Continuum: Season One

Created for Canadian TV and picked up by the Syfy channel stateside, this mix of time-travel sci-fi and urban cop show stars Rachel Nichols as law-enforcement officer Kiera Cameron, who is transported back from 2077 to 2012 along with a band of revolutionaries sprung from prison in a wonderfully inventive jail break. Stuck more than 60 years in the past, she teams up with Vancouver police detective Carlos Fonnegra (Victor Webster) and budding technology phenom Alec Sadler (Erik Knudsen) to stop the terrorists from using their knowledge to sabotage the future. Along with the cool technology and flash-forwards, what drives this clever genre show are its topsy-turvy contradictions. In the future, a corporate oligarchy rules the country with more interest in stability and profit than social welfare and human rights, with Kiera acting as both a loyal government soldier and a police officer dedicated to protecting every human life. The “bad guys,” meanwhile, fight for freedom and democracy with the bloodthirsty vengeance of gangsters, indifferent to who is being sacrificed along the way. Presenting all 10 episodes from the 2012 debut season, extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette. A strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker)