Friday, July 29, 2011
Why Did The Sci-Fi Channel Have To End Up In The Hands Of Corporate Psychos?
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Studios-1978-Battlestar-Galactica/dp/1434895408/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311973558&sr=1-2
In the television industry, too much of a good thing will either fade away gradually, or come to an abrupt end. Because there are always psychotic idiots waiting on the sidelines to come in and ruin a good thing for everyone else, if the psychotic idiots notice that the good thing is being enjoyed by a great many people.
Case in point:
The 1990's era Sci-Fi Channel was hog heaven for true Science Fiction fans. It was a network that understood what Science Fiction was, it was a network that understood what Science Fiction fans wanted to see, and it was a network that knew how to have fun while putting true Science Fiction programs on the air.
You had reruns of the great Science Fiction programs of the past such as "Six Million Dollar Man", the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series, "Time Tunnel", "Star Trek" etc....while the Sci-Fi Channel of the 1990s also produced outstanding original programming as well, such as "Imagination Station", "First Wave", "Weekly Science Fiction News With Chase Masterson", and "War Room."
All of this Science Fiction goodness on a cable channel, (and the joy it brought to millions of television viewers) was just too much of a temptation for the lunatics at "Vivendi-Universal / NBC-Universal" to bear as they impatiently waited on the sidelines to purchase the Sci-Fi Channel and turn it into a corporate nightmare of raunch...filth....poor taste....and anything but Science Fiction programming.
I firmly believe that one of the motivating factors behind "Vivendi-Universal / NBC-Universal's" desire to purchase the great Sci-Fi Channel of the 1990's....was to take the joy of the channel away from millions of television viewers.
It's in the psychological DNA of corporate / television executive types to suck all of the fun out of television programming...and replace it with demographically conceived crap that doesn't mean a damn thing to the general population. And sure enough....this is what "Vivendi-Universal / NBC-Universal" did to the once great Sci-Fi Channel. They turned a straight forward cable network for Science Fiction fans into a schizophrenic and ill-defined mess of conflicting corporate ideologies all competing for the almighty dollar that the present "SyFy Channel" never manages to earn. It's also in the psychological DNA of corporate / television executive types to want to come along and wreck things for everyone else if they see such things being enjoyed by a great many people...as Bonnie Hamer, David Howe, and Mark Stern have done.
"Vivendi-Universal / NBC-Universal" began this dysfunctional, corporate journey of theirs ultimately leading to the roadblock of not making money they are now suffering from...by initially hiring a television executive who used to work for PBS (Bonnie Hammer) and putting her in charge of the Sci-Fi Channel at the time. An executive whose prior headaches consisted of worrying about "Big Bird"...."Oscar The Grouch"....and "Bert & Ernie" was now....suddenly....in charge of a Science Fiction channel. Bonnie Hammer certainly has been a pioneer in inaugurating the frightening concept of...."wrong woman for the job".....hasn't she? After Hammer came along....we had half term Alaska Governor Sarah Palin blasting the country with her lack of qualifications in being President....Vice President....and even a run of the mill politician. Palin doesn't know anything about the political profession....she doesn't know anything about the history of this country...and she doesn't know anything about foreign policy. Yet society allows her to run loose. Then....Michelle Bachman came along who incarnated and repeated all of Sarah Palin's faults in the "lack of knowledge about everything department"...with the added hilarity of appearing to be insane....and undiagnosed. Yet society allows her to run loose. The mother of it all of course....is Bonnie Hammer....who doesn't know a damn thing about running a Science Fiction cable netowrk...or putting Science Fiction programming on the air....Yet society allows her to run loose.
Not long after that....David Howe and Mark Stern came along to add their corporate....dysfunctional expertise to the Sci-Fi Channel. A dysfunctional expertise that can only be equated with "crashing an out of control dirigible into the side of an erupting volcano during tornado season."
What led to the Sci-Fi Channel falling into the wrong hands? Certainly it was the determination of "Vivendi-Universal / NBC-Universal" to purchase this channel....and wreck it. And perhaps there was a fair amount of ambivalence on the part of the previous owners as to who they should sell the channel to. Perhaps in a moment of weakness on the part of the previous owners...."Vivendi-Universal / NBC-Universal" steamrolled in and told the previous owners...."Don't worry about a thing, everything will be alright."
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Did Ronald D. Moore And Bonnie Hammer Destroy Their Own Careers By Being So Adversarial Towards The "1978 Battlestar Galactica" Series?
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Studios-1978-Battlestar-Galactica/dp/1434895408/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311825169&sr=1-2
There's a big difference between having a series of jobs that don't pan out...and having a career...isn't there? Having a series of jobs is....writing a remake script for "The Thing"...and it doesn't pan out. Producing and writing a television series called "Virtuosity"...and it doesn't pan out. Working on a remake of the "Wild, Wild West" television series...and it doesn't pan out. Working on a police precinct version of "Harry Potter"...and it doesn't pan out. Attempting to do a reimagining of "Battlestar Galactica"...and it doesn't pan out despite the brutal and failed determination of NBC-Universal / SyFy Channel via stealth marketing. In the wake of this abysmal track record, I'll let all of you decide whether or not Ronald D. Moore has had a career....or has had a series of jobs that didn't pan out.
Has Bonnie Hammer had a career...or a series of jobs at NBC-Universal / SyFy Channel? When she was exclusively employed by Sci-Fi Channel, she had a series of jobs there. One of her jobs was trying to put this series and that series on the air which all ultimately failed in the ratings. Another one of her jobs at Sci-Fi Channel (SyFy) was taking the network in a thousand different identity directions...and seeing what clicked. Well, nothing clicked for Bonnie Hammer at the Sci-Fi Channel (SyFy.) Apparently, nothing is clicking for her either while overseeing all of NBC-Universal's cable stations.
What Ronald D. Moore and Bonnie Hammer have been doing individually and collectively for the past decade could hardly be called having a career. It could be called having a series of jobs that ultimately turned out to be abysmal en masse because the two of them lacked the creative instincts and creative talents to make their work "sparkle."
People in Hollywood don't like to acknowledge that the phrase..."All that goes around comes around" may apply to them because it would require them to admit their humanity in making mistakes.
Bonnie Hammer and Ronald D. Moore spent a good half decade trying to bury the memory of the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series via brutal...guerrilla style stealth marketing...on Internet bulletin boards, and via Ronald D. Moore's inferior takes on "Battlestar Galactica" with "GINO"...."Caprica"...and the upcoming "Blood & Chrome." Did this behavior have an adverse effect on them having legitimate careers? Let's look at the status of both of them as of right now:
1. Bonnie Hammer is pretty much as unknown as she always was prior to Ronald D. Moore's "Galactica in Name Only" debacle of the 2000s.
2. Ronald D. Moore is pretty much as unknown as he always has been prior to his "Galactica in Name Only" debacle of the 2000s.
