Flash Gordon Episode

Syfy confirmed that the quirky show about lovable sheriff and a town filled with geniuses was going to complete its current 13-episode run and then call it quits in 2012. The official statement called it a “difficult business decision” not to renew, but promised that the series arcs will be allowed to conclude. In addition to to a holiday episode in December, Eureka will close out their run with 12 final episodes in 2012. Geek icon Wil Wheaton — who had a recurring role as a foil to fellow nerd Douglas Fargo — posted a quote from executive producer Amy Berg indicating that the creative interest in the show was overcome by the bottom line.

While most can appreciate or even laud the network’s, and its parent company NBCUniversal’s, grounded sense of accounting, the announcement just adds negativity to the new rebranding of the channel as a place where good shows go to get frakked.

The parentage of the channel in the early 1990s include both horror and science fiction. Initially, Paramount and Universal used Sci-Fi as a conduit for classic series, like Night Gallery . These genres remain the roots of Syfy programming despite a decade of corporate baton passing that handed the channel to NBC Universal in 2004. Executives have resisted this tradition almost from the beginning, and that is why professional wrestling and reality programming are fixtures in the regular schedule.