Syfy spits in the face of Sci-Fi "Creator" Forrest James Ackerman.

I'm sort of pissed off at the latest move that the Sci-Fi channel is making. While I'm sure that most of you are quite aware that the Sci-Fi channel is going to change it's name to SyFy this week, I'm pretty sure you don't know the REST of what's going to happen. Nor do I think that you'll remember the death of the man that invented the phrase Sci-Fi to begin with. (Well, I can help on that one. I did an older blog back in Dec. Read here.)


Okay first things first. Let's get into the history of the Sci-Fi channel.

Sci Fi Channel first aired on September 24, 1992, and specialized mostly on science fiction, fantasy, horror, and paranormal programming. While it's true that the first few shows were almost nothing but re-runs of older science-ficition shows, they were almost assured to have a loyal following simple on using the name "Sci-Fi" alone.

The channel originally started off as a child of the USA Network, which itself was as a joint venture between Universal Studios and Paramount Pictures. These two studios would have been enough to provide a ton of sci-fiction based shows and movies. Just look at what Paramount owns in Star Trek alone. Not to mention of course Universal's film library and TV shows goes all the way back into the 1950's and beyond. Classic Sci-Fi movies would (and should) have been able to be broadcast to a new generation, that could have continued for years, if not decades off those two names alone. Just imagine, having Paramount's Star Trek (Original) followed by two hours of Universal's Dracula, then toss in another round of Paramount's Raiders of the Lost Ark followed by Universal's Rod Sterling's Night Gallery (Series after the Twilight Zone), with Paramount's The Elephant Man. You get the idea don't you. A full 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year of completely "classic" Science-Fiction devotion to enjoy. Not a moment of time lost on crappy shows or movies, just PURE Sci-Fi heaven.




During the 1990's, the "ownership" of the Sci-fi channel changed hands almost ever 2 years or so, eventually ending up in the hands of Viacom, Vivendi Universal, General Electric, NBC Universal, and Comcast... to name a few. While the "owners" of Sci-Fi channel may have been switched with the merger and split of international entertainment companies, the firm believe that a Sci-Fi specific channel was always solid. There was never a time that the channel lost the aim of keeping that "core belief" of providing Sci-Fi material to viewers.

And in return, we ate it up and loved every moment of it. We enjoyed it when the Enterprise took off for it's "Five year mission". We loved watching the "Narn and Centauri" fighting it out. We loved watching "Starbuck and Apollo" taking on the Cylons. We (the die-hard science-fiction fans) never lost our love for the genre, or the channel.






But then the news came back in March of 2009, that Sci-Fi was going to change it's name to SyFy so they can "capitalize and stylize their name as part of an on-going rebranding effort." According to The New York Times article announcing the change, Bonnie Hammer (President of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment and Universal Cable Productions) is quoted as saying, "We couldn't own SciFi; it's a genre,but we can own Syfy."

Well, guess what Bonnie Hammer, you are right, you can't "Own" Sci-fi. Not because it's a 'genre' but because it's a MULTIPLE of genres all given a safe and warm home by the MILLIONS if not BILLIONS of fans around the world. It's not something that is "Corporate America", but a "CORE" of people's hearts and enjoyment. We aren't for sell, and we aren't about to just sit back and let something that has been enjoyed and loved for decades simply fade away into your preconceived "ownership" box. We (The true fans of the genre in all it's formats) will still call it "Sci-Fi" to each other, and will still RESPECT that loving devotion we've had for generations.


Now I have to take a second and remind myself to breath, and take it easy. I mean, a name change isn't anything special to get worked up about. But my dear Sci-fi friends, it's NOT just the name that is being changed. Oh no, it's the ENTIRE make-up of the "Sci-Fi" channel. Their cute little "Saturn-like" icon on the screen with the letters Sci-Fi? Well, you can kiss THAT goodbye. What is it going to be replaced by, I don't know. Probably something "cute and cuddly" that they can market. But I know the new "slogan" is going to be "Imagine Greater". Really, you want us fans that have sat through Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits, Star Trek, Buck Rodgers, Flash, Battlestar Galactica, Dune, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Narnia, Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Batman, Superman, and of course everyone's favorite time-traveler Doctor Who, to "imagine greater"? We've been "imagining greater" things for well over 70 years if not centuries. How is your little "slogan" suddenly going to make any difference now?




