Anyway, I think the most depressing fact we should get from the cancellation is the knowledge that the core sci-fi fandom is too small to support any show. All the successful show have had broad mainstream appeal. That probably means a general "dumbing down" of shows with less fantastical elements.
SyFy response to the cancellation
- Thread starter firehawk12
- Start date
No, SyFy made sound decisions here. The problem was that the show lost too many viewers because it was too boring for too long. It was also considerate of them to take the time address the concerns. They didn't have to do that. Kudos to SyFy!
Mr Awe
Which backs up MacLeod's point really, I can't think of many sci-fi shows that are more 'dumbed down' than Dr Who.
The problem with sff is poor casting, weak characters no one cares about, bad writing, recycling stories we've all seen before and in recent years thanks to LOST a tendency to create an unnecessarily complicated convoluted mythology that adds up to nothing in the end--The Event, V, Flash Forward, post S1 Heroes etc. And in some cases like BSG and Caprica the shows had a habit of creating unlikeable characters, too much angst and being overly pretentious which turns off viewers.
I think people will be more than willing to give a new show a little bit of time to find itself just so long as they like the characters and the premise--they'll wait for the writers to find their footing. But a lot of these shows give us characters we don't care for so then all that is left is plot and then in those cases you have to leave the gate running strong and most of these shows just don't--hence the erosion.
I think people will be more than willing to give a new show a little bit of time to find itself just so long as they like the characters and the premise--they'll wait for the writers to find their footing. But a lot of these shows give us characters we don't care for so then all that is left is plot and then in those cases you have to leave the gate running strong and most of these shows just don't--hence the erosion.
No it certainly isn't. Compare nuWho with the more adult oriented stories Big Finish produces and you can literally hear a world of difference.
Being dumbed down is certainly not bad but as Termis (or Neroon I forget which) said "I like to have a little meat with my potatoes"
^^ I agree with you to some extend but in the case of SG:U Robert Carlyle easily stole the show in any scene he appeared in.
Whilst "Lost" did have a complex mythology, you have to find a balancing act between a series which has stand alone episodes or a more serialised approach. Look at B5 and DSN, both adopted a more serialsed apprach. Where actions had repurcussions which we say, compared against say VOY which had a more stand alone approach.
Writing and acting are only part of the equation, we all know that sometimes a network wants to get rid of a show, so they'll give it an inferior timeslot, won't advertise it as heavily. They sometimes have unrealisitc ideas about a shows potential ratings.
The great irony about "Lost" is that it had enough elements in it to fall into the Sci-Fi genre, so a lot of people watched without realising that they where watching a Sci-Fi genre show.
Whilst "Lost" did have a complex mythology, you have to find a balancing act between a series which has stand alone episodes or a more serialised approach. Look at B5 and DSN, both adopted a more serialsed apprach. Where actions had repurcussions which we say, compared against say VOY which had a more stand alone approach.
Writing and acting are only part of the equation, we all know that sometimes a network wants to get rid of a show, so they'll give it an inferior timeslot, won't advertise it as heavily. They sometimes have unrealisitc ideas about a shows potential ratings.
The great irony about "Lost" is that it had enough elements in it to fall into the Sci-Fi genre, so a lot of people watched without realising that they where watching a Sci-Fi genre show.
Perhaps, but being Audio Books means they aren't subject to the demands of an early evening timeslot, plus of course it's going too be the fans that buy them not the general TV audiance.
I disagree. Half the characters were great. I liked Nicholas Rush, Colonel Young, Eli, and Greer. The rest were dull or annoying or both (*cough* Chloe *cough*). I think that was the real problem, too many characters. SG writers can only handle 4 at a time.
The Main Line from BF follows the classic TV format (4 20-25 minute segments). As you stated the real difference is the audience. nuWho is the kiddy table. BF is the adult table
A reason that helped BSG become popular was it came in with a mini series and then only 13 episodes so it didn't need all the filler episodes. SGU would of been better off starting this way to build a big enough audience it could then afford to have some erosion.
Fast pace, get down to buissness stories is the best way to go and after the first 3 episodes it just stalled a little and paid the price of being shoved to tuesdays and then it stood no chance.
I can't really disagree with you that having less filler would have improve the series BUT I don't think that was SGU's biggest flaw. Stargate is all about the characters. You can have unpleasant and morally questionable characters but they have to be likable. That and Destiny was HUGE and it's mission was HUGE. There is more than enough material for one season.
How? BSG already milked the whole 9/11 nonsense with the destruction of an entire civilization.
Funny how several people in this thread mentioned falling off of SGA only to like SGU. I was the same way.
Also ironic is how, when I started watching SF in the '70s, the only new programming was Dr. Who on PBS and Trek reruns. Now, almost 40 years later, that's about what I'm back to. It's almost sad it's come around to that.
Also ironic is how, when I started watching SF in the '70s, the only new programming was Dr. Who on PBS and Trek reruns. Now, almost 40 years later, that's about what I'm back to. It's almost sad it's come around to that.
And...here...you support Yminale's point about characters. absolutely Robert Carlyle stole the show, but, he wasn't even someone I could love to hate, the only other character worth trying to get to know was Eli in the first season. That was precisely my problem with S1 and alot of S2 first half, no excitement in the plot and no characters to care about. Camille stepped up in S2 fist half, and most of the rest did it in S2 second half. I had it on, because there wasn't anything else on I was interested in against it and the TV is almost always on. If there was something I cared about, I wouldn't have stuck with it, and I did end up feeling sad it left when it did, because I was finally enjoying most of the last 10 eps
Character building is good, but, you have to have something to build the character with, and you have to appreciate the character
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There is a difference between not wanting to have anything to do in real life with someone like a character and actually having the character hurt your appreciation of the show.
Rush bothered me in a way that I was happy he got left behind, and I didn't care about Young so no one to root for there. I thought the show would be better without him, and didn't like anyone aside from Eli.
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Yes, because if you have absolutely no interest in what happens to them, the show/movie has failed at creating a compelling narrative.
What’s surprising is that the network execs seem to think that, if they just take off one “niche” show with a strong but small base audience, they’re sure to get that huge show that everyone wants to watch.
Why are they leaving the niche shows for cable? Do those shows really not work for the big networks?
Why are they leaving the niche shows for cable? Do those shows really not work for the big networks?
