Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Sci fi reality check: the state of affairs as I see it

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    #31
    I must say I do fear for Scifi genre on TV.
    Books seem to be alright at Scifi. An Scifi dominates the cinema pretty much all year round (depending on you definition of Scifi).

    On TV I am able to count the number of Sci-Fi shows on one hand world wide, at least serious Sci-fi shows that take themselves seriously and even fewer that are establish franchises. An most of those are at risk of being cancelled or are cancel, V, Event, Fringe, Outcasts, SGU, all are at the at risk or in the dead category. We even loosing Smallville this year. An Sanctuary order have been cut in half.

    The only major new show I think of that is coming is Fallen Skies and that is bound to be a mini series, as I doubt Spielberg will commiting to more than one season. There do not seem to be many more Sci-Fi show in the pipe line either and none that have attracted my attention anyway.

    Now do I think TV is getting worst I honestly do not know, but it does seem like show get less and less opportunities to actually established themselves. An it seem TV is becoming more and more fragmented, we lucky if we get more than five episodes in a row before there a break in the schedules especially on Network TV channels. The UK is not that bad but even the BBC has it moments, and is planning to implements a long break for Doctor Who. We are also getting less and less episodes of a TV show, only 10 episodes for V just 8 for outcasts (which is actually pretty good for them ). An it seem Syfy only order shows with 13 episodes batches nowadays. Some shows like the walking dead only get a hand full of episodes, was it 5 or 6 episodes.

    Lost was the only reason I think we been getting so many one offs seasons Sci-fy shows, I think the show has been a curse for scifi in many ways, it seem very exec is expecting there show to be a Lost phenomena and when it turns out it not they cancel it . An they seem to call every new Sci-Fi show the next lost, which really drive me up the wall.
    Last edited by knowles2; 07 March 2011, 04:16 PM.

    Comment


      #32
      I guess I'm just not that bothered by the genre drying up on TV. So long as there's at least one good show on TV in the science-fiction or fantasy realm, I'm content. If there's nothing, I'll just stick with the news. There's bound to be a show to catch my interest eventually.

      Off topic, but I hate how science-fiction and fantasy get blended into one genre. They are distinctly different. Science-fiction is suppose to be a story that could happen. Fantasy is a story that strays from the realistic world we know in favor of anything can happen.

      Comment


        #33
        Originally posted by Snowman37 View Post
        I guess I'm just not that bothered by the genre drying up on TV. So long as there's at least one good show on TV in the science-fiction or fantasy realm, I'm content. If there's nothing, I'll just stick with the news. There's bound to be a show to catch my interest eventually.
        It bothers me tremendously. Perhaps I've been spoiled by having access for many years to a plethora of offerings, and the existence of a network originally devoted to the genre. I feel cheated and betrayed by the SciFi Channel (now SyFy) and I think that's a large part of what drives me to complain.

        Off topic, but I hate how science-fiction and fantasy get blended into one genre. They are distinctly different. Science-fiction is suppose to be a story that could happen. Fantasy is a story that strays from the realistic world we know in favor of anything can happen.
        As far as I'm concerned, that's not off topic at all. In fact, it's something I've been complaining about all along. I absolutely love your definitions of the two genres. You put into words, accurately and succinctly, what I've been struggling to say.

        (Yes, I'm female. Okay?)
        Sum, ergo scribo...

        My own site ** FF.net * All That We Leave Behind * Symbiotica ** AO3
        sigpic
        now also appearing on DeviantArt
        Explore Colonel Frank Cromwell's odyssey after falling through the Stargate in Season Two's A Matter of Time, and follow Jack's search for him. Significant Tok'ra supporting characters and a human culture drawn from the annals of history. Book One of the series By Honor Bound.

        Comment


          #34
          Originally posted by Snowman37 View Post
          Off topic, but I hate how science-fiction and fantasy get blended into one genre. They are distinctly different. Science-fiction is suppose to be a story that could happen. Fantasy is a story that strays from the realistic world we know in favor of anything can happen.
          Roman DeBeers, represent!
          "A society grows great when old men plant trees, the shade of which they know they will never sit in. Good people do things for other people. That's it, the end." -- Penelope Wilton in Ricky Gervais's After Life

          Comment


            #35
            Originally posted by DigiFluid View Post
            Roman DeBeers, represent!
            Roman's got it right on this one, lol.

