Flamegrape
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[url=http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/variety/20020910/tv_variety/farscape_1]http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/variety/20020910/tv_variety/farscape_1[/url]
[url=http://www2.bostonherald.com/entertainment/television/fars09102002.htm]http://www2.bostonherald.com/entertainment/television/fars09102002.htm[/url]
[url=http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue281/screen.html]http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue281/screen.html[/url]
JMS speaks!
quote:
From [url=http://www.jmsnews.com/]http://www.jmsnews.com/[/url]
I don’t think the Farscape situation much impacts my stuff with SFC one way or
another. I suspect there were a number of factors, including the cost of the
show (which was the highest on the network, from what I’ve heard, but that’s
second-hand and may not be accurate) combined with the fact that SFC (via their
parent company USA Networks) didn’t own the show.Lemme splain….
If a network owns the show they air, they can reap long-term profits from
syndication of the program. More and more, USA Network (and other cable
outlets) is under pressure to own what they produce, otherwise they’re paying
huge sums of money to produce shows that they air a few times, then the money
goes to the studio that did the actual production. The higher the cost, the
iffier the proposition.So that may have been an issue here. They needed Farscape to help build their
audience, but now that this seems to be coming together for them, the logical
(for a network) thing would be to start paring away what they don’t own, and
which is costly, to replace it with their own stuff.One of the things you can never allow yourself to forget is that TV is a
business designed around making a profit, and determining who owns what
long-term revenue streams.Doesn’t affect Polaris one way or another, since if that goes, it would be
under the aegis of the network.jms
This is curious…
[url=http://www.em-ag.de/dasat/index.php3?cid=100142&conid=100944]http://www.em-ag.de/dasat/index.php3?cid=100142&conid=100944[/url]It quotes the statement from the creator of [i]Farscape[/i] and [b]not[/b] the SciFi Channel’s press release. Curious indeed.
Then they need to rename it the Universal/Vivendi Channel.
The SciFi Channel used to be cool. Now I refuse to watch it.
Those pics are so cool, Midori! But where’s Stan? And 790? LOL.
[img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]quote:
Originally posted by thefrey:
But…. should Kai be standing around looking like soemthing out of the west side story? [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
Wait ’till you see him when I put him in [i]Jedi Knight II[/i]!
quote:
Originally posted by Trini_T:
BLASPHEMY! Not “terribly” impressed with The Matrix? How about…mildly? Did you like Fight Club? (just curious….) [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] T_T
Oh don’t get me wrong. It was just that the entire concept of the movie was absolutely nothing new to me. It’s a really, really cool movie. But I was very suprised when it became so popular.
[i]Fight Club[/i] kicked ass. I bet there were so many jocko-homos who went to see that movie expecting something like [i]Bloodsport[/i]. Hahahahaha! Then they get to sit down and be told what a lie corporate america really is! ROFL!
I don’t get it either, dgrequeen! I’m not the biggest fan of the show, but I enjoy it nonetheless. I’m completely perplexed why they would do this. It stinks to high heaven.
(BTW, read some of the quotes I’ve been posting in the [i]Farscape[/i] forum…)
It makes me not want to get involved with any new sci-fi show because I know it will never get the high ratings like, say, [i]The X-Files[/i]. And because all the channels ever think about is money from advertising, they never, ever will give a damn about dedicated fandom.
I had some hope for the future of sci-fi fandom when the SciFi Channel went on the air. But, of course, it’s really just like any other channel that has a theme.
The movie [i]The Matrix[/i] did not terribly impress me. To me, it was just a cyberpunk movie. But I realised the the major appeal was the protaganist’s struggle against the system. Are people starting to wake up and realize that our consumerist corporate culture is lie?
[img]images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img][ 10-09-2002: Message edited by: Flamegrape ]
More stuff to ponder:
quote:
Variety have a report on Farscape’s cancellation.
[url=http://www.variety.com/index.asp?la…egoryid=14&cs=1]http://www.variety.com/index.asp?la…egoryid=14&cs=1[/url]Since most people probably don’t have an account, I’ll repeat it here in full:
quote:
——————————————————————————–Sci Fi nixes ‘Farscape’ skein
Channel cites declining viewership, heavy costsBy JOHN DEMPSEY
The Sci Fi Channel has cancelled Jim Henson TV’s “Farscape,” which had begun slipping in the ratings in its fourth season after racking up consistently solid ratings from March 1999 through the end of 2001.
