Brit TV Remakes Lead Big Night of Sci-Fi

Our TV executives obsession with mining British TV reaches critical mass tonight as two high-profile redos from across the pond launch. As Cynthia reported, CBS’ Eleventh Hour kicks off tonight at 10 p.m. ET. Though they air on completely different nights, many TV pundits have pitted Fringe vs. Eleventh Hour in TV previews.

The shows do seem to be going for a similar “X-Files-ish” vibe but we’ll know more tonight. For sheer star power, it would be hard to beat ABC’s much discussed Life on Mars debut tonight at  – 10 p.m ET. Uh-oh, it’s on now! Among its stars are The Bad Lieutenant himself, Harvey Keitel and The Sopranos’ Michael Imperioli. The unusual premise sees a police detective hit by a car, then waking up in 1973 as a result of his coma.

And of course, we have Thursday night regulars Supernatural and Smallville in the mix also. It’s not a bad time to be a sci-fi fan, not a bad time at all.