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On Screen

...In cable, TNT got into the series game with Witchblade, which performed well during the summer and has been picked up for a second season. Showtime let go of Stargate SG-1 and pretty much said goodbye to its SciFriday lineup. In fact, the only cable station which truly embraced adult speculative-fiction television is the aptly named SCI FI Channel, which gobbled up The Outer Limits and Stargate SG-1 when Showtime dropped them, and grabbed The Chronicle from NBC, when it didn't pick up the pilot, which was called News From The Edge, at the time....

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Returning and Continuing Shows

Witchblade
TNT, Tuesday, 9 p.m.
Premieres next summer, 2002

Based on the Top Cow comic book, Witchblade left the comics behind as it developed its own style and tone. Yancy Butler dug into her best role ever as New York City cop Sara Pezzini in last summer's Witchblade. She battled bad guys and police corruption, and became one with the Witchblade, a magical gauntlet that helps her fight evil but has a mind of its own. Presumably, next summer Sara will continue with her mission to fight evil as she follows her destiny.

The Outlook After getting great ratings initially, and pretty darn good ratings after that, it was no surprise when TNT announced that they'd be renewing the series for another season. Grim and moody, the show quickly developed a style all its own. While the special effects were either great or poorly done (there seemed to be very little in between), and the scripts were inconsistent, Butler drove the series with her character much the way the Sara drove her motorcycle, with the determination that nothing would stop her. With Butler in the driver's seat, look for Witchblade to have another successful season.