Sci Fi cited declining viewership and “the extreme and growing cost of production” for its decision to kill “Farscape.”But Juliet Blake, president of Jim Henson TV, U.S., said “Farscape,” shot in Australia, cost only about $1.5 million an episode, which is at least $500,000 an hour less than the production cost of the UPN primetime sci-fi series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Enterprise.”
And the cost to Sci Fi, which pays about half of the production cost in license fees, went up, Blake continued, mainly because it ordered more runs of each “Farscape” episode.
Sci Fi still has a number of unaired hours of the series, which it will play off at 10 p.m. Friday from January to March 2003. The show had originally run earlier in the evening, and Blake said the 10-p.m. slot cost “Farscape” some of its younger viewers.
A summer Nielsen report conceived by Turner Research showed that “Farscape” had fallen to only a 1.2 rating in cable homes, or 958,000 households, from May 27 to Aug. 18. By contrast, “Stargate: SG-1,” the Friday-at-8 original series on Sci Fi, averaged a 1.7 rating for the same period, or 1.32-million homes.
The Henson Co. is working on the script of a “Farscape” theatrical movie, and one of the series creators, Rockne O’Bannon, is writing an anime version.
Henson produced 88 episodes of “Farscape” for Sci Fi before getting the pinkslip.
HDS is one of the nicest fans in fandom that I have ever met. He and his wife, Tree, are the greatest! Like theFrey said, he’s probably busy.
Seeing the same questions posted over and over again does not bother me in the slightest. For example, I don’t know how many times I’ve answered the question, “I live in the USA. Where can I get the season one DVDs.” It’s a pleasure for me to answer.
(I cut and pasted this from another bboard again [img]images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
quote:
[i]Originally posted by DangerWillRobinson [/i]
[b]*** FROM BG2 & A SCI-FI MOLEHey it’s me again. I tried to tell everyone on the scifi chat room what’s up but too many which is ok. I spoke with my mole at Scifi in NYC and here are a couple of things that are going on:
(1) Scifi is totally to blame. They know that going into season five would be expensive and they wanted to pay less for the show, they went to EMTV and is strapped for cash they said no and SCIFI opted to get out. Scifi knew this well ahead of everyone, they employed a win-win situation, by this I mean their programming strategy. By constantly airing the show and ratings didn’t go up they could claim that its core audience did not grow and vice versa. By changing time slots, the network hoped to increase ratings for SG1, a show that costs less to produce, they were implementing a preemptive strike blaming poor ratings but what happened was the opposite SG1 fans watched Farscape INCREASING its core base making the press release a lie. Numbers don’t lie. Scifi did not plan to announce the cancellation of the show until mid or near the end of the season.
(2) The network execs told everyone not to say anything about this, DK,BB, & &RM all jumped the gun to try to let everyone know what was happening ASAP so that fan momentum would start.
(3) They are reading all emails, letters, faxes, and telegrams sent to the office but are throwing ones out that are vulgar and nasty. They are getting flowers, crackers and Farscape toys. My mole also told me that they don’t mind calls as long as it’s professional and polite. They will hang up on you if you start yelling and cussing. Everyone has a good chance to reach an exec or at least their assistant and they are more than happy to help you with any info. My source also suggested that all correspondence contain your full name not chat or BB name as well as some demographic info like your age, household income. If some fans are still in HS then use the parent’s income, my source believes that Scifi is going to try to convince advertisers to pay for more advertising if it can show them the demographics thus willing to pay for a fifth season. This is very important, also to write to all of the sponsors and threaten to stop buying or using product. Mention in the letter that you bought their product after seeing a commercial aired during Farscape and if possible send the UNUSED product back to them. Don’t forget a sponsor may make a variety of products that all of us can be using so look hard.
(4) start to email etc. to your local papers first. If they run a story a larger media outlet will most likely pick it up i.e. AP and call your local cable company and threaten them by telling them that you may switch to direct TV or satellite.
(5) Because of the leak Scifi knew what was coming so it was expected but not to this degree. They thought that only the BBs would be the only place to vent and did not expect such a huge backlash. However the suits think that this will fade by Wednesday so everyone has to keep the heat up at least a week or two or they won’t take us seriously. My source said that you can mail, fax or email everyday and to reference the previous letter that was sent. (6) Right now no one is talking to no one, network suits, Henson people, DK etc. there is a lot of anger and shock and betrayal as to what happened so there is an informal cooling off period.
