I heard someone opining about SGU the other day at the writers' conference.I love how in the comments section there is immediately someone whining about bringing SGU back. Dude needs to get a life!
And now, Syfy says that perceptions of science fiction and other genre entertainment have changed, but it's important to note that other than the BSG reboot, which ended in 2009, Syfy didn't have much of a hand in that.
"We saw an explosion of sci-fi/fantasy content across every cable and broadcast network out there," said Syfy president Dave Howe. "Perceptions of the genre have shifted dramatically. What that speaks to is an opportunity to re-own the genre and be at the forefront of high-end buzzy, provocative storytelling — and the epiphany of that was Battlestar."
. I absolutely HATE that Syfy sees NuBSG as some sort of "epiphany". HUH? It started out good, then it got drunk and stumbled out with a whimper. The ratings were mediocre and the story turned into mush. It did not even end well! If they are putting that thing on the throne and designing their future around it, that is not saying much!
I think the folks at SyFy were surprised by the initial response to nuBSG but now are stuck on it as a template because their limited minds can't think of anything else. So like good little chimps they keep churning out retreads of this same garbage.
Why cant they see that it was this "epiphany" of designing drama shows in space established by NuBSG is what spawned all the utter crap we have they are trying to call science fiction now? If NuBSG was so great, why didnt it perform in the ratings? The ratings were dismal compared to Stargate Atlantis, SG-1, Firefly, etc. It was not a success ratings wise, nor has it's demise stimulated a fan following. The pinnacle of TV science fiction is Star Trek, followed by Stargate. Those two foundations have spawned decades worth of material, several spinoff/sequel shows, as well as a huge and still growing fanbase which supports conventions. Where are the throngs of fans for NuBSG? Who is going as a character from NuBSG for Halloween?
Syfy and particularly Bonnie Hammer has NO experience with real science fiction, and neither do most critics. They know drama. They are going by the critical reception of NuBSG (wow, science fiction I can get into!). It reminds me of the demise of respectability for the Academy (and the rise of the People's Choice Awards) because they lavish praise on stuff THEY like and ignore the audience preferences. I have a good mind to write an op-ed Open Letter to Syfy on the blog.
SyFy is doubling down on their commitment to all things soap-fi as witnessed by their "renewal" of DEFECATION and the continuation of Dumbinion. They have clearly turned a deaf ear to any criticism of their programming choices because they are financially tied to this course they have chosen. For them to cancel these lousy shows and move on to producing/airing actual scifi shows would be admitting defeat and would leave these shows without any revenue being generated. As it is we all know they have developed this fake multi-season template for all these new shows as a way to pretend that these productions are successful. Doing this can, marginally, help their bottom line. But you can't fake reality forever and eventually the chickens come home to roost.
the new shows read as if they may be good, but.....
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check out some of the posts in the comments
funny
10/28/14 4:03pm
Hey Syfy, bring back SGU and all is forgiven.
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TweedleDum
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TweedleDumHickory
10/28/14 4:19pm
seriously they ended that show on the worst cliffhanger possible. Just one more episode would have been better.
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divuthenHickory
10/28/14 5:05pm
- Yeah I refuse to watch sci-fi until they bring back SGU. I also refuse to acknowledge their ridiculous name change.
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AeronPerytonHickory
10/28/14 5:25pm
- Probably too late to corral the original cast back together. A new StarGate series that is not a reboot or a prequel would be nice. During the end of SG-1 I was silently hopeful for an SG-2 series, with Teal'c as the team leader.
There will always be crazed fans who can't see the forest for the trees.
See, we watched SGU. It isnt like we are just hating on it because it wasnt like SG-1 or Atlantis, we watched the bad acting, the bad writing and direction, and we experienced bad shaky cam and pathetic lighting. We watched them receive a paid-for Canadian award for an episode that had a car passing in the background of an uninhabited planet billions of light years away (omg...chuckle ). We had our eyes roll uncontrollably as entire episodes were devoted to tripe such as baby showers and long lingering shots of dark corridors. We watched them castrate the Jack and eviscerate Samantha Carter characters to make them fit into the dark brooding SGU.
And most of all we watched the ratings plummet faster than many shows. How can anyone justify it's return?
There will always be crazed fans who can't see the forest for the trees.
There are those who believe that if Firefly was given the chance to come back to air a full season, that the actors would jump at the chance. The problem is that most of them already have new jobs and wouldn't be in a position to come back, contractually. The same is true of Jericho fans, Veronica Mars fans, Almost Human fans, Fringe fans, etc.
Do not even SUGGEST a "reimagined"/"rebooted" Firefly.Yep, and Firefly can be done with different actors as can Stargate and Star Trek and most any truly well written science fiction show. But people obsess on specific actors playing their roles past their prime. Look at what happened to James T Kirk!.
See, we watched SGU. It isnt like we are just hating on it because it wasnt like SG-1 or Atlantis, we watched the bad acting, the bad writing and direction, and we experienced bad shaky cam and pathetic lighting. We watched them receive a paid-for Canadian award for an episode that had a car passing in the background of an uninhabited planet billions of light years away (omg...chuckle ). We had our eyes roll uncontrollably as entire episodes were devoted to tripe such as baby showers and long lingering shots of dark corridors. We watched them castrate the Jack and eviscerate Samantha Carter characters to make them fit into the dark brooding SGU.
And most of all we watched the ratings plummet faster than many shows. How can anyone justify it's return?
Do not even SUGGEST a "reimagined"/"rebooted" Firefly.
While I'm sad to see that Faux canceled it, I wouldn't want to see it come back with different actors. The cast they had made the show work. I wouldn't cotton to a new one.
Yes, I would.I would like that too, but is it feasible? As much as I loved the original actors, how could they ever be brought back together for a rebooted Firefly? You would even want Summer Glau back in it?
Yes, I would.
If you're going to put on a concert, you need to put the band back together.