Back in 2004, the SciFi Channel was the cusp of becoming a genre powerhouse, with Stargate SG-1 well into its run and gaining mainstream press, while the Battlestar Galactica miniseries was receiving accolades from critics and viewers alike. Ten years later, SciFi is now SyFy and a shrivelled husk of what it once was. An emphasis on mostly non-scifi/fantasy related reality TV, promoting WWE material to its flagship position, running terrible Asylum movies, several poorly written original series, and poor judgment by executives have blown the legs off the network. If it weren't for almost every other network degenerating in some way, we'd be lamenting that SyFy is the worst network in America (don't ask me it's too depressing to ponder). So it's surprising to see positive reviews for Helix, SyFy's new show that revolves around a killer black goo virus found in the Arctic. While only limited media outlets received screeners, the general impression is that SyFy has learned from its mistakes in trying to emulate parts of Battlestar Galactica without understanding why they worked. Helix is not a soap opera with a sci-fi backdrop like Caprica and Stargate Universe, filled with mostly unlikable and incompetent individuals. It's more of a medical mystery with a scifi twist along the lines of The Andromeda Strain. And that's a good thing scifi is a pretty big genre and the more variety we have, the better. While there's every possibility that Helix might crash and burn like many of SyFy's recent shows, it's a step forward on to the path to respectability.
Living in Florida, enjoying the weather when its good, writing for a living. TV, Film, Animation, and Games are my life blood. Follow me on Twitter @xbsaint. Just try not to get too mad when I live tweet during Toonami.