3. If anything, the two of them have faded into even more unknown obscurity post-Moore's Galactica attempts.
4. The two of them have not gone on to bigger and better things post-Moore's Galactica attempts.
5. If anything, what once used to be called the "Sci-Fi Channel" is in even worse shape than it was prior to the two of them joining forces and failing to forge "Battlestar Galactica" into their own corporate... image and likeness. They brought down the entire network individually and collectively.
6. At least when Bonnie Hammer first joined the Sci-Fi Channel (and before Ronald D. Moore came along and wrecked things even more at that network along with her)...Bonnie Hammer enjoyed relative reputation peace since the vast majority of programs from the previous "Sci-Fi Channel" management were still on the air....such as "Weekly Sci-Fi News With Chase Masterson"...."Imagination Station"...."War Room"...."First Wave"....and all of the marvelous reruns from classic Science Fiction television series.
7. Where is Ronald D. Moore right now? What is he doing right now? With Sony? Not doing much of anything? Yes...that's a legitimate career alright (rolling eyes.)
Ronald D. Moore's disastrous take on "Battlestar Galactica" along with his and Bonnie Hammer's simultaneous trashing of the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series (on the Internet) was supposed to build awe inspiring careers for the two of them. Instead....as of July 2011...the two of them are still supremely untalented and artistically challenged unknowns who have faded even more into the woodwork of obscurity. Not only that...but neither one of them have a career of any sort from what I can tell..but rather...an endless series of menial jobs.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Remembering "Sciography" 11 Years Later. One Of The Most Disastrous Programming Decisions Of Bonnie Hammer's Career
On July 24th, 2000....Bonnie Hammer's "Sci-Fi Channel" aired one of the most disastrous and lame brained programming decisions of Bonnie Hammer's troubled career.
Lasting a mere two episodes..."Sciography" was supposed to be the "Sci-Fi Channel's" answer to all of those biography type programs always littering the airwaves. In better hands..."Sciography" could have tackled its premiere episode coverage of the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" a hell of alot better than it did. In the hands of Bonnie Hammer..."Sciography" became nothing more than a wasted hour of sensationalized trash, innuendo, and outright lies about the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series. All set to the rhythmic beat of pornographic...sexual intercourse type background music. Bonnie Hammer really cut her neophyte, programming chops on "Sciography"...didn't she? Not surprisingly...11 years later...Bonnie Hammer still hasn't improved as a television programmer.
What did Bonnie Hammer and her "Sciography" disaster get wrong about the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series? Where does one begin??
1. Glen A. Larson is not the creator of "Battlestar Galactica"...the late Leslie Stevens is. Leslie Stevens came up with the original (idea) script of...."a fleet of Battlestars rendezvousing in deep space to sign a peace treaty with the Cylon Empire." All of Glen A. Larson's self proclaimed Howard Hughes crap had nothing to do with this concept of Leslie Stevens...and what ultimately showed up on the television screen as "Battlestar Galactica" in 1978. Watch the entire "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series on DVD. Do you see a character named "Howard Hughes" anywhere in those episodes? If Glen A. Larson really did create "Battlestar Galactica"...we would have seen a revival of the series long...long before now. Funny how not actually creating something doesn't put you in the expeditious mood to bring it back. Right, Glen? Plus, you never did really understand Leslie Stevens creation, did you Glen?
2. The "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series was not cancelled due to low ratings...but due to political infighting between ABC-TV and Universal Studios...beginning with ABC-TV's objections to the casting of Dirk Benedict as Starbuck...and ending with ABC-TV being disgruntled over not receiving more profits from the merchandising (toys, books, apparel.)
3. 20th Century Fox did not win the copyright infringement lawsuit against Universal Studios and "Battlestar Galactica." The matter was ultimately settled out of court with 20th Century Fox getting an undisclosed amount from Universal Studios.
4. There was no animosity on the set pitting cast member against cast member. They all got along quite well.
5. Special effects god John Dykstra left "Battlestar Galactica" in 1978 due to the relentless intervention of ABC-TV into all matters of production. Dykstra's exact words were..."I refuse to work for a television network that doesn't understand even the most basic elements of production."
"Sciography" would ultimately prove to be the warning bell for what Bonnie Hammer had in store for "Battlestar Galactica" four years later...Ronald D. Moore's unprecedented misunderstanding of what "Battlestar Galactica" is about....and all of Ronald D. Moore's butt ugly frowning crap with Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell.
"GINO"..."Caprica"....and "Blood & Chrome" ultimately turned out to be worse than "Sciography!!"
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Why Does The SyFy Channel Show Up At Comic-Con Every Year? They Don't Belong There, And They Don't Deserve To Be There
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Studios-1978-Battlestar-Galactica/dp/1434895408/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311470395&sr=1-2
http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/07/06/syfy-announces-2011-comic-con-plans/97339/
It seems to me that the annual "Comic-Con" convention would be the last place on Earth where the SyFy Channel would be welcome with open arms. The SyFy Channel spends every year busting its ass driving Science Fiction fans away from its viewership. Bonnie Hammer, David Howe, and Mark Stern have also publicly admitted in interviews that they regard Science Fiction fandom as nothing more than "Geeks living in their parents basements"....and...."a segment of the viewing demographic that they wholeheartedly want to get away from." This in addition to the SyFy Channel's very blatant and openly public hostility towards fans of the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series for the past decade...when they still called themselves "Sci-Fi Channel." "Farscape" and "Stargate" fans have also incurred the wrath of the SyFy Channel as well...simply for existing.
The SyFy Channel in its present incarnation as an all purpose, general interest cable network...has absolutely nothing to do with Science Fiction. Their crappy movies every Saturday night don't deserve to be categorized into the genre of horror. "WWF Wrestling" and "Marcel's Quantum Kitchen" have absolutely nothing to do with what "Comic-Con" represents. The question then has to be asked...."What the hell is the SyFy Channel doing at Comic-Con every year?" It doesn't belong there. It doesn't deserve to be there.
The only time during the year when the SyFy Channel chooses to identify itself as a Science Fiction Channel...is at the annual "Comic-Con" convention....so they can get in the front door and set up a booth for some unknown reason. This is the way the SyFy Channel peddles itself. It keeps its identity ambiguous and chameleonic from moment to moment....in order to satisfy its moment to moment corporate needs. If there was some huge shin-dig being hosted by ESPN...the SyFy Channel would figure out some way to crash it.
SyFy Channel: "We've been a sports network all along!! We really have!! "WWF Wrestling" is a sport....in a way!! Marcel cooking in the kitchen exercises his arms everytime he beats cake batter with a wooden spoon. Such exercise is a sport....in a way!! Our characters in "Warehouse 13" do alot of running around in search of supernatural artifacts. That's.....sporty!!"
So...what's the SyFy Channel's excuse for attending "Comic-Con this year...and every year? They don't belong there...and I'm sure many people associated with "Comic-Con" are never happy that they attend every year.
The SyFy Channel has no business showing up at "Comic-Con" ever year because they are not a Science Fiction channel in any way.
