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by **LOLtron** » Mon Dec 10, 2012 3:51 pm

TV Tonight: Syfy's 20th Anniversary Special

Dozens of creators and actors share perspectives on Syfy's two decades of imaginative programming tonight (12/10) @ 9/8c.

Turn back time twenty years tonight as Syfy celebrates their expansion of the television landscape with producers and stars talking about the series and mini-series that have made the network the sci-fi staple that it is today. The network's imaginative evolution is lovingly explored covering not just its past but also its trans-media, multi-platform vision of the future.

Viewers can expect in-depth examinations of the Stargate franchise, Farscape, the Peabody and Hugo Award winning reimagined Battlestar Galactica, Eureka, and, current flagship series Warehouse 13. Sanctuary, Being Human, Lost Girl and Alphas are also touched upon along with the network's rich legacy of original reality and competition series as well as upcoming series Continuum (starring Rachel Nichols) and the amazingly ambitious Defiance. The informative anniversary special also includes fun retrospectives of Syfy's Saturday night creature features and the network's boundary-pushing role in spearheading the paranormal reality genre.

The captivating pop-cultural event features remembrances and insights from over forty behind-the-scenes creators and actors including Amanda Tapping, Michael Shanks, Claudia Black, Colin Ferguson, Katee Sackhoff, Tricia Helfer, Allison Scagliotti, Eric Balfour, Julie Benz, Anna Silk, Josh Gates, Jane Espenson, Ronald D. Moore, David Eick, and Roger Corman to name just a (very) few.

Join the two-hour celebration commemorating two decades of groundbreaking TV history tonight @ 9/8c (with an encore airing immediately afterwards at 11/10c) only on Syfy. Genre fans will not be disappointed. Imagine Greater!

Written or Contributed by Nightfly

READ THIS ARTICLE ON THE FRONT PAGE, HUMANS!

by **habitual** » Mon Dec 10, 2012 4:50 pm

I'm of two minds aboout Sci-fi.

Ten years ago I would watch much more of it during the week and even on Friday nights. They ran great marathons of shows like Buck Rogers, Earth 2, Star Trek and many others during weekdays. Friday nights had great optioned shows like Farscape, Good & Evil and The Invisible Man. When they underwent their management change like 3-4 years ago it seems they've totally gone inhouse and now just crank out crappy D-list junk. A few of their shows are decent (with the exception being Battlestar Galactica which was the best show on TV for awhile), but, overall aren't the same quality we saw when they were optioning shows from different production companies.

I feel like other than 1 or 2 nights a week I watch far less Sci-Fi than I used to.

Hab

by **Herald** » Mon Dec 10, 2012 4:58 pm

Will there be any pro-wrestlers??

by **misac** » Mon Dec 10, 2012 5:25 pm

I like their shows. None of that ghost hunting garbage though.

by **MikeinLA** » Mon Dec 10, 2012 5:49 pm

I wonder if Mystery Science Theater 3000 will get a mention.

by **Black_Orchid** » Mon Dec 10, 2012 8:07 pm

habitual wrote:I'm of two minds aboout Sci-fi.

Ten years ago I would watch much more of it during the week and even on Friday nights. They ran great marathons of shows like Buck Rogers, Earth 2, Star Trek and many others during weekdays. Friday nights had great optioned shows like Farscape, Good & Evil and The Invisible Man. When they underwent their management change like 3-4 years ago it seems they've totally gone inhouse and now just crank out crappy D-list junk. A few of their shows are decent (with the exception being Battlestar Galactica which was the best show on TV for awhile), but, overall aren't the same quality we saw when they were optioning shows from different production companies.

I feel like other than 1 or 2 nights a week I watch far less Sci-Fi than I used to.

Hab

A year or two before the name change the original owners sold it to NBC. Then they stopped showing old reruns, and started showing movies that didn't really qualify as sci-fi. The reality shows poured in, Stargate and it's many spin offs ended. Stuff with Cylons, blah, blah, three headed shark versus piranacroc.

When the hell is the Booster Gold series getting mentioned by TPTB? At least give us a pilot episode.

by **Nightfly** » Mon Dec 10, 2012 11:36 pm

MikeinLA wrote:I wonder if Mystery Science Theater 3000 will get a mention.

