I do not understand SCI-FI's reluctance

[The One Who Was]

Re: I do not understand SCI-FI\'s reluctance

"where is Jeremiah going to be shown?

"

On the pay cable station Showtime....

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"Faith Manages"

 

[gkarfan]

Re: I do not understand SCI-FI\'s reluctance

SFC has to know that B5's ratings have gone down only because we've seen the eps. so many times (even JMS has said this). It doesn't mean that we don't care about B5 anymore. I think many of us are anxious for something new, like Rangers. I know I am!

Tammy

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"We're in here! Can anyone hear us?"
"I hear you." [giggle, laugh]
"In here!"
"We are here." [giggle, laugh]
-- Londo and G'Kar in Babylon 5:"Convictions"

Tammy's Station
http://community.webtv.net/gkarfan/TammysStation

 

[gkarfan]

Re: I do not understand SCI-FI\'s reluctance

Did John Edward go into syndication already? I thought I saw him on a local channel earlier today.

Tammy



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"We're in here! Can anyone hear us?"
"I hear you." [giggle, laugh]
"In here!"
"We are here." [giggle, laugh]
-- Londo and G'Kar in Babylon 5:"Convictions"

Tammy's Station
http://community.webtv.net/gkarfan/TammysStation

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Re: I do not understand SCI-FI\'s reluctance

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>(Airship travelling through Space to many different universes)<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

"Airship"? "Universes"? Are we talking about the same series idea?

I've only just started watching Farscape from the beginning, having caught a few episodes from later seasons. It looks good, but it is not "spectacular and original" in concept. Spaceship with mismatched crew travels from planet to planet. Where have I heard that before? "Fish-out-of-water" Earthling has to adapt to strange alien worlds? Where have I seen that before? It is a well-done space SF show and anything "spectacular and original" about it lies in the execution not in the concept.

The same will be true of Rangers if it becomes a series. You can't make a judgment about any of these shows based on a bare description. (Moby Dick, after all, can be summarized as "A nut chasing a big fish") As none of us has seen more than a few seconds of footage from the Rangers pilot, none of us has any basis for making assumptions about what kind of show it will be - except to the extent that JMS and Doug Netter have a track record in B5 and Crusade and we can reasonably assume that neither their intelligence nor their talent has deserted them in the past two years.

And we most certainly can't assume that most SF fans in this country already tune to Sci-Fi. For one thing, not all U.S. homes have cable or satellite TV. Of those that do, not all have the Sci-Fi Channel available to them. Of those who have a choice, not all cable and satellite subscribers pick a package that includes SFC. And of the residual group who do get the channel, not all of them watch it. So we are a long way from "most SF fans" at this point.

I've had Sci-Fi since 1997 and hardly ever looked at it until they picked up B5. Most of the reruns they were showing were of series I had hated the first time around, and I don't watch theatrical films on television. Why put up with cuts, altered dialogue, mangled shot composition and commercial breaks when you can buy or rent the film on VHS, DVD or laserdisc (and be almost certain of getting the original theatrical aspect ratio on the latter two?)

Now with B5, Dune and Farscape (and the odd Outer Limits) they're beginning to get my attention.

Regards,

Joe

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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net

 

[giffy]

Re: I do not understand SCI-FI\'s reluctance

I think that sci-fi will defiantly pick up Rangers, but they want to make sure that he fan base gets behind it. B5 is an established show, it already has a consistant viewership that will watch it no matter how many times they run it

However if we stoped watching it they would simply stop showing it and be out very little. With a new series they have to make a large commitment ie sets, actors, and other contractual obligations. They want to make sure that the pilot does well before they risk the commitment.

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Scott Gifford

 

[bruckner]

Re: I do not understand SCI-FI\'s reluctance

Another thing that needs to be factored into the equation is other projects SCIFI has to support as well. Rangers is not the only new program coming up under the SCIFI banner. If they are like most companies these days, they have more projects than personnel to deal with them. With the premiere of the telemovie still a few months off, we will have to wait to see what SCIFI has in store for us. They have promised an enhanced website for Rangers. We'll see what happens as January approaches.

Sandy

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Sandra Bruckner
Editor/Publisher
ISN News: The Zocalo Today (www.isnnews.net)

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Re: I do not understand SCI-FI\'s reluctance

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, arial">quote:</font><HR>Another thing that needs to be factored into the equation is other projects SCIFI has to support as well. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

This is certainly the case. It is also important to remember that Sci-Fi hired a new director of programming and development in July, and that he will certainly want to have a say about which programs in development go forward.

The lack of a decision so far may be directly related to this management change, since they were undoubtedly wooing him for some time before he left NBC to join Sci-Fi. The Rangers movie is a project that was approved and filmed before his arrival, and on which he would need to be brought up to speed while also considering other SFC original programming. In effect the decision clock would have been restarted when he came aboard. And since that was less than two months ago, I'm not surprised that they're taking a wait and see position.

Regards,

Joe

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Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net