Friday, July 22, 2011
For Your Viewing Misery, SyFy Channel is Broadcasting The Worst "Captain America" Movies Ever Made
You have to hand it to SyFy Channel. There is no depth of sleaze they will not sink to in order to try and cash in on the latest theatrical craze.
The new "Captain America" movie is upon us...and SyFy Channel is trying to jump on the bandwagon by rerunning the two God awful "Captain America" movies from 1979 originally broadcast on CBS-TV, and starring Reb Brown...(produced for CBS-TV by Universal Studios...Go figure.) They are also showing the God awful "Captain America" movie from 1990 starring Matt Salinger.
If that isn't enough "Captain America" God awfulness for you...don't worry. SyFy Channel will be rerunning all three movies back...to...back...to...back...to....back....ALL WEEKEND LONG.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
My Plans Have Been Successful. I'm Reaching The People I Want To Reach With My Blog
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Studios-1978-Battlestar-Galactica/dp/1434895408/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311274097&sr=1-2
A daily snapshot of my typical audience here on this blog. Key people among my daily audience I have successfully reached...
United States - 274
Canada - 119
United Kingdom - 76
Australia - 45
Croatia - 57
Austria - 33
Spain - 82
Finland - 29
Peru - 89
Brazil - 43
Ireland - 54
When Your Job Is Making Crappy Television
http://www.amazon.com/Bonnie-Hammers-Sci-Fi-Channel-Backwater/dp/1441407286/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311271847&sr=1-1
In an episode of Gilligan's Island...Gilligan has a dream about "Jack in the Beanstalk." All of the cast members of course, have roles in the dream...highlighted by the Skipper playing some evil king trying to prevent Gilligan from climbing or descending the beanstalk. It's about as bad as episodic television can get. Television couldn't get moch worse than this....until of course...Bonnie Hammer, David Howe, and Mark Stern came along.
When you think about it...it was the jobs of the cast and crew of Gilligan's Island (in the year 1966) to make this rotten episode. During the course of (I'm assuming) a six day shooting schedule...the cast and crew of Gilligan's Island woke up at 5:30 in the morning...showered...had breakfast....left the house while their spouses were still sleeping....drove to the movie studio....flashed their ID badges at the front gate for the security guard...drove to the specific soundstage where this particular episode of Gilligan's Island was being filmed....reported to makeup and wardrobe....reported to Sherwood Schwartz....had a table reading of the script....received last minute instructions from director Richard Donner....and the lot of them collectively proceeded to film "Gilligan and the Beanstalk." Let's not forget the agonizing post-production process of "Gilligan and the Beanstalk" that Sherwood Schwartz, Richard Donner, Bob Denver, and Alan Hale Jr. no doubt agonized over.
Bonnie Hammer, David Howe, and Mark Stern have proven that the days of crappy television haven't changed much since the days of "Gilligan and the Beanstalk." It is still the jobs of some people to make crappy television. Bonnie Hammer (for example) wakes up at 5:30 in the morning...quietly throws together a breakfast for herself while her spouse is still sleeping, showers, throws her clothes on...darts out the front door in order to arrive at the SyFy Channel offices at say...7:00 in the morning? She says "hello" to the lobby security guards with her ID badge around her neck....gets in the elevator that has the instrumental version of "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Around The Old Oak Tree" (Tony Orlando & Dawn) playing full blast....as she makes her way up to the say....32nd floor of where the SyFy Channel offices are at.
What does Bonnie Hammer do during the day? While she's drinking her first cup of coffee in the morning, she's in the process of giving final script approval to the likes of...."Sharktopus"...and...."Ice Spiders." Both scripts needing her final approval are sealed in manila envelopes labeled..."Top Secret...Property of NBC-Universal." She buzzes a buzzer on her desk...and a courier from UPS darts into her office and stands at attention. She proceeds to lock both scripts into a briefcase with a key...and handcuff the briefcase to the courier.
Bonnie Hammer: "If these scripts aren't in Vancouver by 9:00 am tomorrow morning...I'm going to take your ping pongs....paint them bright pretty colors....and ship them off to the Easter Bunny."
UPS Courier: "Yes ma'am."
He darts out of the room...and the sound of a helicopter taking off from the roof is heard.
Coming soon...the exciting conclusion of this saga...
"Bonnie Hammer Does Lunch"
Upcoming SyFy Originals Ranked From Suck To Blow
http://www.pajiba.com/trade_news/upcoming-syfy-originals-ranked-from-suck-to-blow.php
Sometimes you have to stand aside and let those who hate the SyFy Channel as much as you do have their chance in the spotlight.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
It Seems Everybody Is Googling And Yahooing "SyFy Channel Sucks" These Days
http://www.amazon.com/Caprica-Sucks-Channel-Misfires-Ronald/dp/1451556225/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311220762&sr=1-1
Googling and Yahooing "SyFy Channel Sucks" nowadays brings no shortage of links, does it? The results go on and on for page after page. This is the only tangible achievement of Bonnie Hammer, David Howe, and Mark Stern. They have succeeded (quite admirably) in getting the entire population to hate the SyFy Channel. To the extent that all of these people have taken the time out of their lives to write articles about how much the "SyFy Channel Sucks." Articles that go on and on well beyond 10 pages on both "Googe" and "Yahoo."
To me, this represents a thorough disconnect between the SyFy Channel and the television viewing audience. This disconnect of course...consciously man made by Bonnie Hammer, David Howe, and Mark Stern. The three of them have given no one....any reason....to watch their stupid ass...poorly managed cable channel. But they have given everyone...every reason in the world to write highly critical articles on the SyFy Channel. Articles listed for page upon page on both "Google" and "Yahoo." Articles that quite frankly...go on forever.
Is it time for new corporate owner Comcast to take a hint? That their new subsidiary (SyFy Channel) needs to be gutted from the inside / out with a corporate wrecking ball...in order to begin the long healing process of making the SyFy Channel a channel worth watching again.
"Google" and "Yahoo" don't lie. The vast majority of the population hates the SyFy Channel with a passion. The large number of "Anti-SyFy Channel" articles always displayed in the search results on both "Google" and "Yahoo" indicates that the SyFy Channel is being criticized from multiple vantage points.
1. You can criticize the SyFy Channel about their weekly monster movies.
2. You can criticize the SyFy Channel about broadcasting wrestling.
3. You can criticize the SyFy Channel about broadcasting a cooking show.
4. You can criticize the SyFy Channel for hating Science Fiction television programming.
5. You can criticize the SyFy Channel for sucking overall.
Bonnie Hammer, David Howe, and Mark Stern have made the SyFy Channel a giant dart board for endless criticisms from multiple vantage points.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
How Is Universal Studios / SyFy Channel's Business Model / Pipe Dream Thingy Working Out For Them?
