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

Eureka Returns to Sci-Fi Channel! Season 3

One of the highlights of summer TV is the Sci-Fi Channel's Eureka. Starring the adorably dopey Colin Ferguson as an (extra-) ordinary Sheriff in a town full of geniuses, the show never fails to delight. I've rhapsodized over it in the past, so today I will instead just offer you the promo video for this season. It is in the spirit of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's musical episode, Once More. . .With Feeling! And though Colin can't sing, he's still. . .well. . .adorable. Check it out.

PS. Sorry I didn't post this yesterday! But catch up, it's worth it.



Eureka airs Tuesdays at 9:00 pm, though repeats air throughout the week. Seriously, check it out.

Previously:
TV Review: Eureka
Eureka Returns for Second Season

TV Review: Big Brother

Original summer TV programming is something of a wasteland (except for cable, see Eureka), so I don't expect much. But I expect something. I've only ever caught a few moments of Big Brother (now in its 8th season) before this year, and nothing really impressed me.

I decided to watch a bit of it this year. I've found, however, that I can't just watch the show. I have to also be doing something else. Working on the computer, reading, doing dishes, anything. Otherwise, I'd feel guilty.

Big Brother is an incredibly empty show. Outside of the obvious eye-candy (see photo), this show has nothing going for it. At least on Survivor, you can watch the fat people get skinny, and the fit people become emaciated. I have yet to figure out the point of this show.

One added bonus this year is on Showtime Too, which is airing Big Brother: After Dark. This is the uncensored live feed of the show, every night for three hours. Out of curiosity (and the chance of a free show), I DVRed a few episodes. Each three hour episode takes (seriously) about 35 minutes to watch. You fast-forward that much. I've found nothing in this show to recommend it.

TV Review: Eureka

Photo from scifi.com

I touted the Sci-Fi Channel show, Eureka's second season premiere earlier in this space, and I'd like to comment on the show so far this season.

Many shows fail to live up to their promise in their sophomore season, but Eureka, thankfully, is not one of them. It is just as delightful as last year. For the unenlightened, the show is about an isolated (shielded from view) enclave of brilliant minds, in a town in the Pacific Northwest. It is in much the same vein as Northern Exposure, Twin Peaks or Picket Fences in its eccentricities, but with a very whimsical attitude, and a sci-fi bent.

The show is well written, and superbly cast, particularly in its lead character, Jack Carter, the transplanted sheriff. Played by Colin Ferguson--already adorable--he is rendered more so by his befuddlement and embarrassing predicaments. Few other actors could pull off this role as well, and be so endearing.

If I have any worries about the show, it would be its recurring (almost every episode) theme of imminent doom to the town, ultimately solved by the (non-genius) sheriff. A little more variety would be nice there. Also, the added element of animosity (one-sided) between town everyman Henry and Sheriff Carter seems a tad unnecessary. Hopefully, they will diversify, and get away from both of those scenarios before they wear themselves out.

The show is so easy to like, I think even casual viewers could get into it, without knowing the full mythology set up in previous episodes. If you like your sci-fi light, and with humor, you will definitely enjoy Eureka.

Eureka, on the Sci-Fi Channel, Tuesdays at 9 pm Recommended

And just to give you a taste, here's the original British promo for season one (in Britain, the show is named "A Town Called Eureka":

Eureka Returns for Second Season

Illustration from SciFi Channel
Photo from IMDB.com

My Entertainment Weekly arrived this weekend, and I was pleasantly surprised to see a two-page glossy ad for the return of SciFi Channel's Eureka. It's gratifying to see the basic cable channel promoting the show with such a push. So many of my favorite shows (Studio 60, Traveler, The Class) get the short shrift by their networks if they don't immediately live up to expectations.

Eureka is a delightfully eccentric show, a sort of lighter-hearted X-Files, a less eccentric Twin Peaks, with a dash of Picket Fences and Northern Exposure thrown in. The show stars the goofily handsome Colin Ferguson (who I've adored since More Tales of the City) as the new sheriff of the small town of Eureka, an enclave of brilliant thinkers, inventors and specially gifted people. The town houses a research institute, appropriated by the government, with some very likely sinister undercurrents.

Each episode finds some sort of invention gone wrong, or scientific anomaly occurring, causing befuddlement in our ordinary Sheriff--who ultimately figures everything out. It's a curious, offbeat pleasure, every time. The new season begins Tuesday, July 10 at 9:00 pm Eastern/Pacific. Highly recommended.

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