Siffy (Syfy)

[etain]

I consume a lot of media. The amount of this has only increased as I've begun to watch television (read Hulu) with any regularity. I'm catching up on the years of shows I missed--both as a child without a television connected to anything but a beta player, then as someone without cable, then as someone without a tv at all. I've come to know how

Comments

[mizukaze]

it happens everywhere... at least someone funded cool scifi/fantasy stuff for a while...

I mean, while Fox killed every single good show that they had, in favor of lackluster, pseudo-reality trash, they at least brought those shows into daylight where other networks wouldn't even touch scifi or fantasy or edgy comedy... it's always going to be rare enough, and we've been lucky with what we have had... think about "science fiction" before the mid-nineties... yeah, it was all in print, rarely on TV, except for Star Trek... and that had strange cult-like fans that make other science fiction/fantasy nerds feel awkward and sympathetic for the sad little dears.

Not trying to be contrarian for the sake of argument, but I've thought about it a lot, and while we may be sad that the network is "moving on" we have to remember that getting green-lit for any kind of "speculative fiction" programming has always been hard, and we've been spoiled of late...

[etain]

I'm thankful for what I've had. I really am. It doesn't mean I'm not bothered by the changes. I mean, people are mad at Fox, etc, but they've taken some real chances. A lot of channels have when they make shows [I] like, and those don't always do well, but they keep trying.

[__kat__]

I feel as though some suit just gave me the finger.

This is exactly how I feel. And I will not encourage that kind of behavior by remaining a viewer. They lost me.

ps: do you mind if I link this? You have managed to put my thoughts into words much better than I have been able.

[etain]

Sure. Though, I always feel like, given more time and editing, I could say it better (than I have.)

[zyzzy]

I'll admit that my attention to SciFi began and ended with the last few seasons of MST3K. I realize that may put me at odds with the serious SF enthusiasts who made up the core of SciFi's viewership...but dammit, that was the one show the males in my family excitedly gathered around the TV to watch on Saturday nights. Even if it was a rerun. Especially if it was one of a handful of particularly special reruns. (Yes, Cinematic Titanic and Rifftrax exist, but they lack the actual recurring characters that made MST3K more than just a bunch of guys snarking at the screen.)

I'll second the SciFi ad campaign as one of the more clever and relevant campaigns for a TV channel. The "I Am SciFi" one was pretty cool, too; I remember Busta Rhymes in one spot with his dreads connected like cables to turntables or something.

I've been following some threads about Syfy at the AV Club and the Straight Dope Message Board, but I think your open letter summarizes the overall sentiment of the channel's alienated (no pun intended) core viewership, and

[thewonderelf]

Word.