Sci Fi Channel Aims to Shed Geeky Image With New Name
"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," said TV historian Tim Brooks, who helped launch Sci Fi Channel when he worked at USA Network.
http://www.tvweek.com/news/2009/03/sci_fi_channel_aims_to_shed_ge.php
so first they try and chase me out by playing shows that are definitely NOT SciFi, (or even fantasy which gets billed as sci-fi half the time) all the time. Wrestling? really? they've already stated what their demographic audience is, and its not one that's big on wrestling more often then not. but now I'm not good enough?
Despite it being among the top ten for a VERY large group, and what did they say, 13% of total viewers watch this channel, they want to try and break away from the image that they projected on to me? I may be an outsider to clics, but I definitely don't fit the "geeky" stereotype. I'm both offended that they automatically assume anyone who watches them is, and that they seem to be embarrassed about who their market is. When you're a provider for a nitch service, its not a good idea to alienate your largest market.
And the new name? Really? They justify it with a quote "actually this is how you'd text it"? What? Are they now trying for a target of highschool aged girls using text speak? Don't insult my intelligence until you've proven your own.
So a geeky channel wants to be less geeky, while at the same time making fun of their core market (most of whom don't fit that stereotype anyway)? Yeah. Good job, jacka**es.
Heck, for that matter, geeks are not uncool anymore, for F's sake.
And what in the heck does a change in the name accomplish.
Failure all around.
Of course, they've always made dumba** decisions. I didn't watch the channel for years because it was the da** All Quantum Leap Channel.
That's it. They all deserve a solid punch in the neck.
In truth, the SciFi channel has been a major disappointment to me. Tons of low budget made for TV movies with FX done on an old Tandy 64K! If it was not for the new Battlestar Galactica I wouldn't tune in at all.
Edward Olmos was asked why "Battlestar" was so popular, he said something to the effect of he wasn't sure but hoped "We won't frack it up by drifting away from the core". Well SciFi seems to be bent on 'fracking it up'. Taking mediocrity to a whole new level.
Quote from: Eric the Ugly on March 19, 2009, 04:22:33 AM
Of course, they've always made dumba** decisions. I didn't watch the channel for years because it was the da** All Quantum Leap Channel.
After BSG runs out they will be the all Ghosthunters / ECW channel ::)
Wow. That's retarded. Stupid name "change," stupid slogan. And, btw, the 70's wants their logo back.
I used to watch the SciFi channel more than I do now. Mostly I watch re-runs of Star Trek and stuff like that. And Ghosthunters. But most of the stuff they show is crap. Why ARE they playing wrestling? I suppose that can fit in the "fantasy" category? And I run screaming from their original movies.
*excuse me while I rant for a moment*
I'm a geek. But I am not dysfunctional, antisocial, or living in my parents basement. Nor do I have hygine problems. I work out and engage in physical activity. In my spare time, I'm a gymnast and a dancer (when I'm not acting or swordfighting...what? I'm busy. :)). I was a cheerleader in highschool! (shock and horror! geeks can't be cheerleaders! :o) I'm a 25 year old woman. I will be *less* inclined to watch this channel with the new brand they're trying to make.
*rant over*
Don't they get that being a geek is not a "bad" thing anymore, and that we'll be running the world before long?
They won't have an audience left because they're going to chase away those who did watch them by trying to be "cool," but they'll never pull it off and will only look like a cheap poser to the cool people who won't watch them anyway.
OMG! what a load of Cr*p....if they move it away from Science Fiction...then it will just be like every other Channel with nothing on...
Warehouse 13 sounds like a relocated "Librarian"
Now is the time for a competitor to come in a kick their a**es.
A sci-fi/fantasy channel that shows good (as well as cheesy) classic sci-fi and fantasy films and shows. The Last Starfighter, The Monster That Challenged The World, The Earth Dies Screaming, Buckaroo Banzai, Strange Invaders, Logan's Run(movie and show), Space:1999, Star Trek, Ark II, Jason of Star Command, Wizards & Warriors, Red Sonja, Hawk The Slayer, The Sword and the Sorcerer, Battle Beyond The Stars, Nightflyers, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Battlestar Galactica(the real one!), Buck Rodgers in the 25th Century, Space: Above and Beyond, 20 Million Miles To Earth, The Green Slime, Moon Zero-Two, Day Of The Triffids, The Omega Man, Forbidden Planet, Outland, Mad Max, Damnation Alley, Escape From New York, Krull, Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jaryd-Syn, Spacehunter: Adventures In The Forbidden Zone, Capricorn One, Saturn 3, The Thing, The Day The Earth Stood Still....
I could go on for days!
But, you know... a channel that actually shows actual sci-fi and fantasy!..... Sheesh!...
