Why The End Of Universe Means Bad Things For Syfy

[heisenberg]

A moment of silence, please, for Syfy’s SGU: Stargate Universe, which finishes its run with Monday’s episode, “Gauntlet.” Not only am I personally sad about the show’s cancellation, I also think that it’s bad news for Syfy overall. After all: Where are the network’s science fiction shows now? Sure, I like Being Human, Warehouse 13 and Haven as much as the next man – Well, unless the “next man” happens to be my wife, who really loves Haven – but I’m not sure how much claim to being science fiction either show has, with all three shows (Being Human and

Haven especially, Warehouse 13 slightly less so) being more supernatural than science fiction. With the cancellations this year of both SGU and, earlier, Caprica, the network formerly known as SciFi finds itself leaning on Eureka and Sanctuary as its sole science fiction dramas. How did that happen?
(And don’t get me started on the prevalence of the network’s “reality” shows like Ghost Hunters, Destination Truth or Marcel’s Quantum Kitchen. For all the flack that the network gets for its wrestling coverage – and, admittedly, I’m not sure that it gets enough – I feel as if the increasing amount of reality shows goes relatively unchecked. When obvious rip-offs of existing, non-genre-related shows – Hollywood Treasure or Face-Off, say – make it on the network, I feel like something’s gone wrong with the commissioning process.)

It’s all about ratings, of course; SGU gets less bang for its buck than Sanctuary (It doesn’t help that it’s a more costly show to produce), and so the network has to go where the money is. But losing SGU – a show that I’ll admit didn’t really find its footing until the second season, even though I think there’s a lot to like in the first – feels like a mistake that could have been avoided had the network tried to wait out another year, despite ratings. It’s not just the “The show was getting better!” thing (Although it was, he whines, hopelessly), but also… Syfy doesn’t have a space opera show anymore. Is it just me that that feels… wrong to, somehow? Shouldn’t a science fiction network make a point of having a show set in space, just because?

I know, I know, I’m old fashioned: Science fiction doesn’t just mean space, and there’s more to Syfy than sci-fi, anyway (Hence the name change, after all). But even as I look forward to the new shows that Syfy has coming up – particularly Alphas, which I’m hoping will end up being Heroes done right – I feel as if something is missing without that essential outer space element, and Blood and Chrome is still some distance away. Maybe someone can shoot Myka and Pete into orbit in the next season of Warehouse 13 for an episode, just to stave off my hunger for orbital action.

http://spinoff.comicbookresources.c...-stargate-universe-means-bad-things-for-syfy/

 

[Gatefan1976]

I'd green that, but as I cannot, I'll green you instead Hiesenburg, good find.:shepsalute:

 

[Mr. A]

I agree it is bad for Syfy that SGU got cancelled. But Syfy's fault wasn't cancelling it and Caprica. Syfy's mistake was first to greenlight those shows, and then to count on them without having a backup sci-fi series. What failed giving way to reality shows and supernatural ones like the author mentions wasn't sci-fi, it was soap-fi - and the whole experiment with putting all adventure and science in the background to make space for slug-paced melodrama within a show.

 

[shavedape]

I know everyone will think I'm being negative here for the sake of being negative, but I'm actually trying to be objective when I say that this guy is wrong about a third season. He seems to think that since SGU was "finding its footing" in the second season that that was worthy of spending the money to produce a third season. This just is not a financially smart move to make. He may have liked the direction the show was going in now but completely fails to consider the plummeting ratings. SyFy and MGM can't be expected to throw good money after bad just on the assumption that SGU will somehow draw more viewers with a third season.

This guy conveniently ignores the obvious about SGU, which is just lame. As for his desire to see a space-based show on SyFy, yes, that would be nice. I have no problem with that and I'd like to see that too. The only difference between us is that I don't expect SyFy to magically produce a space-based show simply because I want it. There needs to be good story telling, interesting characters and a production budget that isn't insane. I'm sure in time someone will come up with the perfect fit.

 

[Mr. A]

I know everyone will think I'm being negative here for the sake of being negative, but I'm actually trying to be objective when I say that this guy is wrong about a third season. He seems to think that since SGU was "finding its footing" in the second season that that was worthy of spending the money to produce a third season. This just is not a financially smart move to make. He may have liked the direction the show was going in now but completely fails to consider the plummeting ratings. SyFy and MGM can't be expected to throw good money after bad just on the assumption that SGU will somehow draw more viewers with a third season.

This guy conveniently ignores the obvious about SGU, which is just lame. As for his desire to see a space-based show on SyFy, yes, that would be nice. I have no problem with that and I'd like to see that too. The only difference between us is that I don't expect SyFy to magically produce a space-based show simply because I want it. There needs to be good story telling, interesting characters and a production budget that isn't insane. I'm sure in time someone will come up with the perfect fit.

