Blame it on an ever-more-frightening real world, skyrocketing gas prices, the Middle East quagmire or whatever you choose, but rarely has there been a better time to be a sci-fi geek. Escapist fiction in print, movie, TV and videogame form is a white-hot market, and even though last year's LASIK deprived me of my wire-framed glasses, I'm cinching down my pocket protector and preparing for quite a ride over the next few months.

Herewith, the highlights as I see them. You will, of course, disagree. It is the nature of sci-fi geeks to disagree. Is there a new Star Trek movie? Message boards will melt in the resulting flame wars. A beloved comic book adapted for the silver screen? Debates on who's playing the title role alone will crash even the beefiest servers.

So, like it or lump it, here's the things keeping that gleam in my fanboy eye:

1. "Lost": Some thought ABC's decision to hold "Lost" until late in the season was a sign of lack of confidence, but the writers' strike made the powers that be at the network look prescient. I'm not so sure about the move to Thursday nights, as I think it's a safe bet that "CSI" will wipe the floor with the island folk when new episodes return, but I'll be watching. With the "flash-forward" showing six who escaped the island, the Mystery Coffin and the freighter crew along with all the already-twisty plotlines, "Lost" isn't kind to new viewers, but it rewards the attention of faithful viewers better than any other show on TV.

2. "Iron Man": I've always been a fan of Robert Downey Jr., and was delighted when it seemed he'd at long last put his problems with various toxic substances behind him and gotten back to the business of art. And then he went and put on one of the most recognized costumes in comics history. Iron Man, like Batman, is relatable because he's not a superhero. He's just a guy. Granted, he's a guy with giant, steaming piles of money and all the cool explosion-oriented toys that can provide, but he can't stop bullets with his hand or shoot webs from his wrists. Putting Downey inside the suit is a masterstroke, and if anything can turn the movie into a franchise, that's it.

3. "Star Trek": J. J. Abrams, I've trusted you for a decade now, since you wrote the script for the most jingoistic, rah-rah summer popcorn flick ever, "Armageddon." Yes, it was a big ball of cliches punctuated by massive explosions that made the U.S. look like the only nation on Earth with the brains to blow its nose, but it was fun. You delivered with "Alias," knocked it out of the park with "Lost" and redefined the monster-movie genre with "Cloverfield." So I'm going to trust you with the keys to my most beloved starship. Casting Zachary Quinto as Spock was genius. I'm still a little annoyed at you for not snagging Nathan Fillion as Kirk, but I'm the forgiving sort.

(There should be enough in that entry alone to get me simultaneously banned from and invited to speak at WorldCon.)

4. "World War Z": The book was one of the greatest pieces of zombie fiction ever written, a collection of stories of the survivors of the zombie war interspersed with glimpses of life after the war. The stories, everything from soldiers forced to change their tactics in the face of an enemy that doesn't respond to "shock and awe" to ordinary folk doing what they had to do to survive, are the stuff of nightmares. Now I've been told that J. Michael Straczynski, father of the most creative sci-fi series not named "Firefly" in the last 10 years, is writing the screenplay. If he brings the same grit to that project that he did to "Babylon 5," you'd better get your zombie-stomping boots shined up.

5. Mulder and Scully: Yes, Virginia, there is another "X-Files" movie in the works. IMDb lists the release date as July 25, 2008, and if any of you try to get in line ahead of me, prepare to die. Chris Carter has done a wickedly good job of keeping the plot under wraps, and David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are old pros at spoiler-killing. It's a safe bet that any "real scoop" you hear on the movie between now and the end of July will be something Carter and Co. planted out there to keep all the prying, funkilling fanboys busy.

6. "Torchwood": Looking for an excuse to pay the extra jack for the full-menu digital cable? Capt. Jack Harkness, the bisexual, immortal, time-traveling head of the title organization, charged with saving Great Britain (and the world) from alien incursions both overt and stealthy, gives you all the reason you need. The show, on BBC America, is a sexy, occasionally hilarious, always edge-of-the-seat ride. The characters are as close to real people as you're likely to meet. They know they're saving the world, but they occasionally have to take time out for a bender, a breath or a frolicsome shag with a military man from the past. Thanks to the weird way the Brits work their TV seasons, I can never quite figure out when new episodes are coming, but my DVR is always set to catch them.

7. Big Nasty Metal Guys: I'm speaking, of course, of Terminators. With "Terminators: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" rocking the small screen on Fox and Christian Bale playing John Connor in a continuation of the movie series, the Terminator future is so bright they've got to wear shades ... to hide their glowing, red eyes, of course. You have to give Bale credit for taking the role. He's already taken on the not-inconsiderable responsibility of embodying a certain Caped Crusader, and now he's going to play the most famous soldier no one has ever met.

8. "Chuck": On the surface, this show, about a computer fix-it nerd who accidentally ends up with a massive government database uploaded into his brain, sounds ridiculous. However, thanks to a brilliant cast (including Adam Baldwin, my long-lost brother, at his "kill 'em all" best) and writing that seamlessly meshes suspense with humor and adds a touch of romance, the show rocks. The writers' strike may have helped NBC's decision to pick it up for a second season, as the ratings haven't yet lit the world on fire, but I've got high hopes that the world will discover my favorite new show.

9. "Heroes": Tim Kring almost lost me with some of the more bizarre plot detours, but I've kept the faith and believe that when new episodes return in the fall, I'll be duly rewarded. This show has the potential to be one of the best or one of the worst, sometimes all within the same episode, but the fierce creativity pumped into every episode makes it worth repeated second chances.

10. Having Sons: Much to the dismay of my better half, I have laid out a tentative schedule for introducing my sons to the wonderful world of other worlds and times. I await eagerly their first comic books, first sci-fi novels and short stories and, after they've gained appreciation for the written word, their first exposure to the sci-fi classics. Am I raising future geeks? Maybe. But everyone knows we'll inherit the earth someday.

Got a question? Comment? Bucket of spare money? Drop me a line, anytime!