After reading the SciFiChannel’s intention to “expand the definition of SF” (so that their channel will appeal to viewers other than “geeky young guys” [or even geeky old guys]) and after writing my previous entry about the death of traditional science fiction through the offices of mass market appeal courtesy of media conglomerates, I decided to take a look at what a REAL science fiction channel might look like.
Of course you’d have to start with product that was already in the can and cheap, which means a return to anything and everything that ran on the tube from the early 50s on (believe it or not, science fiction was one of the original genres embraced by early television broadcasters).
Of course, this isn’t a scientific study. I have no access to market research that would help determine what kind of audience share such a channel might enjoy, nor do I know how much any of the owners of these properties that still remain in copyright might ask for airing them again. I’m by no means a professional broadcast programmer. Heck, I don’t even know if some of these shows are even available for airing any more.
But I do know one thing. THIS is the channel I’d watch on a regular basis – even if it was only on for background noise. Sure, some of the shows are definitely hokey and I’d probably flip over to Discovery or History when they aired (even despite the fact that this would be my own channel) – but from the small bit of research I’ve done on the net, every single one of them has a fan base that would love to be able to see them on the boob tube again, so who am I to judge?
I mean, if every single one of these shows has generated a handful of fairly-well trafficked nostalgia websites (and some have hundreds), and if many of them have annual conventions devoted to their fans, and some of them even have Ebay categories devoted to them – how the heck can you go wrong tapping into that?
Maybe I ought to call it the Science Fiction Nostalgia Channel…
Imagine a click- through to the channel’s website from – every single lost in space fan page; every single irwin allen fan page; every single quantum leap fan page; every single firefly fan page…
Will the audience be 18 to 49 year olds? Hell no. It will be 35 to 70 year olds. Most of whom have homes, multiple cars, many own their own businesses, the majority of this audience has a college degree. Maybe the Intelligent Science Fiction Channel would be the proper name? Or maybe the “I’m A Parent With Minor Children and I Tell Them What To Watch Science Fiction Channel” would be most appropriate.
The Other Science Fiction Channel? The REAL Science Fiction Channel? I think I’ll stick with Classic Science Fiction Channel for now. And notice, please, that I’ve completely foregone the use of the skiffy abbreviation. SciFi is something you type when text messaging, or something you hang on a cable channel that features Professional Wrestling in its line up.
Tomorrow I will post my current show schedule. Below are the names of all of the shows I considered. What I’ll be posting is just the roll-out schedule. Please, if there are shows that you think belong that I’ve missed, let me know. In the meantime, please pass the word. I’ll be doing the same on the forums I visit.
Shows considered for the inaugural season of THE CLASSIC SCIENCE FICTION CHANNEL (in no particular order):
Futurama
Jetsons
Thunderbirds
Fireball xl5
Super car
Lost in space
My favorite martian
Voyage to the bottom of the sea
Time tunnel
Land of the giants
Firefly
Dr. who
One step beyond
Outer limits os
Outer limits ns
Night gallery
Twilight zone
3rd rock from the sun
alf 30 102
amazing stories
blake 7
captain scarlet
hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy
land of the lost
rocky jones, space ranger
War of the worlds
Quark
Farscape
Red dwarf
Star trek tos
Star trek ng
Star trek ds9
Star trek voyager
Star trek enterprise
Star trek tas
Tripping the rift
The invaders
Johnny quest
Tales from the darkside
The prisoner
Stargate sg 1
Stargate atlantis
Dark angel
Babylon 5
Tripping the rift
Quantum leap
men into space
Buck rogers in the 25th century
The 6 million dollar man
The bionic woman
Flash Gordon serials
Flash Gordon
space above and beyond
Sliders
the starlost
x-files
Science fiction theatre
The greatest american hero
Space 1999
Battlestar galactica
Alien nation
Andromeda
V
Logan’s run
astro boy
max headroom
Earth: final conflict
UFO
Starblazers
Exo squad
Akira
The Crotchety Old Fan 