But more importantly, the new logo and naming seems like an exercise in stripping away elements, leaving Syfy as an empty shell and removing any sense of mystery the original name conjured.

The word “if” appearing on the screen, with a gradual spacing and addition of letters to create the old mark is one of my favorite pieces of branding.  There is nothing clever or mysterious about the new name or the new logo.

The main reason for the change, according to Bonnie Hammer, former head of the network and now president of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment and Universal Cable Productions, and her successor David Howe, is that the name “SCI FI” was too limiting.

Well sure.  ”Sci Fi” might give the impression that they air programs related to science fiction, and not just endless hours of shitty snake movies, fake wrestling, and dipshits not finding ghosts.

Take Weekly Tutorials: Learn how to hunt ghosts with lessons about the usage of EMF gauges (electromagnetic field detectors), EVPs (electronic voice phenomena recorders) and other tracking gear. 

None of this shit is real.  Don’t waste your money.  Buy food for your family instead.

View Ghost Stories: Read stories about ghostly encounters or share your own. 

Spoiler alert: all of the ghost stories will be made up.

Ask a Hunter: Ask a member of The Atlantic Paranormal Society, or TAPS, a question and get answers about ghost hunting as well as advice, tips and recommendations direct from the experts. 

Experts on what?  Justifying a fake career by posing as an expert?

Vote! Haunted or Not?: Check out alleged photos of haunted places and vote on whether they’re haunted or not. 

Not.

Get Resources: Peruse books, movies and more to help with your ghost-hunting career.

Oh hey, they sell stuff.  Now it makes sense.

I would be fine with this if it were all in good fun, but Sci Fi is the channel that replaced Stargate SG-1 with professional wrestling; they can hardly be trusted in matters of ethics and good taste.

3. Idiot-Proof All Plots

Too often, I find myself asking, “Why would a reasonable person do this?”For instance: Why would Mohinder inject himself with an untested serum when anything could go wrong? Particularly when he goes to some random dock to do it, instead of a controlled environment? The answer, of course, is to provide a convenient opportunity for random thugs to hassle him and then get taken down by his newfound Spider-man like powers. But there’s no in-story reason.

The formula for the first season was perfect.  Every episode, they:

• Introduced a new major mystery (or mystery component)
• Introduced and paid off a new minor mystery
• Paid off a major mystery (or mystery component)

The concept is that the old Ghostbusters would appear in the film in some mentor capacity. Not much else to say at this point. Everyone is confident a decent script can be written, and I guess we’ll take it from there.

I would love a third Ghostbusters movie.  Then again, I also would have loved the Star Wars prequels and a fourth Indiana Jones movie.

When a team of explorers from Earth find an Ancient unmanned ship called the Destiny and are unable to return to Earth, the crew must fend for themselves aboard the ship as it takes them to the far reaches of the universe.

If I were to describe the plot of Star Trek: Voyager, it might go something like this:

When a team of explorers from Earth are transported to the Delta Quadrant and are unable to return to Earth, the crew must fend for themselves aboard the ship as it takes them to the far reaches of the universe.

The show will go on, though, with a 2-hour movie that will air on SCI FI in 2009, and be released on DVD by MGM. The film will be written by executive producers Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie.

Off-screen, Don was beloved by the show’s cast and crew. He departed the show in 2003 due to a medical condition that restricted his workload, but returned for several guest appearances on SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis in the following years. Don worked hard to improve his health, and continued to work both on screen and off until his death.

In interviews, he always seemed like a genuinely nice guy.