‘Opposite Worlds’ premieres tonight on Syfy; is this a great ‘Big Brother’ appetizer?

Anytime that there is a new reality competition on TV, we are very intrigued to check it out and see if it has the right stuff. Sometimes (see “King of the Nerds” or “Whodunnit?”), we end up getting a winner. Other times (see “Styled to Rock” or “Expedition Impossible”), we get something that we prefer to forget.

What makes “Opposite Worlds” interesting is that it combines a number of things to us that are interesting to a certain degree: “Big Brother,” “The Glass House,” anything involving time travel, and “Survivor: Fiji,” otherwise known as that season with a tribe of haves and have-nots. The premise here is that you have two groups of people, each living in a certain world; one collection of people will be suffering in the past, and another group will be living large in the future. It is an interesting way for Syfy to get into the reality TV space a little bit with a show that could actually feel like science fiction, though we are sure that most fans of the network are still just mad that they canceled “Alphas.”

There are various aspects of the competition that seem interesting, including some sort of battle to see who stays in the game each episode, and also public voting that helps to control who has the power most of the time. The comparisons to “The Glass House” are probably the most understandable given the gameplay, though here America does not at least entirely hold your fate.

In the end, the true measure of this show will just be the contestants, the presentation, the hosting, and also the usage of the technology. Most of that we’re not going to see until the show airs. But for those of you who are starving through a late start for “Survivor” and no “Big Brother” until the Canadian version of the show starts on March 5, there could be something to like here.

We’ll be back soon with a full review of the premiere, so be on the watch in the future for that. Meanwhile, sign up now to get some more TV updates weekly via our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Photo: Syfy