Space opera on TV

[N7OperativeAlpha]

Back in 2003 the BSG miniseries attracted 3.95 and 4.5 million viewers. Yesterday The Expanse only got 1.19. What happened to those viewers? Did they move on to HBO and AMC? Do they now DVR or Torrent episodes? Do you those people will ever watch a program on the "Syfy" channel again? Should a show like The Expanse be on a pay TV network like HBO or Netflix instead of a basic cable network? Are sci fi fans too picky? Meaning they won't watch something if it isn't Firefly, Farscape, BSG, or Star Trek? I have been told that youth today have way less imagination and are no longer catching on to things like hard core "sci-fi."

Do you think the space opera genre is permanently dead on TV? Will a network like HBO, Netflix, or AMC ever produce a high quality space opera that will make the genre mainstream and respected like Game of Thrones did for fantasy?

There is still the new Star Trek show, FX's Redshirts, and Spike's Mars trilogy. I hope those are successful.

Which one of these would make an awesome show?
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[knowles2]

No, in fact we seeing a massive revival of the space opera, with Syfy itself having three such shows and more in the works. Star trek returning to our screens,

Sadly I think FX Redshirts have been pulled, there been zero news on the project for just under 2 years, it be 2 years in February.

Expanse pulled in Syfy numbers Anyone else think they are regretting that whole rebranding idea.

The tv industry has changed a lot since BSG. An Expanse have been available on the web for weeks.

[Annoyed]

Galactica isn't a fair comparison. Galactica had an advantage; a loyal existing audience that hadn't seen new content since 1979.

[ecgordon]

Syfy offering the pilot online three weeks early may have contributed to the low viewer total, but it also has to be assumed that the network has alienated too many viewers over the past decade, ones who will not give any of their shows a chance, at least on broadcast. The majority of SF fans are also ones who have abandoned traditional viewing methods, either watching via DVR if they still have cable, or streaming on a network's website, or Hulu, waiting for Netflix, or bypassing all of those in favor of torrents.

Both Syfy and Alcon, the producers of The Expanse, realize this, and that's why right now you can watch the first four episodes online or On Demand.

http://www.syfy.com/theexpanse/episodes

[Annoyed]

Viewing habits are certainly going to require new measurement techniques.

I'm DVR'ing both Childhood and Expanse, but not watching live. Haven, a known favorite of mine is finishing this week, so I'm rewatching the entire series before Thursday's finale. And while I will wait for next week to see the new Star Wars film, I'm gonna rewatch that too.. so Expansion/Childhood may not be watched until next year sometime, at the earliest last week of this year...
And they won't count that as viewing it.

[VampyreWraith]

I don't have Syfy as part of my cable package, so I buy episodes of shows that I like on Amazon or iTunes (I've mostly been buying on Amazon lately because I have a lot of promotional credit for using the no rush shipping option instead of the two day Prime shipping). I bought the first 4 episodes of the Expanse off of Amazon already (well, the first ep was free when I got it). I've also bought the first 2 eps of Childhood's End from there.

[Everlovin]

I haven't tuned into SyFy in years. I got so sick and tired of Ghost Busters and the B-rated movie of the week. For years, that was what they were offering up most of the year. I've heard good things about a couple of the shows, but I always hear too late that they're actually on.

[ecgordon]

I sympathize with those who have given up on Syfy, but if I was to stop watching a network that cancelled a favorite show I wouldn't be able to watch anything. I don't pay attention to the paranormal stuff or the bad movies, but I have tuned in to Eureka, Warehouse 13, Continuum, Dark Matter, Killjoys and 12 Monkeys. Some have been very good, others only passably entertaining, but The Expanse is starting out very good. As a fan of the books, that pleases me a lot.