This comes from my mole at scifi and I can assure you is fact. [/b]
TV GUIDE weighs in:
[i]September 09, 2002
Moya no more? I couldn’t be more disappointed to hear that Sci Fi has opted not to support a fifth season of its signature series, Farscape. Since its unexpected and unheralded arrival in March 1999, this lavishly produced (for basic cable) space adventure quickly established itself as the most irreverent, unpredictable, sexy, intelligent and exciting sci fi show on TV. By comparison, Enterprise is a lumbering dinosaur. Ben Browder and Claudia Black have incredible chemistry, and are surrounded by some of the most vivid and compelling fantasy creatures ever created. Farscape is a joy to watch, and I’ve always been puzzled about why its rabidly loyal audience hasn’t swelled in numbers each season. The show requires attention to be paid — maybe it’s too much TV for some people — but the rewards are great. (Meanwhile, an inert movie like the latest blah Star Wars epic rakes in the bucks for no discernible reason I can think of, except for genre fans’ lemming-like devotion.) For Sci Fi to cite economic reasons for denying fans a final year of Farscape would seem to be at odds with the network’s mission as an entertainment brand. This decision is likely to be compared years from now to NBC’s short-sighted cancellation of the original Star Trek after a mere three seasons.
[/i]Squishy, it’s cool by me that you never liked [i]Farscape[/i]. Don’t think me or anyone else will flame you for it. I’m a much bigger fan of [i]Lexx[/i]. But I also really enjoy [i]Farscape[/i]. For me, it was to be my treatment for [i]Lexx[/i]-withdrawl.
But elmey brought up a point. This is a very bad sign. This cannot be emphasized enough. This is [b]really[/b] bad.
I’m not asking you to like the show at all, Squishy, my friend. In fact, keep on hating those damn muppets; that’s cool. But step back for a second and think about what’s going on here. They promoted [i]Farscape[/i] to sickening extremes. They managed to generated a huge and devoted, fanatical following. And I would tend to agree with most people that [i]Lexx[/i] would have fared better if it received a tenth of the advertising that [i]Farscape[/i] received. Then, out of the blue, [b]KABOOM![/b] the SciFi Channel drops a huge bombshell on these fans. This literally came out of nowhere. Like the guy from TV GUIDE said, this will be compared to the “short-sited” cancellation of the original [i]Star Trek[/i]. The SciFi Channel mercilessly shot every single last [i]Farscape[/i] fan through the heart. At least we [i]Lexx[/i] fans knew what was coming.
Nevermind that [i]Farscape[/i] had fake-looking puppets and main characters that argued at each other all the time. The point is that the SciFi Channel truely does not give one flying sh!t about [b]any[/b] science-fiction fan.
I wonder if [b]Dan Edwards[/b], the guy from the SciFi Channel who asked Tony to start this thread, will actually read this thread. Or I wonder if he ever did. Well, I have something to say to him now. I am not going to watch the SciFi Channel at all anymore. I will time-set my VCR to record [i]MST3K[/i] every Saturday at 9 a.m. and that’s it. When [i]Farscape[/i] returns in January, I will turn on the SciFi Channel at 10 p.m., channel-surf during commercials, and then turn it off at 10:59 p.m. And then after season four completes, I’m going to block the SciFi Channel off using “parental control” features on my television. I have had it with this channel that is a hideous affront to science-fiction fandom.
[ 10-09-2002: Message edited by: Flamegrape ]
[img]http://www.flamegrape.com/pic/xev_render_09sep02.jpg[/img]
I finally managed to jump a major technical hurdle. I was finally able to successfully translate my Xev model to the format needed for import into [i]Jedi Knight II[/i]. [b]However[/b], as you can plainly see, I still have a long way to go. A bunch of things went wrong. Her legs and skirt are white, her right hand is suspended and mangled in mid-air, wrong textures on the arms, and her hair is moving around like a bad wig that’s not properly set! LOL!But beleive it or not, I’m very happy with the progress so far. From all of the stuff I’ve read on message boards, it turns out that many, many other artists are having trouble creating models for [i]JK2[/i]. And although it looks like I’ll have to back up and re-do major steps, I know what I did wrong before. But even though she looks screwed up right now, it was really neat seeing Xev animated with the special model viewer. She is going to look really cool! I can’t wait.
Today in the mail, I received my copy of [i]The Promise[/i] along with the free autographed picture. Just so everyone knows, the small autographed picture that you receive with the book is different from the autographed photo you can buy seperately.
No problem!
Me and some of my friends are going to a local famous pizza place. They give away free t-shirts to people on their birthdays.
quote:
Originally posted by thefrey:
Flame, where are you seeing a poster at?
