Eh? SyFy still shows mostly sci-fi shows. Here’s their programming for tomorrow. Other then the paid ads, its all sci-fi. I don’t think the inclusion of a single non-sci fi show (wrestling) means they’re “decaying”.
Its sort of funny that when cable first came along people sort of pictured it bringing hundreds of channels, each devoted to particular interests. Instead, its devolved into hundreds of channels of similar reality shows.
Special case. The channel still decayed just in the direction of ignoring all the quality/classic Sci-Fi and producing an endless stream of the worst movies ever made.
Some of their original series are very good and I wish some of that spilled over to the movies.
Here you go.
If you want similar networks, there’s Antenna TV and Retro TV. All three unfortunately are broadcast networks only, not on cable.
It’s a vestige of the original contract Fox/Saban brokered with him, and he is certainly not going to give up a commercial outlet virtually guaranteed to be carried by every cable and dish company in the nation. CBN is still around on broadcast airwaves, but this quirk of the contract gets The 700 Club and Pat Robertson’s political views in front of cable viewers three times a day, he doesn’t have to spend time or money running the channel, the “family” stipulation keeps the channel from going too far astray and offending his constituents, and Fox/ABC seem to treat The 700 Club like an infomercial; they disavow connection to the message, and it’s a handy way to fill the schedule when advertisers aren’t available.
I remember when both Bravo and A&E were more arts-oriented in that they both broadcast classical music performances (memory tells me one of them did opera every so often) as well as dance performances, the “intellectual” kind of movies that rely more on thinking than action. I likened both to a more refined version of PBS.
Now they’re both reality-centric, Bravo more so than A&E. But still.
Certainly MTV and VH-1, neither of which I’ve watched in years. Does anybody even make music videos anymore?
To a lesser extent, History and SyFy.
It was Bravo that used to air operas once in awhile. They were a fine arts channel, really. I liked them then.
A&E is less reality driven than it is “crime” driven. They show tons of crime shows all the time, mixed in with the occasional reality docu-show, like Intevention or Hoarders.
They make music videos for Youtube, mainly.
You know, I don’t remember the ScFi channel ever broadcasting classic science fiction movies. Seems like it’s always been the direct-to-video and in-house productions, with a few classic shows (Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, etc) here and there. Battlestar Galactica and Caprica are exceptions to the norm.
Cable channels now don’t cater to specific interests, but rather demographics. MTV isn’t for those who want to watch music, but rather high school and college-age viewers. G4 isn’t for those interested in technology and gaming, but for geeky teenage and young adult males. History isn’t for those interested in history, but for middle-age males, while TLC is the counterpart for middle-age females. I’m guessing the changes are intended to make it easier to sell advertising slots. The channels hat suffered the leas from drift already had a solid demographic profile; e.g. financial news and sports.
Me neither, elmwood. SciFi/SyFy hasn’t changed all that much in my opinion.
Agree with this entirely. When Sirius took over XM, the programming got very least common denominator and, of course, much less interesting. However, I do have to give them points for one thing: I cancelled well over a year ago and my radio still works. So, thanks for the free, but bland, programming Sirius/XM.
As for the OP, I agree that TLC is high bar here. MTV changed their focus entirely but at least kept appealing to the same demographic. TLC didn’t just abandon all pretense of being about learning, they went from smart shows to the incredibly dumb (not that I don’t love some of them…guilty pleasures are still pleasures).
Animal Planet doesn’t show classic wildlife documentaries very often. I’d love to see the early Wild Kingdom shows from 30 years ago.
A lot of AP is that eco warrior stuff. Save the whales etc. Animal cops.
What happened to that great show about the animal vet clinic with that hippy dude? Loved that show.
Their low point was the psychic that read dog minds. :o
I like “Warehouse 13”. There are a few other shows that are okay. I occassionally catch a theater released movie running, like Serenity (though it was edited, which annoyed me.)
Like the scene where Inara calls Serenity, talks to Mal, then Mal walks onto the bridge and announces “So, trap?” They played that scene, but cut the line where Kaylee argues why she couldn’t just be missing him, and Mal replies about them not fighting. And the scene when Mal and Inara are escaping the temple, and he throws a grenade to scare off the guards around the shuttle.
But those dating shows are essentially game shows - people competing for prizes. Okay, the prize is getting to take someone home, but still.
I think you’ve nailed it.
Or Little people with Pit Bulls. What’s that show called?
I saw an ad for Animal Planet on the subway once that said something about how it’s not just about animals, but also people. And I just remember thinking, “NOOO!” I don’t watch Animal Planet to see people. I genuinely want to see the animals. Bring on the wild kingdom shows!
ETA: Pit Boss
For all the complaining about wrestling on Syfy/SciFi, at least Smackdown sometimes has supernatural elements. Undertaker’s one of the biggest wrestling stars of the last 20 years, and he absolutely fits in on that channel.
The real sign of decay is stuff like that reality show about a guy going around buying Hollywood memorabilia. If I didn’t realize I was already watching Syfy when the stupid commercials for that came on, I would’ve sworn it was a new shitty TVLand reality show to go along with the Cougar and High School Reunion. There’s no sci, no fi, and not even any fantasy, horror, or supernatural going on with that one AT ALL.
