[rant] Scifi, syfy, and the death of TV (atleast for me)

I'll say this right away: This seemed like an appropriate section, but if it's "ranty" nature deems it to be better placed in the "debate" section then I understand.


Over the past couple years, I've noticed a steep decline in the amount of legitimately good shows, and I certainly hope I'm not the only one.

When I like to watch tv, generally, I prefer to either watch a documentary about something we know to be observable/repeatable, or a good story that will resonate emotionally with me.

I've had the worst of luck finding either of those things as of late. It seems the media market is flooded with nothing but reality tv shows, and the documentaries that do exist are always about incredibly hypothetical ideas barely grounded in reality. Don't get me wrong, thought exercises are fun, but there is a time and a place for them. (Like scifi for example)

More specifically related to my main point though, I've also noticed that Syfy, the channel behind the vast majority of recent science fiction shows, and the place you could go to watch old ones (somewhat recently renamed from Sci-Fi,) seems to have decided that Science Fiction isn't for them.

Their... disappointing priorities first became apparent to me when they cancelled stargate universe in its 1st season. Stargate universe (despite some of the "I HATE CHANGE" fanboy attitudes towards it) was actually a really amazing show, the characters felt like real people, their experiences felt real, and every episode was really unique. It also had an amazing soundtrack which (as it should) contributed to the atmosphere of the show substantially, just take a listen to this for example: SGU- Light

Then, after just a single season in (two had been filmed and were subsequently aired), syfy cancels SGU to make way for "WWE smackdown," and other assorted nonsense. That really belongs on the scifi channel... But alas, it's all about money.

At that point though, there was still hope, with shows like Eureka (and sanctuary to some degree) still active, I could ignore stuff like "Ghost Hunters" and "WWE Smackdown," Eureka would be on eventually.




And now, just a couple months back the final blow. The last remaining Scifi show, Euraka, is cancelled. It's their top rated show according to the internets, and they cancelled it. They're too busy promoting their ALL NEW HIT SERIES like MARY KNOWS BEST, and TOTAL BLACKOUT...

They've even started producing their own amazing movies, like Sharktopus:
http://uncrate.com/p/2011/03/sharktopus.jpg



This is starting to get really disappointing. Don't get me wrong, I don't even mind reality TV that much, but it definitely doesn't belong on syfy.

Here is their current show lineup so you can get a better picture of what I'm rambling about: (Massive block of data for clarity)
Alphas (scifi... ish... reruns, 1 season, cancelled)
Battlestar Galactica (scifi, reruns, many seasons (older show), cancelled)
Being Human ("supernatural drama", 4 seasons, new season in the works)
Caprica (scifi, reruns, 1 season, cancelled)
Destination Truth ("paranormal reality tv", 4 seasons, new season in the works)
Dream Machines (I have no idea wtf genre to call this one, it has no wikipedia page, its being promoted currently, new seasons in the works)
Eureka (scifi, new episodes still airing, 5 seasons, cancelled)
Face Off (reality tv, 2 seasons, new season in the works)
Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files ("paranormal reality tv", 3 seasons, new season in the works)
Ghost Hunters ("paranormal reality tv", 8 seasons, new season in the works)
Ghost Hunters International ("paranormal reality tv", 3 seasons, new season in the works)
Haunted Collector ("paranormal reality tv", 2 seasons, new season in the works)
Haven ("supernatural drama", 2 seasons, new season in the works)
Hollywood Treasure ("reality tv", 1 season, new season in the works)
Legend Quest ("adventure", 1 season, reruns, cancelled)
Lost Girl ("supernatural crime drama", 2 seasons, new season in the works)
Merlin ("medieval fantasy", 4 seasons, new season in the works)
Monster Man ("unknown?" unknown seasons, new season in the works (shows how much people care, there isnt even a wiki page))
Neverland ("adventure fantasy", 2 episode miniseries, reruns)
Paranormal Witness ("paranormal reality tv", 1 season, new season in the works)
Sanctuary ("scifi fantasy", 4 seasons, reruns, unknown status (thought to be cancelled))
Scare Tactics ("hidden camera reality tv", 4 seasons, unknown status (wikipedia page was sparse))
Stargate Universe ("scifi", 2 seasons, cancelled *wimper*, reruns)
The Twilight Zone (range of genres, franchise, reruns)
Total Blackout ("reality tv", unknown seasons, unknown status, but assumed to be in production, massive promotions on syfy's website, no wikipedia page)
Urban Legends ("documentary", 3 seaons, reruns, unknown status(believed to be filming))
WWE SmackDown ("........ wrestling? really?", 13 seasons, constant production)
Warehouse 13 ("scifi fantasy", 3 seasons, in production)

Now, if you're like me and dont like reading a massive block of text, here is the data represented simply:
On the tv station syfy, there are 10 different franchises that fall under the category of "supernatural reality TV" (one? cancelled,) 6 that fall under the category of "reality tv" (none? cancelled,) 7 that fall under science fiction (only 1 of witch isnt cancelled,) a few unknown genres (no wikipedia page)/other and wrestling which is persistent.



And a note about the corruption that now runs the place, here are a few quotes from them about their recent shift in priorities:

"The name Sci Fi has been associated with geeks and dysfunctional, antisocial boys in their basements with video games and stuff like that, as opposed to the general public and the female audience in particular...We spent a lot of time in the '90s trying to distance the network from science fiction, which is largely why it's called Sci Fi."- Tim Brooks, founder of Sci-Fi

"We'll get the heritage and the track record of success, and we'll build off of that to build a broader, more open and accessible and relatable and human-friendly brand."- Dave Howe, President of Syfy


It's clear how they feel about their viewers, they're inhuman dysfunctional antisocial boys living in cold basements.
We no longer pay for cable service, it's pointless at this point. What little media I do watch now I'll just pirate, and anything worth my while, (like the upcoming Star Trek: The Next Generation on Blu-Ray) I'll buy it.




Clearly this world isn't cut out for people who wish we could get past things like beating each-other up for the amusement of the masses, and wandering around dusty houses with nightvision cameras.




A final note: Sorry if this is a bit incoherent at times, it was a massive rant, I usually don't do this sort of thing.

i'm with you on that the whole stargate story with syfy ... srsly syfy? it used to be sci-fi and with the name change came the mentioned cancellation oooh btw: you forgot "the dresden files" (awesome novels with an good adaption)
anyways ... the way syfy handled SGU was baaaaad and to top it off they had to fuck with the fans by airing the seasons cliffhanger finale ... FFS there was a good cut where every consumer friendly broadcaster would end it if its being canceled

I'd make a serious reply, but I can't stop laughing at that god damn Sharktopus LOL.