We expect a lot from Syfy , because it ’s the only cable channel devoted to science fiction . So it ’s inevitable that the web formerly known as the Sci - Fi Channel will let down us occasionally . And sometimes hoi polloi blame Syfy unfairly — like when Syfy pull the male plug on a low - rated show .
But at the same time , it ’s fair to say Syfy has made a few real mistakes over the years . And in our opinion , here are 10 of them .
People sometimes attack Syfy for doing stuff and nonsense that actually make sense , at least from a patronage standpoint . Like show pro wrestle , which is actually a sort of fantasy in its own right field , and whichgenerates crazy ratingsfor the channel . Also , it ’s important to stop and realize that Syfy has done some stuff decent — the Being Human remake is better than we could have hoped , and hasbrought in adult female viewersfor the first metre in ages . And Warehouse 13 and Alphas are continue to rule . Plus we pretty much love the Saturday Nox original movies , zany monsters and all .
At the same time , here are things that we ’re pretty certain really were error :
1 . Canceling Stargate Atlantis .
Stargate Atlantis ran concurrently with Stargate : SG-1 for its first three years . So there was pot of common law for run two Stargate shows concurrently . And Stargate Atlantis was still mark reasonably whole ratings when Syfy decided to pull the male plug on it and launch Stargate Universe instead . proceed Stargate Atlantis after the launching of Stargate Universe might have kept fans of a lighter Stargate happy , as well as signalise that the Stargate enfranchisement was merely growing , not change counseling . Thanks for this musical theme , Tom !
2 . make Flash Gordon non - blank space - bound .
This one still construct us scratch our heads . You get to do the rights of one of space opera house ’s most recognizable characters , who ’s noted for flying around on rockets and battle against aliens in space — and you never put him on a spaceship . Syfy ’s Flash Gordon reboot imply Flash stepping through a portal to another world , Mongo , which managed to be simultaneously ultra - camp and kind of dense . ( We nicknamed the show ’s villain Ming the Middle - Manager , for his aura of seeming fussy and bilious , rather than actually defective - shag . ) They ditched the cool part of Flash — the space risky venture — in favour of all of the campy , dated stuff .
3 . abandon Friday nights as an military action - adventure bloc .
Would Battlestar Galactica have maintained its stone - self-colored rating if Syfy had moved it to Tuesdays or Mondays — or would it have put up the same destiny as Caprica and Stargate Universe ? We ’ll never have it away . But BSG had beensteady on Friday nightssince the start of its 2nd season . In fact , Friday nighttime had become a dependable home base for Syfy ’s more action - oriented display , and lately only Haven appears there , alongside wrestling . ( Which might do just as well on another Nox . )
4 . Marcel ’s Quantum Kitchen
When Christian Bible first leak that Syfy was doing a cooking show , we mocked . It seemed to be tug Syfy ’s identity a little too far by from science fiction — and outside their core competency . And indeed , Marcel ’s Quantum Kitchen was a pretty dismal failure , win just330,000 viewersfor its final instalment . ( Even if it is cheap to make . ) Syfy has carved out a recess in flighty reality television set like Ghost Hunters and Destination Truth — shows that I personally will never determine — and Marcel ’s Quantum Kitchen was just a few steps too far .
https://gizmodo.com/syfy-channel-getting-a-cooking-show-5351045
5 . arrive at Caprica a Battlestar prequel alternatively of a standalone show
Producer Remi Aubuchon came to Universal with a lurch for a new show about artificial word , robots and the creation of life . And the studio and/or Syfy encouraged Aubuchon to join forces with Ronald D. Moore and David Eick , to turn his estimate into a Battlestar Galactica prequel — instead of plunge it as a new speculation . In retrospect , that was clear a misapprehension . Everything that was groovy about Caprica could have been great as a Modern show , but the show felt weighed down by the indigence to link up up with what we already knew would encounter later . The show was catch in a choke hold of existing mythology from the first instalment — and it was distinctly bursting with new idea that we ’d have loved to see spring up further .
