The Sentinel (1996 - 1999)
This show won't go down in history as a brilliant show. Its characters will not be lauded as ground breaking. The story is, well, silly. But that doesn't stop us from loving it!
Jim Ellison (Richard Burgi) is a soldier who was lost in the Peruvian jungle for 18 months. With his team dead, Ellison developed heightened senses to stay alive. After returning to civilization, Ellison becomes a police detective. He has successfully assimilated back into society until one day when BAM! his heightened senses return. That's when he meets Blair Sandburg (Garrett Maggart), an anthropology grad student who has been researching the global cultural phenomenon of "sentinels" — people or demigods with super powers who are charged with protecting a particular social group. Sandburg turns Ellison into a project and helps him learn how to use his powers while proving his own hypothesis. Keeping Ellison's powers a secret isn't always easy, but Captain Simon Banks (Bruce A. Young — the A stands for Awesome) not only helps hide his living crime lab, but allows Sandburg to do a four season ride-along. Yes, I said it was a silly idea.
One of the most surprising things about the Sentinel is that it lasted 4 seasons for 65 episodes. Astounding! Only the first season is available on DVD, but I've been told you can find bootleg DVD sets fairly easily. And don't get me started on the plethora of fan fiction out there!