Yes.

by **Nightfly** » Mon Dec 10, 2012 11:38 pm

habitual wrote:I'm of two minds aboout Sci-fi.

Ten years ago I would watch much more of it during the week and even on Friday nights. They ran great marathons of shows like Buck Rogers, Earth 2, Star Trek and many others during weekdays. Friday nights had great optioned shows like Farscape, Good & Evil and The Invisible Man. When they underwent their management change like 3-4 years ago it seems they've totally gone inhouse and now just crank out crappy D-list junk. A few of their shows are decent (with the exception being Battlestar Galactica which was the best show on TV for awhile), but, overall aren't the same quality we saw when they were optioning shows from different production companies.

I feel like other than 1 or 2 nights a week I watch far less Sci-Fi than I used to.

Hab

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the (state of the) network after watching the special.
Good & Evil and The Invisible Man get nods, btw.

by **habitual** » Tue Dec 11, 2012 3:38 am

It's interesting how the this special kind of mirrors my feelings on the channel. I could've quit watching this after the first hour because everything that was interesting to me was covered. The second hour made up mostly of their reality TV which I guess Faceoff and the set designing show are are only worthwhile.

The only two shows I was really interested seeing discussed were Being Human and Haven.

Hab

by **Nightfly** » Tue Dec 11, 2012 3:50 am

habitual wrote:It's interesting how the this special kind of mirrors my feelings on the channel. I could've quit watching this after the first hour because everything that was interesting to me was covered. The second hour made up mostly of their reality TV which I guess Faceoff and the set designing show are are only worthwhile.

The only two shows I was really interested seeing discussed were Being Human and Haven.

Hab

Damn, I forgot to mention Haven in my writeup.
Do you have any interest in giving upcoming shows Continuum, Primeval: New World and/or Defiance a look? I'm pretty excited about all three.

by **habitual** » Tue Dec 11, 2012 3:52 am

Nightfly wrote:Damn, I forgot to mention Haven in my writeup.
Do you have any interest in giving upcoming shows Continuum, Primeval: New World and/or Defiance a look? I'm pretty excited about all three.

I'll check them out and let you know.

Hab

by **nietoperz** » Tue Dec 11, 2012 6:13 am

Continuum is really very good. Primeval: The New World is a huge turd.

by **IvCNuB4** » Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:50 am

From the commercials I thought this was going to be a 2-hour fluff piece but it was worth watching. A lot of the behind-the-scenes segments were interesting, especially for BSG and Farscape.

by **Nightfly** » Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:53 am

IvCNuB4 wrote:From the commercials I thought this was going to be a 2-hour fluff piece but it was worth watching. A lot of the behind-the-scenes segments were interesting, especially for BSG and Farscape.

I thought so too. I learned some stuff and was pleasantly reminded of some other info I'd forgotten.

by **habitual** » Tue Dec 11, 2012 12:36 pm

Nightfly wrote:I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the (state of the) network after watching the special.
Good & Evil and The Invisible Man get nods, btw.

After watching this there were a few things that really surprised me: the first was that mini-series like Tinman, Neverland, and Alice were considered more successful than Dune or The Lost Room. I can't imagine how they're viewed as more commercially or creatively successful than the former.

Probably the biggest question I have that wasn't addressed was syndication of old material. Why isn't Farscape being repeated on the network, why don't we ever see Andromeda or other shows that were cancelled by other networks that Sci-Fi picked up? Unless certain licensing agreements with outside production companies are dramatically more expensive with the crap I'm seeing syndicated now on weekdays I don't understand why I don't get more repeats.

Invisible Man, Andromeda, Farscape and most of the really worthwhile mini-series are almost non-existent in syndication and I find that completely mystifying. Seriously if I have to see another marathon of Scare Tactics or Ghost Hunters I'm going to start bleeding out of my eyes.

For the most part I'd say their current content is a notch below stuff we saw ten years ago. And I don't see any indication of a long term plan on their part to utilize interesting syndicated content which for the life of me I don't understand.

Hab