Skiffy has lost their fucking mind
On the surface, I should probably post this on the SoSF site. But I feel like using bad words and delivering a healthy dose of honesty which may offend some over there. But not here. Summer sent me a press release. Here’s the snip:
New York, NY - May 25, 2006 - SCI FI Channel today announced that World Wrestling Entertainment®… will debut a summer series on Tuesday, June 13, at 10 p.m. ET/PT. ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling®) will be an alternative brand of wrestling suited to fit the SCI FI Channel’s commitment to fuel the imagination.
What. The. FUCK??? Wrestling? On a channel that is supposed to be dedicated to science fiction? I fail to see how this stretches the imagination. Oh, wait… there’s more.
“Research tells us that there’s a healthy appetite for wrestling among SCI FI viewers,” said Bonnie Hammer, President, USA and SCI FI Channel. “With ECW, we’re able to deliver to those fans unique action with a twist that’s perfect for SCI FI.”
Now listen, Bonnie. By now, you should have a good understanding of what we want out of your network. It was cool watching Toby Maguire do the wrestling thing in Spiderman. And when Kirk fought the Gorn. And I’m a huge fan of the 6 minute fight sequence in They Live. But honestly, unless these guys come out of their corners with frickin’ laser beams on their heads, our opinion of you and your executives will shift away from the BSG/Dr Who good vibes and back to the “what the hell were you thinking” memories of Farscape.
The press release also mentions folks who the media could contact for more information. I wonder if they’d mind hearing from a few thousand fans?
- Sallie Schoneboom, SCI FI Channel, 212-664-3467
- Bill Brennan, SCI FI Channel, 212-664-4898
Not that I’m suggesting you should do that. But if the mood takes you… 
May 25th, 2006 at 2:19 pm
“Research tells us that there’s a healthy appetite for wrestling among SCI FI viewers,�
WHAT?????????
Oh yes Evo I will be calling, don’t you worry
May 25th, 2006 at 2:21 pm
Mother. Fuck. This.
Oh its on now Skiffy…
May 25th, 2006 at 2:31 pm
Bonnie is out of her Firetrucking mind!
May 25th, 2006 at 2:33 pm
WWF? I think I can honestly say, I’d rather watch “Mansketo.” I’m to the point now, I rarely watch live television anymore. I program the DVR, and I watch the stuff I’m interested in. Looks like I have more of a reason to continue doing so.
May 25th, 2006 at 2:36 pm
Double You Tea Ef?!?!?!
Not only should they be coming out with “frickin laser beams”, they should do it in zero grav with little thruster suits like they had in Armageddon.
Bear! Are you paying attention? What would happen if I kicked you in the balls and you didn’t know how to operate this spacesuit?”
I’d float away?
You’d float away.
May 25th, 2006 at 2:37 pm
Course if I had a choice between ECW and SS Doomtrooper…
No, no, they will be stopped.
Hey Sallie, hey Bill, I weep for you…
May 25th, 2006 at 3:57 pm
If the test market suggests that Scifi fans are also fans of wrestling, then following that logic, what’s next?
Most female scifi fans are also watching Martha Stewrt Living, so Scifi will be bringing that show on for the new morning line up?
You can make that kind of argument for any programing out there. This is fucking bullshit!! (And I was so proud of Scifi lately.)
I recant everything I said about forgiving Skiffy for airing CSI Miami just one time. (The woman must be stopped!)
May 25th, 2006 at 4:28 pm
Unless the wrestling matches feature notable SF authors (Kevin J. Anderson vs. Michael Stackpole? Arthur C. Clarke vs. Ursula K. LeGuin?) - this move is pure evil….
Is a boycott of all things Skiffy and USA Networks doable? Or is resistance futile? Should I just rip open my t-shirt and accept the results of their market research….?
May 25th, 2006 at 4:51 pm
Sciffy’s research was based on Jack’s Duel of the Fates 2…
It all his fault. lol
May 25th, 2006 at 6:37 pm
Think we should set up a block of time where we all call them during that hour or so and complain.
