The Sci Fi Channel has finally dropped any pretence of having anything to do with science fiction and is officially changing its name to "Syfy".None of this is surprising, since the channel has been on a long, slow descent into indistinguishability for over half a decade. In it's heyday, the Sci Fi Channel was an oasis for those who enjoyed science fiction–especially the classic variety and whether it was locally available was the deal breaker in my deciding which part of town I'd live in. Then came the inevitable slide with the science fiction content being replaced by horror, shlock Z "original" productions notable for basement budgets and hideous acting, pseudo "reality" programming, wrestling (wrestling?!?) and films that included such hardcore sci fi as Apollo 13 and Braveheart. What little science fiction remained was relegated to soap operas (*cough* Galactica *cough*) openly targeted at a female demographic by producers who apologised for the science fiction looking like science fiction. After that, I only tuned in fleetingly out of morbid curiousity.
No funeral announcements have been made because no one expects any mourners.
3 comments:
No great loss, they've shown little but Canadian bargain basement stuff for years.
When SciFi started they could have been called the Irwin Allen channel since they showed all the great TV shows from the King of SciFi himself; and I rejoiced. That came to an end around 2001.
The other NBC-Universal offering, Chiller Channel, shows more of the classic science fiction stuff than SciFi has in a decade.
I had hoped there'd be a "Classic SciFi" channel sooner or later, but now I can find all the classics (you know; 50s atomic monster movies) on YouTube.
You badmouth Battlestar Galactica at your peril, Dave.
Still. Never watched Scifi, since if I did ever want a b-movie I could look on youtube (or watch MST3K, which adds a extra dash of hilarity to proceedings).
This is absurd!
First of all, why does a channel catering to science fiction shows want to shed its "geeky" image? That's your damned viewership, you morons! Is ESPN trying to shed its "jocks and sports fans" image? No, because jocks and sports fans aren't ashamed of who they are. And neither are geeks! But someone forgot to tell that to the TV studio executives. You know, like the mental giants who canceled Firefly.
If the Sci Fi channel is worried about its "image," quit making pieces of **** like Mansquito with its trite plots and circa 1989 CGI. Shows like Battlestar Galactica and Stargate SG-1 show that the Sci Fi network can make top-notch programming if they really want to. And if they need to fill up some air time, instead of the lame monster of the week flicks, why not have a show devoted to vintage science fiction shows like Space Patrol and the 1960s - 70s Doctor Who? Why not do a high-quality Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles miniseries? Joe Haldeman's The Forever War? Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination? Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age? Larry Niven's Ringworld? Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy and Robot novels? Any of these would be great miniseries or (with some adaption) regular series. It's not like you've drained the well of science fiction dry. In fact, the name is one of the few things the channel actually got right.
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