The Sci Fi Channel is doing some time-traveling to days of yore with a batch of new movies set to air next year. Don't expect these period pieces to resemble costume dramas like Pride and Prejudice. Instead, think freakish sideshow beasts and Old West gunfighters facing off against space aliens.

The first of the TV movies will be Alien Western. Set in the late 1800s (like the upcoming Steven Spielberg-produced film Cowboys and Aliens), the TV movie tells the story of gigantic insectoids from outer space that trample their way toward a small pioneer town.

Also scheduled to air in mid to late 2009 is Carney, which takes place in the 1930s. The Depression-era horror film revisits the legend of the so-called Jersey Devil, a winged beast that terrorizes East Coast towns.

The movies are part of a slate produced by RHI Entertainment, which created Sci Fi's record-breaking miniseries Tin Man (pictured). The package includes Hellhounds, set in 500 B.C.; Afghan desert monster mash Sand Serpents; and Rise of the Gargoyle, which pits Eric Balfour's character against a real-life monster in Paris.

Sci Fi programming exec Thomas Vitale described the projects to Hollywood Reporter as "fun, escapist entertainment."