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Studios-1978-Battlestar-Galactica/dp/1434895408/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311111159&sr=1-2
We keep hearing it from them all of the time...don't we? This "Business Model / Brand Name...Pipe Dream Fantasy" of theirs...that Universal Studios / SyFy Channel keep clinging to. The fantasy of boundless financial goodness they keep thinking they will find at the end of the "Yellow Brick Road" of their wishful thinking...and turn them into the most successful corporation on Earth with a big...fat....Superman..."S"....on their corporate chest. A super corporation!!
Two years ago, the Sci-Fi Channel thought that such a pipe dream would yield them boundless financial goodness by initially changing their name to SyFy Channel...and then proceeding to put such crap on the air as WWF Wrestling, a cooking show, and unwatchable horror movies.
Recently, Universal Studios thought they would find this "Yellow Brick Road" of financial goodness by not greenlighting "Stephen King's Dark Tower" project.
As near as I can tell...this is what Universal Studios / SyFy Channel is hoping will happen if they adhere to this "Business Model / Brand Name" fantasy of theirs...and this is how you define it....
"Universal Studios / SyFy Channel wants some magic project to come along from out of nowhere...whether it be a new television series or a new movie...and they want the project to be dirt cheap to produce...while at the same time generating enough revenue to instantaneously propel them into different industries...such as building shopping malls with their name on it..."The Universal Studios / SyFy Channel Mega Mall"...manufacturing video games...producing children's programming....manufacturing male and female apparel, and manufacturing toys."
Yes...Universal Studios / SyFy Channel want to be a...Mega-Conglomerate.
Unfortunately...Universal Studios / SyFy Channel doesn't have the talent...and never has had the talent...to evolve themselves beyond being a mere movie studio...and a mere cable network.
1. Maury Povich hasn't done it for them yet.
2. Marcel's Quantum Kitchen hasn't done it for them yet.
3. Ghost Hunters hasn't done it for them yet.
4. Warehouse 13 hasn't done it for them yet.
5. Their Saturday Night Monster Movies hasn't done it for them yet.
6. WWF Wrestling hasn't done it for them yet.
7. Ronald D. Moore hasn't done it for them yet.
This is what Bonnie Hammer at the SyFy Channel...and Universal Studios in general...keep babbling about whenever you hear them desiring to..."expand the brand name"...or..."strengthen the business model."
Inexplicably...they keep thinking that this fantasy of theirs will happen by greenlighting crap..."The Maury Povich Show"....and not greenlighting quality productions...."Stephen King's Dark Tower."
Universal Studios Nixes Stephen King's "Dark Tower" Trilogy
http://www.deadline.com/2011/07/universal-wont-scale-stephen-kings-the-dark-tower-studio-declines-to-make-ambitious-trilogy-and-tv-series/
Ambition...is the arch enemy of Universal Studios and SyFy Channel because...ambition...also requires truckloads of imagination. This is a corporation notoriously known for preferring the low budget and anti-imaginative antics of Maury Povich's daily freak show (complete with professional actors and actresses playing the roles of his supposed "off the street" guests talking about their problems) over the likes of say...Stephen King's "Dark Tower" trilogy. This is a corporation notoriously known for preferring the likes of WWF Wrestling, cooking shows, and boring as hell ghost hunter shows over the likes of say..."The 1978 Battlestar Galactica" series."
It's mentioned in the article that Universal Studios turned down the "Dark Tower" because it "didn't fit in with their business model." What is the business model of Universal Studios / SyFy Channel? Putting low budget, reality crap on the air (like Maury Povich) that the general public never asks for yet brain dead Universal Studios / SyFy Channel executives always do. Universal Studios and SyFy Channel believe in fast food / crap programming. Crank it out and put it on the air as cheaply as possible. Stephen King's "Dark Tower" would have required a decent budget, some thought, some imagination, some intellectualism. The sworn enemies of Universal Studios.....business model. Their business model is typical...status quo crap....costing $1.98 per episode and aired during the lunch hour on the SyFy Channel. Produced in Vancouver with nameless actors holding ID cards from the Canadian Chapter of the Screen Actors Guild.
This is why Stephen King's "Dark Tower" got voted down by Universal Studios "Black Tower."
Why The SyFy Channel Has Never Been Taken Seriously As a Business And Likely Never Will
http://www.amazon.com/Caprica-Sucks-Channel-Misfires-Ronald/dp/1451556225/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1311094606&sr=1-1
Identity -
What is the identity of the SyFy Channel? What is it? Perhaps the best way to try and define what the hell the SyFy Channel is...is to eliminate what it isn't. It is not a Science Fiction Channel. It is not a Horror Channel. It is not a Wrestling Network. It is not a Cooking Channel. Yet it has elements of all of these things in its eccentric makeup. And all of these things in its makeup have been extremely...poorly done...by Bonnie Hammer, David Howe, and Mark Stern.
The best ballpark approximation of what the SyFy Channel is...is that it's a Smorgasbord Schizophrenia Channel. It tries to be all personalities...to all different types of people....from all different walks of life...and still isn't making any money because of it. It is also a "nameless...anonymous....John Doe platform" for Bonnie Hammer, David Howe, and Mark Stern to experiment with...in order to try and capture a portion of the children's television network...the wrestling market...the cooking show market...and any other market they want to take a stab at...and inevitably fail while doing so.
Interviews -
Has Bonnie Hammer, David Howe, and Mark Stern ever not given a cringe worthy interview? These people shouldn't be managing a cable channel, they should be gathering marketing data for A.C. Nielsen. The three of them are intellectually incapable of conceiving a simple premise for a television series...simply. What they do instead...is try and front load a potential idea for a television series...with all of their marketing desires to capture the following markets....Children's Programming....Wrestling Programming....Cooking Programming...Horror Programming...and Schlock Programming. No wonder the SyFy Channel has been and forever shall be...an ill-defined nightmare of a cable channel. In every interview the three of these idiots give...they announce non-verbally to the entire world....that they are not qualified to run this cable channel.
Lack of Talent -
The lack of talent at the SyFy Channel doesn't end with Bonnie Hammer, David Howe, and Mark Stern. It also generously extends to all of their underlings as well...
1. The idiots who conceive their weekly monster movies.
2. The idiots who produce, write, and direct their weekly monster movies.
3. The idiots who conceive and work on all of their weekly television series.
A Failure to Admit Faults and Course Correct -
Admitting faults and course correcting away from those faults is not in the psychological DNA of Bonnie Hammer, David Howe, and Mark Stern. They stick with television producers who have repeatedly failed them in the past (Ronald D. Moore)...their failed programming ("GINO"..."Caprica"..."Blood & Chrome"), and keep them within arms distance reach if they want more programming from them. In all honesty, how on Earth would Ronald D. Moore ever support himself if he didn't have his corporate mommy and daddy (SyFy Channel) to fall back on in between his other projects that keep failing? (His "Harry Potter: C.S.I." project. His "Thing" remake script. His "Wild, Wild West" remake script. His "Virtuosity" project.)
