A reply to some of the Sanctuary negative press

On one of those rare days that I have had free in recent weeks, I spent most of it in front of my computer or phone checking tweet updates from the Leo Awards. These awards hosted by Amanda Tapping & Robin Dunne were the icing on the cake for Sanctuary. It pains me then when I read negative articles about the shows cancelation such as that written by Brody Gibson for boomtron.com (http://www.boomtron.com/2012/05/no-sanctuary-season-5-for-syfy). I didn’t want to write this reply and the chances of Brody actually reading this is slim but I thought it was necessary to point out a few things. “The Canadian-made series hasn’t been the most talked about science fiction program” What exactly do you consider most talked about? And where? When Sanctuary was at its height it was the only TV show of its kind that I saw people talking about. But not by the traditional means either, people would tell one person to watch it and then tell their friends to watch it and so the show spread. By originally starting on the internet before progressing to television it didn’t exactly have the same level of press traditional shows would either. But it had the fan backing from the beginning and that is all the actors & producers/writers ever cared about. Which brings me to the second point: “lacking the fan-support of such shows as Warehouse 13 and Dr. Who” Lacking fan support? Are you kidding me? Clearly this guy doesn’t look at the world wide fan support this show has. Not only that the two examples he has listed are completely ridiculous for a number of reasons.
Sanctuary would never be able to compete with a show like Dr Who in particular because that show has had nearly 50 years to develop its fan base. Of course Dr Who went off the air for a very long time before restarting in 2005 but even so the show had entered popular culture and was already a household name. I had never seen an episode of Dr Who in full till 2005 but I already knew what it was, which was always going to give the show the kick start it needed. Warehouse 13 heavily promoted by Syfy and is a mainstream show. It has a wide appeal but so does Sanctuary, & unlike Sanctuary Warehouse 13 never was moved from its timeslot, giving it a fair chance. On a global scale this show is highly popular; to give an example from here in Australia when Amanda, Robin & Agam all came to the Armageddon expo in Melbourne in October 2011 they were some of the most popular guests at the event. The show was screened and is still screened in many countries around the world and long after the show has ended its fan base still grows. And thanks to DVD sales the word of mouth from fans will still keep this show well and truly alive.
“Sanctuary should feel great pride for having lasted four seasons when by any stretch of the imagination they shouldn’t have even gotten one”
How are you to judge? Sanctuary pushed the boundaries of what you could do in television. The amount of awards and nominations this show has received especially in the technical side proves that it was a show that more than EARNED its 4 seasons. And to add to that the awards that it won today.
“You beat the odds” When I read this I thought of a saying my mother always uses “You create your own luck and forge your own destiny” And you know what? Sanctuary certainly did that.

Thank You Sanctuary

When I decided to write this post today I had planned a totally different subject. But when I woke up to the news that the Syfy network had officially cancelled Sanctuary that all changed.
I will admit I was late to the party somewhat when it came to Sanctuary I started watching the show after both the first two seasons had been released on DVD here in Australia. At the time when I bought season one I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into, but it took all of 15mins for me to realise I had started watching a piece of  genius. I had always been a fan of science fiction style shows but Sanctuary took that to another level in the creativity it showed. It was a show that pushed the boundaries and could keep people guessing at any moment and that was one of the main reasons I loved it so much, you never knew what to expect next.
This show won’t die though; it shall live on for many years to come if nothing else for the legacy it’s created. Helen Magnus is going to go down as one of the best TV characters in history and not only that, Helen is probably one of the strongest female characters to grace TV screens in the last 5 years. It’s sad though, with so much depth and so many layers to the character we will never get to see them all. The acting on this show was incredible, Amanda Tapping stole every scene she was in, Robin Dunne took my emotions from wanting to hug him to wanting to slap him and back again. Ryan Robbins played Henry perfectly; Agam Darshi gave the show an extra dynamic it needed from season 2 onwards. Christopher Heyerdahl of course in his dual role as John/Bigfoot was outstanding and then of course there were Emilie, Jonathon, Robert, Peter & Ian who all played their part over the 4 seasons and without them the show would not have been what it was.
Of course the writing & direction made a huge impact, Damian & Martin and everyone else behind the scenes deserve all the credit for giving this show an air of quality that many shows on TV lack these days. And it makes you wonder how a quality show like this can get kicked to the curb while others live on.
I sometimes wonder what must run through the heads of the executives of Syfy considering this isn’t the first time they have killed one of their top rating shows. Eureka one of my other favourites was cancelled unjustly and even as its draws to a close it is still one of the highest rating shows on their network. I have lost all faith in television networks now; it’s going to be hard for me to get enthusiastic about any new show knowing that there is a strong chance it could get cancelled before we get an ending. Warehouse 13 is one of the last decent shows on Syfy left standing; let’s just hope it doesn’t suffer a similar fate.
But finally I say to everyone involved in Sanctuary thank you for giving me so much joy over the last four seasons. Through all the highs and lows, the smiles, tears & laughter you shall remain in my heart for everything you have done. A show gone but certainly never forgotten, you shall be sorely missed.