As the television market fragments due to the appearance of more and more specialized cable channels, the diversity of product offerings, ranging from independently-produced science fiction series to anime films from Japan, provides pop culture retailers with opportunities to serve groups of collectors that are largely ignored by the mass market.  Take the Sci-Fi Channel for example, which was the subject of a recent New York Times article that noted the cable channel had managed to go beyond endless reruns of science fiction TV series by airing a group of new shows that appeal to the 'Buffy' generation.  Chief among those new offerings is Farscape, an Australian-produced series that is the Science Fiction Channel's ratings leader.  With the series now three years old, there are enough episodes so the Sci-Fi Channel can rerun old episodes Monday through Thursday nights, while premiering a new episode on Friday night.  With over a million viewers tuning in for each new episode, retailers have a number of licensed Farscape products available to offer fans.  Rittenhouse Archives has already produced several Farscape trading card offerings, while Toy Vault has produced two series of Farscape action figures.  Older episodes of the series are now available on DVD and VHS, while trade paperback 'companions' offer analysis and recaps of each season's offerings (see 'Top Ten Cool').

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