Syfy? Really?
Posted in Jenni Hammit, television on 24. Jul, 2009
Sometimes re-branding is a good idea. When correctly implemented and the proper changes are made, it can make a huge difference. However, sometimes you just have to wonder what the company was thinking. The Sci-fi Channel’s morph to being Syfy is one of those “what were they thinking moments.”
Okay Sci-fi/Syfy, I get that you are trying to reinvent yourself as not being geeky, but other than they name change and some spiffy new promos you aren’t making this work. I can’t see where this is getting any better. A visit from my father exposed me to pretty non stop viewing of the channel, and I’m not seeing the positive change.
Sure you have a few glimmer of hopes here and there, like when you show the ORIGINAL Crow movie, or Pirates of the Caribbean. Still, that isn’t enough. I’m sorry but your recent, “Syfy Original” Sand Serpents was awful. The made of TV movie was just more of the low budget cheesy to the point of being hilarious. Come on I like looking at Jason Gedrick, but you need more than that to make a good movie.
Honestly, this movie was awful. It was like they were walking around the prop warehouse, saw the sand worms from Dune and wondered how they could reuse them. They ripped off the premise of Tremors, assembled the cast that did not pull off the special ops thing at all, threw in the Taliban for good measure, and it was like a train wreck. I kept waiting for Fred Ward, Kevin Bacon, the dad from Family Ties and Reba McIntyre to bust in and save the day. I seriously called the order in which the “team” members were picked off within five minutes of the movie’s start.
Then there are the series. I do like Eureka and Warehouse 13 is growing on me. I loved you for showing all the episodes of Moonlight. That being said…what is oing on with the rest of your series. I loved Amanda Tapping as Sam on the original Stargate, but Sanctuary gives me a head ache. You drug out Battlestar Galactica for too long, and are trying to stretch it out further with Caprica. Stargate Universe…wow don’t get me started. Okay folks, the whole Stargate shtick is about the cheese/geek factor. Trying to make it new hot and sexy isn’t going to make it better. I loved Lou Diamond Phillips in Young Guns, but I have been disappointed in all his recent work. Ming-Na has never been one of my favorites. The computer geek from Moonlight is on it, but that isn’t enough to fix it.
Syfy, if you are really trying to make your network more watched…you need to step up. Just changing your name is not enough.