Not Forking Over More Money to Hire Better Talent -
It goes on and on with the SyFy Channel, doesn't it? The endless stream of no talent hacks working for them in the producing, writing, and directing categories is....notoriously known. Whether it be with their weekly television series or their weekly monster movies. The obvious solution to this problem is...fork over more money and hire better talent. Not in the corporate and psychological DNA of Bonnie Hammer, David Howe, and Mark Stern.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Why Does The SyFy Channel Now Think It's Cute That Their Monster Movies Are So "Kitschy?"
When the SyFy Channel first started making monster movies....Bonnie Hammer, David Howe, and Mark Stern had absolutely no clue that they were as bad as they were. (Those born without artistic talents of any kind are always the last to know how untalented they really are.) When rumblings began reaching the ears of all three of them...that their originally produced monster movies were utter garbage always destined for the "10 cent Discount DVD Bin at Wal-Mart"....Hammer, Howe and Stern took the easy way out. Instead of confronting the problem they had created for themselves head on by hiring better producers, scriptwriters, and directors for their monster movies....they decided to embrace the kitsch factor inherent in all of these monster movies...and try to pass it off as a cutesy hobby to watch these awful monster movies every week.
SyFy Channel: "Aren't these movies awful? (wink, wink) But it's the new fad!! It's the new thing!! It's the new bag!!...to watch these awful monster movies every week!!"
One of the things I have discovered about Bonnie Hammer, David Howe, and Mark Stern after studying their bad business habits for as long as I have...is that instead of correcting physical problems created by their own God awful television program (such as their weekly monster movies), they will instead change the way they promote these programs on the air and on the Internet. Because God forbid...should the three of them ever admit to making dire mistakes. In other words, instead of cancelling a genuinely bad television show created by the three of them either collectively or individually...they will instead change the way they think about that particular television show...and promote it in an entirely different way. Pushing the reality to the back of their minds that these monster movies of theirs (for example) really are God awful. Thus, in the case of their weekly monster movies, they decided to embrace the awfulness of them all, and try to promote them as the new fad to watch these things...instead of mercifully cancelling the entire umbrella package of these monster movies.
Bonnie Hammer, David Howe, and Mark Stern are the sorts of miscast (erroneously hired) television executives who keep themselves psyched up psychologically despite the overwhelming opinions that their television programs...suck ass. They pump themselves up with happiness and naivete steroids...in order to change course in the marketing of their television programs once they find out how much the public hates their television shows.
By hook or by crook....Bonnie Hammer, David Howe, and Mark Stern will never cancel what they create.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Universal Studios Only Two Options Thus Far With "Battlestar Galactica" Have Been Shitty Ones
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Studios-1978-Battlestar-Galactica/dp/1434895408/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1310845314&sr=1-2
1. Not doing anything with "Battlestar Galactica" decade after decade, and not making any money because of it.
2. Doing Ronald D. Moore's crappy version of "Battlestar Galactica" and not making any money because of it.
A bleak track record like that warrants a board of inquiry of some sort from either the Universal Studios shareholders, or from the new owners....Comcast.
It just isn't natural and normal for a corporation to have a property in its possession and repeatedly not making any money from the property on purpose. It's downright weird.
How much money would Universal Studios / Sci-Fi Channel have made a decade ago from "Battlestar Galactica" if they had decided to properly revive the series (going back to the 1978 version) instead of going with Ronald D. Moore's crappy version? The status of the property would be on much more solid footing financially than it is now.
When you have a misstep with a property which is a numero uno incident...such as Paramount Pictures misstep with "Star Trek - The Motion Picture"....You do a corporate wide course adjustment (as Paramount Pictures did) to get the "Star Trek" property back on track. Numero uno incidents like that can be forgiven because in Paramount Pictures case...it wasn't intentional...and the incidents never occur again.
In the case of Universal Studios / SyFy Channel and "Battlestar Galactica"....there have been no such course corrections. Not only that, but this thoroughly dysfunctional corporation continues to cling to the only two options historically proven to not make them any money with the property....inactivity or Ronald D. Moore's garbage. Intentional or unintentional blunders such as this need to be weeded out of any corporation for the good of the corporation. Universal Studios has already proven and long since proven that they hate the "Battlestar Galactica" property with a passion. We the general public get it. Now it's time for an internal investigation of Universal Studios / SyFy Channel be new corporate parent Comcast. Not making the sort of money that can potentially be made from the "Battlestar Galactica" property by not honoring what came before (the 1978 series) is not in the best interests of Comcast's new subsidiaries (Universal Studios and SyFy Channel) and has ultimately proved to be detrimental to the corporation overall.
This is a situation where the thoroughly objective new corporate parent (Comcast) would look at why the property has not been making noteworthy money for decades and sternly address their new corporate subordinates at Universal Studios / SyFy Channel....
Comcast: "Alright....we get it. All of you have had some sort of personal vendetta against the '1978 Battlestar Galactica' series for decades. Now it's time for all of you to file away (for good) your personal vendettas against this property, and start making noteworthy money from the property whether you like it or not.)"
Universal Studios and SyFy Channel's handling of the "Battlestar Galactica" property is one of those situations inevitably headed for a confrontation of some sort initiated by new corporate owners Comcast. "Battlestar Galactica" is not making them noteworthy money, and they have every right in the world to investigate why.
Just About Anybody Will Tell You How Great Ron Moore's Take On "Galactica" Was, As Long As You Pay Them Off Beforehand With a Big Fat Bribe
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Studios-1978-Battlestar-Galactica/dp/1434895408/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1310832229&sr=1-2
Some of the reviews for Ronald D. Moore's "GINO" ("Galactica in Name Only") series were so warm, cozy, and glowing...butter could have melted in the midst of those reviews. The reviews also sounded...shall we say....minutely choreographed and orchestrated...in their unrealistic praise for the show.
When someone had the unmitigated gall to say that..."Ronald D. Moore's take on 'Galactica' was the greatest television show of all time".....you know damn well that someone was PAID OFF WITH A BRIBE.
Here's the problem the SyFy Channel had. Ronald D. Moore's "GINO" series was much, much lower in the ratings in its first season than the SyFy Channel had anticipated....They needed positive buzz in record time...on the order of speeding through a drive-thru window at Burger King....to try and pump up the ratings.
Behind closed doors, the SyFy Channel knew that "GINO" wasn't that good, and they also knew that they would never get, legitimate positive reviews for "GINO." So...the SyFy Channel hit upon the rather novel idea of PAYING OFF TELEVISION CRITICS WITH BRIBES in order to get their positive reviews for "GINO."
SyFy Channel was determined that they were not going to give up on "GINO" despite the low ratings. To do so would have been an admission that Bonnie Hammer made a mistake in putting it on the air. So, they began ramming the series down the public's throat despite the SyFy Channel loving the series infinitely more than the public did. That's why we saw "GINO" on the cover of "Entertainment Weekly" magazine, the "GINO" cast members doing the Top 10 List on David Letterman (when the audience was laughing at them and not with them because Dave's audience didn't know who the hell they were), Harlan Ellison crawling out of his coffin in order to give "GINO" some fake award, and some weird ass publicity stunt involving "GINO" and the United Nations. A publicity stunt which to this day...has people still shaking their heads in utter disbelief at the ridiculousness and embarrassment of it all.
