Paranormal Pop Culture Winter TV Preview

Courtesy FOX
BY LARISSA MRYKALO
The 2013 winter TV season is chock full of programming to satisfy the paranormal junkie. We have put together a list to prove this to you, and to give you a chance to check out some new shows as well prevent you from missing returning favorites.

JANUARY

Merlin
Returned Jan. 4, 10 p.m. ET (Syfy)
The fifth and last season of Syfy’s Merlin recently premiered its first of 13 all-new episodes. King Arthur finally has his new Queen, Guinevere, as well as faithful Merlin, at his side. Will he be able to transform his kingdom into the Golden Age, or will the evil sorceress, Morgana, cause him to fail?

Once Upon a Time
Returned Jan. 6, 8 p.m. ET (NBC)
NBC’s fairy tale series returned from its Season 2 hiatus to attempt to answer questions left over from the fall finale. Starting the episode off with shot of one sexy Captain Hook may have satisfied some viewers but did the episode answer the desired questions? Or did it simply set up viewers for more mystery? WITCH is it?

Fringe
Returns Jan. 11, 9 p.m. ET (Fox)
The final episodes of J.J. Abrams' Fringe resume this Friday with "The Boy Must Live." Peter, Walter and Olivia are hell-bent on saving the universe from The Observer. On Jan. 18, the final two episodes of the series, "Liberty" and "An Enemy of Fate" will air back-to-back as a two-part series finale, that will end in a huge fight for the fate of mankind.


courtesy Travel Channel
Ghost Adventures
Returns Jan. 11, 9pm ET (Travel Channel)
Season 7 returns with the first of 7 new episodes. Zak, Nick and Aaron rent an RV and head to the Wyoming Frontier Prison in Rawlins, WY, to investigate its violent past.

Continuum
Premieres Jan. 14, 8 p.m. ET (Syfy)
Continuum is one of Syfy’s newest series and kicks off its Powerful Mondays. It focuses on terrorists from the year 2077 who end up escaping their demise by time-traveling back to 2012. They accidentally have taken a "City Protective Services" officer named Kiera Cameron (Rachel Nichols) along with them and it’s her mission to hunt them down before history is changed.

Being Human
Returns Jan. 14, 9 p.m. ET (Syfy)
The Season 3 opener of Being Human picks up 15 months later with Aidan (Sam Witwer) buried alive after pissing off the vampire “Mother.” Sally (Meaghan Rath) is in purgatory, and Josh (Sam Huntington) and Nora (Kristen Hager) are together in a transformed werewolf relationship. Will the roommate’s answered prayers for humanity turn out the way they hoped? You know what they say, “Be careful what you wish for.”

Lost Girl
Returns Jan. 14, 10 p.m. ET (Syfy)
Syfy’s Lost Girl is back for its third season and the network is promising that this season will be “bigger” and “more shocking.” Bo (Anna Silk) has new alliances after the victorious battle at the end of Season 2, but it has also strengthened new enemies. Will she have to make a deadly choice?

Face Off
Returns Jan. 15, 9 p.m. ET (Syfy)
During the Season 3 finale of Syfy’s make-up competition and elimination series, Face Off, viewers were promised an epic Season 4. Hostess, McKenzie Westmore’s dad and highly acclaimed make-up artist, Michael Westmore, will be a permanent fixture this season as well as last season’s judge, Neville Page. The talent promises to be abundant and the new challenges will be more extreme.

Courtesy CW
Arrow
Returns Jan. 16, 8 p.m. ET (CW)
The Green Arrow shoots back into our living rooms after a brief winter break with episode 10 of 16, “Burned.” Oliver has just been defeated by the Dark Archer and is feeling less confident. This doesn’t stop him from going up against a traumatized firefighter who has not only starting committing arson, but has dubbed himself “Firefly.”

Ghost Hunters
Returns Jan. 16, 9 p.m. ET (Syfy)
Season 9 of Syfy’s long-running hit reality series, Ghost Hunters returns with some familiar, as well as a new face (http://www.paranormalpopculture.com/2013/01/the-newest-member-of-ghost-hunters-is.html) and 16 new episodes. Jason Hawes and his TAPS crew start by heading west for the episode "Hollywood Horror Stories."

Ghost Mine
Premieres Jan. 16, 10 p.m. ET (Syfy)
Since series titles with the word “ghost” in them tend to do well for the Syfy network, Ghost Mine will make its debut right after Ghost Hunters. The new owner of an infamous mine takes the initiative to reopen and investigate its mysteries with some ambitious fellow miners and two paranormal investigators.

Supernatural
Returns Jan. 16, 9 p.m. ET (CW)
In Season 8’s 10th episode entitled, "Torn and Frayed," Castiel (Misha Collins) is commissioned my Naomi (guest star, Amanda Tapping) to rescue a fallen angel from Crowley (Mark Sheppard), before he is able to steal their secrets.

Vampire Diaries
Returns Jan. 17, 8 p.m. ET (CW)
Season 4 of the CW series Vampire Diaries resumes with the new episode, “After School Special” and according to its official page, “Rebekah is back with a vengeance!” Uh oh. Major characters are trapped in the library and need to work out some pressing issues. Will there be a Breakfast Club-style dance scene? Probably not, but the angst is still thick.

