Tragically, The SciFi Channel Is Now SyFy

Ick. From the New York Times:

Plans call for Sci Fi and its companion Web site (scifi.com)
to morph into the oddly spelled Syfy — pronounced the same as “Sci Fi”
— on July 7. The new name will be accompanied by the slogan “Imagine
Greater,” which replaces a logo featuring a stylized version of Saturn.

A
channel called Syfy will, presumably, not be confused with SyFi Global,
an information technology company; S.Y.F.I., the Summer Youth Forestry
Institute; or Syfo seltzer, sold by Universal Beverages.

Good to know. I often confuse cable channels with carbonated beverages.

One big advantage of the name change, the executives say, is that Sci
Fi is vague — so generic, in fact, that it could not be trademarked.
Syfy, with its unusual spelling, can be, which is also why diapers are
called Luvs, an online video Web site is called Joost and a toothpaste
is called Gleem.

Well, I guess I understand why they did it, but man… that’s still a terrible anme. Surely there are several other sci-fi-related nouns that they could have picked with more personality. For instance, anything with “robot” in it sounds cool (from one who knows).

Ms. Hammer and her successor as Sci Fi president, Dave Howe, said
they had sat through many meetings over the years at which a name
change was debated.

The principal reason the idea kept coming up, Mr. Howe said, was a belief “the Sci Fi name is limiting.”

“If
you ask people their default perceptions of Sci Fi, they list space,
aliens and the future,” he added. “That didn’t capture the full
landscape of fantasy entertainment: the paranormal, the supernatural,
action and adventure, superheroes.”

That became more important as
Sci Fi expanded its program offerings into those realms, Mr. Howe said,
with series like “Destination Truth” and “Ghost Hunters.”

Also, “SyFy” better represents the channel’s original movies, like Raptor Island and Spring Break Shark Attack, in that they all make little sense, and very little money was spent coming up with both the films and and the channel name.