I picked this up from Ellen Datlow’s livejournal:
I love the irony:
In some universe, the name “Syfy” is less geeky than the name “Sci Fi.” Dave Howe, president of the Sci Fi Channel, is betting it’s this one.
“What we love about this is we hopefully get the best of both worlds,” Mr. Howe said. “We’ll get the heritage and the track record of success, and we’ll build off of that to build a broader, more open and accessible and relatable and human-friendly brand.”
I love the phrase “human-friendly” as Mr. Howe uses it. Because, you know, the Sci-fi channel cares about humans. As opposed to colecanths. Maybe Mr. Howe knows something we don’t. If he’s projecting his channel into the receptive, tender maws of some hidden extraterrestrial hive mind, I’d suggest that changing the content of his channel might be more effective than changing the name. I mean– you can call it Pampers, or Luv’s, or Kirtland’s Kushy and Klean Knappies; but the name don’t change what’s in the diaper…
More…preciousness:
“The name Sci Fi has been associated with geeks and dysfunctional, antisocial boys in their basements with video games and stuff like that, as opposed to the general public and the female audience in particular,” said TV historian Tim Brooks, who helped launch Sci Fi Channel when he worked at USA Network.
Mr. Brooks said that when people who say they don’t like science fiction enjoy a film like “Star Wars,” they don’t think it’s science fiction; they think it’s a good movie.
“We spent a lot of time in the ’90s trying to distance the network from science fiction, which is largely why it’s called Sci Fi,” Mr. Brooks said. “It’s somewhat cooler and better than the name ‘Science Fiction.’ But even the name Sci Fi is limiting.”
Dude. Your network is responsible for Mansquito.
Syfy? It sounds like a teenage girl’s attempt at being all mystical. “I’m Tam’y, wytch of the wood! Scoff at my magyck at your peryl!”