If they're going to change the lineup, you can count me as a non-watcher. I remember prior to them going live on the air (or recorded as the case may be), SFC had a radio broadcast that mentioned random paytrons names and announced the channel's intent of going live on such-and-such a date. It was literally like this:
Tim Johnson....we're coming for you
...
...
Sara Wilson...we're coming for you
...
...
John Fredrickson...we're coming for you
...
...
It was really freaky until I finally caught the hourly announcement that talked about the channel.
I've been disappointed for years with the offerings, now they're going to move even More away from the actual Science Fiction they once so proudly aired?!?!
Geeks, umm... cell phones/communicators, tazers/phasers, MRIs/full body scans.
Guess what, when civilization finally does go down the toilet, The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth and become the Supreme Rulers, because they're the only ones who know how anything works!!!
Dayna
Quote from: unilady on March 20, 2009, 04:55:50 PM
Guess what, when civilization finally does go down the toilet, The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth and become the Supreme Rulers, because they're the only ones who know how anything works!!!
Dayna
lol, hate to burst that bubble, but it couldn't be further from the truth. The geeks may know how to design and work modern tech, but if civilization collapses, you'll have no ability to make the stuff from the raw materials. the people that know how to make tools, shelters, and produce food will be the ones living in style. Modern tech (as in anything that followed after as a result of that first transistor) is a luxury of an advanced society, not a necessity of survival for a basic one.
Come to think of it, some of my favorite scifi/fantasy themes are based off that, post-apocalyptic times with trace bits of tech popping up here or there but the people who designed it at long since gone and the rest are clueless to how it works.
Quote from: Eric the Ugly on March 19, 2009, 02:47:45 PM
Now is the time for a competitor to come in a kick their a**es.
A sci-fi/fantasy channel that shows good (as well as cheesy) classic sci-fi and fantasy films and shows\Battlestar Galactica[/i](the real one!),
I could go on for days!
But, you know... a channel that actually shows actual sci-fi and fantasy!..... Sheesh!...
The real on not Battlestar 1980 or whatever it was. I was channel surfing and BattleStar Galatica was on one the ION channel or some other odd channel. But then realized it was the 80's version.
Ughh... Galactica:1980... what a horrendous mess that was... blech...
Quote from: jcbanner on March 20, 2009, 05:06:08 PM
Quote from: unilady on March 20, 2009, 04:55:50 PM
Guess what, when civilization finally does go down the toilet, The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth and become the Supreme Rulers, because they're the only ones who know how anything works!!!
Dayna
lol, hate to burst that bubble, but it couldn't be further from the truth. The geeks may know how to design and work modern tech, but if civilization collapses, you'll have no ability to make the stuff from the raw materials. the people that know how to make tools, shelters, and produce food will be the ones living in style. Modern tech (as in anything that followed after as a result of that first transistor) is a luxury of an advanced society, not a necessity of survival for a basic one.
Come to think of it, some of my favorite scifi/fantasy themes are based off that, post-apocalyptic times with trace bits of tech popping up here or there but the people who designed it at long since gone and the rest are clueless to how it works.
Ah. Indeed. But the will be a demand for technological luxuries, and who will know
how to design such things? Who will be the best at logical structure and organization, plannning, etc.? :D
So they want to switch their image from geeky to illiterate?
Dumb and needless name change. If i tune to the Sci Fi channels thats what i want and expect not ECW.
I have been kinda PO'ed at Sci Fi ever since they killed Farscape anyways.
And i will gladly raise my qeek flag anytime.
Quote from: renfairephotog on March 20, 2009, 06:59:15 PM
The real on not Battlestar 1980 or whatever it was. I was channel surfing and BattleStar Galatica was on one the ION channel or some other odd channel. But then realized it was the 80's version.
You mean someone actually kept the tapes?
Watched the last episode of the new BSG on SciFi last night. Told the wife if they got on anything that remotely resembled a motorcycle I would throw a brick through the screen!
Quote from: Noble Dreg on March 21, 2009, 09:45:01 AM
Quote from: renfairephotog on March 20, 2009, 06:59:15 PM
The real on not Battlestar 1980 or whatever it was. I was channel surfing and BattleStar Galatica was on one the ION channel or some other odd channel. But then realized it was the 80's version.
You mean someone actually kept the tapes?
Watched the last episode of the new BSG on SciFi last night. Told the wife if they got on anything that remotely resembled a motorcycle I would throw a brick through the screen!
-LOL-
Or the "invisible" Vipers? Or the fact that they could jump really high due to being used to the artificial gravity of the Galactica. Oh. Oh yes. *shudder*
But yeah, Sci-Fi used to show Galactica:1980, scum that they are.
Ya know... looking back.. I don't think they ever liked sci-fi and fantasy. They've been doing what they can to damage it all along haven't they?