6 . Not nibble up Firefly
Okay , so this one might have an element of wishful intellection . But around the time that Firefly was getting axed by Fox , there was heap of blare for the Sci - Fi Channel to make a bid to continue Joss Whedon ’s chef-d’oeuvre . There were for sure reports at the time that , asa 2003 clause from the Deseret Newsputs it , “ Firefly was shopped to other outlets ( include the Sci - Fi Channel ) but nobody bought it . ” Maybe this was never a serious possibility . peradventure it was impossible , for economical reason . But the Sci - Fi Channel had pick up Stargate : SG-1 from Showtime not long before . photograph by Michael Buckner / Getty Images .
7 . Letting Doctor Who get aside .
When Doctor Who come back to life in 2005 , Syfy seemed to have assorted intuitive feeling about it . Everybody expected Syfy to pick up the fresh show , since after all the channel hadlaunchedwith definitive Doctor Who repeat in heavy gyration — but Syfy dragged its substructure for months , not airing the Christopher Eccleston episodes untilMarch 2006.The distribution channel frequently air Doctor Who in first rill with abstruse cutting off to episodes , and never seemed to have much importunity to air them soon after their British airing . Finally , Syfy rent the show go off to BBC America , which has incite it to new ratings altitude by deal it as a major event .
8 . Not have space opera
In the past X , space opera on television has plump from half a dozen shows to … none . The 2011 fall goggle box time of year in the U.S. wo n’t include any display set in blank space or on a spaceship , on any channel . This presents a huge chance to Syfy , to be the channel that gives you what you ca n’t get anywhere else . and here ’s where we mention Syfy ’s mistake in call off Farscape , as well as the aforementioned mistakes with Stargate Atlantis and hold Flash Gordon ground . Syfy can reach out to a big audience that does n’t want to see show about starships and pew - pew - pew — and still nourish the audience that try those things out . Those are not conflicting destination .
9 . The name change
Actually , this one is still up in the air , because Syfy ’s scheme still has n’t play out . Part of the principle behind creating a Modern brand name was the power to brandnew tie in Syfy venture , include Syfy Kids , Syfy Films and Syfy Games . So far , these venture come along to have generate very slight heat — but it ’s early yet . Syfy Filmsis supposed to have its first theatrical spill in 2012 — although should n’t that already be in yield at this point ? In other way , though , we can estimate the name commute a failure . consort to Proud Creative(PDF ) , which worked on the steel drive , the goal was “ retaining the cocksure associations from the music genre of science fiction , whilst appealing to a broad audience and embracing the benefits of vision . ” And the selling military campaign for Caprica , for object lesson , seemed to emphasize its appeal to that extensive audience , without much detectable success . Also , as Wired ’s GeekDad blogpointed out recently , Syfy ’s Mark Stern told io9 in 2009 that the name alteration would permit Syfy to greenlight more intemperate scientific discipline fabrication , because “ strong scifi on the Sci - Fi Channel is almost like this double whammy . Now that we have a brand name that is a little wide … it also give us a lot of freedom to do more hard scifi . ” ( In the same interview , Stern said the channel was front at set up a new infinite opera in 2010 or 2011 — we ’re still waiting ! ) So if one goal of the name alteration was to relieve up Syfy to do more backbreaking science fiction , then it intelligibly has n’t worked . exposure viaLoren Javier on Flickr .
10 . Canceling Eureka
And in conclusion … this is what started us thinking about this topic . Eurekawrapped productionon its final ever episode yesterday . And this still seems really arbitrary , for a show that was still going strong after four seasons . It would be one thing if Eureka was pulling in Stargate Universe numbers , but it ’s not . The most late episodedrew 2.1 million viewer , liken with 2.3 million for Warehouse 13 and just 1.8 million for Alphas . As Geek Dadpoints out , this succeed a legacy of offset Farscape and Dresden Files , both of which were still enjoying nice ratings .
Doctor Whostargate sg-1Stargate UniverseTelevisionWarehouse 13
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