My prob with cable is that not everyone has it. I personally already pay through the nose to Comcast so I don't get HBO, Showtime, and all that. :(
It may be his only outlet however. Shows like Lost and True Blood are absolute gold I think in part due to that and I thank hulu.com that I can watch. ~ "Where love and magic meet" ~ http://www.adriannebrennan.com Experience the magic of the Dark Moon series: http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#darkmoon Dare to take The Oath in this erotic fantasy series: http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#the_oath The future of psychic sex - Dawn of the Seraphs (m/m): http://www.adriannebrennan.com/dawnoftheseraphs.html On Sun, Dec 20, 2009 at 12:08 PM, Tracey de Morsella < tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com> wrote: > > > Cable – HBO or Showtime, maybe TNT or USA…. Nooooooo syfy > > > > *From:* scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com [mailto:scifino...@yahoogroups.com] *On > Behalf Of *Adrianne Brennan > *Sent:* Sunday, December 20, 2009 9:03 AM > *To:* scifinoir2@yahoogroups.com > *Subject:* Re: [scifinoir2] Is This End Of Sci-Fi On Television? > > > > > Dollhouse was cancelled because Fox didn't want to deal with the show to > begin with, and did everything in their power to make sure it went away. > They did the same thing to Firefly. All they want to do is appeal to the > mindless sex 'n' violence market and give people their bubblegum. Whedon is > NOT for the masses and never has been. > > > > He needs to find a station who recognizes his talent, will air his next > show and will treat his works with the respect they deserve. > > > > I think that the biggest scifi killer right now is Syfy, ironically enough. > It's called bowing to the in-crowd, which I had hoped they would be above. > But alas, they are not. Seems to be the only good scifi I can find is on the > so-called "men's" channel Spike. I guess I need to turn in my extra "x" > chromosome. > > > ~ "Where love and magic meet" ~ > http://www.adriannebrennan.com > Experience the magic of the Dark Moon series: > http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#darkmoon > Dare to take The Oath in this erotic fantasy series: > http://www.adriannebrennan.com/books.html#the_oath > The future of psychic sex - Dawn of the Seraphs (m/m): > http://www.adriannebrennan.com/dawnoftheseraphs.html > > On Sun, Dec 20, 2009 at 11:26 AM, Tracey de Morsella < > tdli...@multiculturaladvantage.com> wrote: > > > > With the recent cancellations of Joss Whedon’s “Dollhouse” and ABC’s > “Defying Gravity,” we are reminded yet again that > television<http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/6960>is not a gentle mistress for > science-fiction programming. > > In fact, this is a bad time to be a sci-fi show. Television audiences just > are not as forgiving and patient as they used to be. They do not want to > wait for storylines to be slowly developed and then unpeeled layer after > layer. They just want to have the onion cracked right open and to see what > is inside. Alas, the only thing inside is but a nugget of what the real > story is about. Just like a human life is not just about how a person died, > a sci-fi story is not just about the last 15 minutes. A life is a journey. > And that is what makes a story interesting –- getting there is not just half > the fun, it is the fun. > > So when I hear people say that they could not follow “Lost” or just want to > know all the answers to the questions posed, I am astounded. What good is it > to list a set of answers to questions if it is not given some kind of > framework to illustrate the importance or significance of the questions and > the answers to each. One of the biggest and best questions from “Lost” has > been: What is the monster? One day they just may tell us and we are going to > be disappointed. > > It is like pulling back the curtain in the “Wizard of Oz” and finding there > is only an old man pulling all the levers. The story was much more exciting > when Dorothy thought there was this magnificent Wizard of Oz who was the > most powerful and magical being in the realm. And one day we will finally > find out if Sylar is a good guy or bad guy on “Heroes” and we will feel just > as unsatisfied with that answer as well. For it has been a rollercoaster of > a ride wondering what the hell Sylar would do next. Was he going to help > them or kill them in the end? > > And one day Lex Luthor will rise up and be the notorious villain of > comic-book lore. But watching the past 9 seasons of “Smallville,” I am > grateful for the chance to see how Lex and Clark may have once been friends > and how that disintegrated as Lex became more and more greedy and suspicious > of what Clark may be hiding. > > No, in sci-fi, it is the journey that is the most fascinating aspect of the > story. One cannot simply read a book’s introduction and the last two pages, > and in television, one cannot just have the opening credits and the closing > scene. Nothing would make sense. We would not have the privilege and joy of > discovering each character, their backstory and their path of self-discovery > and see the importance of how they relate to one another. Life is not just > about beginnings and endings. It is all the stuff in between that counts. > > Yet more and more, television audiences are refusing to be satisfied with > anything more than just the beginning and end. It is as if they were > corrupted by the MTV era and anything longer that seven minutes is just too > long and their inherent inability to sit still demands that they turn the > channel or move on to the next pretty, shiny toy. However, seven minutes > just is not enough to tell a story properly. > > If you look back at any great television series (whether sci-fi or not), it > was not just the first episode that was great or even the last episode. > Somewhere in between there were these moments of greatness that no one ever > saw coming. For “Heroes,” it was “Company Man.” For “Lost,” it was “Through > the Looking Glass.” For “Battlestar Galactica,” it was “33.” And for > virtually every show there is, you could name the one standout episode that > was somewhere in the middle of that show’s journey. > > But that one episode would have been nothing but for the episodes leading > up to it. Each had carefully laid the foundation of the characters and how > they related to one another that made those episodes all that much more > climatic and amazing. No, the art of storytelling is laying the foundation. > Just like a house cannot exist with just a hanging chandelier; for it must > have a solid foundation, sturdy walls, a weatherproof roof and a few > glistening windows. > > In sci-fi, a clever story has all the same elements. It has a strong > foundation (the initial premise of the show), sturdy walls (the bare bones > or turning points of the story), a weatherproof roof (an overall arcing > story of where it is going), glistening windows (an array of interesting > characters) and a whole lot of nails, boards, drywall and paint. All these > ingredients are necessary to build a home and all are just as equally > necessary to build a sci-fi television series. If you leave one out or skimp > on the quality, all you have then is a shoddy home, or no home at all if the > building inspectors deem it unfit for habitation. > > These days the viewing audience is simply too impatient to allow for proper > “homebuilding” (e.g., storytelling). We are the children of the > “Me-generation” and the “I want it right now” generation. No patience. It is > all about instant gratification. But nothing worthwhile can be achieved so > quickly or by taking shortcuts. > > Recent examples would be the new television > shows<http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/6960>“FlashForward” and “V.” It is > astounding how quickly viewers turned the > channel once they realized they were not getting any fast answers. They > wanted it right now, or they just tuned out. It is appalling. > > One of the most highly regarded books of all time is Tolstoy’s “War and > Peace.” It is 1,475 pages long. God forbid someone ever told Tolstoy that > people simply never take the time to read a book that long and he needed to > shorten it to an acceptable length – like maybe 200 pages. > > I posit that science-fiction storytelling requires the same patience. It > takes time to develop great stories and epic characters. It is only by > taking the long journey with them that we appreciate all the exquisite > attributes and their contributions along the way. It is also because we > undertook the long arduous journey together that the pay off is that more > rewarding. There is simply no greater joy than when finally reaching the end > after a momentous journey. > > So for all the impatient “I’ve got to have it now” television viewers I say > this: you are missing out on the greatest story(ies) you’ll ever know simply > because you had no patience to wait and discover where it went. > > It is like opening your Christmas > gifts<http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/6960>the day after Thanksgiving. There > is no joy in rushing things. Let the > holidays <http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/6960> unfold and wait patiently > for Christmas morning. Watching all those glittering packages sit under the > tree just builds the anticipation. And so it is with a sci-fi show, enjoy > peeling back each exquisite layer. Cherish each and every character. > Practice patience. Only then will you reap the reward having savored each > and every moment of it. > > So as we continue to hold wakes for the shows of yester year, mourning the > loss of beloved “friends” that brought joy to our lives, we sit at sci-fi’s > deathbed. For surely, shows like “Heroes,” “Fringe,” “V” and “FlashForward” > will be next on the chopping block. Viewer erosion is a surefire way to > foretell imminent cancellation. And with “Heroes” having fallen from a once > regular viewership of 13 million to 5 million, “Fringe” from 12 million to 7 > million, “V” from 14 million to 9 million and “FlashForward” from 11 million > to 6 million, it is not hard to see the writing on the wall. Say your > prayers or send you last-ditch pleas to networks, as I can hear the sound of > the death bells tolling. Sci-fi television is surely at death’s door. > > It is too soon to tell for such series, like “Stargate Universe,” > “Sanctuary,” “Smallville,” or “Supernatural.” But, like “Lost” which closes > the book on its six-year journey next May, perhaps “Smallville” (which will > be ending its ninth season) and “Supernatural” (which will be ending its > fifth season) will also bow gracefully into the night. > > That leaves shows such as “Stargate Universe,” “Sanctuary,” “Doctor Who,” > “Torchwood,” “Eureka,” and “Warehouse 13” being the last holdouts of the > sci-fi television era. We can only hope and pray that “Caprica” (the > “Battlestar Galactica” prequel) captures enough of an audience to give it > some legs. There is a sci-fi legacy that needs to be upheld. Let’s not have > 2010 be the year that sci-fi television died. > > http://www.airlockalpha.com/node/6960 > > > > > > > > > > >
