Syfy: The end of all things, or upgrade?

So, Sci-Fi channel is rebranding itself, attempting to shake off it's conception of being nothing but Star Trek, space travel, aliens and time travel (otherwise known as, the stuff that made it), and to embrace more varried fantasy and imagination based programing (does this mean no more movies like "Mansquito" and "Boagator Vs. Pythonbot 4: Your Sister is a Zombie"?).

Add to this they have already done away with most of our beloved genre shows (BSG, which had a full run, but SGA still had alittle mileage left on her tires), are shifting others (Eureka on Fridays? I don't know....), and are seemingly slow to replace what they've lost (Warehouse 13? SGU? ), and other shows (Sanctuary) seem to have been on hiatus forever.

So, what do you, the ST faitful, think of all this: Is this the end? Will they slowly replace "our" programing with more and more themed reality shows and Wrassling? Or is this a legitimate move to keep a channel fresh and interesting?

Couldn't care less; they lost me years ago when they axed Farscape and the Invisible Man in spite of the ratings those shows were bringning in, and stated promises to the production companies to support those shows for at least an additional year beyond when they were cancelled. They're a wrong-headed, fool-hardy, dishonest bunch of buffoons, and the sooner they vanish into thin air the better off everyone will be.

Most of their in-house programming seems... dumb. Lame. Uninteresting. I don't know. I've never seen the channel itself : P

The only reason I want Sci-Fi to survive is because it seems to get Doctor Who before anyone else does stateside (and I don't have access to BBC America where I live). Otherwise, the channel really lost me with the BSG mini-series (and I never had any real interest in the Stargate TV franchise). Only Tin Man caught my eye, and now that I have that on DVD, I have no need for it on the TV.

I think they've started the new look: they ditched the 'mini-marathons' of shows during the day for movies all day till primetime programing starts.

I kinda hated the mini-marathons, but somedays it was nice to see a run of a show, or episodes that you liked. Although I hated when they showed stuff like 'Flash Gordan"or some of those other attempted series.

I guess it's too early to tell what the new channel will be like.

It is suppose to just be a rebranding to better represent that it is sci-fi not Sci-Fi ie. the greater term of sci-fi including fantasy, horror, etc. instead of the narrow advance science fiction. So just more of the same is their plan. They just want to use the name change to promote that yes they have horror, fantasy and super-hero.

If you ask me, the network have decided to go mainstream instead of genre. :mad:

Sorry, I don't buy that "we're trying to be all genres like fantasy" excuse. There's nothing fantastical about professional wrestling (i.e., ECW).

They may not have great programming before, but at least they have stayed true to their now-defunct namesake format. This "SyFy" is worse than all the crappy SCI-FI original movies.

This is analogous to what happened to MTV (before it was 99% music videos, now we get crappy reality shows).

I blame it on Perez Hilton, Paris Hilton fans, and mainstream.

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Originally Posted by REG

If you ask me, the network have decided to go mainstream instead of genre. :mad:

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Look at this list. There's no distinction anymore, man. "Mainstream," as in no robots or dragons or zombies, is itself a ghettoized genre, subdivided into expected plot structure–thriller, action film, introspection or romance.

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Sorry, I don't buy that "we're trying to be all genres like fantasy" excuse. There's nothing fantastical about professional wrestling (i.e., ECW).

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That's like saying Hercules was a docudrama. : P

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Originally Posted by The Tatterdemalion King

Look at this list. There's no distinction anymore, man. "Mainstream," as in no robots or dragons or zombies, is itself a ghettoized genre, subdivided into expected plot structure–thriller, action film, introspection or romance.

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Which is even more proof that SCI-FI should stick with "SCI-FI" brand. The only thing needed restructuring is their management.

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Originally Posted by REG

Which is even more proof that SCI-FI should stick with "SCI-FI" brand.

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The change does seem pretty pointless. I can appreciate the logo style change, but they could probably have just chosen another acronym or word.

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The only thing needed restructuring is their management.

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They do seem to lack a compelling vision there... I suspect BSG's success has swollen some corporate egos instead of creative ones.