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The Fall 2008 season has brought viewers two new shows that follow a team of agents who are called to investigate the unusual and paranormal. But if you’re like us, you only have room in your life for one show about the exact same thing. Here’s a breakdown of the how Fringe stacks up against Eleventh Hour, and which sci-fi investigator show should ultimately win a place on your TV.

Leading Lady - Anna Torv vs. Marley Shelton
Anna Torv is boring. She looks plain, her lack of emotion almost rivals Agent Smith in The Matrix. On the other hand, Marley Shelton is hot, could easily beat up any guy you know, and ever since Planet Terror, superfans across the globe have been waiting to see more of her.

Leading Man - Joshua Jackson vs. Rufus Sewell
Hmmm…Pacey from Dawson’s Creek, or that dude from Dark City. While Fringe might just do for Joshua Jackson what How I Met Your Mother did for Neil Patrick Harris, we’re going to give this one to Eleventh Hour for hiring the guy from one of the best cult-classic sci-fi flicks ever.

Comedy Sidekick - John Noble vs. Rufus Sewell
Crazy old man that apparently performed hundreds of LSD-inspired experiments in the 70’s vs. Rufus Sewell (again). As the geeky scientist that pairs up with the butt-kicking blonde, Sewell has to try to be funny without being a total loser. On the other hand, John Noble keeps a live cow in his science lab.

Executive Producer - J.J. Abrams vs. Jerry Bruckheimer
On one hand J.J. Abrams brought us Alias and Lost. On the other hand, he brought us What About Brian and Cloverfield. Jerry Bruckheimer produced The Pirates of the Caribbean movies, both National Treasures, and a whole string of CSI’s. Tough call, we’ll call this one a tie.

Plot - Team investigates strange occurrences vs. Team investigates strange occurrences
This one really should be a tie, but Eleventh Hour just isn’t compelling. However, from the very first episode, Fringe clearly set out a battle between the good guys and the evil corporation, and tipped-off the viewer that not everything is what it seems.

Overall Winner
When the Fall 2008 TV season was announced, we thought Eleventh Hour was going to be the clear winner. But despite how much we love Marley Shelton and how little we care about Anna Torv, Fringe is the better show, without question. It’s filled with more intrigue, more suspense, more humor, and it has a cow.

So with all the categories counted, we declare the winner: X Files
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If you’re going to copy something, at least make it better than the original. This is the rule bands must follow if they cover a song, it’s how Microsoft became an empire, and it’s why Japanese television sets took over the market. So if you want to watch a good paranormal investigation show, just watch X Files.