Space Oddity
Science fiction has faltered on network TV. So why is Sci Fi Channel flourishing?
by John Leonard
Reviewing the success of SciFi Channel’s Friday night’s original programming line-up, Leonard ponders why Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, and Battlestar Galactica are sci-fi hits.
After singing praises for Battlestar Galactica, Leonard states, “It’s merely surprising that Stargate SG-1—which improved on the big-screen original by substituting Richard Dean Anderson’s sense of humor for Kurt Russell’s conceptual difficulty with the whole idea of a smile—would not only survive Anderson’s defection from the series, but attract enough loyal viewers to make the Atlantis spinoff possible.”
Leonard continues to analyze why SciFi’s Friday line-up is so successful, saying, “Much as we may appreciate what Mary McDonnell does on Galactica, or Michael Shanks and Amanda Tapping do on Stargate, characters we care about can’t be the only explanation…” He concludes, “It puts us back in touch with our inner alien teen—a lost soul with call waiting.”
To read the full article, visit New York Magazine’s TV Review page.
[Thanks to tsaxlady, sueb45, and MSOL for the tip — DeeKayP]