My esteemed colleague Will Edmondson is not the only commentator who thinks that the Sci Fi Network's efforts to rebrand itself as "SyFy" is a bad idea: one of the network's original founders isn't a fan either. Mitch Rubenstein, who sold the venture to USA Networks nearly 20 years ago, speculates that sci fi luminary Isaac Asimov would call the move "just plain dumb" -- and Rubenstein knew the man, so he's probably right. I didn't know Asimov, but I feel pretty confident that if he heard current Sci Fi president Dave Howe's contention that he would spell it "SyFy" while texting, he would not find such an argument terribly persuasive.
All I can add to this whole mishegoss is that I'm relieved that the show's cultiest hit series, "Battlestar Galactica," got to have a dignified and elegant sendoff with the real network name, and never had to suffer the shame and embarrassment of this "SyFy" business. Check out their final readthrough, above, and imagine how much they'd be rolling their eyes and gagging if they were doing it in the service of something that was trying to pass itself off as "SyFy."
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