Originally posted by tsaxlady
I'm feeling a moment of validation because this is *so* close to what I posted about in the thread discussing how so many of the "SG1" related news stories have chosen to focus on the "Farscape" crew coming to the party. I responded with the following.
I especially find these comments funny because they ignore the reality of the situation. The reason "Farscape" died, even though it had such a rabid fandom, is the simple fact that despite what the online community might think, they're actually a very small percentage of a show's viewing numbers. From what I've seen, SciFi fandoms number tens of thousands at best, leaving a huge percentage of the remaining two or three million lying squarely in the group known as the "Silent Majority." These are the people who actually make the difference, the people who come home from work, sit down on their couch, look at the clock, and remember, "Hey, that show I like is on."
These "Silent Types," these "Mainstreamers," really make so much of what is discussed on boards like these pretty moot. They don't read reviews. They might read TV newspages over lunch or breakfast, but they tend to flush them from their memory in favor of what's happening in their day. I mean, look at all of the press BSG has gotten. If it truly had an impact on mainstream viewers, BSG should be seeing ratings increases that would dwarf the paltry three million or so a week they currently earn.
Honestly, the only press I've seen ever have a real effect on a show's viewing numbers is "watercooler buzz," or when a show suddenly becomes what everyone's talking about. These are a rare few--your "Sienfield"s, your "Ally McBeal"s, your "Desperate Housewives." They typically are not genre programs, and unless someone finds a way to revitalize everyone's idea of sci-fi/fantasy, as Chris Carter and Joss Whedon both did, that's unlikely to change.
So yes, "Farscape" fans coming over here and saying, "You should be happy with what we've done for you" sounds silly to me. It's the mainstreamers we should all be fawning over and finding ways to bring them into our fold whatever way we can.
*Here, 'streamer, 'streamer.*
*Hides big club behind back*
These "Silent Types," these "Mainstreamers," really make so much of what is discussed on boards like these pretty moot. They don't read reviews. They might read TV newspages over lunch or breakfast, but they tend to flush them from their memory in favor of what's happening in their day. I mean, look at all of the press BSG has gotten. If it truly had an impact on mainstream viewers, BSG should be seeing ratings increases that would dwarf the paltry three million or so a week they currently earn.
Honestly, the only press I've seen ever have a real effect on a show's viewing numbers is "watercooler buzz," or when a show suddenly becomes what everyone's talking about. These are a rare few--your "Sienfield"s, your "Ally McBeal"s, your "Desperate Housewives." They typically are not genre programs, and unless someone finds a way to revitalize everyone's idea of sci-fi/fantasy, as Chris Carter and Joss Whedon both did, that's unlikely to change.
So yes, "Farscape" fans coming over here and saying, "You should be happy with what we've done for you" sounds silly to me. It's the mainstreamers we should all be fawning over and finding ways to bring them into our fold whatever way we can.
*Here, 'streamer, 'streamer.*
*Hides big club behind back*
I think it speaks alot to how some of us feel. 
Why? In one word, because he's funny. In a dozen (or more), his character & the team seemed to fit well (sorry but that's the best way I can explain how I feel about it without giving you a headache 
)
- Miz
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