SyFy Makes Me Livid

[talkstowolves]

So, the Sci-Fi channel has decided to change it's name to SyFy. Besides the fact that this makes no sense and is not explained in the article I read (I mean, beyond them claiming that it's a unique identifier that "gives [them] the opportunities to imbue it with the values and the perception that [they] want it to have"), their pet TV historian makes some pretty strong claims perfectly designed to alienate Sci-Fi channel's original demographic.

Nevertheless, there was always a sneaking suspicion that the name was holding the network back.

“The name Sci Fi has been associated with geeks and dysfunctional, antisocial boys in their basements with video games and stuff like that, as opposed to the general public and the female audience in particular,” said TV historian Tim Brooks, who helped launch Sci Fi Channel when he worked at USA Network.

Mr. Brooks said that when people who say they don’t like science fiction enjoy a film like “Star Wars,” they don’t think it’s science fiction; they think it’s a good movie.

“We spent a lot of time in the ’90s trying to distance the network from science fiction, which is largely why it’s called Sci Fi,” Mr. Brooks said. “It’s somewhat cooler and better than the name ‘Science Fiction.’ But even the name Sci Fi is limiting.”

Wow. Just wow. You know, this is the kind of shit that gives SF a bad name: assholes who don't bother to achieve more than an incredibly shallow understanding of the genre, but instead apply all the worst stereotypes to it in an effort to appear mainstream-savvy and "cool."

And a name meant to capture the attention of the SF/F demographic is what's been holding the network back? How about them not supporting good sci-fi shows, but instead cancelling them left and right? How about those lame-ass Science Fiction Originals which are only good for a good laugh and MST3King? How about them choosing instead to put wrestling on a science fiction network? How about them apparently barely supporting the science fiction genre? Etc.

In terms of television, the new brand better reflects that the channel has programs that are not about the typical sci-fi themes of space, aliens and the future.

Like I said: a completely shallow understanding of the science fiction genre. You know, Lost is science fiction. Let's expand: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is science fiction. Journey to the Center of the Earth and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea? Science fiction. What about Andromeda Strain or Jurassic Park or basically anything else written by Michael Crichton? Or a good number of Twilight Zone episodes?

“When we tested this new name, the thing that we got back from our 18-to-34 techno-savvy crowd, which is quite a lot of our audience, is actually this is how you’d text it,” Mr. Howe said. “It made us feel much cooler, much more cutting-edge, much more hip, which was kind of bang-on what we wanted to achieve communication-wise.”

What kind of morons did their consultants consult? When I text about the Sci-Fi channel -- and I have-- I text SF. Two letters. Much easier than SyFy. Cripes.

I am too livid to continue. Read the article, and then read the awesome snarky comments on the article for stress relief.

SyFy. WTF? Srsly.

P.S. "'What we love about this is we hopefully get the best of both worlds,' Mr. Howe said. 'We’ll get the heritage and the track record of success, and we’ll build off of that to build a broader, more open and accessible and relatable and human-friendly brand.'"

... WTFFFFFFFF?! ... ... ...


Credit to glvalentine for the link.

Comments

[elissa-carey.livejournal.com]

It's all marketing-speak. Seriously. Like I said to Monica Valentinelli on Facebook: "Read the story about that -- it sounds like marketing-speak for confessing that they no longer want to provide solely sci-fi programming, but want to be more like Spike or FX. I get the desire to chase the money, but the bit about remaining true to core audience and core programming is completely disingenuous, and thus why their smart move moneywise is the still the dumbest move ever."

For changing their programming to more generic and mainstream material, they're going about it the right way. Claiming that it still embraces the original sci-fi crowd shows that they have absolutely no understanding of just what that really means.

[talkstowolves.livejournal.com]

What irks me so much are the comments made by Mr. Brooks regarding the science fiction genre and attendant fans.

This press release (http://scifiwire.com/2009/03/sci-fi-channel-to-become.php) doesn't bother me nearly as much and is just as you say... a seemingly smart move for them that's actually pretty dumb.

[elissa-carey.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that smacked very loudly of, "Science fiction geeks are gross and we're trying to move far away from them." Way to go alienating your core audience, Mr. Marketing Genius.

[ironed_orchid]

What the fucking fuck?

And yeah, initials people. Ess Eff.

[talkstowolves.livejournal.com]

Stupid re-branding is stupid. Geeez.

what the hell?

[mer-moon.livejournal.com]

That is utterly lame. It's freakin' SCI FI. It should, you know, embrace the Science Fiction. 'Specially since Science Fiction/ Fantasy = Big Box Office Breakin' Awesome $$$$.

Re: what the hell?

[talkstowolves.livejournal.com]

I know, right? Apparently the actual reason is so that they can copyright their name and promote a brand across different forms of media, but they could have done that without having a TV historian-moron libel science fiction. Although I'm sure they would still have continued their insidious plot to get rid of actual good sci-fi shows and replace them with crap.

[mariussilverwlf.livejournal.com]

I still think Street Fighter first and foremost whenever I see the initials SF . . . . *hangs head*

I'm not keen on the name change, but honestly, since they haven't been running X-Files or Eureka mini-marathons lately I've not been watching them much. Discovery, NatGeo, Science, and History have been getting much more of my time.

[talkstowolves.livejournal.com]

Well, considering the only show I watched on their channel is ending this Friday, I'm not going to be watching them anymore anyway. However, from the position of wanting actual SF/F promoted, I bridle at the direction the channel is going... especially when TV historian-morons with a working relationship with the channel in question libel sci-fi all over the place.

Also, dude, "syfy" is Polish for "venereal disease." Read this, it's hilarious (http://whatever.scalzi.com/2009/03/17/the-venereal-disease-channel-imaginatizes-greatastically/#comments).