Perhaps you are pitching it to the wrong people. Some TV critics consider this to be another golden age of television, not so much for what is on the networks, but what paid TV operations like HBO and Showtime have brought into the mainstream. The Sopranos, Oz, Deadwood, Six Feet Under, The L Word, The Tudors, Rome, etc, etc, etc. And this relative innovation in programming (I am not going to call it originality really as some of this stuff is merely genre pieces that have been updated) has spilled over into cable networks such as FX offering shows like the Shield, Rescue Me, Nip/Tuck, the Riches, etc.
I think if you are trying to pitch a Sci-Fi show it is going to be a tough sell. It always has been.
As to originality and risk, I think the hesitancy that you have observed to try something new is well-known. Movie studios are looking more and more toward franchises, sequels, and formulas. I mean, Ocean's 13??? Did anyone even see Ocean's 12 or remember what it was even about? Television has retreated for many years now into reality programming and game shows.