It's almost insulting, but not QUITE as insulting as this little statement made by Dave Howe (Current Sci-Fi channel president), Quote from The New York Times, "If you ask people their default perceptions of SciFi, they list space, aliens and the future. That didn't capture the full landscape of fantasy entertainment: the paranormal, the supernatural, action and adventure, superheroes."

Dave, you have no clue how WRONG you are. We (the Sci-fi fans) have included "fantasy, paranormal, supernatural, action and adventure, superheroes" since time began. It was us "Geeks, nerds, dorks, dweebs, and general spazzes" that gave the world the fantasy of Dragonheart. We also gave you the paranormal of Poltergiest. Let's not forget the supernatural Werewolf and Dracula. And action and adventure superheros? Did you NOT see the returns of The Dark Knight, Ironman,Indiana Jones, Hancock and Wall-E (the top FIVE films) in 2008 alone? You know, the same FIVE films that earned over $1.6 BILLION dollars alone. That's not including the earnings of movies 5-10, which were Kung-fu Panda, Twilight, Madagascar 2, Quantum of Solace and Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who! . We don't need to have "Sci-fi" redefined at all, we have WELCOMED each of these genres of film ( 3 superheros, A space-going robot, a Spy, talking animals, a Martial arts panda, "sparkly" vampires, and talking elephant) into our hearts already. We welcome these things ALL under the umbrella of "Sci-Fi" because we HAVE BEEN imagining greater things.




And yet, I'm trying to stay calm. I'm trying to stay peaceful. I'm even honestly trying to be nice and fair. But, here's possible the most irratating thing. It's the WAY that they are going to "package" this new creation onto us. It's not just the name-change, or even the logo-change that gets to me. It's this clearly "hip-new-youngster" marketing campaign that's going to be used. They aren't just going to change the name and logo, but they are going to WHORE the brand. That's right gang, it's NOT about respecting ANYTHING about science-fiction, or fantasy or anything else. It's all about the way to WHORE their name and "face" all over the place. You want proof? Well, let's see. The new website is SyFy.com, they are going to be connected to THEIR OWN new show Warehouse 13 (new), Eureka (returning as their biggest "Scripted series") and Ghost Hunters. When it launches tomorrow, Syfy will unveil "House of Imagination", which will be their centerpiece of the campaign. What is the "House of Imagination"? Well, it's THIS




This is how they are going to "promote" themselves to us now. They are going for that "hip-young" crowd, by giving us something that looks like it should be a Coca-Cola commercial. Something that they can "brand" us with. Something that they can constantly shove down our throats. Something that makes me sick to my stomach as a Sci-Fi fan because it doesn't hold anything of interest to me. At least that transforming jeep was COOL



But, according to their latest release. The Syfy.com website when activated, will be part of an aggressive marketing campaign. Quoting David Howe "Syfy -- unlike the generic entertainment category "sci-fi" -- firmly establishes a uniquely ownable trademark that is portable across all non-linear digital platforms and beyond, from Hulu to iTunes." Also mentioned in the release, Syfy also extends the brand into new adjacent businesses under the Syfy Ventures banner, such as Syfy Games, Syfy Films and Syfy Kids, as well as facilitating the Channel's international expansion, scheduled to reach more than 50 global channels by the end of 2010.


Do you see my friends? My Sci-Fi spiritual brethren. WE are no longer needed anymore. WE are no longer a concern, or even a care in the world. It's all about their ability to get their OWN brand established as the next Coco-Cola, or Pepsi. Go back to that blog I linked in the beginning of this rant, and you'll see the question that I asked at the death of Mr Ackerman. "There is very little doubt as to why Mr. Forrest J Ackerman is the father of "Sci-Fi", it's just a question of will his creation show the respect he deserves?"



Well, I'm sorry Mr. Ackerman. Your fellow Sci-Fi fans, are still in love with your creation, even if the channel devoted to it isn't.