The Sci-Fi Channel has renamed itself. It is now…wait for it…The Syfy Channel. So if you’re talking about it, it sounds exactly the same. But in print, I guess, it’s supposed to be friendlier? Or something? Less nerdy? More cool?
It’s always sad when nerds try to rename themselves into something less nerdy: I’m thinking especially, here, of Trekkers somehow being cooler than Trekkies. (Oddly the Firefox word recognition software recognizes “Trekkers” as being properly spelled but it thinks “Trekkies” is a misspelling, which is probably some sort of geek joke.) I just hope that syfy doesn’t catch on as the proper spelling of the genre. I could see nerds adopting it ironically and then finally just adopting “syfy” as the proper genre name. Hopefully this is just a temporary bit of bad coprorate branding.
It kinda looks like is should be pronounced “syph-y.” As in: “I wouldn’t have sex with him, he looks syph-y.”
I think it would be pronounced SAI-fee…and it looks like txtspk for Stayfree(y?) pads.
Paul
“Trekker” is a real word from before the days of Roddenberry’s future: anyone on a trek is a trekker. “Trekkie” is a neologism that most spell-checkies won’t recognize.
Bill
I read that NBCU is changing the spelling so that they can truly own the brand — they can’t own SciFi, it’s a genre, but Syfy they can own. (Because who’d want to own that dog of a “word”?)
It makes me think of syphilis — How you feeling today? A little Syfy… shouldn’t have done that hooker.
As a longtime trekkie, I refuse to use the term trekker. Also, the Firefox thing is likely the result of “trekker” being a legitimate, non Star Trek word.
This is so stupid, but it actually comes at a great time for me because the only thing I’m interested on Sci-fi is BSG, and it’s almost over. So I never have to dignify this with my viewing.
It’s supposed to be a term they can trademark, their idiotic marketing puffery notwithstanding. “Sci fi” is a generalized term with long prior history and they can’t make a trademark out of it.
It’s about money, as usual.
People actually watch that shit that is on that channel? And we wonder why people will still vote Republican..
Or maybe because trekkers is an actual word.
“SciFi” is an abbreviation for Science Fiction – easy peasy. But what the heck is “SyFy” an abbreviation for? Ridiculous. Never a big fan of the channel, even less so now.
@6 FTW — there’ll be nothing worth watching on SfFy after Friday night, anyway. It can go off the air that night, for all I care.
Syfy: We had to do something now that Battlestar Galactica is almost over.
No mention of the arguably worse tag line, “Imagine Greater?” Is that new, too? It sure is terrible.
It’s not the nerds pushing for this, Paul, it’s the marketing dept.
Sci Fi used to be heavily frowned upon in the SF community; it was seen as a word invented by mainstream media. SF was the preferred term. I think this battle was given up on a long time ago.
It’s just an awful name, but I guess it fits the mediocrity of the channel.
“Imagine Greater” makes me want to vomit. It’s like Mac’s grammer abusing “Think Different” but stupider.
Hmph. I saw this earlier. They had a full-page ad in today’s NYT. I thought it was stupid then, I still think it’s stupid. But then, it’s a stupid channel, so I suppose it fits.
From now on, I will pronounce the network’s name as “Sky fee.”
Gawd this is an awful change.
Really? Are they trying to see how much they can butcher the already butchered English language?
OMG!
Trekkers always were cooler than Trekkies.
On the other hand, Trekkies tended to be much more willing to put out … and wore some nicely revealing costumes …
Although the K-S fanfic really pushed the limits …
@6 – you mean you’re not going to watch Caprica?
Too bad they aren’t changing it to the Psyphy channel – I might get cable then.
I prefer the term “Trekist” as in “practitioner or adherent” since it denotes more of a philosophical outlook, rather than an unfortunate desire to wear a stretchy costume to a convention full of other people wearing undersized lycra/spandex garments.
And I hereby declare”Syfy” as officially becoming the “New Coke” of cable channel re-brandings.
Now taking odds on the number of days before the marketing suits relent under the wrathful onslaught of tens of thousands of nerds e-bombing their inboxes and comment threads…
Better or worse than Court TV renaming to truTV? (sic to that capitalization, natch.)
God that’s horrid. But at least it’s a derivation of from the proper prounciation of Sci-Fi.
Those cutesy idiots who, when speaking aloud, refer to the genre as “skify” should be the first up against the wall when a revolution comes.
See I just assumed it was not only to avoid the “sci-fi” stigma, but also to realign with the fact that the channel has evolved into more of a bad-movie/rasslin’/maybe-an-episode-of-bsg-or-star-trek-once-a-week-if-you’re-nice network.
Gross.
It’s been said, but a trekker is one who treks – so Data et all were the trekkers, on a star trek. Google hates trekkies!!!
And imagine greater? I imagine greater for sci-fi in general. What a joke.
Data done et all them trekkers? Stop the presses!
Before reading the post, I thought this was a new clothing brand: “Shut Your F**ing Yap”.
But, it’s obvious they are just rebranding themselves so they can expand viewership beyond the sci-fi/nerds. After all, SyFy is meaningless…
Whoops! One who treks. Der.
I can’t wait for “Mansquito II: Bigger Longer & Uncut”