Sci-fi Channel Review

It is a well-known fact in my household that Friday night is sci-fi night for Mommy. Having worked hard all week at two jobs, raising a family and being an all-around law-abiding, tax-paying industrious American, by 7:00PM on Friday evening, I'm due for a trip to another galaxy for the relaxing enjoyment of watching attractive people solve problems I will never, ever have (or at least I certainly hope not). And where, might you ask, do I go for such entertainment? Why, the Sci-fi Channel, of course.

The love affair started with my discovery of "Stargate: SG1" in its second season. Richard Dean Anderson as the glib Colonel Jack O'Neill sparked my interest in a way MacGyver never could and I was hooked from that moment on. From the achingly gritty futuristic take on the post-Civil War period that was "Firefly" to the barebones survival of the remnants of humanity in "Battlestar Galactica", I learned that science fiction was not simply a lot of stuff exploding in space. OK, there's quite a bit of stuff exploding in space, but more than that, science fiction is the story of the human race: sometimes, triumphant, often heartbreaking and always about the fundamental nature of the humans involved.

The Sci-fi Channel has its drawbacks; inevitable I suppose, while trying to fill so much airtime. Who thought that putting wrestling on a science fiction station was a good idea? I am still stunned that the creators of "Who Wants to be a Superhero" actually got a meeting with a studio exec, much less got their show to the small screen and let's not discuss "Flash Gordon". I mean, no network's perfect, right? Still, even with a few minor blips on the radar, the Sci-fi Channel delivers a steady stream of thoroughly enjoyable entertainment, whether you prefer the campy horror of "Anaconda" or the epic fantasy of "Eragon".

One of my favorite aspects of the Sci-fi Channel is that it has picked up the syndication rights to some of the best re-runs science fiction has to offer. You can catch old episodes of "The Twilight Zone", "Outer Limits", "Enterprise" and a host of shows no longer in production. Overall, I consider the Sci-fi Channel to have a far higher ratio of good television than most stations do. So for those of you not normally a fan of the genre, head on over to the Sci-fi Channel some Friday night and take a trip along the space-time continuum. You won't be disappointed.