As usual, what Jessica said. Before the basic cable explosion, there was a lot of original SF programming that was syndicated. Like, y'know, Star Trek. The requirements for survival are different than on a major network.
they do have David "Just Because I Produce A Show Called Battlestar Galactica Doesn't Mean I Have To Like SciFi" Eick on their side, which I suppose counts for something.
I should have been more clear, but the people I'm thinking of did not like Galactica because it wasn't "really" SF. Thus, my head hurt.
Lost is probably a better example (because even on network, there's about an 8-point drop from American Idol to any non-American Idol show) -- anyway, Lost pulls about a 10. Eureka pulls between a 2 and 3. Both are considered wildly successful by their respective channels.
BSG isn't SciFi! It's a DRAMA! It just happens to be set in the future!
With spaceships. And robots.
Uh-huh. What's their definition of scifi?
Oh, wait, I know. It's "anything with spaceships and robots that I don't like".
but the people I'm thinking of did not like Galactica because it wasn't "really" SF
Okay, now my head hurts. There's just too much wrongness there to deal with.
Somebody was telling me the other day they couldn't watch Battlestar because it was too unrealistic, so they stuck to Firefly.
I get a little lost when the metric is audience. American Idol is not better than Lost. Lost is better than Eureka. Eureka is better than American Idol.
Okay, I am getting dizzy.
Food and rent trump cable.
There is a statement to make here about live theater (in which the Golden One works), TV, and the financial ramifications of diminishing audiences, but I am too dizzy to make it.
I get a little lost when the metric is audience.
Unfortunately, that is the metric for staying on the air.
Oh, wait, I know. It's "anything with spaceships and robots that I don't like".
No, no. It's anything with spaceships & robots that they DO like.
And really, it wasn't even that. The plot of a given episode of Galactia is not usually based on some skiffy idea. The show's premise is, but the episodes usually aren't. So it's not SF, because they aren't reversing the polarity or encountering temporal anomalies or whatever.
I'll see if I can dig up what I'm thinking of, just to make sure I'm not mischaracterizing the crazy.
There is a statement to make here about live theater, TV, and the financial ramifications of diminishing audiences
Something like that. Or... it's just the price I pay for not having a real job.