Nothing to apologize for. I just think Syfy gets a bum rap sometimes, so I tend to defend it whenever the topic comes up. Nothing personal. And I'll cop to loving most of those cheesy SYFY monster movies. They're the modern equivalent of the old drive-in monster movies I devoured as a kid, like EARTH VS. THE GIANT SPIDER or ISLAND OF TERROR. They can be fun if you're in the right frame of mind, although some of them are definitely more entertaining than others. I will defend SHARKTOPUS and WAR BIRDS with my dying breath; MEGA PIRANHAS and SHARKS IN VENICE, not so much. (Yes, I am a connoisseur of schlock.) No rule that says that everything on Syfy has to be "serious" SF.
At least some of the "reality" shows SyFy has presented tie into genre themes, like "Face Off", the makeup competition series. I loved that show and I'm a bit bummed it has "concluded" (until such time the network might change its decision). True, the first season was "shaky and shady", focusing upon "backstage melodrama" with contestants allying themselves to 'do in" those they disliked. Thankfully, they dropped that mess by the second season and focused instead upon the chaos of the workshop. I'm sure it was at least partially "scripted", but one of the best "situations" I saw involved a contestant who always found a few spare minutes to help his competition. One day, a heavy mold fell upon his hand, crushing at least two of his fingers and required a trip to the ER. Under normal circumstances, he would have been out of the running because of the time lost, a full day. But since he was such a nice guy, the others found enough spare time to separate his mold; remove the clay and cleaned it so it would be ready to cast the foam rubber pieces. The next day the injured man returned and was able to cast the appliances at the same time as everyone else. When judged, his entry was at least in the top three. He might have actually won, but I can't recall for certain. Again, it was likely "guided" by the director, "Come on! You're gonna' help this fellow!", but it was great to see people helping instead of backstabbing one another. SyFy has also presented other competition shows (usually only getting a season or two), like one where creators had to design and build a set suitable for filming, and a show about costuming (not to be confused with an earlier work where a recording crew simply followed "catty" teenagers around conventions). I've always loved "behind the scenes" stuff ever since I read "The Making of Star Trek" in the early 70s, so I found these genre themed competition shows quite fascinating.
Yeah, that's part of what I'm saying. Syfy has managed to maintain its identity better than other niche cable networks, so that even its reality shows are SF/fantasy-themed, whereas other networks (CourtTV most of all, and Discovery almost as much) abandoned their original identities entirely in order to become generic reality-show channels. I was rather fond of Who Wants to Be a Superhero? It was blatantly staged and artificial, but to such a degree that it was effectively a parody of staged "reality" shows, and I loved it that it rewarded wholesome, supportive, heroic behavior and positive values rather than scheming and backstabbing. Although I dislike its failure to deliver on the promised prize of giving the winners' characters their own comic and movie. The first season's winner got a one-shot comic, but his "movie" was a brief cameo in one of Syfy's cheesy monster movies, and not even as the real superhero, just as himself playing one; and the second season's winner never got his prizes at all.
I'll cop to having had my photo taken with the winner of the first season, which he autographed for me. Used to have it framed on my office wall. Full disclosure: I also used to write on-line trivia contests for the Sci-Fi Channel website. Anybody remember "MIndprobe"?
No, it might not be exactly the same as it was when it first started, but I'd put The Magicians, Wynona Earp, The Killjoys, and especially The Expanse right up there with the best stuff they've ever shown. Seriously awesome shows, and IMO some of the best genre show on TV right now. They also did The Jim Henson's Creature Shop Challenge, where Creature Designer competed for a chance to work at the Jim Henson Creature Shop. Each week they'd have to design and build a new puppet, and then at the end they'd bring in puppeteers to perform a scene with it. I'm a big fan of the Creature Shop's work, and puppets in general, so I got big kick out of it, and I'm still a little disappointed it only got one season.
I couldn't find the name of it, but the episode of The Magicians where Eliot and Quinten live an entire life together was phenomenal and I'll take 100 Sharknados if it means we can continue to get those kinds of episodes.
I was kind of hoping they'd show the Cronenberg version too, I mean they show 80s movies sometimes. They showed Roger Rabbit about 6 years ago too.
Been busy, missed first week but here goes: List is subjective, all times EST, days go from 6AM-5:59AM like TCM's online schedule SEP 13 0415a Witchboard (cheesy horror for Tawny Kitaen fans) SEP 14 0930a Sat. Serial: Lost City of the Jungle SEP 21 0930a Sat. Serial: Jungle Queen Disability theme SEP 23 0800p CinemAbility: The Art of Inclusion (doc) SEP 23 1000p Freaks SEP 23 1115p Bride of Frankenstein SEP 23 1245a Hunchback of Notre Dame SEP 27 0315p The Mummy's Shroud SEP 27 0630p The Mummy SEP 27 0200a Belladonna of Sadness (not sure, Jap. animated) SEP 27 0330a House (Hausu Jap. Horror) SEP 28 0930a Sat. Serial: Jungle Queen SEP 28 0200a It Came From Outer Space SEP 29 0330a Riders to the Stars Bond Thursdays It's nice they are presented chronologically but a little disappointing in just how readily Bond can be found on so many other channels in the last few years. SEP 12 0800p On Her Majesty's Secret Service SEP 12 1030p Diamonds Are Forever SEP 12 1245a Live and Let Die SEP 12 0300a The Man with the Golden Gun SEP 19 0800p The Spy Who Loved Me SEP 19 1015p Moonraker SEP 19 1230a For Your Eyes Only SEP 19 0300a Octopussy SEP 19 0515a A View to a Kill SEP 26 0800p The Living Daylights SEP 26 1030p Licence to Kill SEP 26 0100a Goldeneye SEP 26 0330a Tomorrow Never Dies SEP 26 0530a The World Is Not Enough SF/F Adjacent (purely subjective on my end, stuff maybe of interest, or films that have a fantastic element but aren't necessarily thought of as SF/F) SEP 11 0743a Phantoms, Inc. (old doc debunking psychics) SEP 11 0800a Topper Returns SEP 11 0300a Around the World in 80 Days SEP 14 1007a Hold that Hypnotist (hypnotism sends Bowery Boys to battle pirates in the 17th Century) SEP 14 0200a Duck Soup (Marx Bros. run amuck in fictional Eastern European country) SEP 20 0215a Eating Raoul (see Voyager's Robert Beltran in a different role in this cult classic) Egyptian theme SEP 27 0800a Valley of the Kings SEP 27 0930a Mummy's Boys SEP 27 1045a Land of the Pharaohs SEP 27 1245p Caesar and Cleopatra
I'm glad that they're showing the original Bond series of movies. I've only managed to catch two or three of the Lost City of the Jungle episodes, but it seems pretty good. I'm not sure if Jungle Queen is one of the serials I've got on DVD or not. They do show 80s movies now, and even 90s, which I have mixed feelings about, but the Fly remake with Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis was actually pretty good.
