For some, today is a day that will live in infamy, while others take an approach of quiet optimism. SCI FI has officially dropped the "i's" (and "c") and added a couple of "y's," in hopes of attracting a broader audience, one that may have previously shyed away from the network's genre programming.
We told you last week about the "House of Imagination" event taking place here in New York city at Rockefeller Center, to kick off the official rebranding, and earlier today, I made my way up to the Rock to behold the giant Viewmaster and "larger than life" lollipop with my own eyes. 
Syfy took over the area in front of the famed 30 Rock building and laid out a landscape of green grass, round white seating areas and of course, the lollipop and the Viewmaster. The much-hyped "House of Imagination" film ran on loop on numerous monitors across the pavilion, as stars from Syfy staple Eureka and brand relaunch front runner Warehouse 13 posed for photos and took questions from us press folk. All in all, the event was pretty chill and the faces of Syfy, both on-air and behind the scenes in the board rooms, were eager to talk about the new direction the network is headed in.
First up, Joe Morton, star of Eurkeka gave me his thoughts on the controversial switcheroo.
"It's like anything else, you rebrand because you want to have more opportunities for your company," said Morton. "I think they basically want to be able to move out of the genre and be Dreamworks if they want to be, be Disney if they want to be, so by saying they were SCI FI, they felt that they were sort of jailed in a genre, as opposed to being a company that can do any number of different things. So I think it's a great idea."
I asked Joe what he would tell fans who are nervous about the facelift.
"Science fiction will always remain part of what Syfy does, but as David (Howe) said before, they'll do action adventures, they'll do fantasy, they'll do animation, they'll do any number of different things in and around, but not always sci-fi. Sci-fi remains part of the deck of cards, now the deck of cards is just larger," said Joe. It's an interesting metaphor for the redirection.
The man of the hour, Syfy president, Dave Howe, was also kind enough to sit with me for a moment and field a few questions on Syfy's big day. As the voice of the people, or at least five or six of 'em, I had to ask Dave about the possibility of Syfy completely losing its genre identity in the mix.
"I wouldn't worry, we've all spent the last three or four months reassuring people that we're not dramatically changing direction here. We totally embrace the sci-fi/fantasy genre, but what we want to do is break the totality of that landscape that's just sci-fi, and do everything from space opera to fantasy to supernatural, paranormal, action, adventure and mystery, that has sci-fi elements. So we're absolutely about the genre but we want to do more," said the man in charge.
Howe also elaborated on the freedom the name change grants the network in terms of its programming.
"Actually our fans have asked us to be evangelical. They want more people coming into the tent to watch our series and share their excitement and their passion for the genre. I think what this unique brand name does [is] gives permission to a new audience to come and check us out. It gives us more permission to do Ghost Hunters, Destination Truth and Scare Tactics, shows that are very popular with an audience that then comes to watch Battlestar or Caprica or Sanctuary or Eureka. It's a great kind of galvanizing activity to put the brand up front to new audiences."
As a fan of Ron Moore's Virtuality, I asked the Syfy helmer about the suggestion, (which Craig Engler, VP of Digital Content responded to on Twitter) that Syfy pick-up the series. While Engler explained that the pilot's poor performance makes a pick-up unlikely, I was curious if Syfy would consider saving other series that might be a better fit for the network.
"We were very disappointed we weren't pitched that show. It was designed to be a broadcast show. We absolutely looked at it, Mark and I, in terms of "can we pick it up as it is?" but as it was created as a broadcast pilot, I'll be honest with you, it was too expensive for us to take on," explained Howe.
"I think because we hadn't developed it - we loved the concept - but we would have tweaked it several different ways to give it more of a series hook. I think it's difficult, and we get this all the time, to pick up other people's shows because you really do have to set the foundations when you launch the show, from the characters, the story, the overall arc. We like to think we really understand our shows a lot differently than other networks and we often look at broadcast shows and recognize things in those shows that we would not have done had we launched the show."
