Greetings. For a number of its early years, I was in fairly close contact with staffers at "Sci-Fi Channel" (SFC). The online "Twilight Zone Episode Guide" that I co-authored decades ago was their official Web site guide to the show for ages, and they'd refer TZ-related queries to me (yet another of my gratis services ...) I have a pretty good collection of SFC publicity paraphernalia from those days.

But over the years SFC has become much less of a science-fiction (or even horror) channel, and increasingly a "whatever we can air that our target demographic will watch channel." Once they started running the inane professional wrestling shows, I knew they were Sci-Fi in name only.

What's more, their massive cutting of shows (like classic TZs!) to stuff in more commercials, and their very high commercial load in general, has made the channel pretty much unwatchable (for me, anyway) over the last few years (that's not to say that their programming mix hasn't been profitable for them, however).

Now comes word that Sci-Fi Channel (more recently known just as "Sci-Fi") is changing their name to -- uh -- "Syfy" this July. That's S-Y-F-Y. Get it?

My first thought on seeing this new name out of context -- "Huh? Is there really a market for an entire channel devoted to venereal diseases? The Syphilis Channel?

Oh, I see, they're trying to be hip -- cool -- diversified!

In other words, Just Another Channel.

Some sci-fi fans seem to be all worked up about this change. I say, just forget about it. SFC lost its way long ago in all respects other than as an NBC Universal profit center, and in the YouTube age is better remembered for what it was than for what it is -- or for what it's about to become.

And about the silliness of the new name -- Syfy -- what the hell. The name, like the channel itself, will be nothing that a stiff drink and a penicillin chaser won't erase from our minds with comparative ease. Alternatively, use a condom or other appropriate protection while viewing.

Your choice.

--Lauren--