One has to wonder with all the shows being canned.
Article here.
My evenings during the school year as a kid were pretty much scripted. I’d get home from school, go mess around with friends, come home for dinner, do homework, and then watch Star Trek on TV. I was into Firefly before most people knew what a Browncoat was, and to this day search the web for a Qualta blade replica that will shift from blade form to gun form. It’s a fascination, a love, and, for some, and obsession.
The beauty of science fiction is that you can escape reality long enough to enjoy the adventure. All growing up, I felt like there was always a show on that was worth watching. In college there would often be heated discussions about the “best” sci-fi show on television. So, what happened to the “good old days” of sci-fi on American television? Has the “Golden Age” of televised science fiction ended?
It seems like we’ve finally given up on rebooting Star Trek and Stargate. Joss Whedon seems to have given up on television for the moment, and moved on to projects like The Avengers. The closest thing we have to aliens causing trouble for the stars is V, and I don’t even think anyone was aware that the second season aired, much less talked about a third season. The SyFy channel killed Eureka — can anyone explain to me why the WWE is on that channel? Battlestar Galactica was rebooted and put back on the shelf already, and Terra Nova is on its way out the door.
Most recent attempts at televised science fiction have failed within a year or two. Heroes, Flash Forward, Dollhouse… none of them seemed to have whatever the networks thought was necessary to keep them alive, despite each being pretty good shows in their own right. So, if sci-fi is going to continue to disappear in the US, where will geeks get their TV fix?
Cancelled stampThe BBC is a powerhouse of sci-fi right now, most of which is brought to the US (often at a delay). Merlin, Being Human, and Doctor Who are all among my “must watch” shows when they are made available. On top of these, the BBC re-imagining of Sherlock Holmes has been a welcome breath of fresh air.
BBC America released episodes of the recent seasons of Doctor Who on the same day that they release them in the UK, creating a gap of only a few short hours between the original air time. SyFy has even seen fit to remake Being Human, as a show with the exact same name but with actors that lack a British accent. Merlin is also syndicated on SyFy, but they manage to keep their British charm for this one.
It seems that, like the US’ space program, science fiction on TV is getting a serious downgrade. For the first time that I can remember, the US does not really have any shows that compete with those listed above.
I, for one, refuse to believe that the genre is on its way out. Instead, the problems seems to be a lack of immersion. Think about shows like Farscape or Andromeda — you are thrown into a world from day one that gives you a clear understanding that your view of the world does not apply in this scenario. You must quickly detach yourself from the “real world” in order to answer the question of “what would I do in this situation?” Of course, the biggest problem with shows like these are the expense. Computer Graphics, massive, incredible stages, and the writers capable of weaving this story into your mind are much more expensive then following around a meter maid with a camera and watching as she gets verbally assaulted by people who don’t want tickets (this is actually a TV show, if you didn’t catch the reference)
Hulu and Netflix are both in the process of testing original content on their networks, maybe one of these guys should pick up the sci-fi flag and wave it around a bit. Otherwise, what will the guys from The Big Bang Theory have to talk about each week?
The beauty of science fiction is that you can escape reality long enough to enjoy the adventure. All growing up, I felt like there was always a show on that was worth watching. In college there would often be heated discussions about the “best” sci-fi show on television. So, what happened to the “good old days” of sci-fi on American television? Has the “Golden Age” of televised science fiction ended?
It seems like we’ve finally given up on rebooting Star Trek and Stargate. Joss Whedon seems to have given up on television for the moment, and moved on to projects like The Avengers. The closest thing we have to aliens causing trouble for the stars is V, and I don’t even think anyone was aware that the second season aired, much less talked about a third season. The SyFy channel killed Eureka — can anyone explain to me why the WWE is on that channel? Battlestar Galactica was rebooted and put back on the shelf already, and Terra Nova is on its way out the door.
Most recent attempts at televised science fiction have failed within a year or two. Heroes, Flash Forward, Dollhouse… none of them seemed to have whatever the networks thought was necessary to keep them alive, despite each being pretty good shows in their own right. So, if sci-fi is going to continue to disappear in the US, where will geeks get their TV fix?
Cancelled stampThe BBC is a powerhouse of sci-fi right now, most of which is brought to the US (often at a delay). Merlin, Being Human, and Doctor Who are all among my “must watch” shows when they are made available. On top of these, the BBC re-imagining of Sherlock Holmes has been a welcome breath of fresh air.
BBC America released episodes of the recent seasons of Doctor Who on the same day that they release them in the UK, creating a gap of only a few short hours between the original air time. SyFy has even seen fit to remake Being Human, as a show with the exact same name but with actors that lack a British accent. Merlin is also syndicated on SyFy, but they manage to keep their British charm for this one.
It seems that, like the US’ space program, science fiction on TV is getting a serious downgrade. For the first time that I can remember, the US does not really have any shows that compete with those listed above.
I, for one, refuse to believe that the genre is on its way out. Instead, the problems seems to be a lack of immersion. Think about shows like Farscape or Andromeda — you are thrown into a world from day one that gives you a clear understanding that your view of the world does not apply in this scenario. You must quickly detach yourself from the “real world” in order to answer the question of “what would I do in this situation?” Of course, the biggest problem with shows like these are the expense. Computer Graphics, massive, incredible stages, and the writers capable of weaving this story into your mind are much more expensive then following around a meter maid with a camera and watching as she gets verbally assaulted by people who don’t want tickets (this is actually a TV show, if you didn’t catch the reference)
Hulu and Netflix are both in the process of testing original content on their networks, maybe one of these guys should pick up the sci-fi flag and wave it around a bit. Otherwise, what will the guys from The Big Bang Theory have to talk about each week?
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