I AM SCIFI (NOT!)



This little bit of Tron (and Tony Hawk) was part of a really endearing ad campaign popular on the SciFi Channel when it was hitting it's stride about 7 or 8 years ago. The year was 1999 and Farscape was the jewel in SciFi's crown, along with little gems like Lexx (damn, that chick was hot), The Invisible Man, and First Wave. And let's not forget Star Trek, The Outer Limits (new and old), and the Twilight Zone. It was a good few years for geeks on SciFi. And believe me, it didn't start out that way. The network started out running old episodes of Land of the Giants and G-Force. How far we had come!

But by 2001, weird crap started to happen. SciFi sold off the rights to series' it had fought hard for. Star Trek went to TNT. And they cancelled Farscape, which was their number one money-maker at the time. By 2003, SciFi was all about it's self-made monster-of-the-week flicks, and all the good TV was just about gone. Why? Who knows? Personally, I think they were never willing to take any risks, and they failed to listen to their fans. But that's just me.

I always wondered if I was the only one to mourn the passing of such a conceptually GREAT TV network. It was OUR television network, and before it imploded, it was the BEST! Apparently, I am not alone in my hatred of what SciFi has become. Entertainment Weekly has an open letter. And Penguin Pete expands on some of the themes. I especially like his sample lineup if he were the exec in charge. So, let's hear it sci-fi fans! Where do you go for your fix? Or do you still think SciFi has a heartbeat?

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