Courtesy Syfy
Haven
Returns Jan. 17, 8 p.m. ET (Syfy)
Haven’s final two episodes of Season 3 will air back-to-back on Thursday, Jan. 17. Due to the tragic school shootings in Connecticut last month, the first of the two episodes, "Reunion," was rescheduled because of content that depicted school violence (murders at a high school reunion). Directly following "Reunion" will be the final episode of the season, "Thanks for the Memories," where the barn finally arrives as well as more surprises.

FEBRUARY

The Walking Dead
Returns Feb. 10, 9 p.m. ET (AMC)
Season 3 of this popular zombie drama resumes with its ninth episode, “The Suicide King.” Who will win the fight between brothers, Daryl and Merle? Will it be a fight to the death? What fate will Rick decide for Tyreese and his group? Check out our interview with Chad L. Coleman for more insight into the remainder of Season 3.

Cult
Premieres Feb. 19, 9 p.m. ET (CW)
The CW debuts its new show-within-a-show series next month. Journalist blogger, Jeff (Matt Davis) and Production Assistant, Skye (Jessica Lucas) check out why and how a TV series may be causing the harm and disappearances of its “cult-like” fans. It looks like a suspenseful, paranoia-filled show with perhaps supernatural connections

Stranded
Premieres Feb. 27, 10 p.m. ET (Syfy)
According to the official press release from Syfy, "Ping Pong Productions (Destination Truth, Finding Bigfoot) joins forces with Josh Gates (star of Syfy's travel-adventure series Destination Truth) and Jason Blum's Blumhouse (Paranormal Activity, The River) to create Stranded, an all-new six-episode reality series that documents an unconventional - and terrifying - paranormal and psychological experiment." Sound intriguing? Be sure to check it out next month and let us know what you think.

MARCH

Haunted Collector
Returns Mar. 6, 9 p.m. ET (Syfy)
Demonologist and collector of haunted items, John Zaffis and his crew (Brian J. Cano, Jason Gates, Chris Zaffis, Aimee Zaffis, and Jessyln Brown) are back for Season 3. Where is the team headed and what kinds of items will be discovered this season? Be sure to tune in this March.

Grimm
Returns Mar. 8, 9 p.m. ET (NBC)
Season 2’s last episode was way back on Nov. 16th ("Season of the Hexenbiest") so March is a long time to wait for the rest of the season to resume. The opening line of the next episode was taken from the Brothers Grimm folktale “Town Musicians of Bremen” and is...Oh! There is a terrible witch in that house who spewed her poison over me and scratched me with her long fingernails. The title hasn’t been released yet so take from that what you will...

Revolution
Returns March 25, 10 p.m. ET (NBC)
Season 1 of the J.J. Abrams survival series about our world after the lights go out (and then come back on?) returns in March after a long hiatus. The last episode aired on Nov. 26 and, according to producer Eric Kripke, "The show's story will pick up right where it left off, but as the season goes on, it will also explore more of the world beyond the war-torn Monroe Republic. So if you've wondered why these people haven't rediscovered pre-electricity technologies like steam engines and sewing machines, just wait. You'll be visiting other countries where those machines are thriving."

Orphan Black
Premieres March 30, 9 p.m. ET (BBC America)
The trailer for this new science fiction series (http://www.bbcamerica.com/orphan-black/), premiered during the Doctor Who Christmas episode. Sarah (Tatiana Maslany) steals the identity, boyfriend and bank account of a dead woman with an uncanny resemblance to her. She hopes the identity theft will alleviates the problems in her life, but it only adds to them when she discovers that she and the woman are clones of each other. Conspiracy, suspense, mystery and sex ensue.

Courtesy HBO
Game of Thrones
Returns Mar. 31, 9 p.m. ET (HBO)
June 3 concluded Season 2 of this epic HBO fantasy series, so the March 31 return is no doubt one of our most anticipated. Season 3 is going to be bigger and longer (insert snarky Tyrion remark here), and will contain many new characters. This is necessary because the producers are tackling one of author George R. R. Martin’s largest "Song of Fire and Ice" novels, A Storm of Swords. The 10 episodes will have extra minutes added on to it’s usual 52 minutes. The finale showed us a screaming White Walker, among other cliffhangers. Read my recap of “Valar Morghulis” to refresh your memory.

APRIL

Doctor Who
Returns April 2013 (BBC America)
The second part of Season 7 returns this Spring. This past Christmas, fans got to meet The Doctor’s new Companion, Clara Oswin Oswald (Jenna-Louise Coleman), a woman who pulls the Time Lord out of his post-Pond funk and intrigues him with a mystery about her real identity. Oh yeah, and it looks like there will be Cybermen and Silence along the way. Also expect more of Strax, Vastra and Jenny.

Defiance
Premieres April 15, 9 p.m. ET (Syfy)
This new sci-fi series (which is part of a transmedia experience with the online video game of the same name) is already being treated as Syfy's favorite child, and will unveil it with a 2-hour episode this April. According to the site, “Drifting through a terramorphed American landscape, the mysterious Nolan settles in a border town where aliens and humans fight against the fragility of peace. Tune in weekly as the citizens of Defiance thrive in this hostile world, and see how their struggles impact your war in the high-octane multi-platform MMO shooter from Trion Worlds!” It’ll be nice to see spaceships return to the network and critics are likening the sci-fi Western to Firefly.

Warehouse 13
Returns April 22 (Syfy)
Season 4 of Syfy’s drama-comedy series returns this April after a long wait. No news yet on what the remainder of Season 4 will bring but after the topsy-turviness and the fractured relationships of the mid-season finale "We All Fall Down," things are bound to get even more contentious.