            (Yes, I'm female. Okay?)
            Sum, ergo scribo...

            My own site ** FF.net * All That We Leave Behind * Symbiotica ** AO3
            sigpic
            now also appearing on DeviantArt
            Explore Colonel Frank Cromwell's odyssey after falling through the Stargate in Season Two's A Matter of Time, and follow Jack's search for him. Significant Tok'ra supporting characters and a human culture drawn from the annals of history. Book One of the series By Honor Bound.

            Comment


              #36
              I still enjoy both genres equally.

              I think they get lumped together because people just assume they are both "fantastical" in nature, as both are unlikely to happen in the present day, without actually considering the true definitions. I wonder what people thought of Da Vinci's helicopter sketches back in the day.
              sigpic

              Comment


                #37
                Originally posted by SF_and_Coffee View Post
                Roman's got it right on this one, lol.
                I was wondering if anyone would get the reference. Thank you for not disappointing
                "A society grows great when old men plant trees, the shade of which they know they will never sit in. Good people do things for other people. That's it, the end." -- Penelope Wilton in Ricky Gervais's After Life

                Comment


                  #38
                  Originally posted by DigiFluid View Post
                  I was wondering if anyone would get the reference. Thank you for not disappointing
                  Oh, I had to look it up to be sure, but now I'm thinking, "There's something I should watch regularly!"

                  So I should thank you.

                  (Yes, I'm female. Okay?)
                  Sum, ergo scribo...

                  My own site ** FF.net * All That We Leave Behind * Symbiotica ** AO3
                  sigpic
                  now also appearing on DeviantArt
                  Explore Colonel Frank Cromwell's odyssey after falling through the Stargate in Season Two's A Matter of Time, and follow Jack's search for him. Significant Tok'ra supporting characters and a human culture drawn from the annals of history. Book One of the series By Honor Bound.

                  Comment


                    #39
                    There has always been bad television and good television. The problem with sci fi has been described by a poster above. People in general (I assume) and young people in particular (most definitely) have come to expect top notch special effects in sci fi shows. That makes them very expensive, probably a lot more expensive than those talent and cooking shows and whatnot (who do not even require real actors - whereas for sci fi you need a) decent actors, b) a decent script, c) a decent set and d) decent special effects), yet sci fi shows appeal to a lot less people unfortunately. Add to that the fact that, as we've heard countless times from the SGU producers, sci fi fans fans tend to be the most tech savy and able to use alternative legal or illegal ways of viewing the show and the TV market for sci fi gets even more reduced. In the days before internet piracy and cheap legal downloading or free legal streaming the tech savyness of the sci fi fan was probably a major boon increasing revenue since these were the people first having a VCR, DVD, CDROM,... and they'd be very likely to gobble up all the spin off merchandising and games but nowadays it's counterproductive since everyone has a computer and a DVD player etc.

                    The sci fi market could increase substantially once more if the American TV execs could figure out how to make as much money out of the international market as they do out of the domestic market, but so far they have failed.

                    Finally there has become a big chasm in TV viewing habbits. There was a lot less choice for watching things in the old days. In the old days I'd watch star trek on the mainstream channel of a major broadcaster. This undoubtedly meant that a lot of people would be watching star trek just because it was being aired and the other channels were airing something even less appealing for the viewer in question. That sort of exponentially casual viewership is completely gone in the highly segmented TV market of today and perhaps even especially in the businessmodel of niche channels like SYFY in particular. That also explains why there is so much superficial crap being aired that seems carbon copied off eachother, the mainstream channels follow the lowest common denominator to attract audiences, shoving specialised TV genres onto smaller broadcasting vehicles.
                    Last edited by Wayston; 08 March 2011, 08:03 AM.
                    I'm an average viewer. As plain as they come. People make TV shows based on my demographic.

                    Million's of ZPM's, ZPM's for free! Millions of ZPM's, ZPM's for me!