May 25th, 2006 at 7:00 pm
If you’re going to start playing stupid (again), Skiffy, here’s another great stretch of the imagination for you: I’m willing to bet more Sci-Fi geeks prefer porn even more than they do wrestling. I bet THAT’ll bring in the ratings!
May 25th, 2006 at 9:22 pm
What the fooking hell! They need to just go ahead and merge with fox so I can cut my cable and watch nothing but dvd movies.
May 25th, 2006 at 11:56 pm
Martha Stewart vs.Chyna. That’s what I’m talking about. I don’t have time for pain. Where’s Mr. T when you need him?
May 26th, 2006 at 1:45 am
Wait, SciFi aired CSI:Miami once, too? Wow, I missed that one.
And unless it was the episode featuring Ben Browder, I don’t get it… it’s not even from a related network.
Wait, you meant Law & Order: SVU, didn’t you, Michael? Damn that mennengasia…
Now, I see this working out ONE way: the wrestlers are in costume and M:I style facemasks and makeup, giving us live action Celebrity Deathmatch scenarios.
Think of the possibilities, people… Freddy vs Jason for real. Chewbacca vs Bigfoot. Kirk vs Picard… you know you wanted to see that one.
I’m tryin, but seriously, I got nothin.
May 26th, 2006 at 2:21 am
I love Sci_fi, however, I do not like wrestling (like many other peeps).Who in the hell ran THAT survery? worse yet, who were the 2 people who said they would love to see wrestling ON THE SCI FI CHANNEL?!? >:(
May 26th, 2006 at 5:00 am
LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, BROTHER, I THINK THIS IS A FANTASTIC MOVE FOR SCI-FI, EVEN THOUGH I DON’T KNOW WHAT SCI-FI STANDS FOR! AND YEAH, BONNIE HAMMER’S ONE SMAERT LADY FOR DOING THIS! SHE’S MIGHTY PRETTY TO! AND YES, THERE IS A CONNECTION BETWEEN SCI-FI AND WRESTLING. YOU GOT ROWDY RODDY PIPER IN THEY LIVE! HULK HOGAN IN SUBURBAN COMMANDO! JESSE VENTURA IN PREDATOR AND RUNNING MAN! TRIPLE H IN BLADE TRINITY! WE’RE EVERYWHERE IN SCI-FI, AND THIS SATURDAY AT THE HIPPODROME COLLUSEUM WE’RE ALL GONNA BE THERE, GIVING YOU ALL A BIT OF RUMBLE IN THE CHAIN LINK JUNGLE. THAT’S RIGHT, BROTHER, THE CAGE MATCH OF ALL TIME WITH THE HULKSTER, THE BODY, TRIPLE H, DARTH VADER, JAYNE, D’ARGO, SCORPIUS, AGENT SMITH, AND THOSE CREEPY GUYS WITH THE BLUE HANDS! THEY’RE AAAAALLLLL GONNA BE THERE…..WITH  ONLY  ONE  WALKING  OUT  WITH THE TITLE!
May 26th, 2006 at 5:02 am
Sorry, everyone…I flashed back to Skiffy’s FARSCAPE fiasco and then blacked out. What happened while I was out?
May 26th, 2006 at 6:04 am
i called both numbers and left very mean, yet tasteful (no swearing…. yet…) messages on their answering machines. I did not leave a call back number.
i will call again tomorrow.
Hey y’know, this calling thing does make a dent, how do you the The Horror Channel got up and running (sorta)?
May 26th, 2006 at 6:12 am
Hey, I like wrestling! Especially ECW. This isn’t Hulk Hogan fighting Andre the Giant (who, BTW, was in Princess Bride)…this is bodies flying off balconies going through flaming tables and 2×4s wrapped in barbed wire. Besides, it’s fun! Does it belong on Sci-Fi? Probably not. But I’m happy enough getting ECW back. Now let’s just hope Vince McMahon doesn’t fuck it up too much…
May 26th, 2006 at 6:57 am
Tee I am worried about you, you flipped out there…. are you okay?
