The End of an Era

If you're a regular reader of this blog (or my Facebook page), you'd know that we're just finishing "Sharknado" week on SyFy. I previewed the first five nights of original films on Friday, but now it's time to talk about the big kahuna.

Back in 2013, "Sharknado" debuted on SyFy in July. SyFy by then was known for its niche making sort of "B" (or more likely "C") level creature films. I didn't often watch, and I didn't watch "Sharknado" when it debuted. But I read about the film, or rather the fact it was a Twitter phenomenon, and decided to catch the re-airing the next night.

I was taken with it. It wasn't good, per se, but it was bad in the right way to make it fun. They story was crazy, but the performances were earnest and it was a lot of fun. That's what made it an event film. But, of course, part of what made it work is the people making the movie didn't realize they were making the kind of film that would drive audiences wild (and to Social Media).

But the time the sequel aired in 2014, the cast and crew were (mostly) in on the joke, and the film was designed as a platform for engagement. It got some, but not as much as the first. And some of the enjoyment was diminished. But they were profitable and summer events, something a smaller Cable network wants to latch onto. By the time we got to the end of the fifth film last summer, it was clear that the whole concept was running out of steam.

Enter this summer's edition, "The Last Sharknado: It's About Time." The title served a dual purpose, as the film was a time travel adventure ala "Back to the Future" and also it's about time to give up on the joke. And SyFy sent it out in a big way with a week's worth of films that were, mostly, poor reflections of "Sharknado" leading into the big final film.

And it was a spectacle like you'd expect. There were dinosaurs, Revolutionary War heroes, Billy the Kid, a future robot shark and, as you'd expect, a happy ending for our heroes Fin (Ian Ziering) and April (Tar Reid). The film also managed to bring back just about everyone who's played a part in the franchise, and ended right back where it began (set in 2013 in Fin's bar).

This last one, like the last few, was too over-the-top to be good. The story was too ridiculous and the spectacle was too forced. But despite that, it's the end of an era. And no matter their quality as films, these "Sharknado" movies have become a part of our culture now, and helped put SyFy into the mainstream discussion. For that reason alone, they've been a success.