At the center of all of this of course....were the television critics being bribed by the SyFy Channel to say nice things about the show...the bribed television critics being the glue holding the entire sham enterprise together.
Yes...nice things were said about Ronald D. Moore's "GINO" series. But television critics had to compromise their ethics in order to say those nice things.
Friday, July 15, 2011
When Universal Studios And Glen A. Larson Aren't At Each Others Throats Legally, They Spend Their Work Days Not Doing a Damn Constructive Thing Together
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Studios-1978-Battlestar-Galactica/dp/1434895408/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1310751716&sr=1-2
I've always found it really creepy that the only time we hear from Universal Studios and Glen A. Larson at the same time, is when they are suing each other, or are on the brink of suing each other. Other than that, their work days primarily consist of sitting on their collective corporate asses...and doing nothing. Collectively, they are sleepaholic vampires decade in and decade out....who only lumber back to life when either one feels they are being screwed out of money.
Universal Studios and Glen A. Larson both have more money than they know what to do with, yet that isn't enough for them. Larson for example, has more than enough money to do what he has already been doing for decades...sitting on his ass and not doing anything. Yet...that still isn't enough money for him. He still wants hundreds of millions more from Universal Studios. Even if Universal Studios does owe him all of that money...when is "enough is enough" for Glen A. Larson? Assuming he gets that additional hundreds of millions, what is he going to do with it? Bank it so he can sit on his ass even more...365 days a year?
It's almost as if Universal Studios and Glen A. Larson sat down with one another and said to each other...
"Gee...the general public hasn't heard from us in ages since our bogus "Galactica" movie press release in February 2009. You know what? Let's sue each other so we can get back into the headlines again."
At the root of it....I think it's nothing more than Universal Studios and Glen A. Larson periodically craving attention. Idle minds tend to be that way when their work days lack constructive activity. Maybe if the two of them had been spending the past 29 months making a "Galactica 1978" movie (like they were supposed to be doing)...they wouldn't be preoccupied with each other....lawsuits....and money like they are now.
I think there's a little wing at Universal Studios that consists of those executives who have been deliberately mismanaging the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series...and Glen A. Larson. The lot of them are friends with one another. They sit around all day long...shooting the shit....arguing with each other....and suing each other.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Well...I Guess This Explains Why We Haven't Seen a "Galactica 1978" Movie In Theaters This Summer
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Studios-1978-Battlestar-Galactica/dp/1434895408/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1310587431&sr=1-2
http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/8604/battlestar-creator-sues-nbcu-accuses-company-of-sharecropping.html
"Larson has said in recent years that he planned on doing a motion picture more closely based on his original 1978 series, but has not made much headway since then."
You show me a time when both Universal Studios and Glen A. Larson haven't lied about making a "Galactica 1978" theatrical film....and I'll show you an elephant with wings.
Universal Studios and Glen A. Larson deserve to be at each others throats in the courtroom. They were made for each other.
Glen A. Larson Sues Universal Studios Over Profit Sharing. Trouble In "Anti-Galactica Land?"
I know how you feel....Glen. The circle is now complete, isn't it? After screwing the general public out of a "Battlestar Galactica 1978" revival...Universal Studios is now screwing you. When you get right down to it Glen...Universal Studios wouldn't be Universal Studios if they weren't screwing somebody...right?
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/knight-rider-producer-glen-larson-210168
http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/8604/battlestar-creator-sues-nbcu-accuses-company-of-sharecropping.html
"The complaint alleges causes of action for breach of contract, declaratory relief, accounting, restitution for unjust enrichment, money due on open book account, conversion, fraud, negligent misrepresentation and unfair business practices." - C'mon Glen!! You mean to tell me that you aren't used to your friends at Universal Studios by now??
I gotta tell ya'!! I gotta tell ya!! Sometimes when you wake up in the morning...there is a gift just waiting for you. I couldn't have asked for a sweeter gift in the morning than if I had asked for Lady GaGa to be my personal maseusse.
It always tickles my little footsies to no end when I find out that all is not well among the corporate ranks in "anti-Galactica Land." These characters at Universal Studios and Glen A. Larson have thought nothing about repeatedly screwing the general public out of a revival of the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series spanning decades...yet when either one of them screws the other out of hundreds of millions of dollars, they run like little cry babies to the "Hollywood Reporter" to bitch and moan about the injustices being done to them. Yet these same people will inflict injustices upon the general public of an equally heinous nature in the wink of an eye.
"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." - God
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Those Who Own The "Battlestar Galactica" Copyright Are a Corporate Family of Underachievers
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Studios-1978-Battlestar-Galactica/dp/1434895408/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1310508546&sr=1-2
"That's it? That's all there fucking is?" That was the complaint heard loud and clear from the vast majority of television viewers who sampled Ronald D. Moore's sham rendition of "Battlestar Galactica", and found nothing more than boring characters walking around in business suits...and frowning at each other.
If you ever want to know what NBC-Universal / SyFy Channel's underachieving goals have been for the "Battlestar Galactica" copyright....look no further than the "GINO" and "Caprica" reruns...if you can even find them anymore.
No ambition....no scope....no majesty....no imagination....no aspiring to the bare minimum requirements of making a "Galactica" named television series on the SyFy Channel a watchable viewing experience, NBC-Universal and SyFy Channel's plans for the "Battlestar Galactica" property thus far have been nothing more than an elephant sound asleep from a tranquilizing dart. One would have more fun counting the plaster bumps on his / her ceiling in the den than watching anything "Galactica" named cranked out by Ronald D. Moore and SyFy Channel.
Can it be....(in addition to the many...many other dysfunctional problems associated with NBC-Universal / SyFy Channel's handling of the "Battlestar Galactica" property)....that those who own the property are just underachievers in their souls? That those who own it are just supremely boring, underachieving...clods? And it seems to be an epidemic in everything else they do as well.
Look at the main page of http://www.syfy.com/. Do you see any excitement there? Do you see or sense any excitement from any of the routine programs the SyFy Channel has to offer? What you do see is 100%...Polyunsaturated....Boredom in everything the "Galactica" copyright owners do when they venture beyond "Battlestar Galactica." This is underachievement at the corporate level.
Is there anything this corporate family of underachievers can do that isn't boring? It's no small achievement to make anything called "Battlestar Galactica" boring. Yet, that is precisely what NBC-Universal and SyFy Channel achieved. They made "Galactica" as interesting as a "Ron Popeill Veg-O-Matic" info-mercial. Their overall SyFy Channel schedule exhibits the same symptoms.
Underachievers unite for "Blood & Chrome!!"
The Poster Is Already Available For "The Dark Knight Rises"
"The Dark Knight Rises" is scheduled for release in July 2012. We already have a poster for the film which is 12 months away.
