New Superhero TV Show ‘Alphas’ Coming to Syfy

The recently renamed Syfy Channel just picked up the pilot for "Alphas," a TV show about a superheroes (or "Alphas") working in a group under the NSA whose powers often come at a terrible price. The Professor Xavier of the team is a Dr. Leigh Rosen, and the premise draws heavily on themes from "The X-Men":

Gary Bell, a highly functioning autistic with an ability to process information that rivals most computers; Bill Harken, a former FBI agent who can amp up his "fight or flight" reflex, giving him extraordinary strength for a brief period of time; Nina Theroux, a beautiful woman who can reprogram other people's minds to do as she bids; and Rachel Myers, an orthodox Jew who can shatter glass with but a whisper. However with said powers comes a price - for Gary, autism which makes him a child for all intents and purposes; for Harken, severe anger issues that cost him his job and family; for Rachel, living life as a near mute and being forced to wear an electronic device against her larynx; and Nina, never really knowing how those close to her actually feel. In any case, they've all come together for the common good with Rosen as their mentor, teaching them to further control their abilities with each passing day.

It was originally picked up by ABC, shelved during the writer's strike, and will now be making it way to the science fiction-themed network. As io9 points out, there is some reason to worry, considering the fact that it's written by the guys who scripted the underwhelming "X-Men 3: The Last Stand" movie, and one of them also wrote "Elektra." That still means it'll be probably be better than "Heroes," though, so I'm willing to give it a shot.

(via io9)