Article on SyFy Channel

[Silvercrest]

Clearly!

No, I don't remember the Duwamish. I grew up in Tacoma/Puyallup, so I know more theaters from that area.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

If a zombie show can become the highest-rated cable show (beating Jersey Shore, ha ha!) on AMC of all places, simply by virtue of quality alone (I really cannot believe the existing AMC audience was all that interested in zombies), then I suspect a space opera show of similar quality could knock the socks off Skiffy.

I'm sure zombies tap into some primal fear or something and that's a large part of the appeal. I'm not convinced it's the writing or the quality alone.

The primal fear of being eaten alive, sure. But there are many ways to evoke that fear. How about a time travel show involving dinosaurs! (When's Speilberg going to kick that sucker loose, anyway?) Or Earth is invaded by cannibal aliens! You could argue the Goa'uld and the Borg are variations on the cannibal-alien idea.

I just don't think there's anything special about zombies that's making the show such a hit. On the contrary, zombies are an obstacle because we already know all the rules of the game. The first few episodes were gripping, but it was still slightly annoying having to wait for the characters to play catchup. Yes, they're dead. No, you shouldn't let them bite you. Aim for the head! Yeesh...

 

[Greg Cox]

Clearly!

No, I don't remember the Duwamish. I grew up in Tacoma/Puyallup, so I know more theaters from that area.

Small world! I was actually born in Puyallup.

I seem to recall a Fife Drive-In down that way, but I can't remember what I saw there.

 

[Cutter John]

I've enjoyed plent yof monster an b-movies (Tremors, most any Godzilla movie, and damn near anything with zombies). But I really don't need a weekly dose. Especially from a network that assumes I'm supposed to like these things.

I don't think I'm an elitist type, but at nearly 50 years old, I've seen and read a LOT. So it takes somethign unusual and different to hold my attention. And sad to say, SyFy doesn't really know the meaning of those words.

 

[Kegg]

But why does all scifi have to be "highbrow"?

It's not that. RJDiogenes is saying it's highbrow to be lowbrow, that literature is proof of the elite of sci-fi fans who watch fun monster movies.

It just at a glance seems to be an argument collapsing into itself.

 

[Greg Cox]

I've enjoyed plent yof monster an b-movies (Tremors, most any Godzilla movie, and damn near anything with zombies). But I really don't need a weekly dose. .

But how is that different from the old days when local stations almost always ran "Nightmare Theater" or whatever on the weekends? Old monster movies were a weekly staple on tv, usually hosted by some local version of Vampira or Zacherle or whomever.

And, heck, previous generations used to head down to the local movie house to catch the latest weekly installments of FLASH GORDON or THE PURPLE MONSTER STRIKES.

You can argue that syfy is just taking the place of old-fashioned Saturday matinee fare.

I suspect that, forty years from now, today's kids will be looking back fondly on SHARKTOPUS and MANSQUITO and wondering why they don't make 'em like that anymore . . . .

 

[Cutter John]

I guess the difference is, those old movies were meant to be taken seriously. Thats part of what made them so much fun. The current batch is made to be intentionally cheesy.

I dunno, maybe if SyFy just went the local station route and hired themselves a goofy host/hostess for commercial breaks. It might help.

But yeah I know. I need to lighten up.

 

[Greg Cox]

But yeah I know. I need to lighten up.

My work is done.

And somehow I doubt that the folks who made I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF (or whatever) were taking themselves too seriously . . . . .

 

[Whofan]

Is the David Howe mentioned in the article the same as the British sci-fi writer?

 

[Cutter John]

But yeah I know. I need to lighten up.


My work is done.

Well I wouldn't go that far. I just don't feel like arguing on christmas eve.

And somehow I doubt that the folks who made I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF (or whatever) were taking themselves too seriously . . . . .

I think they were probably thinking "We have this movie camera. How can we make some quick cash?" Certainly not "Lets show how cute and clever we are by making a crappy horror movie."

 

[Greg Cox]

I think they were probably thinking "We have this movie camera. How can we make some quick cash?" Certainly not "Lets show how cute and clever we are by making a crappy horror movie."

Well, given that SHARKTOPUS, at least, was produced by Roger Corman, I'm not sure things have changed all that much!

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Not many people get into making movies because they see that there's some quick money to be made - nine times out of ten, there isn't. There are about a thousand more reliable and less demanding avenues for the lazy and/or avaricious.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

The problem with fannish snobbery is that it can lead to a certain kind of self-congratulatory criticism that often seems more about flattering the critic and some small clique of self-proclaimed true fans than judging whether, say, SHARKTOPUS was a fun monster movie.

"Well, I suppose it's good enough for the lumpen masses, but we slans are above that kind of thing. Harrumph!"

Oh, please. If this was a 1930's movie, that kind of attitude would immediately be greeted by a pie in the face.

It's just science fiction. We shouldn't take it too seriously.

Nailed it.

One wonders how that fantasizing about the superiority of sf fans actually survives social contact between sf fans. Willful denial seems the most plausible answer.

 

[Kegg]

I suspect that, forty years from now, today's kids will be looking back fondly on SHARKTOPUS and MANSQUITO and wondering why they don't make 'em like that anymore . . . .

Transformers, maybe. I just wonder if enough kids today have seen Sharktopus and Mansquito to get nostalgic about them some decades hence.

 

[Cutter John]

And I guess I could tolerate the crappy movies more if they were balanced out with more current GOOD shows.

 

[Sephiroth]

it's all about appealing to the lowest common denominator, 90% of the T.V. watching world, hell 90% of the world is populated by sub-human mongoloids, so they get pandered to the most

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

it's all about appealing to the lowest common denominator, 90% of the T.V. watching world, hell 90% of the world is populated by sub-human mongoloids, so they get pandered to the most

I resent that. I'm a sub-human cro-magnon, thank you very much

 

[Greg Cox]

it's all about appealing to the lowest common denominator, 90% of the T.V. watching world, hell 90% of the world is populated by sub-human mongoloids, so they get pandered to the most

You do realize that sounds like something Lex Luthor would say . . . .

 

[Sephiroth]

it's all about appealing to the lowest common denominator, 90% of the T.V. watching world, hell 90% of the world is populated by sub-human mongoloids, so they get pandered to the most

You do realize that sounds like something Lex Luthor would say . . . .

but isn't it the truth?

 

[Greg Cox]

it's all about appealing to the lowest common denominator, 90% of the T.V. watching world, hell 90% of the world is populated by sub-human mongoloids, so they get pandered to the most

You do realize that sounds like something Lex Luthor would say . . . .

but isn't it the truth?

Well, strictly going by the math, at least 50% of the population is of above-average intelligence. And somehow I can't see Superman dismissing the rest as "sub-human mongoloids" . . . .