Universal Studios / Glen A. Larson / and Bryan Singer can't even produce a pre-production sketch on one of Glen A. Larson's cocktail napkins for their supposed "Galactica" film which has (supposedly) been in the making for almost three years.
Maybe if Universal Studios ever gets its corporate nose out of the rear end of Lucasfilm....and stops dicking around on the Internet...and stops dicking around with the general public on the Internet.... with its endless freak show of press releases announcing "Galactica" movies which will never come to pass....
....We just might get a "Galactica 1978" movie some day.....
Where Does Lucasfilm Figure Into This 33 Year Old Mystery Of Universal Studios Deliberately Mismanaging The "1978 Battlestar Galactica" Series?
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Studios-1978-Battlestar-Galactica/dp/1434895408/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1310446656&sr=1-2
Maybe Universal Studios personal vendetta against the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series extends way beyond their personal hatred of it. Can it be that Universal Studios has been doing George Lucas and Lucasfilm a personal favor by keeping the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series dead? A sort of.... in good faith...we'll scratch your back and you don't have to scratch ours in return....sort of arrangement?
The lawsuit against "Battlestar Galactica" back in 1978 against Universal Studios by 20th Century Fox was no small affair. It was a big deal. So big in fact....that those who kept track of it reported that court proceedings extended well into 1982....a good three years after "Battlestar Galactica" was cancelled by ABC-TV. Apparently, the suit ultimately ruled in Universal Studios favor...but did the entire affair still leave a bad taste in Universal Studios mouth? To the extent that they would devote the next 33 years of their corporate lives seeing to it that "Battlestar Galactica" in its only true form as broadcast back in 1978 would never see the light of day ever again?
Oh sure...they would warp and twist the name....and turn the format inside / out not for the better as demonstrated by Ronald D. Moore....but "Battlestar Galactica 1978" in the only appropriate manner it should be brought back would never see the light of day ever again. A 33 year long favor (and counting) to Lucasfilm that will never let up? To the extent that NBC-Universal / SyFy Channel engaged in the most heinous acts of stealth marketing imaginable to slam the 1978 series while promoting Ronald D. Moore's garbage?
Maybe Ronald D. Moore's take on "Battlestar Galactica" was deliberately awful....on purpose....as a sort of peace offering to Lucasfilm.
And maybe Moore's take on "Battlestar Galactica" was deliberately designed to not be commercially attractive and profitable on purpose....as a sort of self inflicted punishment on the part of NBC-Universal / SyFy Channel....as yet another peace offering to Lucasfilm. Oh...they went through the motions of appearing to want to make money with Moore's take on "Galactica"...the cover photo of the cast and crew on "Entertainment Weekly" magazine....but maybe that in itself was a sham. A one shot deal on the cover of a national magazine...and "poof!!"...nothing heard of it again in that area of advertising.
But, the very nature of Moore's take on "Galactica" was as commercially unattractive as any television series could get. A peace offering to Lucasfilm? Universal Studios announces one theatrical film after another based upon the "1978 Galactica" series (the latest being in February 2009)...and nothing ever comes of these announcments? Another peace offering to Lucasfilm?
Is Universal Studios not over the lawsuit yet between themselves and 20th Century Fox.....33 years later? 33 years later...and the mere mention of the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series still sends scores of Universal Studios executives into fits of blinding rage all over the Internet.
Summer 2011 was supposed to be the release time frame of the Glen A. Larson / Bryan Singer "Galactica" film.
Hmmmm....I wonder why it never showed up in theaters....
Monday, July 11, 2011
The SyFy Channel Stands For "Syncope Feint"
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Studios-1978-Battlestar-Galactica/dp/1434895408/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1310398554&sr=1-2
If any cable channel (business) has done more to put itself into a permanent state of corporate ischemia due to its endless attempted con jobs on the general public, it is the SyFy Channel. Never keeping any one identity from day to day, never being honest with the general public as to what its stance is with science fiction television programming, never being honest as to what its discernable on-air identity is supposed to be, never explaining in concrete terms, always giving interviews for the digestion of the general public with the intent to deceive and throw off-guard (Bonnie Hammer, David Howe, Mark Stern), the SyFy Channel has become nothing more than an unreliable source of information of itself.
Many interviews given by David Howe for example...have been nothing more than futile exercises in retraction because he received heat and criticism for what he and his other two colleagues (Bonnie Hammer, Mark Stern) stated earlier.
1. Many, many times...Hammer, Howe, and Stern have defined science fiction fans as "nerd boys living in their basements." David Howe recently bounced back by saying...."No, no!! We at the SyFy Channel never said that at all!! Somebody else said it!! We at the SyFy Channel love science fiction fans and we want to grow and expand our audience including our treasured core group of science fiction fans!!"
2. Perhaps it was an off the cuff remark...perhaps it was a remark said in passing...but David Howe recently stated that the reason why Ronald D. Moore's "GINO" (Galactica in Name Only) series wasn't more successful than it was....was because it aired on a network called "Sci-Fi Channel." His remark is extremely interesting on two counts:
a. He is admitting that Ronald D. Moore's sham take on "Battlestar Galactica" was indeed...not as successful as the Sci-Fi Channel tried to make it out to be through its guerrilla style stealth marketing.
b. He is trying to blame the name of a cable channel on Ronald D. Moore's failure to reimagine "Battlestar Galactica."
How about more likely explanations for the failure of Ronald D. Moore to reimagine "Battlestar Galactica" such as...Ronald D. Moore's lack of talent as a producer and scriptwriter...his failure to grasp what "Battlestar Galactica" is....and the equally astonishing lack of talent from co-producer David Eick.
For whatever reason...perhaps one of those reasons being that Bonnie Hammer, David Howe, and Mark Stern never believe that their remarks in interviews will be recorded and preserved for future posterity, they have been giving interviews from two...distinct....opposing standpoints:
1. That they love science fiction fans and all things science fiction...and want to build upon this audience by bringing in everybody.
and....
2. They hate science fiction fans...regard them as nothing more than "fanboys living in basements"...and want to distance themselves from these fans by getting as far away from science fiction programming as much as possible.
The logical explanation here is obvious. #2 is how they really feel...and.... #1 is their official retraction because they received intense criticism for #2.
The biggest problem plaguing Bonnie Hammer, David Howe, and Mark Stern is that the three of them are not science fiction fans. They are corporate elitists who for whatever reason...were thrown into managing a cable channel (by NBC-Universal) that is supposed to be Science Fiction. And they have been fucking up really badly because of it. I gotta tell you. Just from reading the endless interviews give by the three of them, they are the least qualified individuals on the planet to be managing what is supposed to be a Science Fiction channel. The three of them were thrown into this job....a job they have never known how to do...and the channel itself and the viewing public have been suffering ever since.