Wish all the people who constanly want to change something that works would take the following saying to heart IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT!
Well, the problem here is that it is, in fact, broken. They just want to set it on fire, point and laugh at it now...
New name: FAIL.
Quote from: unilady on March 20, 2009, 04:55:50 PM
Guess what, when civilization finally does go down the toilet, The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth and become the Supreme Rulers, because they're the only ones who know how anything works!!!
Dayna
lol, hate to burst that bubble, but it couldn't be further from the truth. The geeks may know how to design and work modern tech, but if civilization collapses, you'll have no ability to make the stuff from the raw materials. the people that know how to make tools, shelters, and produce food will be the ones living in style. Modern tech (as in anything that followed after as a result of that first transistor) is a luxury of an advanced society, not a necessity of survival for a basic one.
Come to think of it, some of my favorite scifi/fantasy themes are based off that, post-apocalyptic times with trace bits of tech popping up here or there but the people who designed it at long since gone and the rest are clueless to how it works.
===========================================================================
I agree with you completely, I was channelling the Ultra-Geeks, like the guy I talked to last night who couldn't remember my phone number to dial me on the office phone because his cell phone battery was dead. Duh, use an address book, except that's not New and Sexy!!! Yeah, but it's a lot more accessible...
Dayna
This article totally bummed me out. It's true, the Sci-Fi channel has pretty much gone down. I agree with the "Wrestling? WTF?" comments.
They also used to have this GREAT alternate reality show called "B-sides," but it was short lived. Like Twilight Zone but more specifically "Sci-Fi." That was back when they actually made their own shows instead of rebroadcasting them, and they were pretty good. BUT no. Now there's wrestling and stupid made-for-tv movies that MAKE NO SENSE. My hope was rekindled with the advent of EUREKA, but now, sadly, with the end of BSG and now with this stupid name change, I am once again bereft of hope.
BTW, old BSG eps are available on DVD, if you can actually sit through them without cringing yourself straight down through the couch cushions.
I hate you, media marketers!
Quote from: midnightferret on March 24, 2009, 05:02:44 PM
BTW, old BSG eps are available on DVD, if you can actually sit through them without cringing yourself straight down through the couch cushions.
???
Umm..what?
I love the SciFi channel, though I really think they could do with more of the good ole shows like Farscape. Sanctuary looks to be a good new show I think! It will definitely be sad to see BSG end, it's been one of the best series I've ever seen!!
Well, the name change won't loose my patronage. It does make me a bit sad that they feel they need that to be "cool" Or that they even NEED to be cool at all!!!! I mean seriously, whoever said "cool" is so great, or even desireable anymore. I'd much rather date a sci-fi lover than a cool guy ANY day!!! I don't like to hang with supposed cool people either, the sci-fiers are much more interesting and fun...
Quote from: LadyElizabeth on March 24, 2009, 05:44:44 PMI don't like to hang with supposed cool people either, the sci-fiers are much more interesting and fun...
No doubt!
Quote from: Eric the Ugly on March 24, 2009, 05:22:06 PM
Quote from: midnightferret on March 24, 2009, 05:02:44 PM
BTW, old BSG eps are available on DVD, if you can actually sit through them without cringing yourself straight down through the couch cushions.
???
Umm..what?
Translation: you can get the older Battlestar episodes on DVD. But they are cheesy. Very Very cheesy. So cheesy, that sometimes my response to them is visceral. As in, they make me cringe. I am actually embarrassed for the actors. Especially but not limited to the guy in the "electronic dog" suit.
Farscape is my favorite show they made. I was PO'ed when they ended the show and cited expenses only to make bad movies and reality shows. I like Sanctuary but it's not a must see like Farscape.
I checked the website to see what Friday nights line up will be. Next couple weeks its movies but fri April 10 8am-4pm Dr Who season 3 Marathon.
Quote from: midnightferret on March 25, 2009, 12:21:12 AM
Quote from: Eric the Ugly on March 24, 2009, 05:22:06 PM
Quote from: midnightferret on March 24, 2009, 05:02:44 PM
BTW, old BSG eps are available on DVD, if you can actually sit through them without cringing yourself straight down through the couch cushions.
???
Umm..what?
Translation: you can get the older Battlestar episodes on DVD. But they are cheesy. Very Very cheesy. So cheesy, that sometimes my response to them is visceral. As in, they make me cringe. I am actually embarrassed for the actors. Especially but not limited to the guy in the "electronic dog" suit.
Wow.
Ok.
I completely and totally disagree. But, ok. I think it's far and away superiour to the new version (even though I like the new one fine).
I have accepted the idea that the SciFi channel has been a dead entity for a few years now (specifically, when wrestling started getting shown).
