Militias, mysteries and Martians

How can we get the lights back on? What are aliens doing on earth?

These are some of the questions three new shows have thrown up, in a bid to get viewers interested enough to stay tuned for the answers.

Expect some big names - J. J. Abrams (Lost) and Jon Favreau (Iron Man) offer up sci-fi drama Revolution, while Vanessa Williams and Terry O'Quinn star in 666 Avenue.

While there may not be a slew of actors you'll immediately recognise in comedy The Neighbors, you're in good hands with veterans like Jami Gertz, who appeared in Sixteen Candles and The Lost Boys, as well as sitcom Still Standing; and Lenny Venito, who has lent his talent to shows like The Sopranos and movies like Men In Black 3.

Here are our takes on these must-watch newbies.

SCI-FI

Revolution

mio TV Season Pass (Ch 856)

Revolution takes place 15 years after a sudden worldwide power blackout. The government has since collapsed, and a militia is in control.

Ben Matheson (Tim Guinee) apparently knows why the power went out and how to get it back, and is thus wanted by the militia.

He asks his daughter, Charlotte (Tracy Spiridakos, looking like she just walked off the set of The Hunger Games), to flee and look for her uncle, Miles (Billy Burke), but Charlotte later discovers Miles has links with Sebastian Monroe, the militia's leader.

It is a gripping premise, packed with multiple plotlines and character flashbacks, yet is accessible and suitably paced.

And beneath it lies an implicit critique of our reliance on electricity.

In one scene, Ben's friend, Maggie, looks ruefully at her iPhone, and another friend, Aaron, asks why she is still holding on to a phone with no power.

Maggie says the only photos of her children are in it, and it is getting "harder and harder" to remember how they look.

It is a poignant, yet hard-hitting scene, as so many of us, like Maggie, allow technology and, ultimately, electricity to dominate our lives.

SUPERNATURAL

666 Park Avenue

mio TV Season Pass (Ch 820)

Like Revolution, the shadow of Lost looms over this drama, as it stars O'Quinn - who played John Locke in Lost - as a person of mystery.

As Gavin, the owner of swanky apartment building The Drake, he is hiding some secrets about the building as well as himself, a role O'Quinn plays with a chilling yet captivating presence.

These mysteries are brought to the surface with the arrival of Jane (Rachael Taylor), the new building manager.

They include a flock of birds living in a wall, an unusual mosaic in the basement and an unsolved murder from the 1950s.

Other residents have their own secrets too. Cryptic-looking Nona seems to know about the mysteries; Gavin's friend, Danielle, has a dark past; while Gavin's wife, Olivia (Williams), may not be as friendly as she seems.

Interestingly, the exterior of The Drake is the Ansonia in New York City, an apartment building whose former residents include composer Igor Stravinsky and Hollywood star Angelina Jolie.

COMEDY

The Neighbours

mio TV Season Pass (Ch 842)

The premise is simple: The Weaver family move into a gated suburb, only to find that all their neighbours are aliens taking the form of humans.

Mr and Mrs Weaver are played by Venito and Gertz.

Despite being stranded on earth for 10 years, the aliens have had no contact with humans till now.

Sounds like 3rd Rock From The Sun, except that The Neighbors is less consistent with the jokes.

The writers go for repeated slapstick humour, so laughs are milked from the aliens' traits (crying out green goo from their ears), trepidation over one another's intentions and the process of mutual understanding.

Get my paper for more stories.