Syfy had many projects being put forward about a year ago, most of them sci-fi and some even set in space. Of those, "Orion" and "Sherwood" were being mentioned as having the best chances of success, but apparently Syfy turned them all down and greenlighted "Alphas" instead as well as some reality show and that Quantum Kitchen stuff. What's up with that?

 

[mzzz]

Excellent point Mr. A about it being soap-fi. I don't think we should just blindly support space-based sci-fi. If we did, we'd be reinforcing that kind of soap-fi. If we reinforce crap, chances are that we'd just get more of the same crap. But if we stamp it out, there would be greater chances of not getting crap.

 

[ChromeToasterX]

Syfy had many projects being put forward about a year ago, most of them sci-fi and some even set in space. Of those, "Orion" and "Sherwood" were being mentioned as having the best chances of success, but apparently Syfy turned them all down and greenlighted "Alphas" instead as well as some reality show and that Quantum Kitchen stuff. What's up with that?

Probably cost issues, especially in light of SGU and Caprica going down. Alphas is probably going to be cheap to make and cost SyFy less if it fails compared to all the money they spent on SGU and Caprica for poor returns.

 

[Mr. A]

Probably cost issues, especially in light of SGU and Caprica going down. Alphas is probably going to be cheap to make and cost SyFy less if it fails compared to all the money they spent on SGU and Caprica for poor returns.

That's the general problem with science-fiction.
It costs a lot more than to have just two people sitting around and talking to each other - unless one of those happens to be Charlie Sheen. Or even Robert Carlyle...?

Shows don't have to be as expensive as Caprica or SGU, they could do fine with an SGA budget. As a matter of fact, they WERE doing fine. But you're probably right in that Syfy might be cautious before they risk a budgety show. I have just one tip for their execs when they do that, though: don't sign a 2-year guaranteed contract before the ratings for season 1 come in and the fans have had a chance to speak

 

[shavedape]

Syfy had many projects being put forward about a year ago, most of them sci-fi and some even set in space. Of those, "Orion" and "Sherwood" were being mentioned as having the best chances of success, but apparently Syfy turned them all down and greenlighted "Alphas" instead as well as some reality show and that Quantum Kitchen stuff. What's up with that?

I didn't know "Orion" and "Sherwood" had gotten nixxed. I thought they were approved and in the pipe line.

I can't explain the "Alphas" thing. For me (and many others) the Xmen/Heroes stuff is played out (as a TV series). I will reserve judgment on "Alphas" because I try to be objective and I don't want any preconceived bias informing my opinion of it. Played out or not I'll give it a fair shake.

As for the others you mentioned, I don't know what's up with that. I thought they were interesting ideas and I was looking forward to them. I suspect it's a matter of money. What I don't understand is why SyFy doesn't take a hint from BBCA and figure out that there are live-action sci-fi/fantasy shows that can be produced economically that will make a profit. It's not like they have to commit to a 5 season run. Hell, they can do a one-off series and see how it goes. (Unless of course they're gun shy now from the whole SGU debacle.)

 

[Mr. A]

I didn't know "Orion" and "Sherwood" had gotten nixxed. I thought they were approved and in the pipe line.

I can't explain the "Alphas" thing. For me (and many others) the Xmen/Heroes stuff is played out (as a TV series). I will reserve judgment on "Alphas" because I try to be objective and I don't want any preconceived bias informing my opinion of it. Played out or not I'll give it a fair shake.

As for the others you mentioned, I don't know what's up with that. I thought they were interesting ideas and I was looking forward to them. I suspect it's a matter of money. What I don't understand is why SyFy doesn't take a hint from BBCA and figure out that there are live-action sci-fi/fantasy shows that can be produced economically that will make a profit. It's not like they have to commit to a 5 season run. Hell, they can do a one-off series and see how it goes. (Unless of course they're gun shy now from the whole SGU debacle.)

I think that's what ChromeToaster was alluding to.

As far as the shows being "in the pipeline", Syfy did announce what was up for this season (meaning 2011?), and they weren't in.

 

[Graybrew1]

I have always been a "fan" of all SG . Am I let down by what happened by Syfy? Yes. Will I walk away from the network. No. I am willing to give them another shot. Why, you might ask. Well, they did give me many,many years of entertainment, good entertainment. So, they might have messed up a little lately. But I can be patient and wait and see.

