This is a common thing now a days [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheFireflyEffect] and who can blame people?Wicky_42 said:
SyFy Casts Skins Star For Battlestar Galactica Prequel
- Thread starter Elizabeth Grunewald
- Start date
Oh, I know it's common - am I meant to be blaming someone or not? I think I can, and I will; blame TV execs for not catering to my needssniddy said:
Now, Buffy was a series: 7 seasons of awesome, with some seriously fun episodes thrown into the mix. Lost, BSG, Prison Break - tehre are plenty that ran the course, but far too many promising ones are canned :/
Yeh I know too many good, promising, series canned prematurely - I mean we'll probably never see another gun smoke or the likes of that - but giving something a chance to run...
It's getting more and more and more common - and anything that....heaven forbids....actually engages the brain and isn't 'MOAR REALTY/SIT COM' seems to be constantly fighting for survival.
It's possibly partly that with channels comes diminishing returns - but some shows are still profitable when destroyed.
...wouldn't it be nice if a sci-fi channel existed that would support decent shows, and let them run....instead of looking at it's demographic and thinking you know what {that group} is supposed to like, wrestling, lets put some wrestling in there....and execs actually let a show run without meddling constant
It's getting more and more and more common - and anything that....heaven forbids....actually engages the brain and isn't 'MOAR REALTY/SIT COM' seems to be constantly fighting for survival.
It's possibly partly that with channels comes diminishing returns - but some shows are still profitable when destroyed.
...wouldn't it be nice if a sci-fi channel existed that would support decent shows, and let them run....instead of looking at it's demographic and thinking you know what {that group} is supposed to like, wrestling, lets put some wrestling in there....and execs actually let a show run without meddling constant
I'm not going to try and excuse the executive meddling at SyFy, but this all really just a symptom of what's happened to television as a whole. What with the rise of DVR and the realization that the internet is a viable alternative to TV, the industry is scrambling all over to keep people watching one way or another. As a response to fear and uncertainty, humans often take more conservative investment plans and methods of resource management, while conversely taking more rash actions when pressed. TV is in a fight or flight state of mind, where it takes far fewer chances and lashes out harder against those who they believe to oppose them. In this case, SyFy is trying to be more than just a niche network, in order to draw a large enough audience to survive.sniddy said:
That, and Smackdown is a refugee from the sinking, Fox backed, MyNetwork TV
It'll be a while before it goes too, since NBC Universal has a great relationship with Titan Sports.
I recommend using Youtube and Torrent sites to get your fix of good Science Fiction. Maybe try some stuff you may have not seen before. I know quite a few American Science Fiction watchers that haven't heard of Quatermass...
[rant]
Great another of my favourite shows cancelled! that's SGU, Caprica and i remember seeing the new V was tanking. Caprica's 2nd season hasn't even aired in the UK yet (as far as i know anyway) so now i'm not even sure there's a point in watching it.
Why do decent shows always tank when they try create a story? Is there something in the US Sci-Fi audience that can't handle a story that takes more than episode or lacks explosions. the last two stargates were pretty episodic and lasted for years, SGU tries to create a large story arc and gets canned. BSG was quite action orientated, Caprica concentrated entirely on story with hardly any action and dies. Is the entire American audience imbecilic? (sorry if that offends but the US pretty much controls all the sci-fi we get over here)
[/rant]
OT: this will tank fast, that guy has absolutely no talent or personality, adama deserves a decent actor.
Great another of my favourite shows cancelled! that's SGU, Caprica and i remember seeing the new V was tanking. Caprica's 2nd season hasn't even aired in the UK yet (as far as i know anyway) so now i'm not even sure there's a point in watching it.
Why do decent shows always tank when they try create a story? Is there something in the US Sci-Fi audience that can't handle a story that takes more than episode or lacks explosions. the last two stargates were pretty episodic and lasted for years, SGU tries to create a large story arc and gets canned. BSG was quite action orientated, Caprica concentrated entirely on story with hardly any action and dies. Is the entire American audience imbecilic? (sorry if that offends but the US pretty much controls all the sci-fi we get over here)
[/rant]
OT: this will tank fast, that guy has absolutely no talent or personality, adama deserves a decent actor.
I forgot to respond to this when I first received it.SonicWaffle said:
To be honest I think it works quite well actually as the same basic set up has been used for a lot of fiction. The "how do you beat a cosmic manipulator" thing has been done a lot of times with various results. Indeed that's the whole premise of "Neon Genesis Evangelion", and also of the second "Knights Of The Old Republic" game even if the plotline was not finished. Humanity being an underdog in a situation like that is what would make it an exciting situation. It could also be used to raise certain questions as to whether or not we're better off with or without the cycle. While NGE is anime, it's arguably the moral of the story that as soon as humanity gained it's freedom from god it blew things 30 seconds later.
That said, it appears in Battlestar Galactica, that free will is not entirely undermined as the Angels need to manipulate people into making desicins. They make it very hard not to do what they want you to, but in the end the playing pieces do always seem to have the option. That's what makes it seem like there is a chance of derailing things, especially as they seem to rely on the element of surprise so to speak (ie people not realizing what's going on). They more or less work through manipulation to make their own prophecies come true.
This of course raises the question as to whether these Angels represent a higher power, or are involved in some kind of self-goverment. If there is an actual "god" when they fail, does he step in? If he does what does humanity and it's creator have to say to each other? It's also possible that there is no being like that, and these "Angels" perpetuate this cycle to prevent humanity (and perhaps other races throughout the universe) from advancing beyond a certain point so they can remain in control. It's interesting to note that humanity didn't seem to expand much beyond a couple of solar systems, yet the technology of both humans and cylons did seem to be moving along at a pretty good clip. Getting to the point where they develop serious, and efficient inter-system travel and larger scale exploration and colonization might have been what caused the new "cycle" to start. It might also be a matter of the angels doing the manipulation not fully understanding the motivations beyond what they are doing, maybe they think they are striving for some ideal result when in reality they are hitting a sort of "reset" button periodically where the results don't matter to who or whatever is ordering it. A sort of "Reaper Like" cycle (Mass Effect referance) without the guilt of actual genocide since the species survives overall.
None of these ideas are perfect mind you, I'm hardly a professional writer, I'm just saying it can be done, it's not a hard premise to work with.