Two Worlds (TV Series)

Two Worlds, otherwise known as 2Worlds, is an  Australian/ American  sci fi- fantasy television series created by Jason Holt, starring  Christopher Heyerdahl,  Eliza Dushku,  Sean Maher,  Eddie McClintock,  Taissa Farmiga and  Brea Grant. It ran from June 14th 2007 until June 12th 2011, for a total of five seasons. The shows' first season aired on June 14 2007, and was renewed for a second season. The second series aired on August 2 2008 on Sci-Fi, returning to its 9:30 PM slot-time. It was renewed for a third season for 2009, and aired on July 5 2009 at 9:30 PM, holding its same slot-time since 2007.

Following the well-recieved third season, the Sci-Fi Channel commissioned the show for a fourth season, which ended in a two-hour television movie. The fourth season aired on May 4th 2010, and the first part of the series finale aired on July 3 2010. The fourth series concluded on July 11 2010, and rumours of either a fifth season or feature length film circulated. A three part mini-series, titled Two Worlds: Stoker Chronicles aired between April 5th-19th 2008, detailing Stoker's activities before the events of season one.

The show was renewed for a fifth season, and the first episode aired on March 20th 2011, with the entire cast and crew returning. The final episode of the fifth season aired on June 12th 2011. It was announced the day before that it would be the series finale.

Premise
Main article: List of Two Worlds episodes

Two Worlds follows the work and life of the Two Worlds Program; founded around the Harker Doorway, and predominately focused on the theory of interdimensionality; wherein the Doorway allows travel across vast distances, and between the  Milky Way and the Earth 2 galaxy. The team is lead by founder Doctor John Harker, along with his colleague and protege Doctor Amanda Shaw, chief of security Luke Cosgrove, chief medicine officer Dominic Williams, Brayleshi Brayanir nar'Brayleshi, and later Harker's niece Claire Cambridge and daughter Alice Harker.

Season 1 introduces the Two Worlds Program as Luke Cosgrove is recruited as the chief of security and Harker makes a breakthrough with the Harker Doorway becoming active. Alec Faireaux is an early villain, while Harker's former friend and colleague, James Stoker, is the primary villain in the first season.

Season 2 introduces Harker's niece Claire Cambridge as she joins the team, and sees further exploration into the mythology of the show and the other races of the Earth 2 galaxy, including the Voyagers. This season also introduces the Imaginarium, a recurring setting. Stoker also returns as the main villain, with the latter half of the second season seeing Harker desperately trying to find his long-thought dead daughter Alice.

Season 3 commences with a major pact between Two Worlds and the Earth 2 galaxy species. It sees the introduction of villains Kranos, a Chalai warlord, and Charles Starkley, Harker's biological father and former mentor. The season culminates in a large scale battle between Kranos and Starkley, with the Two Worlds team calling upon all their allies to defeat two villains working together.

Season 4 introduces the Parliament of Systematization and Zeitgeist, establishing the multiple season spanning story arc focused on the Parliament and their goal to prevent the Infiltration. The Two Worlds team try desperately to prevent the Parliament from destroying civilization, and ultimately succeed with the death of Zeitgeist at the end of the season, coinciding with the birth of Amanda and Luke's daughter Sarah.

Season 5 continues the Parliament storyline with the first appearance of The Nightwatchman, the leader of the Parliament, who arrives to clean up Zeitgeist's mess and continue the "Preliminary Phase". This season sees the return of many recurring characters, including an episode focusing on Harker and Stoker's relationship during their working days. During the overarching battle between Two Worlds and the Parliament; the Two Worlds suffers many losses, including the deaths of Brayanir and Sol, and in the final episode, John himself becoming stranded in the Earth 2 galaxy with the destruction of the Harker Doorway to prevent further danger to mankind and the species of the Earth 2 galaxy, and the demise of the Parliament.

Main cast

 * Christopher Heyerdahl as Doctor John Harker, the protagonist and leader and founder of the Two Worlds program
 * Eliza Dushku as Doctor Amanda Shaw, John's assistant scientist and co-founder of the Two Worlds program.
 * Eddie McClintock as Luke Cosgrove, head of security of the Two Worlds program
 * Sean Maher as Dominic Williams, the head medical officer of the Two Worlds program
 * Brea Grant as Claire Cambridge, John's niece who later joins the Two Worlds program as her uncle's assistant
 * Taissa Farmiga as Alice Harker, John's long-thought dead teenage daughter with his wife Sarah

Supporting and recurring cast

 * Howard Jakobsen as Brayanir nar'Brayleshi, a member of the Earth 2 race known as Brayleshi, he acts as a engineer at the Two Worlds program, as well as "hired muscle"
 * James Marsters as James Stoker, a former associate of John and frequent antagonist through the series
 * James Cromwell as Colonel Richard DeLaney, a military man who acts the overseer of the Two Worlds program
 * Malcolm McDowell as Charles Starkley, Harker's biological father and mentor, he is the main antagonist in the third season
 * James Callis as Zeitgeist, a sinister member of the Parliament of Systematization
 * Jared Harris as The Nightwatchman, leader of the Parliament of Systematization and main antagonist in the fifth and final season
 * Greg Grunberg as Michael Winemann, a hapless police detective
 * Brent Spiner as Sol, a member of the Voyager species
 * Rene Auberjonois as Antares, another Voyager

Critical response
Throughout its run, Two Worlds received generally positive reception from various sources. Commenting on the pilot episode, David Cauer of NewsTomorrow wrote: "Anchored in the same sense of wonder and intrigue as  Stargate, Two Worlds entertains you and gives you something to think about".

Peter Travers of  Rolling Stone Magazine was also praising: "We get a lot of cliched and boring sci-fi these days, but Two Worlds is damn interesting and well executed. A solid cast of whos-who from some of the genre's most revered shows (Buffy, Heroes), lead by the captivating Christopher Heyerdahl; this show is definitely one to watch for sci-fi nerds and the rest of us alike''".

Sci-Fi Weekly ranked the show highly, naming it the #2 Best Science Fiction Show of 2009, behind  Fringe. They described the show as "an amalgam of  The X-Files,  Stargate SG-1, and  Dollhouse, Two Worlds is highly entertaining, contrasting epic space scenes with personal human ones seamlessly, with a great cast lead by Christopher Heyerdahl. One of the most exciting and entertaining programs on the Sci-Fi Channel".

The first season has a score of 71 on Metacritic, while the second season has a score of 75, the third 87, and the fourth and fifth equally a score of 89. The third season is regarded by fans and critics to be the strongest and most interesting.