You don't hire a team of auto mechanics..and throw them into the job of launching the space shuttle for its next mission. It isn't going to happen because knowledge wise...the auto mechanics are way out of their league.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Ronald D. Moore's "GINO" Series Is Already Dated, And Correctly Labeled By Those Who Didn't Like It
http://www.amazon.com/Whistling-Dark-Attempt-Battlestar-Galactica/dp/144994079X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1310233713&sr=1-3
The passage of time is not being kind to Ronald D. Moore's "GINO" (Galactica in Name Only) series. His weird and self-indulgent experiment into a political soap opera inexplicably set in outer space has doomed the series (along with "Caprica") to a fate of outdated commentaries on yesteryear politics. Osama Bin Laden is dead, 9/11 has been avenged, and George W. Bush is thankfully no longer in the White House. It also hasn't helped the series any that it was badly produced and written as well. "GINO" was produced at a time when Ronald D. Moore's ego busting out of his ass perfectly emulated the pompous arrogance of United States foreign policy. Both were outrageous...and both perfectly complimented the other.
Ronald D. Moore made permanent enemies in this lifetime because of his "GINO" and "Caprica" series. Not because he expressed his pompous political views in both series...but rather because he is one of the worst television producers and scriptwriters of all time. Casual television viewers know it, the Science Fiction community know it, the ComicCon crowd know it, and the fanbase of the "1978 Battlestar Galactica" series know it. With hatred of what you do and how you do it permanently installed...the inevitable labels pefectly describing what Ronald D. Moore did in "GINO" and/or "Caprica" have begun to arise...
Pompous -
Ronald D. Moore's "GINO" series was the biggest pile of donkey lard ever produced for television...cable or broadcast. Its overwhelming self love of what it thought it was and hoped it was blinded it to what it really was. An amateurish excursion into bad television.
Rotten -
In the areas of producing and scriptwriting, it didn't get any worse than Ronald D. Moore's "GINO" series. Substituting easy to manufacture hostility and conflict for imagination and narrative cohesiveness, Ronald D. Moore's "GINO" series became a ceaseless freak show of rapes, murders, and mugging it up to the camera with endless frowning courtesy of Edward James Olmos and Mary McDonnell.
Indecisive -
From day one, Ronald D. Moore didn't know what the hell to do with this series. Is it set in outer space or on Earth? Do the people wear costumes or business suits? Are the Cylons good or bad. Thankfully, Ronald D. Moore knew how to keep his job despite his unprecedented shortcomings as the executive producer and head writer. He winged it as he went along.
Dated -
Watch an episode of "GINO", and you're immediately taken back to the miserable decade of the 2000s when we lost the World Trade Center, lost our Democracy thanks to George W. Bush, and lost good television via Ronald D. Moore. We were also introduced (in this decade) to what extent NBC-Universal / SyFy Channel would go to in order to ram bad television down our throats....Verbally attack the general public on Internet bulletin boards.
Career Ending -
I challenge anyone to find a former cast member or production team member of "GINO"....who has gone on to legitimately bigger and better things in their would be careers as a result of "GINO." And no...an occasional Lifetime movie of the week for Katee Sackhoff doesn't count. And no...Ronald D. Moore's endlessly rejected post-"GINO" projects don't count either.....His "Thing" remake script....His Harry Potter / Police Precinct nonsense....etc..
Friday, July 8, 2011
Two Years Into The Name Change to "SyFy" Channel, Bonnie Hammer's Network Is Still a Boring Trash Heap
http://www.amazon.com/Caprica-Sucks-Channel-Misfires-Ronald/dp/1451556225/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1310176380&sr=1-1
Two years ago this month.....the Bonnie Hammer decimated "Sci-Fi Channel" became the unchanging and boring trash heap of a cable channel it always had been...newly christened "SyFy Channel."
In two years time...what has the name change to "SyFy Channel" yielded for Bonnie Hammer, David Howe, and Mark Stern? Has anything genuinely exciting happened for the three of them from a legitimate business standpoint? Is there now a "SyFy" Global Empire of some sort spanning the globe? Not according to NASA satellites or the FOX Business Channels. Have retail outlets sprung up displaying the "SyFy" moniker? Has anything happened.....in any way....from a business standpoint....that has propelled Bonnie Hammer...David Howe...and Mark Stern into economic Godhood beyond the broadcasting doldrums of the "SyFy Channel?"
Resulting from the name change to "SyFy Channel?"
A big and resounding "Nope!!" to all of the above questions. One has to wonder why...two years ago....the three of them went to the trouble of implementing such a name change universally hated by everyone in the first place!! But hey!!....Bonnie Hammer, David Howe, and Mark Stern had a plan. A plan (whatever it was) that hasn't come to fruition yet....TWO YEARS LATER.....after changing the name to "SyFy Channel".....But hey!!....Bonnie Hammer....David Howe....and Mark Stern have never been known for succeeding at anything they have set their minds to do.
Two years later...and the only thing that has come to pass on the "SyFy Channel" is the same old boring crap that always came to pass when it was still called "Sci-Fi Channel" under Bonnie Hammer's stewardship. The three of them have always had this knack for wanting to implement bold and new plans....and failing miserably in the process.
Two years later....There are no "SyFy Channel" shopping malls. There is not a "SyFy Channel" space shuttle. There are not competing lines of "SyFy Channel" mens and women clothing (as seen in Ronald D. Moore's "GINO".) There is not a "Bonnie Hammer Fragrance" perfume in your local cosmetics outlet competing robustly with the "Liz Taylor" fragrances or the "Kim Kardashian" fragrances.
Two years later....Bonnie Hammer, David Howe, and Mark Stern are still on the payroll for some unknown reason.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Casey Anthony Used To Work For Universal Studios??
http://www.amazon.com/Universal-Studios-1978-Battlestar-Galactica/dp/1434895408/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1310077152&sr=1-2
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700149079/Casey-Anthony-weeps-as-prosecutor-calls-her-a-liar.html?pg=2
Can it be? Could it be true? If it weren't true....why would she say..."I used to work for Universal Studios?" She could have just as easily have said...."I used to work for Dairy Queen"....or....."I used to work for Burger King." Yet, Universal Studios popped into her head when the urge of mentioning a potential former employer arose.
In what capacity did she work for Universal Studios?
1. Executive in Charge of Motion Picture Development?
2. Executive in Charge of Creative Affairs?
3. An Event Planner at Universal Studios Theme Parks?
I'm intrigued!! I'm bubbling over with curiosity!! Universal Studios / SyFy Channel...The corporation having always taken relentless pride in iteself despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary....has apparently experienced one of its very own falling from grace. And in a spectacular....media saturated / media frenzied manner to boot!!
How does a former employee of Universal Studios...end up like this? Is there something within the corporate culture of Universal Studios having caused such a spectacular fall from grace as this? Something in the food being served at the Universal Studios cafeteria?
You work for Universal Studios one day....and then you're the media darling of CNN the next!! Is it possible to even think it??
Can Casey Anthony go backwards? Can she rise above all of this and return to flashing her badge at the Universal Studios front gate in order to resume whatever it was she was doing before....all of this?
Stay tuned tomorrow!! Same Bat-Time....Same Bat-Channel!!