Why Isn't the Sci-Fi Network Better?

There's a great blog entry over at thetvshowblog.com about the Sci-Fi Channel. The blog entry asks why the Sci-Fi Channel isn't better. Apparently, the entry struck a chord with me. I spent enough time on a comment to the entry, I figured I would post it here on my own blog:

Sci-Fi is a good network. I do love Battlestar Galactica and the Stargate franchise. But you're right, they could be a lot better. Here are some things I think they should do (or already should have done) to be better:

* They shouldn't have cancelled Farscape. I wasn't a huge fan of that show, but I did appreciate the quality of the acting and the high production values. They could have at least *honored* the show's *contract* with the planned 5th season rather than cancelling it pre-maturely and unexpectedly after a cliff-hanger.

* They could have let Stargate SG-1 last another season or two.

* They should have let Battlestar Galactica go 5 seasons instead of 4.

* They should be capitalizing on the critical success of BSG by going ahead with the Caprica spinoff.

* They've got to be the network that gets the one or two Star Wars TV series that Lucasfilms is *allegedly* planning for 2009 & 2010. If they don't get it, either they're not trying hard enough, or their parent company NBC/Universal doesn't know how to take advantage of their big-network budget and their sci-fi cousin's niche market.

* They should stop trying to pass off wrestling as sci-fi.

* They should know better than to put out crap like Flash Gordon and Painkiller Jane.

* When Sci-Fi tries a show that is flawed but has potential like The Dresden Files, they ought to try harder to tweak it than just abandon it.

* They should be showing Star Trek TNG & DS9 reruns instead of letting Spike TV have them.

* More a problem with the whole NBC/Universal family, but The 4400 should have been moved from USA to Sci-Fi rather than cancelled after a cliff-hanging season 4 finale. Same thing with NBC's excellent, under-rated, and full-of-potential Journeyman.

* Sci-Fi should be showing more reruns of things like Heroes, Chuck, Star Wars: Clone Wars, Babylon 5, Crusade, the Alien Nation series, the Alien Nation TV movies, The Prisoner, etc. (in their defense, they have given temporary runs to three great short-lived shows Firefly, John Doe, and Brimstone; as well as Alien Nation and Quantum Leap a looong time ago).

* If CBS were to stupidly cancel Moonlight, Sci-Fi would be a logical network to try to save it.

* As far as movies, they ought be showing things like Aliens, the Back to the Future trilogy, The Fifth Element, Gattaca, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Matrix, The Prestige, Serenity, the Spider-Man films, the Star Wars trilogy, the Terminator trilogy, V for Vendetta, the X-Men trilogy, and maybe even Pixar movies -- all the time, *at least* one high caliber film or trilogy per week.

* As was once briefly rumored on the internet several years ago, I'd *love* to see Sci-Fi Channel adapt Roger Zelazny's Amber Chronicles into a series, mini-series, or TV movie franchise.

A few things I thought of since posting that...

Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game book series could be among Sci-Fi Channel series, mini-series, or TV movie adaptations. An Ender's Game film project has been in the planning stages for a while, but the last I heard, it stalled over disagreements on the script a few years ago. It would be great for Sci-Fi Channel to try to intervene.

Also, the Star Trek film franchise could be among the old movies Sci-Fi Channel could be showing more often. Not that all of them are that great. A few are just mediocre, and ST-V: The Final Frontier is one of the worst films, ever, but at least II, III, IV, VI, and First Contact range from average to great.

Back when I was in college, I loved the short-lived Fox series Kindred: The Embraced, based loosely on the Vampire: The Masquerade role-playing game (I never played the game, but I was familiar with it). It lasted only eight episodes, and because of either bad ratings or the death of the show's star in a motorcycle accident (or both), the show wasn't renewed for a 2nd season. The show had a lot of potential and could probably be done on a reasonable budget. It'd be great if Sci-Fi could resurrect or reboot it.