I know some people on this forum are incensed over the cancellation of the Invisible Man on the Sci-Fi channel. So I was surprised when I flipped to my local Fox affiliate this Saturday afternoorn (around 1:00 PM, I think), and I saw Vincent Vintresca! I thought perhaps it was some other movie or show, but no, he was Darien Fawkes. My next thought was that the show had been syndicated, but I was pretty sure this time slot was usually occupied by some other show, and they were showing an episode from a few weeks ago (the one where Darien's quicksilver gland is suppressed).

Now, this is certainly a strange sight. Did anyone else see this, or am I just crazy?

Like many cable shows, it is syndicated to many major markets. USAStudios produces the show for Sci-Fi, and then it's sent out to locals, so everyone can experience the greatness that is this show. Without Sci-Fi backing it, it will still disappear (pardon the pun).

das

I've noticed it before on a totally local (non affiliated, definately not what I would call major) station. But I’ve also seen the Jules Verne thing and Outer Limits (the new stuff) on the same channel during the weekend.

I just live it when SciFi uses the word “original.”

Well, to be fair, they are the ones paying for the show and executive producing it. They just quickly turn around and syndicate it to locals, since not every cable provider (or subscriber) has Sci-Fi, and it's a cheap way to make some extra money off their investment.

The networks do a similar thing, dishing first run original primetime shows out to their cable friends (24 to FX, Law & Order to A&E, Once & Again to Lifetime, Alias to ABC Family). The delay is usually less than a week. It allows them to cash in on extra ratings without bumping programming from the primetime lineup.

I think I-Man is delayed about 4 episodes. At least, the local station that shows it at 2am on Sunday morning is always 4 episodes behind what Sci-Fi is showing.

das