SyFy 101: Are We Having Fun Yet?

Still, I enjoyed watching it every week. The acting was marginal if not downright bad at times. The setting and costumes were garish. The plots were predictable. The villains somehow managed to be portrayed in an over-the-top fashion, yet still seem dull. It was void of any lofty ideals or hidden political agendas. And that is precisely why I watched it.

It makes me wonder, when did we get to be so serious? Growing up, I watched reruns of "Lost in Space." This show started off as a serious drama, but quickly devolved into a mindless exercise. Who can forget the robot getting drunk and putting an ice pack on his bubble? Even worse was the episode in which Dr. Smith turned into a vegetable monster and repeatedly yelled, "I need moisture"? It was terrible quality, but fun nonetheless.

When I was a child, "Star Wars" hit the theaters and brought fun to the genre. A number of imitators followed, but none could match the mastery of George Lucas’ classic franchise. Somehow, Lucas turned a girl with a Cinnabon hairstyle into a sex symbol — a feat possible only if people are willing to accept some levity in their lives.

The Star Wars prequels are so dark compared to the original trilogy. While I like the new trilogy, it simply doesn’t hold the same place in my heart as the originals. It simply isn’t as fun.

Many of Star Wars' imitators were so bad in their execution that they have found their own cult followings. The absolutely abysmal series "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century," the original "Battlestar Galactica," and the campy classic 1980 movie version of "Flash Gordon" proved that science-fiction could still lack quality, but somehow be fun. Fans revel in the badness of these films and series; they enjoy life on DVD more than 20 years after their original runs.

This is not to say that a film has to be of poor quality to be fun. "Ghostbusters" treated audiences to a villain that was a giant, smiling marshmallow man. To this day, in the realm of paranormal fun, "Ghostbusters" still stands alone. Sure, "House II" and "Casper" tried, but failed for different reasons. "The Frighteners" did incorporate some comedy, but only alongside a dark, serial murder storyline.

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