[url=http://www.xeniaseeberg.net/Order/order.mv]http://www.xeniaseeberg.net/Order/order.mv[/url]
Be still me beating heart!
😛From the IMDB:
quote[quote]The most recognized short films that Nick directed during his Film Academy stay was a dark comedy titled Hilda Humphrey (1997). “Hilda Humphrey” went on to win three international film festivals and been showcased at festivals world-wide.[/quote]
Aww, c’mon! You haven’t even seen the movie yet! How do you know it’s total crap? Have you heard of the director? Apparently, it’s some sort of indie film.
I’m buying a copy and I’ll provide a review.
…and the autographed photo.
…as well as the poster.
…both of which I will frame.
…of course.
So the result of our input was the cancellation of [i]Farscape[/i]?
[img]images/smiles/icon_mad.gif[/img]quote:
Originally posted by Headgehog:
Yea who would watch a spaceship show with an inept captain, a sarcastic robot (who wants to kill the captain), and a sexy woman (who more or less controls the captain); a show which pretty much is just a satire of classic scifi movies/shows?
Actually, I wasn’t talking about how similar it was to [i]Lexx[/i]. I was talking about extremely blatant sci-fi references such as the clown in the Darth Vader costume using the lightsaber. What I’m wondering is if this show is merely going to be a grocery list of blatant popular science-fiction references?
It’s just insane! Why would SciFi Channel do this? It’s one of their most popular, critically acclaimed shows! I still haven’t heard any explaination. It doesn’t add up. It doesn’t make any sense!
The SciFi Channel is completely insane. I just do not understand the logic of any of this. If they don’t think a high-budget show like [i]Farscape[/i] is any good, then what do they consider good? No matter what any of you pragmaticists might say, I can’t beleive that ratings have anything to do with anything. I mean, wasn’t [i]Farscape[/i] one of the highest-rated show on the SciFi Channel? If they are unhappy with the ratings for one of their best shows, why don’t they just shut down the network altogether. I mean, my freakin’ GOD! I don’t think it’ll get any better for them. I think there is going to be extreme backlash from fans as a result of this.
That was the reaction I was afraid of with a subject of a thread like this. I don’t think any offence is intended, Midori. For what it’s worth, lately I’ve been freqeunting the Lexx.Com board more often than the SadBoard/Lexx forums. I consider it to be more active over there.
quote:
Originally posted by Trini_T:
I’m in New Orleans alot in the spring…[i]always[/i] there for the Jazz Festival…is there anything that happens sci-fi wise around then? [img]images/smiles/icon_cool.gif[/img] T_T
Good question!
I’ve been out of the fandom scene for a long time. I can’t say that I’ve ever been into very deep. But DragonCon got me hooked all over again. At DragonCon’02, I discovered that what makes convention-going so fun is getting together with friends and getting into the spirit of things by getting into costume!
I think it must be emphasized that ChattaCon is a [b]party[/b] convention. There’s a dealer’s room, to be sure. But there are only a few guests. The emphasis is having a good time. Unlike DragonCon, for instance, there is a consuite that serves “libations” almost 24 hours a day. There’s a costume contest. And there appears to be a contest for “best room party.” The Read House Hotel is a very nice, old-fashioned hotel. I had a really good time the last time I went about ten years ago.
I have a couple of things to add….
When I originally intended to go to DragonCon 2002, my sole purpose was to see Mike Nelson and Kevin Murphy of TV’s [i]Mystery Science Theater 3000[/i]. Lucky for me, it turned into a fun [i]Lexx[/i] gathering for me and my fellow online fans. During most of the weekend, I spent most of my time hanging out with them and I had a blast. It wasn’t until the Masquerade did I remember that Mike and Kevin were the original reason for my attendance. And there they were up on stage, being the masters of ceremonies for the Masquerade. We could observe the events onstage from backstage via closed-circuit television. Unfortunately, we could not hear anything that was being said! Next to me was a fellow contestant. She asked, “Who are those guys?” I explained that they were the guys from [i]MST3K[/i]. “Oh my Gawd! They’re going to make fun of our costumes!” I reassured her that they are actually very nice guys and I was right about that. I would have loved to have heard what they said about our little “act.” All I heard was the tail end of an amusing comment about “clusterlizards.”
