Time magazine picked Battlestar Galactica as one of the ten best television series of 2009, and the Dollhouse episode "Briar Rose" as one of the best episodes. About ten million people tuned into the beginning of V and FlashForward, and last year to the beginning of Terminator and Fringe, a year or two before that to the beginning of Heroes. Those are substantial numbers these days. But for all of these shows, the numbers fell off rapidly. There are a lot of people who want to watch good science fiction, but television isn't giving them what they want.

I think there are two problems. One is that the shows are too complicated. Lost got it right -- first appealing, memorable characters. Complications later. The other is that the shows are too grim. In bad times, people want Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, not millions dead or hopelessly powerful aliens.

The first season of Heroes got it right, with appealing characters and an upbeat slogan. "Save the cheerleader, save the world." Because we like the characters, and because there's hope, people kept watching. Now? Well, saving the world is a hard act to follow, but with the carnival story line, I think Heroes is back on track. Whether viewers will come back to it is another question, and it's on hiatus until March.

Even Smallville has left behind the warmth of the Kent family and farm for the filth and violence of Metropolis, which these days is almost as bad as Gotham City. Superman wears black.

Dollhouse has memorable characters, and some of the best writing on television. But it takes grim to a new level, so that it is almost painful to watch. In the words of Kurt Vonnegut, things are going to get unimaginably worse and never get any better ever again.

I think maybe people would like a little upbeat science fiction, a little boldly go where no man has gone before. I don't mean another Star Trek series. I mean a science fiction series in which the future of mankind isn't totally hopeless.