I consider myself to be a competent intelligent viewer as most are. So, I would be willing to bet that I am not the only one. I also think a lot of less competent and less "intelligent" viewers will be willing to watch as well. So, fear not for Syfy. They are going nowhere. It is us, my good friends , the true Science Fiction lovers that are the endangered species. Being aware of it might help us some, but not much. It is all about money. So, the one thing these annoying twits screaming "Save SGU" are right about is that , our generation must keep the love of Scifi alive for future generation or it will only get worse.

 

[Terran77]

I dunno... personally, I think the failure of SGU will have just about as big of an impact on SyFy as the failure of the reimagined Flash Gordon several years back. Which is to say, practically none.

 

[Graybrew1]

I dunno... personally, I think the failure of SGU will have just about as big of an impact on SyFy as the failure of the reimagined Flash Gordon several years back. Which is to say, practically none.

Which means, Dude we bascially agree.

 

[ChromeToasterX]

As for the others you mentioned, I don't know what's up with that. I thought they were interesting ideas and I was looking forward to them. I suspect it's a matter of money. What I don't understand is why SyFy doesn't take a hint from BBCA and figure out that there are live-action sci-fi/fantasy shows that can be produced economically that will make a profit. It's not like they have to commit to a 5 season run. Hell, they can do a one-off series and see how it goes. (Unless of course they're gun shy now from the whole SGU debacle.)

BBCA doesn't produce any of the shows they air. BBC absorbs all the production costs AFAIK.

As for SyFy, I figure that they want some stability in their lineup by having long running shows that manage to draw in a sizable audience to rake in the cash from advertising. Having one shot series encourages waiting for the DVD to catch up and limits the rerun viability (along with syndication viability for the studio that produced the show).

 

[Overmind One]

The start of bad things for Syfy was when The Scifi Channel became Syfy.

When Scifi Channel became Syfy, that was the beginning of the end for good science fiction on that channel.

 

[shavedape]

BBCA doesn't produce any of the shows they air. BBC absorbs all the production costs AFAIK.

Regardless of who produces the show there is still a cost to the outlet that airs it. It has to be a profitable venture for the channel. I didn't mean that SyFy had to actually produce the shows it airs, certainly not the live action ones. Still, there's a huge cost involved whether they produce the shows or they pay someone else to produce the shows. Either way a show costing say 2 million to produce, per episode, at a place like Bridge Studios (*cough* *cough*) prices itself outside of Syfy's ability to pay for airing that show. The ratings simply don't bring in enough to make it viable, certainly not for a sci-fi show let alone poorly disguised soap opera.

In 2011 it's certainly possible to produce a sci-fi show with good writing, likable characters and that doesn't include (financially) everything including the kitchen sink. So, the end of SGU does not portend bad things for SyFy. If anything, it implies that they have woken up and smelled the coffee and will now be running leaner and meaner. In terms of innovation this is a good thing -- a very good thing. Sure they might need a little time to get their act together but chances are that they will commission new sci-fi shows that will be better than SGU ever could hope to be.

 

[Tropicana]

IMO

Once SGU ends and it's 3 years down the line; I doubt very much that anything would have changed. Syfy would still continue to thrive, because they are going to keep finding cheaper shows to produce and air, with no fear of making losses with an added bonus that they have shows that people actually want to watch. Every network's dream coming true - hell it may even prompt Syfy to change their name again to something that is not sci-fi sounding. The last of the shackles cast away for good.

Sure, in the future, it may not be shows we would watch but Syfy doesn't care, as long as they can bring people to watch their network, then they have achieved their mission.

 

[YoshiKart64]

Syfy lost it's appeal to me when the canceled the Stargate and BSG related shows. Those two franchises pretty much defined their network, so seeing that there was no longer a place for them disheartened me somewhat.

 

[stclare]

Syfy lost it's appeal to me when the canceled the Stargate and BSG related shows. Those two franchises pretty much defined their network, so seeing that there was no longer a place for them disheartened me somewhat.

But both those franchises decided to deviate from what made them so popular. Blood & Chrome being touted as action/adventure shows that syfy is trying to get back at least part of what it lost. IMHO of course.

 

[Rac80]

I haven't been too happy with Scifi/Syfy channel in recent years. When it was first on the air it showed a lot of old scifi shows that were fun to watch and reminisce over, BUT then they began showing more and more "ghosthunters" and crap of that ilk ; culminating in sgu. With caprica and sgu gone, I am now hopeful we will finally see an uptick in the quality of decent scifi on syfy and no more of those horrible soap-fis. (kudos to mr A for that turn of phrase...will green you when I can!) I blame a lot of the lack of quality of the channel on NBC's purchase of scifi channel- they have runined it just as they have ruined the weather channel - that's a whole different topic!