Yes I also called yesterday and left messages. I also did not swear, I thought I would make a better impression that way.
May 26th, 2006 at 7:06 am
Darryl, all that walking around and getting hit by cars has damaged your brain my friend. The problem here is not that there are fans of wrestling, the problem is that Skiffy is once again diluting the scifi on its channel.
For the same reason that Law & Order and Scare Tactics had no place on the channel. (Yes Summer, you’re right I was thinking of CSI, again.)
By letting them spend money to put this kind of crap on the channel, the budget is depleted enough that it’s quite possible something really cool may not get made. Skiffy only has so much money to work with, and if this show meant that they could not afford to make Caprica…..
Think of the bigger picture. One bad show could really hurt all the good they have been doing lately. It’s our jobs as fans to make sure our voices are heard.
We don’t want, “ALL STAR SCIFI WRESTLEING!!”
May 26th, 2006 at 7:37 am
Summer, you’re right. I got nothin either.
My faith is draining away on the Sci-Fi channel Too bad they can’t merge Cartoon Network with Sci-Fi, that’s a combo I’d like. =) AND curse them for canceling Justice League! Where the Justice in that!?!
May 26th, 2006 at 7:42 am
Well, Skiffy should realize that most adults have a healthy appetite for sex/porn, so my question is… If they are going to put wrestling on Skiffy, where’s my porn?!?!???
Skiffy: The one stop shop for ally our eclectic tastes.
May 26th, 2006 at 8:16 am
Wow. Tee Morris channeling old school Hulk Hogan.
Now that’s scary first thing in the morning!
May 26th, 2006 at 8:24 am
I honestly think that their thinking was that wrassling is popular, and it draws viewers out of the woodwork like crazy. They want more viewers, and thus sell more advertising and be able to afford to buy better stuff.
The flaw in this thinking is their assumption that scifi people like wrassling. Yes, there are wrassling fans who liks scifi, but not the kind of scifi series we’re currently getting. Most wrassling fans (and I’m talking the ones who actually pay to go to the events, the poor souls who think it’s real) are bigger fans of Joe Bob Briggs cutting on B movies (now, why can’t someone put him back on TV?) than they are of the rich fare we get on Friday nights.
Maybe they think wrassling as a lead in to SciFi Saturday movies will carry over the audience. I’m not so sure.
But yeah, if having ECW means we get shorted a season of BSG, or Caprica doesn’t make it to the airwaves, or we lose Doctor Who… frack that.
May 26th, 2006 at 8:29 am
Summer…
That explains the torn tank top around my ankles, huh?
May 26th, 2006 at 8:37 am
Just when you thought it was safe to program SFC into your favorites…
May 26th, 2006 at 8:41 am
Ummm. That’s a scary visual.
Skiffy should stick to their core programming. While I understand the thought process behind adding wrastling, I still think it is wrong. IMO, that choice is just as likely to drive away viewers as to bring in new ones. And it does nothing to improve the quality of the channel.
Skiffy has done well with SciFi Fridays. Focusing on quality shows like BSG will bring in more viewers, not wrastling.
May 26th, 2006 at 11:02 am
Talk about a WTF were they thinking moment! This kinda crap has damn near killed G4/Tech TV (such a shambles of what it used to be)
May 26th, 2006 at 6:19 pm
Now Michael has made 2 comments. Michael and Evo-which one is Michael again? Tee Morris-Spherical Tomi?
May 27th, 2006 at 2:53 am
Well I hope everyone is calling those bastards then!!!!
May 29th, 2006 at 10:11 am
Tee’s looking a bit green this morning…
He hasn’t been around too many gamma radiation tests, has he?
May 31st, 2006 at 6:02 pm
All I have to say is HUH!!! Wrestling, why the freak would I want to tune into skiffy to watch wrestling, I want good, hard core sci-fi that isn’t cancelled as soon as it gets good! This would make me happy!!