Same deal as before, EST, Days from start at 6AM and end just before. Made some dumb notes. Godzilla movies on Fridays. oh, just to note, being October and all I was pretty generous with listing horror though some might be not delve into the fantastic so much Also, (ish) indicates something that is borderline or genre-ish... THU OCT 03 0800p Bell Book and Candle (ish) 0945p Horror Hotel 1115p The Devil's Own 0100a Suspiria 0245a Night of Dark Shadows 0430a Haxan FRI OCT 04 0800p Godzilla (1954, Gojira? Jap version?) 0930p Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956) 1100p Godzilla Raids Again 1230a Mothra vs Godzilla 0215a Godzilla 0400a The Town That Dreaded Sundown SAT OCT 05 0930a Sat Serial: Jungle Queen THU OCT 10 0100p She 0300p Vengeance of She 0445p Viking Queen 0630p Queen of Outer Space 0800p The Black Cat 0915p Curse of the Demon 1045p The Seventh Victim 1215a The Devil's Bride 0200a Blood on Satan's Claw 0345a Dracula AD 1972 0530a Eye of the Devel FRI OCT 11 0800p Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster 0945p Invasion of Astro-Monster aka Monster Zero 1130p Ebirah, Horror of the Deep aka Godzilla vs the Sea Monster 0100a Son of Godzilla 0245a Destroy All Monsters 0430a Ghoulies SAT OCT 12 0930a Sat Serial: Jungle Queen 1045p Tom Thumb 0230a The Purple Rose of Cairo (ish) SUN OCT 13 1200p Curse of the Cat People (ish) THU OCT 17 0800p The Uninvited 1000p The Haunted 1200a The Fog 0145a Poltergeist 0345a Kuroneko 0530a The Phantom Carriage (ish? silent) FRI OCT 18 0800p All Monsters Attack 0930p Godzilla vs Hedorah 1115p Godzilla vs Gigan 0100a Rodan (oddly out of order chronologically) 0230a Sugar Hill 0415a Blacula SAT OCT 19 0930a Sat Serial: Jungle Queen 0200p White Zombie 0315p The Naked and the Dead aka Lifeforce (j/k actually a war movie) TUE OCT 22 0800p The Last Dragon (kind of...80s classic kung fu fantasy) THU OCT 24 0930a Captain Sindbad (See if Lost in Space's Guy Williams says "The 'd' is silent") 1100a Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger 0100p Jason and the Argonauts 0245p Atlantis, the Lost Continent 0430p Hercules, Samson & Ulysses 0600p Clash of the Titans 0800p Horror of Dracula 0930p The Gorgon 1115p The Plague of the Zombies 0100a Night of the Living Dead 0300a The Hunger (I always thought Bowie was a vampire...) 0445a Nosferatu FRI OCT 25 0800p Godzilla vs Megalon 0930p Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla 1100p Terror of Mechagodzilla 1230a The War of the Gargantuas According to TCM: In one of the more memorable scenes, a nightclub singer is performing "The Words Get Stuck in My Throat" when she is suddenly silenced by a very angry Gargantua. The band Devo used to do the song at live performances. SAT OCT 26 0930a Sat Serial: Jungle Queen 0600p THe Haunting SUN OCT 27 1145a Black Cats and Broomsticks (1955 doc) 1215p Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic (1990 doc) 0530p What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? 0200a The Living Skeleton (1968 Jap) 0330a Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell (1968 Jap) MON OCT 28 0400a Coma TUE OCT 29 0300p The Seventh Victim WED OCT 30 0800p Mad Love 1030p Cat People 1145p I Walked with a Zombie 0100p The Walking Dead 0215a Mark of the Vampire 0330a Little Shop of Horrors (1960) 0445a A Bucket of Blood THU OCT 31 0645a Freaks 0800a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1932) 0945a The Bat 1115a House on Haunted Hill 1245p Black Cats and Broomsticks (1955 doc) 0100p From Beyond the Grave 0245p Black Sabbath 0430p Chamber of Horrors 0615p House of Wax 0800p Bride of Frankenstein 0930p The Devil-Doll 1100p House of Usher 1230a Pit and the Pendulum 0200a The Haunted Palace 0345a Die, Monster, Die! 0515a The Curse of Frankenstein