The SyFy Channel Hates Science Fiction...And It's All Your Fault

http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Studios-1978-Battlestar-Galactica/dp/1434895408/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1303146122&sr=1-3


The negative opinions are unanimous (and the negative opinions keep rolling in)....Nobody likes what Bonnie Hammer, David Howe, and Mark Stern are doing....

http://suvudu.com/2011/02/the-syfy-channel-hates-sci-fi-and-its-all-your-fault.html


quote -

"Sharktopus. DinoCroc vs. Supergator. Chupacabra: Dark Seas. The channel formerly known as SciFi is telling you something. Are you listening? Here it is: “We don’t take this genre seriously, and neither should you.” Sure, we all enjoy a nice bit of schlock cinema now and again, but what happens when schlock stops being schlock and starts to supplant quality entertainment? I’ll tell you: the bar gets lowered, and people learn to expect less. That’s what SyFy is doing. It’s lowering the bar for fans. But it’s not only doing that: it’s also ruining science fiction, fantasy and horror for the rest of America. There are plenty of people who think that they don’t like science fiction or fantasy because they think it’s all stupid stuff like mutant sharks and the Chupacabra on the Love Boat. They think genre films and books are incapable of saying anything intelligent or genuine, and who can blame them when they’re blowing through the channels and see descriptions like this?

Mansquito
While trying to find a cure for the West Nile virus, a scientist turns herself and her subject into mutant insects.
Saturday, March 5
3:00 AM – 5:00 AM, 17 SYFYSure, you might think it sounds like a good time, but what about your grandmother or baseball coach? Think they’re going to change their stance on horror films or science fiction? Not likely. Anyway, even if watching Mansquito sounds like a fun way to spend the wee hours of the morning, are you still going to feel the same way when these kinds of movies are all that the SyFy channel churns out? How about Mansquito 5: The Manskeetering? Will you still be along for the ride? Probably not, but the thing is that since we’re all giggling along with SyFy and watching all this stuff – even ironically – they’ll keep making them. Know why? It’s because of the advertisers. They don’t care why you’re watching something. They only care that you watch it, and thus more of these stinkers keep getting made. This is the same thing that keeps those day-glo orange CHUDs from Jersey Shore on television. Oh, and The History Channel’s boner for Bigfoot? Same thing.
So how do we stop this steady erosion into mediocrity? It’s up to you. Stop watching it. Stop linking to it. Stop reviewing it. Don’t give it any attention, and maybe it will go away. You deserve better. Demand that that SyFy lives up to its motto, “Imagine Greater.” It’s either do this or stop complaining that mainstream culture doesn’t take your favorite genre seriously. The choice is yours.

11 Responses to “The SyFy Channel Hates Sci Fi, And It’s All Your Fault”

1. Will says:

   February 23, 2011 at 12:52 pm

   I see what you’re saying, but I don’t think they hate scifi. They’re just putting on movies and shows that make them money. There’s an audience for those shitty monster movies and they’re cheap, so I don’t blame them for making more. That stuff probably helps pay for the “good” scifi that we want to see since the really good stuff doesn’t tend to get great ratings.
   Personally, I think I’ll focus on getting more people to watch “good” scifi on Syfy that I want to see more of like Eureka, BSG, and even Warehouse 13.
   
2. Nick says:

   February 23, 2011 at 1:06 pm

   Gotta disagree with you a little.
   I am not gonna say “Mansquito” is anything great but, least it’s not damn wrestling.
   The B-movies Scifi is putting out aren’t really hurting SciFi, if anything they’re helping it as a genre. The great thing about scifi & fantasy is that while at times we take it seriously, it allows for a bit of hilarity and hoakem from time to time. It’s not a genere that has to be locked in to certain conventions, and Just because a movie is hoakey doesn’t mean it’s a blight on the genre, I mean have you SEEN Army of Darkness.
   I guess what I am trying to say is SciFi, ANY SciFi being shown on tv, is a good thing. People who hate scifi or don’t understand it as a genre aren’t usually changed from that mindset, and while B-movies don’t discourage their belief, a movie like Primer likely won’t change their mind either.
   I say celebrate SciFi in all it’s forms, both the horribly hoakey and amazingly awesome. Just make sure it has a plot you can follow
   
3. VigRoco says:

   February 23, 2011 at 4:17 pm

   I am with the movement to bring MST3K back on SyFy and have them watch all these horrible movies. That way SyFy vindicates itself and enthralls the fans.
   
4. Jon says:

   February 23, 2011 at 4:34 pm

   Nick and Will are wrong, and Matt Staggs is exactly right. Sci-fi used to be something greater. It used to address culturally relevant issues while entertaining the heck out of you. Army of Darkness? Sure, that was a great movie. Which is why it has no place in this conversation, it is incomparable to Mosquito man or whatever. Matt is saying stop with the crap and demand better. I personally would like to see more book adaptations, although I guess that would cost more money than Mosquito Man or whatever, but fine, pay the money and give us a good product.
   
5. Samantha says:

   February 23, 2011 at 4:43 pm

   I’ll definitely agree with you on this. While I’ve been known to watch the occasional terrible quality, bad dialogue B (C,D, and maybe even E) movie, I don’t think these are the types of things that should be used as filler on television. These kind of movies are not going to get people interested in the genre. If anything it will reinforce all of the stereotypical ideas associate with science fiction/fantasy/horror.
   Everyone who enjoys the campy, sub-par cinema like Mansquito whether it be ironically or sincerely, should invest in a Netflix account and stop tuning into SyFy for these showings.
   Great article. More genre enthusiasts should consider this point.
   
6. no name says:

   February 24, 2011 at 7:22 am

   Very insightful and agree.
   
7. Scott says:

   February 24, 2011 at 11:43 pm

   Never underestimate the power of stupid.
   
8. yellowdoggranny says:

   February 25, 2011 at 3:14 pm

   they could do better if they had a Saturday night fright night…with Elvira…rerun old great si/fi movies, they’re better than this crap they have been passing off as syfy..it sucks.
   
9. Groff says:

   February 27, 2011 at 8:00 pm

   A new facebook group has been started to get a community effort together to bring back decent programming to our once beloved SciFi network. Name change, WWE, cooking shows and the cancellation of any decent science fiction programming they should be lucky enough to stumble into and their programming is now a joke.
   Like the facebook group or follow us @ResurrectSciFi to show your support to bring the SciFi back to SyFy
   
10. Richard S. Drake says:

    March 4, 2011 at 4:02 pm

    I have been thinking the very same thing lately.
    Sy Fy Channel continues downward spiral into madness. Or is it just mediocrity?
    http://www.arktimes.com/StreetJazz/archives/2011/03/03/sy-fy-channel-continues-downward-spiral-into-madness-or-is-it-just-mediocrity
    
11. Tom Sawyer says:

    March 4, 2011 at 4:11 pm

    No one saw this coming? I did. The moment the took the “SCIence” and the “FIction” out of the name of the channel.
    I don’t know what (or who) “SY” is; and all I can think of from the “FY” is “FantasY”
    If they wanted to keep any semblance of Science Fiction, the channel would be SciFy – to combine the Science and the Fantasy.
    And I know that wrestling is all Fiction… but on this channel? Give me a break.
    SyFy: Imagine Greater Shows Elsewhere" - unquote