Also, there’s something that needs to be emphasized about the Masquerade. This event is the climax of the entire DragonCon experience. There was a fire marshal on hand as well as police. This event is so huge that it was simply impossible to let everyone into the auditorium. After a certain point, they could not permit any more people in there. Then subsequently, they closed off the floor where the Masquerade was being held because of the massive number of people. After the show was over, we had to “run the Gauntlet.” Each group of contestestants followed a one hundred meter cordened-off walk the started from the backstage entrance all the was up to the end of the escalators into the lobby. It was lined with hundreds upon hundreds of people lined up at least five-deep and all of them were flashing pictures. Periodically along the walk, X’s were marked with masking tape to indicate where each group should stop and pose for cameras. We felt like movie stars. And that last little bit of fun convinced us that we needed to do this again next year.
(For everyone’s information, it may be possible to obtain a videotaped copy of the Masquerade. I sent the folks at DragonCon a simple email asking about this. And the reply was that they were trying to work on this. So have patience. I might be able to provide an online videoclip of our Masquerade performance!)
Have you read Sad’s episode reviews? He’s covered all those episodes you missed.
One of the reasons I really liked the fourth season was Xev really got to shine. Today over at the Lexx.Com bboard, someone pointed out an [i]SFX Magazine[/i] interview with Xenia Seeberg. I liked what she had to say:
quote[quote]Seeberg loved working on Lexx’s fourth year. “I think I had all the chances I wanted to with Xev this year,” she explains. “As soon as we saw Earth at the end of the third season, we knew that the new season would take place here. I liked that, because you can point out circumstances here on Earth even more dramatically and make fun of them. If something takes place in a totally different time, it’s much harder to connect that with anything that concerns our everyday life. I think it was the right decision to bring Lexx to Earth – we knew that we were not keeping the series in outer space forever.”[/quote]
I really enjoyed the all-out sillyness of season four. And I appreciated the metaphysical explaination of why there are so many awful people on planet Earth. And I especially enjoyed the criticisms of the American way of life. [i]Prime Ridge[/i] is a prime example!
If you’re mystified with Kai’s motivation, wait until you see [i]4.09 Fluffdaddy[/i]!
quote:
Originally posted by elmey:
Think anyone wants to do the Schlemmi outfit in Luvliner? [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]elmey
Only if I get to carry around 790 with his eyes swirling in horror!
[img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]quote:
Originally posted by CBrate:
…programme directors of Australia continue to deny me season 3 of Farscape…
I just don’t understand that. The show is made in Australia, right? And the show is phenomenaly popular. At least it is in the USA. At this convention I went to last weekend, there were no less than a dozen or so [i]Farscape[/i] fans in costume! They looked great!
Yet they think [i]Mutant X[/i] is a worthy show? And it’s taken them [b]seven years[/b] to catch up on [i]Deep Space 9[/i]? That’s outrageous! Why aren’t you sci-fi fans in Australia starting riots?
I think for next year it would be really cool if I made a whole bunch of Divine Order cleric robes. It seems to me that it would be a very simple costume. I could make a dozen and have them available for people who want to wear a costume and get into the Masquerade. What do you guys think of that?
quote:
Originally posted by HisDivineShadow:
Clerics of the Divine Order are very do able. They are based almost on ren garb. The DivineOrder simbles I know I can make.
I think having Clerics running around would be too cool!
That’s right! Those robes are something that you would see at a Ren fest. If you have some patterns on hand, hang on to them. I’ll be looking around in the next few months. There is a local community playhouse where I might be able to get some sort of help. Then there is always my sister-in-law, the actress.
About the Divine Order symbol pins. What about that guy we met at DragonCon? He was interested in the idea of making them. Didn’t he say he was going to show up on the bboards? Or did I miss something?
quote:
Originally posted by Trini_T:
Why should only battalions of storm troopers get to walk the streets? [img]images/smiles/icon_cool.gif[/img] T_T
Oh my Gawd! There had to be at least twenty Star Wars stormtroopers this year! And you can bet there will be even more in future years. I wanted to go up to a few of them and say, “Aren’t you a little short for a stormtrooper?” LOL.
I think this is certainly possible because many of the costumes on [i]Lexx[/i] were so simple. I have two ideas:
Clerics of the Divine Order. You can see them in the first episode, [i]I Worship His Shadow[/i] and I think in [i]Gigashadow[/i] too. They are really simple costumes. Just purple robes with hoods. I believe there is a white gown inner lining. And the face is covered with some sort of fishnet material. The only tricky pary might be the Divine Order symbol pins.
Another idea, though not as cool, maybe, would be the white costumes of the inhabitants of Gametown. Doesn’t sound appealing? Eh, I don’t know. Just a thought.
