases):

• Fringe – Admittedly I only watched the pilot, but that was enough for me: all the characters seemed to be stereotypes and the plot’s revelations were ludicrous and full of psych-babble. I was never a fan of The X-Files (for similar reason to Richard Dawkins) and this seemed to be re-treading far too similar territory.
• Sanctuary – One or two good episodes at the start, this soon turned into a freak-of-the-week show. Also I could only take so much of Amanda Tapping’s accent.
• Bionic Woman – Michelle Ryan wasn’t too bad in this, but the family life aspects felt forced and the action scenes weren’t very exciting.
• Demons -Fantastic cast, but what an awful script. I found some of it quite funny, unfortunately usually during scenes that were supposed to be serious. This show ended up being even worse than Eleventh Hour, which takes some beating. If only they’d used Philip Glenister and Zoe Tapper (below) in a remake of Sapphire and Steel instead…
• Merlin – A CBBC programme on at the wrong time: I’m too old for this.