Earlier this week, former Buffy scribe and all around awesome lady Jane Espenson wrote a piece for The New Republic on the odd phenomenon of science fiction failing on television while dominating cinema. She explains why she feels certain sci-fi connects with the masses when most representations of the genre can’t escape their niche, acknowledging that most people just like their metaphors easily digestible. Given the difficulty of getting a greenlight for sci-fi shows, it’s odd that we’re seeing such a large crop of them the last couple of weeks. For all you lucky shut-ins, here’s a guide to this weekend’s most geektastic offerings:

Flash Gordon (9pm, Friday, SciFi) – Flash is a 70-year-old comic book fixture that I know nothing about, but a little research tells me that he fits Espenson’s bill for the ideal Sci-Fi protagonist: a normal person suddenly thrust into extraordinary circumstances. Unfortunately for Flash, even his history and possibly accessible premise can’t earn this newest incarnation good reviews. I’ve yet to see it for myself, but those with whom I generally tend to side are not feeling this remake. Pre-judge not, lest ye be pre-judged, kids.

Jekyll (9pm, Saturday, BBC America ) – The US run of this short-lived BBC drama started airing last week on BBC America. A modern rendition of Jekyll and Hyde, it tells the story Tom Jackman (James Nesbitt) – a man who is the unknowing decedent of the real Dr Jekyll. Instead of dangerous experimentations with drugs or serums, Hyde is activated by a genetic marker that passed down the generations. The ways in which Tom interacts with his evil counterpart (through a digital recorder and shared assistant) make him almost Golem-esque. It’s rough seeing Nesbitt as a creep after playing the greatest dad ever in Millions, but the ease with which he seems to play the two characters probably couldn’t be rivaled by many. At only six episodes, tuning in for Jekyll isn’t much of a commitment, but it’s well worth it – if only to better acquaint yourself with new Bionic Woman Michelle Ryan.

Masters of Science Fiction (10pm, Saturday, ABC) – Like Showtime’s Masters of Horror before it, ABC’s new miniseries brings in some of the genre’s notable writers and directors for four Twilight Zone style installments intended to pretty much unnerve you. It hasn’t been as heavily promoted as last summer’s Nightmares and Dreamscapes on TNT, which is a shame, because it’s much more thoughtful. Last week’s premiere found Sam Waterston and Judy Davis playing psychologist and patient in a post-apocalyptic battle of wills. Waterston, who I’ve never given a second thought, did a stellar job evoking the criminal naiveté of our current Commander In Chief. Lost’s Terry O’Quinn stars in tomorrow’s episode, “The Awakening”, about a non-human casualty of the Iraq War. The biggest problem with MoSF is the utterly bizarre narration by super-brain Stephen Hawking. If anything busts up suspension of disbelief, it’s that robotic voice.

 Finally, whether it be science fiction, spiritual or just crap with a vaguely supernatural twist, it should be noted that HBO’s first and (I can only imagine) final season of John From Cincinnati concludes on Sunday. Questions are promised to be answered, but I still don’t even know what to ask.