Shows like SG-1, SGA. and nBSG have acted like life support, keeping the body functioning, but in all truth, the channel was braindead. Pulling the plug would be a mercy killing.
The only way to revitalize the channel would be to totally revamp the entire station and its lineup.
1) Make sure the network execs are actually fans of the genre. Helps when you love the media you work with.
2) Bring in all the scifi/fantasy/horror shows out there and have the first run eps premiering on SciFi. I'm talking stuff like Supernatural, Medium, Dollhouse, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, stuff like that... even Knight Rider.
3) Get rid of the crap programming (i.e. wrestling, Criss Angel, Crap Movie Of The Week, etc).
4) Redo the programming with the following shows: Star Trek (all varieties), oBSG, nBSG, Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Stargate SG1, Stargate Atlantis, Dark Angel, original Knight Rider, Babylon 5, shows like that.
Huzzah Lord Dragonspyre, those are all Wonderful ideas indeed and I think would bring the much needed changes to that station!!!!
Quote from: Eric the Ugly on March 25, 2009, 03:06:33 AM
Wow.
Ok.
I completely and totally disagree. But, ok. I think it's far and away superiour to the new version (even though I like the new one fine).
Well, that's ok, too. And honestly, I can't say that I'm not happy the original series exists: I think it did a lot for the genre in the way of groundbreaking. It's mostly the "datedness" I can't get over. I know, I know, I can tolerate Luke Skywalker's haircut but not the guy in the electronic dog suit. *shrugs* There's no accounting for (my) taste. :)
Quote from: midnightferret on March 25, 2009, 12:43:04 PM
Quote from: Eric the Ugly on March 25, 2009, 03:06:33 AM
Wow.
Ok.
I completely and totally disagree. But, ok. I think it's far and away superiour to the new version (even though I like the new one fine).
Well, that's ok, too. And honestly, I can't say that I'm not happy the original series exists: I think it did a lot for the genre in the way of groundbreaking. It's mostly the "datedness" I can't get over. I know, I know, I can tolerate Luke Skywalker's haircut but not the guy in the electronic dog suit. *shrugs* There's no accounting for (my) taste. :)
Heh. Besides the tech, it doesn't seem dated to me, really. But, you want dated, you should take a look at any
Space:1999 episode. I love the show, but outfits of the future... complete with bellbottom pants? Yikes.
Lord Dragonspyre,
That sounds good. But it makes me think perhaps that either that nonextant competitor still needs to come in or Sci-Fi needs two channels. One for the classic stuff and another for all the new shows and movies.
The shows you listed are certainly well-loved by fans, but all of them have left me empty. Unimpressed doesn't begin to cover it. But I can see why people dig them, though.
So, yeah. That would be cool. Sci-Fi and Sci-Fi Classic. Then I could completely ignore Sci-Fi and just watch Sci-Fi Classic. And Sci-Fi gets stuck with the wrestling. Ha!
Quote from: midnightferret on March 25, 2009, 12:21:12 AM
Translation: you can get the older Battlestar episodes on DVD. But they are cheesy. Very Very cheesy. So cheesy, that sometimes my response to them is visceral. As in, they make me cringe. I am actually embarrassed for the actors. Especially but not limited to the guy in the "electronic dog" suit.
Yep, cringe is the word. Love the show but...The "guy in the dog suit" (Muffit I believe) was particularly dreadful. People starving all over the ship but they had time to make Boxey a dog or go to lavish "disco" parties? Still I liked the series a lot but for me a guilty pleasure to be sure.
While we're at it, always disliked the "kid" character in most Sci-Fi...Wesley Crusher, good Lord!
Quote from: Eric the Ugly on March 25, 2009, 04:55:40 PM
Heh. Besides the tech, it doesn't seem dated to me, really. But, you want dated, you should take a look at any Space:1999 episode. I love the show, but outfits of the future... complete with bellbottom pants? Yikes.
Don't forget "UFO". Loved those Moon mini-skirts and Nehru jackets!
Quote from: Noble Dreg on March 25, 2009, 05:19:42 PM
Quote from: Eric the Ugly on March 25, 2009, 04:55:40 PM
Heh. Besides the tech, it doesn't seem dated to me, really. But, you want dated, you should take a look at any Space:1999 episode. I love the show, but outfits of the future... complete with bellbottom pants? Yikes.
Don't forget "UFO". Loved those Moon mini-skirts and Nehru jackets!
Oh, yeah! That's right. Ha ha! That show's awesome. But actually kinda like the straight-cut, banded collar casual jackets they wore. But no matter, that show was full of hotties. Like Lt. Ellis (http://ufoseries.com/photos/ellisCloseup.jpg) for example (http://ufoseries.com/photos/ellisClothesChange.jpg). Yow.