io9: sci-fi channel

Eureka Avoids Dark Depression Trap of Shows Like "Full House"

Annalee Newitz — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:22:37 PDT

Apparently fluffy Sci-Fi channel show Eureka, about a town of zany geniuses who do silly things, is just too dark. Even though every episode is packed with sappiness worthy of Full House, its creators have vowed to make it even "lighter" this season, packed with ultralite parodies of movies like Groundhog Day, according to Sci-Fi Wire (how do you parody a movie that is already a comedy?). Let this be a lesson to other scifi shows, such as Jericho, which could really have used a little lightening up. And how about 4400? Why not turn each episode of that into a "funny" parody of a movie like X-Men? That could have been both shows' tickets to renewal if only they'd known about this whole lightness thing. [Sci-Fi Wire]

Battlestar Won't Self-Destruct

Graeme McMillan — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 08:00:23 PST

Both the Cylons' plans and those of the Battlestar Galactica producers will finish as planned, despite the production hiatus caused by the writers' strike. Executives at the Sci Fi Channel are going against rumor and expectation and not shortening the fourth and final season of the show. The first half of the season airs starting April 4, and the second half will probably appear in 2009. But there could be more strike trouble ahead.

According to Chud, all of the news coming from the show's Vancouver offices is positive:

[The entire writing staff] gathered this week to rewatch the completed season four episodes to get back up to speed, and now that the strike is completely and officially over, they'll be revisiting the outlines of future episodes and break those stories. There are still some details that will need to be ironed out - actor's deals may need to be renegotiated to get them secured past when their season four contracts end, for example - but the sets in Vancouver were never struck and the behind the camera types are raring to go and finish their epic story. I've heard that the show is firing on all cylinders in the season four episodes filmed to date, and I hope that three months away has given everybody new energy and perspectives to match the first half of the season.

Now all we need to do is hope that the show gets finished extra quick, or that rumors of an actors' strike midway through the year turn out to be false. Battlestar Galactica Will Find Earth [Chud.com]

Battlestar Congratula?

grae — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 08:40:34 PST

What's behind the Sci Fi Channel's decision to schedule two half-hour documentaries about Battlestar Galactica: WGA-strike-inspired desperation, or self-congratulatory wankfest? You be the judge. Click through for details, and hints as to whether either show might be worth bothering with.

Battlestar Galactica: Revisited is pretty much a clip show to bring new viewers up to speed before the following weekend's launch of the show's fourth season. The accompanying Battlestar Galactica: The Phenomenon explores just how well loved the series has been by fans and critics, just to make the channel feel a little better about itself. The shows start at 10pm on Friday, March 28th; the show returns properly on April 4th, also at 10pm. Image by Getty Images. Sci Fi Channel Schedules Two 'Battlestar Galactica' Specials [Buddy TV.com]

Battlestar Galactica Fans To Join Strike, Meet Disappointment

grae — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 06:08:10 PST

Pity fans of Sci-Fi Channel's Battlestar Galactica who plan to join the show's writing staff on picket lines this Friday lured by rumors that a lengthy strike may result in the show's fourth and final season being aired in full earlier than initially expected and without the traditional mid-season break. Talking last week, show producer and showrunner Ron Moore announced that the scripts for the final ten episodes of the season weren't even started before the strike hit, making an early showing extremely unlikely. Here's hoping that channel executives, like Cylons, have a plan. Flickr Image by immolation scene

'Battlestar' fans to join picket line? [Hollywood Insider]

Ron Moore Gets His Auteur On

charliejane — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 23:25:41 PDT

Ronald Moore will go the Joss Whedon route, directing an episode of Battlestar Galactica which he wrote. But the bad news? Galactica season four is now officially airing in April.

Why Does The Sci-Fi Channel Greenlight Crap?

charliejane — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 00:05:28 PDT

When the Sci-Fi Channel announces it's making two new TV movies and neither of them is science fiction, what does it say about the genre on television? Add to that the fact that they both sound hideous:

Ba'al [is] about a rogue Smithsonian archaeologist, dying of cancer, who will stop at nothing to retrieve the ancient amulets of the storm god Ba'al, which could cure him or make him a god ... Riddles of the Sphinx stars Dina Meyer (the Saw franchise) and Lochlyn Munro (Deck the Halls) in a story about a father and daughter who find themselves in a series of battles of mind and body with the deadly Sphinx as they attempt to decode seven riddles in an effort to save humankind.

I'd rather watch Stargate: Peoria than either of those films. Reading plot descriptions like that makes me feel as though the Sci-Fi Channel is actively on a mission to destroy science fiction. Or rather, that they don't have a clear sense of what makes good science fiction. I know these TV movies have to be easy to throw together. But how hard would it be to do something along the lines of ABC's recent Masters of Science Fiction series, which managed to be cheap and science fictional?

A Paranormal Day At Sci-Fi [Hollywood Reporter] [Image by Getty Images]