Aug 29, 2008 11:58 AM
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Tue Feb 9
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If you like to giggle at Sci-Fi Channel original movies (like the new Ricky Schroeder hellhound saga), you'll want to take a trip down memory lane and check out the kinds of stuff you could have been laughing at on Sci-Fi back in 1992. (There was the original series "Mysteries from Beyond the Other Dominion," along with a lot of "filler programming," Planet of the Apes, and reruns of Doctor Who and Dark Shadows.) To aid your mirth, the good folks at Inner Mind have an extremely detailed database of every Sci-Fi Channel lineup from 1992 to 2007 — including gems you probably haven't thought about for years (if at all). You know, like Terrahawks and The New Adventures of Gigantor?
Of course if you click through to the mid-1990s, you'll get a feeling of bittersweet nostalgia as you recall having new Farscape every week. But you'll also discover that not much has changed about Sci-Fi's basic mission since the early 1990s. Even back then, they were doing special "theme weeks" about things like giant alligators. So the "giant animal does something scary" movie is basically written into Sci-Fi's DNA.
Plus, you can relive the glory days of 2000, when Sci-Fi would show ginormous blocks of shows like the New Fantasy Island (with Malcolm McDowell!) and Seaquest, plus Lexx really early in the morning. Ah, Lexx. How I miss ye.
So when you get mad at Sci-Fi for doing cheesy crap, just take a look at its history: The channel hasn't come a long way, but in some sense it's only as good as the genre it's celebrating. You know, a genre that includes Beyond Reality and Ghost Hunters. Stop clawing your eyes out long enough to peruse those old listings . . . the sarcasm center of your brain won't be disappointed.
Sci-Fi Schedule Listings [via Inner Mind]
Send an email to Annalee Newitz, the author of this post, at annalee@io9.com.
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