Top Newsmakers Include Trekkie, Hobbit

That sounds like a recipe for SyFy Portal's Top Newsmakers of 2006, so let's see what it yields.

5. Heroes
The television networks scrambled to try and bring highly-serialized and very smart television shows to the airwaves, but they obviously missed the boat with the success of shows geared more toward science-fiction fans like NBC's "Heroes."

It's hard to believe that the premise is really nothing more than "The X-Men" meets "The 4400," but creator Tim Kring reminded Hollywood that it's not necessarily the concept and the complexity that draws in viewers, it's the characters.

"We have the only real hit of the fall, and it's growing," NBC Entertainment president Kevin Reilly told the New York Times last October about "Heroes." Just like "The X-Files" and "Lost" before it, every time the ensemble cast seems to answer one question or solve one adventure, 10 more open up. That means the show will be far more complex than simply saving a cheerleader, or finding out who is on the list and who isn't.

The show isn't immune from controversy, however. Most recently, "Heroes," NBC and the management team of actor Thomas Dekker, who plays Zach on the show, were criticized for suddenly converting his character from gay to straight. While the controversy likely will have little effect on the growing audience, it does show that even the most minor characters are watched very closely when it comes to this type of fandom.

4. SciFi Channel
In the past, if I were to name the SciFi Channel in the top newsmakers list, it would be for bad reasons, not good. But believe it or not, 2006 was a great year for the channel, even if it has to say good-bye to one of its early shows, "Stargate: SG-1."

Bonnie Hammer and her management team took a bold step by putting its premier show, "Battlestar Galactica," up against the fall lineup of network television, and while it did see some ratings erosion moving into its third season, the show has held its own. Its move to Sundays next month will only help to bolster some of those growths in key demographics, and it's highly expected that BSG will be renewed for a fourth season.

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