For What It's Worth: This is Glee Star Cory Monteith's Final Tweet

For those of you who don't know (see previous post), Glee star, Cory Monteith--Finn, the football hero--died on Saturday. It's very sad, unexpected (at least to me), and a bit disconcerting to find that he was playing 19 but was 31. Anyway, perhaps even more surprising is the final tweet on Twitter by the actor. As a person whose family makes a living off of combing over estate sales and auctions, I'm used to the banality of a person's last days. But could anything be more awesomely random than Cory Monteith's final tweet?

All of that snarkiness said, I am sad that such a promising, attractive and talented young performer has passed from this mortal coil.

SyFy (The Sci-Fi Channel) Doesn't Need Nerdy Sci-Fi Fans Anymore

Image from source, MSNBC
Obviously, there is a boob in charge of SyFy.  First, they picked that ridiculous name when Sci-Fi Channel was perfectly serviceable. Then, they added wrestling to their line-up. Now, they've turned Friday nights--a death slot for the networks, but a boon for shows like Battlestar Galactica on SyFy--into a wrasslin' extravaganza.  So they're basically Spike now?  I just want to know what they're going to do with Eureka, their single best show ever.

On a side note, I find it very, very strange that professional wrestling continues to draw a sizable audience after all of these years. It's a good thing IQ points don't count in the ratings.
[Excerpt]

So long, nerds! Syfy doesn’t need you

Presumably fulfilling its post-rebranding promise to “Imagine Greater,” the former Sci Fi Channel — now known as Syfy — has imagined its way right out of the niche that made the cable network.



Forget about space operas, tech dramas or B-movie monsters (except for “Mega Piranha” — never forget “Mega Piranha”), programming shake-ups reveal Syfy is ready to live up to its theme-less new name. If the recent announcement that “Top Chef” alum Marcel Vigneron would be joining the network for a cooking show called “Marcel’s Quantum Kitchen” wasn’t proof enough, Syfy’s acquisition of “Friday Night SmackDown” should be. . .

Read more: MSNBC

FOX TV's Sorry Track Record with Science Fiction

Image from source, Topless Robot

(Yes, The Tick was a super-hero parody, but super-heroes are sci-fi in my book.)

I've been a fan of sci-fi (SyFy, if you prefer) ever since I was little. When I had to pick elective literature courses in high school I opted for "Mystery & Suspense," and "Science Fiction." Luckily for me, I grew up in the age of sci-fi movies, both cheesy (Logan's Run) and superb (Star Wars). On TV, there was The Six Million Dollar Man, The Bionic Woman, Wonder Woman, Battlestar Galactica, The Incredible Hulk and many other sci-fi/fantasy shows.

As I got older, I never lost my affinity for sci-fi. And every so often, the TV powers that be would tantalize me with a new offering. I'd excitedly watch from episode one, only to have the show yanked from the schedule two, six, thirteen episodes. If I'd get really lucky, I'd a full season, or possibly a second, usually aborted somewhere in the middle of season two. Sometimes the show deserved it (V, Manimal, M.A.N.T.I.S., Misfits of Science, the new Bionic Woman) More often than not though, if the program was good, and I was really getting into it right as it was cancelled, FOX was the network that dropped the axe. Damn that Rupert Murdoch!

Now, I have to give FOX credit for putting them on in the first place. And there have been rare exceptions like The X-Files. Currently, FOX has renewed two very good shows with sci-fi elements, Fringe and Dollhouse. As grateful as I am for that, however, I cannot forgive them for cancelling Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles after an insanely good run of episodes. I don't care what the excuse is, that show was just too cool to die. Here is the original promo for that show. Tell me this show wasn't made of awesome.

The article below is not focused solely on the sci-fi genre, but it is heavily represented.

[Excerpt]

The 20 Greatest Shows Canceled By Fox Before Their Time

I'm going to come right out and say it; The Fox Network is the f***ing devil. How many times in the last 20 years has this story repeated itself? Fox greenlights an awesome show. Many viewers love it and practically become obsessed with the show. Fox then cancels the series after a handful of episodes because the ratings did not climb fast enough for the impatient, small-minded execs at Fox. Imagine if a classic, long-running show like Seinfeld had aired on Fox (which actually almost happened) instead of another network. . . .

Read more at: Topless Robot

Brilliant But (Almost Certainly) Cancelled: Dollhouse & Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Image from source, ScreenRant

I've already produced several posts, and spent many a pixel gushing about two of my favorite shows, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Dollhouse. Both are on FOX TV, both were on Friday nights, and both--it would seem--have a very good chance of getting cancelled, just as they are getting really freaking good.

Science fiction shows have a notoriously bad history at FOX, with only The X-Files and Sliders getting a lengthy run. Alien Nation, VR-5, Firefly, The Lone Gunmen, Millenium, The Adventures of Briscoe County Jr., Strange Luck. . .all on FOX, all cancelled before a decent stretch of episodes could be compiled. And that is not by any stretch a complete list. It would seem that whoever green lights series for FOX loves sci-fi, and whoever red lights shows has no affinity for the genre.

T:TSCC ought to have worked, having the immensely popular Terminator fan base built in. Apparently, I underestimated the number of Terminator fans that just want junk to blow up, and don't care about story or characters. Dollhouse has the built in uber-fandom of creator Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly) to draw upon. But FOX should consider that those shows grow on you, and take time to develop (something that was not afforded to Firefly).

Maybe I'll get lucky, and the awesome recent episodes of both series will build a little buzz, get more people onto FOX.com and Hulu, to check out these excellent programs. Both series deserve to grow beyond their current low-rated Friday night death slot. I can see T:TSCC doing well as a one or two-shot special movie on The Sci-Fi Channel SyFy, as a ratings tester for more episodes. They would certainly be better than the usual SyFy-produced movie of the week. And Dollhouse? It needs another season (and significantly more buzz from Whedon fans--hey, I'm doing my part!) to grow. Being owned by FOX, maybe it has the best shot. Crossing all crossable parts here. . .

[Excerpt]

The Friday Night Death Slot: Sarah Connor Chronicles & Dollhouse

After its season (series?) finale, The Sarah Connor Chronicles seems to be in a gray area. The ratings for the April 10th finale brought in only 3.6 million viewers. That’s a far cry from its premiere episode that attracted almost 19 million sets of eyeballs. After a lot of conjecture, mostly from watching the ratings drop over the last two years, most feel that the show is looking at its demise.

For reasons that are beyond our own logic, even though TSCC was bringing in an average of over 11 million viewers on Mondays, Fox pretty much set the fate of the show when they moved it to Friday nights. There, in its 2nd season it received an average of 4.7 million viewers. . .

Read more at: ScreenRant

Sci-Fi Channel Becomes SyFy?

Image from cnet

I'm a graphic artist for a sign company, so I know a few things about logos and marketing. And I think changing the name of The Sci-Fi Channel to "Syfy" is probably the dumbest idea since "New Coke." First of all, it looks like "siffy." Secondly, if you try to wrap your brain about it, it seems--like many have noted--like some sort of abbreviation for syphilis. Brilliant.

[Excerpt]

Sci Fi channel becoming Syfy. Huh?

TV Week article claims that NBC Universal has decided to change the name of their Sci Fi Channel in an attempt to pull in a more mainstream audience. The new name? Syfy. (Tagline: Imagine Greater) This move is being made as The Sci Fi Channel comes off its best year to date. . .

Read more at: TechnoWorld