Now that Syfy is casting a wider net, I asked Howe if we might be seeing some straight up fantasy shows, in the tradition of Hercules and Xena.
"Yes, we obviously looked at all those shows, in terms of could we re-imagine them. Pure fantasy in terms of sword and sorcery is quite difficult for TV. There is an element of unrelatablility to it, on a weekly series, though it's terrific for mini-series events and movies. Every time we come up on a fantasy series, we find its difficult to figure out something that today's audience could latch on to and relate to on a weekly basis. But we do have some shows in development that are more fantasy than sci fi."
Of course I asked Howe to elaborate on those projects but he coyly declined. I also inquired about the Alien Nation reboot, which seems like it might be a promising return to the network's sci-fi roots.
"It's very early days. We literally just closed the deal. That's the trigger point, that's the kick off point. What happens now, having closed the deal, that's when we start to figure out what that series is and how do you take the original and re-invent and re-imagine it. So you'll start to hear about that. At this point, I've read nothing, heard nothing, haven't seen a script. It was pitched to Mark Stern and his team so the ball's in their court and they're figuring it out.
Finally, I chatted a bit with Eddie McClintock and Joanne Kelly, the stars of the first new series to launch under the Syfy banner, Warehouse 13. I asked these two crazy kids about the excitement - and pressure of being on the front lines of the brand relaunch.
"For me, it's a dream come true," said McClintock. "This is my fifth series and my tenth pilot, so I've never had a network get behind something this whole heartedly. It's amazing, so it feels fantastic. I got to work with Joanne and the writing is fantastic. The whole experience has been up to this moment, fantastic."
Joanne added, "a network with the slogan "imagine greater" - you get to work and be a kid every single day. What more could you ask for? You get to play with cool stuff, have fun and laugh your ass off on set."
I was also curious about Eddie and Joanne's prior encounters with the genre. Joanne immediately mentioned Battlestar Galactica.
"Battlestar! c'mon Battlestar was great! It was so good, it was so well done! Before that, I came from a town with two TV channels so I didn't really watch a lot of TV. I read a lot of books, I was a Tolkien fan so fantasy-fiction was really kind of more my thing."
As for Eddie - "I grew up with the original The Day the Earth Stood Still, Alien, John Carpenter's The Thing, King Kong, Godzilla, that's all kind of in my wheelhouse, definitely. So to get to do a show like this is perfect!"
On comparisons to The X-Files, Joanne explained, "our tongue's in our cheek. There's that sense of whimsy and that sense of fun. The X-Files was more serious and it was about aliens and this show is about earth bound things, it's a thrilleramity, our show runner coined that term!"
And speaking of Battlestar, I asked the Warehouse 13 stars about the BSGers set to make guest appearances on the show.
"For the record, Tricia Helfer is the loveliest person, so laid back and Michael Hogan is a powerhouse!"
And what about working with Saul Rubineck?
"He's kind of like our dad," said Joanne. "He takes care of us. he's lovely and he has so much passion and experience and still loves what he does and cares a lot. Which is great for younger actors like us, to have that on set.
"He's like my acting sensei," said Eddie. "I try to snatch the pebble from his all knowing hand." Eddie then went on to do his best Lee Donowitz impersonation. It wasn't too bad.
And finally, before bidding farewell to the Warehouse 13 stars and Syfy's "Imagination Park," Joanne happened to mention that she is Canadian, which of course forced me to ask the obligatory Rush question (I'm a huge fan, in case you didn't know). Joanne, while perhaps not as big a fan as me, did ask if I'd been by the Orbit room, which is owned by Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson. I revealed that I had, indeed, been to the Orbit Room, while attending Rush Con in Toronto. Joanne then asked if Alex was there at the time.
"No," I said sadly. "Think about it, if you were Alex Lifeson, would you be at the Orbit room on the weekend of Rush Con?" "Yea, probably not" said Joanne.