They also once aired a Law & Order marathon, though I don’t remember if that was before or just after they started airing wrestling, and often show James Bond movies. Now, some of his gadgets may very well qualify as scifi, but well, come on, those are spy movies, not scifi movies.
But no, the only thing anyone ever brings up is they show wrestling. :rolleyes:
haterz gon’ hate
(I don’t just mean people on this board, btw, it’s pretty common all over the internets)
The problem with wrestling is that it makes no sense. It’s not like wrestling fans are going to be more likely to be in to SF/Fantasy, or that SF/Fantasy lovers are going to be more likely to be interested in wrestling. There’s some overlap, sure, but there’s some overlap between people interested in wrestling and people interested in gardening. It just doesn’t make any sense. Even looking at it from a demographics standpoint, I suppose technically SyFy markets slightly more young male than anything, and wrestling might market slightly more young male - but even then it really doesn’t fit. It’s just odd.
It’s like they were sitting around one day…
Exec 1: “Hey, we just got a sweet deal on the rights to professional wrestling!”
Exec 2: “Great, we’re really gonna mop up with that!”
Exec 3: “Uh, only one problem, what channel are we going to air it on? We can’t put it on NBC - that’s the flagship channel, and way too mainstream. Has to be cable.”
Exec 1: “I don’t care, run it on USA. That doesn’t have any overriding theme, so it’s not like anyone will notice.”
Exec 2: “We can’t. Something about Adrian Monk being afraid of big men in tights or something. It’s a contractual stipulation.”
Exec 1: “Well, somebody give me a solution.”
Exec 2: “I guess we could stick in on SciFi. I mean, technically it’s fiction, so that’s good, and some of their stunts are pretty extreme. We could sell that.”
Exec 1: “Fine, get it done. I want wrestling on this week somewhere, dammit.”
Exec 3: “I really don’t think it will sell as sci fi.”
Exec 1: “Fine, rebrand the channel as “SyFy” to get rid of the stereotypes and play whatever we want on the damn channel. I’m sick of arguing about this. Do It!”
Exec 2: “Yes sir.”
Exec 3: gulp “Yes, sir.” *mumble: “I gotta go somewhere that makes sense. Maybe UPN will take me.”
I suppose it doesn’t run on a sports channel because it gave up the pretense of being an actual competition. It just doesn’t fit where it is. Stick it on Spike right next to MMA - then you can have your real fighting and fake fighting together. (So what if Spike is owned by someone else. It’s my recommendation, make it happen.)
To be honest, I haven’t seen that. But then I don’t hang out on SyFy that often. The one I did see advertised was some stupid psychic lady reality show - don’t know if that’s still on. They’re going with the Paranormal= Sci Fi community, which while I disagree, I sort of applaud - “hey, we know this stuff is fiction, so enjoy the fun”. Ghost Hunters etc. Yea, sci fi.
Yeah, and those are also signs of the programming shift they announced with their SyFy remoniker. They declared during that rebranding that not only were they changing the name to something they could brand across media outlets, but also to disassociate themselves with “sci fi” and the baggage that carries, including the ability to program more broadly. Something about their wording came of as a big F U to all the loyal science fiction fans who liked the channel and the SF/fantasy programming.
But the wrestling sticks out, because it is such a visible and consistent item (a James Bond movie now and again is hardly as high profile as a weekly program that is highly adverstised during their regular shows).
haterz gon’ hate
Well, at least part of my attitude is because of the way they phrased their rebranding and the way it suggested SF/Fantasy fans were somehow not appreciated. But I’ve watched, and they have brought out new original programming within the theme - Warehouse 13 being one example that I actually watch. So maybe it was just poor word choice rather than an attitude of dismissal. But it sure feels like dismissal when they stick Ghost Hunters and wrestling on and cancel Farscape.
Lets have a pool to see how long it takes for some producer to think ‘OW my BALLS!’ needs the green light.
(no, America’s Funniest Home Videos, still in production, doesn’t count.)
ABC Family really dropped the ball when they canceled State of Grace after just two seasons. I mean that is the kind of original programming that would seem to perfectly fit the network’s reason for being, eh wot?
I always have to chuckle when I hear their inapt little tagline, “Imagine Greater”. Well yeah-pathetically easy to do in their case.
Well, the NHL is outdoors once a year, so that’s got to count for something…
The Day the History Channel Died. A date which will live in infamy.
When the Sci-Fi channel was first announced, I thought it was going to air real science fiction; reruns of beloved but seldom-aired shows like Space 1999 and Starlost; science fiction movies including obscure, brainy Eastern European productions like Solaris. Right from the start, though, it was 1980s straight-to-video shit. I think they realized that real science fiction would appeal to far too narrow of an audience.
Surprised that nobody has mentioned Top Gear on History yet.
Well, there’s Moonraker.
It Only Hurts When I Laugh. Believe that’s on TruTV.