[continued from previous message]   
      
   > in thre movie theater.   
      
   We're talking television, not movies.  Of course people are gonna expect   
   more eye candy when they're paying $12 for it.   
      
   >>   It's the characters and the plotlines that end up getting the ongoing   
   >> discussion treatment, because (IMO) that's what matters most to most SF   
   >> fans.   
   >   
   > Then the people watching 'sci-fi' at the theater are not sci-fi fans...which   
   > goes back to the idea that sci-fi has a limited fanbase and no matter how   
   > good the shows are there isn't enough sci-fi viewership to support multiple   
   > channels.   
      
   *Every* genre has a limited fan base, but the initial numbers for shows   
   like LOST and FLASHFORWARD and THE EVENT tells us that the limit for the   
   SF genre is still a very impressive one if a show is done well.  CAPRICA   
   only draws 700,000 because it's crap, not because it's cutting-edge and   
   quality SF that's written for an audience base that maxes out at 701,000.   
      
   >> A second and current example is the many WALKING DEAD threads here in the   
   >> past few weeks.  In them, I think that there have been a handful of   
   >> references to the makeup effects and the like. Everything else has been   
   >> about the story lines, the characters, their motivations, their choices,   
   >> etc.   
   >   
   > ...or mostly the discussion has been about how stupid the characters are,   
   > how illogical the plotline is, and how campy the entire comic book result is   
   > on screen.   
      
   All of which are considerations that are equally immune to the expense   
   of special effects eye candy, and all of which speak to problems related   
   to a lack of quality in the writing versus problems related to cheap   
   effects or a lack of interest from the potential audience base.  Bottom   
   line: quality and inexpensive television SF is possible, and there is an   
   audience out there for it.   
      
   --   
   Jim Gysin   
   Waukesha, WI   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)