Gephyrophillia #242

Originally Posted on 05/06/2011 by Jeff Harris

"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. It's somewhat cooler and better than the name 'Science Fiction.' But even the name Sci Fi is limiting.", Tim Brooks, television historian.

The very first line in that quotation has rubbed the powers-that-be at Syfy raw. Nearly every fan of Sci-Fi Channel has seen that in one form or another and sees it as a smack in the face to who they are. It's red, irritating, and plain annoying. It's a rash that will never disappear, and it's the quote Syfy wishes would just go away. Everybody connected to the channel, including network boss Dave Howe, has publicly disavowed the comments made by a guy who does have some connection to the channel's past when it was called Sci-Fi Channel. They brused it off by saying Mr. Brooks isn't connected with the current regime that's implemented the changes and hasn't worked for the network in over 10 years. They do that even though Mr. Brooks actually WAS part of a group who looked at changing the network's name, even during his stay at the channel.

The reason why the initial quote still has such a hold on sci-fi fans even after the network assured that Syfy isn't going to deviate from its sci-fi core, they kind of did. Sure, they still have the schlocky B-movies every Saturday night, the upcoming Alphas, a trio of comedies, and new cycles of Eureka and Warehouse 13, but if you look deep enough, Syfy's prime-time lineup is mostly composed of reality shows . . . sorry, "non-scripted alternative programming choices." Not science-fiction. Hell, it's not even fiction. You have a weight-loss show from the creators of the Biggest Loser, a show about building machines, another about a photographer, another about a guru interviewing others, and many others not entirely considered sci-fi. While they may be entertaining, I can see where the diehard fans are coming from with their lack of faith in the network.

Shows like Stargate Atlantis and Caprica are gone, seemingly replaced with reality fare in the eyes of a lot of viewers. While this may not be entirely true, one can only notice the number of reality fare in comparison to the scripted fare that remains and coming soon. They'll throw the fans a bone every now and then (ooh, Star Blazers is on Thursdays!), but the die-hard fans of Sci-Fi are slowly drifting away from Syfy every time Syfy seemingly drifts from sci-fi. For many, their new favorite home for science-fiction is BBC America, which has British favorites like Doctor Who, Torchwood, Primeval, the original Being Human, and the upcoming The Fades and Outcasts as well as reruns of American sci-fi series like The X-Files, Star Wars: The Next Generation (which Syfy also has), and Sci-Fi's fan-favorite reboot of Battlestar Galactica, a series that Syfy has tried to create prequel versions of courtesy of Caprica and its upcoming sequel series.

Even though Syfy has denied over and over again that the words of Tim Brooks echoed their own opinions, you can't help but wonder if those words do ring a bit true. They are trying not to reach the core audience. At least that's what the core audience believes. Not me, mind you. I think Syfy is trying to reach the audience who feels they've abandoned them. It's just that they're 60 feet away and Syfy's using a 39 1/2 foot pole. It's a struggle, but they'll connect again. They need to stretch out a bit more. Listen to what the viewers want to see.

If Syfy really believed that their core audience aren't "geeks and dysfunctional, antisocial boys in their basements with video games and stuff like that," then listening to them shouldn't be a problem.

Keep creating.

Jeff Harris,
Creator/Webmaster, The X Bridge.