                    Comment


                      #40
                      Originally posted by knowles2 View Post
                      Lost was the only reason I think we been getting so many one offs seasons Sci-fy shows, I think the show has been a curse for scifi in many ways, it seem very exec is expecting there show to be a Lost phenomena and when it turns out it not they cancel it . An they seem to call every new Sci-Fi show the next lost, which really drive me up the wall.
                      amen. i loved lost (well still do!) and there isn't going to be a show that is as good, or thought out. the reason why lost had the half season set up was so that they could air without repeats and be small enough that the story wouldn't be drawn out (as the earlier seasons were). and i agree, all new sci-fi shows get advertized as the new "lost" to get us fans to watch it, we do and compare it to lost. which it obveously doesn't compare too, so it drops in ratings by a few episodes in. and instead of trying to fix writing and story the network just cancels it. it has come to the point were its hard to get invesigated into a show that isn't a crime show because its just going to get cancelled. and if it is a crime show it has been done way to many times. which means we are simply left will crappy crime shows and reality tv.
                      sigpic

                      Comment


                        #41
                        I have a very loose definition of both "sci fi" and "thought out", but Lost doesn't really fit in either for me
                        I'm an average viewer. As plain as they come. People make TV shows based on my demographic.

                        Million's of ZPM's, ZPM's for free! Millions of ZPM's, ZPM's for me!

                        Comment


                          #42
                          Wouldn't Lost be more fantasy/mystery? How exactly is it science-fiction?

                          Comment


                            #43
                            Originally posted by Snowman37 View Post
                            Wouldn't Lost be more fantasy/mystery? How exactly is it science-fiction?
                            well theres timetravel and stuff with electramagitisim (which i have no idea how to spell lol).

                            oh and lost is thoughtout in the fact that the writers knew exactly how many episodes they were going to do (and the amount of seasons) from season 3 onward.
                            Last edited by blueray; 10 March 2011, 07:58 AM.
                            sigpic

                            Comment


                              #44
                              Something tells me that good scifi will drop off the radar........its a sure sign that we as humans are getting dumber (who the hell wants to watch whiny vampires...SERIOUSLY!)
                              I like vampire shows. I am a big fan of everything from Dark Shadows to the Vampire Diaries. Let us face it, vampires sell and right now vampires are extremely popular. I do not think we have seen the last vampire show.

                              Personally I do not have a huge problem with a show running it's course and finishing. I do not need a good show to go on forever, or take a X-Files where new seasons are squeezed out of it until there is nothing left of what made the show great. My problem is that at the moment everything new in science fiction, fantasy and horror TV series are paranormal romance and urban fantasy. Now do not get me wrong, I love paranormal romance and urban fantasy however when that is all one get it can get a bit one track.

                              Star trek is finished, Stargate is finished with the exeption of SGU which is finishing up, Battlestar Gallactica is finished. We have Caprica but still, it is thinning out when it comes to space opera and pulp. Now however I am not to worried, right now the thing which is popular is vampires, werewolf and teenage witches. However popularity shifts and soon enough it will be space ships and aliens again.

                              Now as for Clone Wars. I kind of enjoy it. Sure it is intended for children, but as a cartoon series I do not think it is so bad. It is set in a very interesting universe and I enjoy to see that universe expanded. Off coarse the series is not as good as the original movies, however I enjoy my time watching it so I do not have any hurry for it to get off the air.

                              I would call Lost fantasy not science fiction however the three categories of science fiction, horror and fantasy often bleed into one another, and in a way science fiction is a type of fantasy.

                              Comment


                                #45
                                Originally posted by blueray View Post
                                well theres timetravel and stuff with electramagitisim (which i have no idea how to spell lol).
                                Well, electromagnetism is real, so that wouldn't make the show "sci-fi," but time-travel would. However, a lot of stories feature time travel elements without being defined as science-fiction. I thought the show as about people trapped on an island? It strikes me as a more serious version of Gilligan's Island.

                                oh and lost is thoughtout in the fact that the writers knew exactly how many episodes they were going to do (and the amount of seasons) from season 3 onward.
                                Planning ahead does not equate science-fiction.

                                Originally posted by Hagazussa View Post
                                Star trek is finished
                                There's going to be a new movie, so... Star Trek is not finished.

                                I would call Lost fantasy not science fiction however the three categories of science fiction, horror and fantasy often bleed into one another, and in a way science fiction is a type of fantasy.
                                I would imagine mystery drama would be the best way to define the show with elements of science-fiction and fantasy. However, if the focus is on the mystery and the drama, then that's the genre you'd use to define the show. Science-fiction is only fantasy when the science part of science-fiction gets ignored or too fantastical.

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X