TeleVision from Hell

Um … not really.

Science Fiction fans everywhere choked on their soylent green when they first heard the announcement from NBC Universal that the Sci-Fi Channel was going to be “rebranded” as SyFy.  Across the vast expanse of geekdom could be heard a collective, disbelieving chorus of “No … they wouldn’t … Would they?”

Yeah, they would.  They did.  Right on schedule on July 7, 2009, the Sci-Fi Channel was officially renamed SyFy.  On a Tuesday, even … evidently to correspond with the series debute of Warehouse 13 (which I think is where they will be mothballing all that now defunct Sci-Fi Channel merchandise).

I really thought someone somewhere would come to their senses and change their drug addled minds.  I understand it all has something to do with ‘branding’ and not being able to copyright Sci-Fi … but come on.  On what planet, including Bizarro World, did this sound like a good idea?

I’ll continue to watch good science fiction wherever I can find it (and no, I won’t be watching wrasslin’ on any network whatever).  In other words, I’m not going let sheer corporate stupidity change my viewing habits.  When TNN became Spike TV, it didn’t suddenly become a better network (possibly the opposite happened).  So Sci-Fi becoming SyFy doesn’t really change the fact that the network continues to be spotty at best.  Some great stuff, sure.  But for every great show, there’s a very good one they some how manage to bury or simply bungle.  Some that sure as hell could have been great too.  So I don’t expect this newly revisioned network to step up and rescue promising science fiction offerings dumped by other networks (as was once done for both Sliders and Stargate: SG1).  Sci-Fi opted out of that business sometime ago, choosing instead to simply rebroadcast recently canceled science fiction shows … as well as various programs that don’t resemble science fiction at all.  I’m surprised that Sci-Fi/SyFy can find room on the schedule for any original content at all anymore, unless it’s another big steaming pile of a “reality” TV show.

So, Battlestar Galactica is no more.  Both Stargate series are gone (but living on in perpetual rerun hell).  The Dresden Files (one of those shows that certainly could have been great) have disappeared and the legendary days of Farscape are all but forgotten.  The glory days of Sci-Fi have come and gone.  Welcome to SyFy.

And wrasslin’.  Don’t forget the wrasslin’.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 13th, 2009 at 12:43 am and is filed under What the Hell?!?!. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.