Month: January 2008

Entertainment Weekly takes Sci-Fi to task for…well…an odd lack of decent sci-fi. The thing that they kinda leave out is that, relatively recently, there has been better stuff on there (Farscape, Lexx, though the latter admittedly ended because its creators felt they’d done all they could with it – man, if producers started thinking that sort of thing all the time these days, we’d be in trouble), and the network has been presented with the opportunity to salvage fairly high-profile fare with a following and didn’t bite (i.e. ABC’s late, lamented Invasion). (For those about to make the contention that Invasion tanked on ABC because it couldn’t hang onto the Lost audience: the numbers might not have been enough for a major over-the-air broadcast network, but would’ve been plenty good for basic cable.)

But here’s a suggestion for a solution: Sci-Fi desperately needs a geek edition of Project Greenlight. When you’ve got people like James Cawley and Rob Caves turning out Trek fan films that just about rival the real thing, and people like Reeltime Pictures, who did countless Doctor Who “spinoff” productions in the ’90s, out there…and people are already willing to watch that stuff at the standard at which it is currently produced…why not tap into that? Now, of course, it’d have to be original productions, rather than fannish takes on the Star Trek universe or what have you, but if the people who have that production capability could turn out something completely original and compelling…why not give those producers and their casts & crews the dough to make that their full-time gigs? Such a contest would be the most talked-about thing in SF circles for years, and would do an incalculable amount of good in reconnecting the network with its target audience. And Sci-Fi could embed two-or-three-person documentary crews with some of the contenders and get Yet Another Cheap-Ass Reality Show out of the deal, though one that’d have a more genuine connection with their audience than, oh, say, wrestling. C’mon, Sci-Fi. Burchuss and I are on hot freakin’ standby.

Other than that, all I can think of is…”pwned!” I’m glad it’s not just me thinking this over at my little niche website.… Read more