ABC Family, for some reason, picked up the comic book series The Middleman and hired the writer of the comics, Javier Grillo-Marxuach to pen the new show. The MIddleman turns out to be some serious super hero fun, but I can’t help but feel it would be better suited on the Sci-Fi Channel. The show follows the adventures of the milk drinking wise cracking Middleman played by Matt Keeslar, and his sidekick Wendy Watson (Natalie Morales).

This week marked the second episode of the show’s first season and I must say I am really enjoying it. Although I do have a few qualms about the show.

Writing and acting are clearly The Middleman’s high points, but it really lacks in production design and special effects. I know that it’s a TV show and I shouldn’t be expecting ILM level effects, but let’s compare The Middleman to the Sci-Fi Channel comedy show Eureka.

Eureka is about a top secret US town of geniuses who spend their time breaking the barriers of science fiction, and the local sheriff who has to regulate all the hijinks. The acting on Eureka is pretty damned good, with some great guest stars coming in on a weekly basis (including SG-1’s MIchael Shanks, aka Daniel Jackson). The characters are snappy and quick witted, a lot like the stars of The Middleman, but the writing is really where Middleman starts to shine.

Written and created by Javier Grillo-Marxuach, the writer of the comic book series the show is based on, the Middleman himself is a pure American apple pie eating milk drinking do gooder who isn’t afraid to kick some sci-fi and fantasy butt. He and Wendy Watson exchange some incredibly clever and fast paced dialog, which at times requires a bit of TiVo action to actually catch.

Production values is really where the two shows differ most. Eureka has some very very good production values, and has consistently impressive effects to go along with their gadget of the week storyline. The Middleman may have just started, but I fear for the show’s future. Effects wise the show is seriously lacking. This week’s episode involved a living terra-cotta warrior who can drown his enemies in mud at will. But he ends up looking like, as Wendy Watson points off, a 90’s Terminator rip-off. At least the show doesn’t take itself all that seriously, but the audience on ABC Family really isn’t the place for a clever sci-fi show like Middleman. ABC Family viewers are used to teen dramas and reruns of Sabrina the Teenage Witch, not comic book super heros who run around blasting genetically altered gorillas and mud monsters. If this show is to survive past season one, it needs to jump ship and shift over to Sci-FI Channel. For one, Sci-Fi could provide the production team that the show deserves (case and point, Battlestar Galatica, Stargate Atlantis, Dresden Files, and Eureka). Second, the audience at Sci-Fi deserves more shows like Middleman and less programming like wrestling and Ghost Hunters and would certainly be more accepting to the show’s sci-fi comedy nature.

Help save The Middleman, a show too funny and clever for it’s channel. Check it out on Mondays on, yes, ABC Family.