Tracking the campaign against recasting

[Jan]

Oh, yea. That I knew. But wasn't there a letter writing campaign anyway? At least for those of us who didn't know back then that it was dead before the first episode aired?

Oh, absolutely there was a massive letter writing campaign, but none of those letters went to sponsors, I'm pretty sure, due to the circumstances. That's why I figured it had to be Rangers which did air, just didn't get picked up.

Jan

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

And, I never saw or heard anything about that letter writing campaign except to know that it wasn't effective.

It "wasn't effective" insofar as the series wasn't picked up, but that doesn't mean it wasn't effective in getting the sponsors to let Sci-Fi know that Rangers was a broadcast that they were hearing from fans about. The Rangers decision came down to ratings (OK, but not great) and ownership (Sci-Fi wouldn't own even a piece of the resulting series.) Change either of those variables (give the film better ratings OR give SFC a piece of the action) and the series would probably have been a "go". And any input from the advertisers would have still been exactly what it probably was - one more thing on the "do the show" side of the scale. In a really close call the advertisers could have been enough to tip the scales. So don't assume that because the result isn't what we want that we had no effect.

The only times these efforts can have an impact is when something is really on the bubble. When there are equally good reasons for either of two decisions and a deadline is approaching, something relatively small can decide the issue. If a network has to cancel one of two shows that have essentially identical ratings and demographics, then the one that gets the most fan letters or the most positive comments from advertisers will be the one they keep. (Or the one with the star who is sleeping with a network exec. Whereas if that star's show had crappy ratings, the decision would be a slam dunk and the show would be cancelled. This isn't personal, its strictly business.)

BTW, I got lots of positive feedback from a number of advertisers during both the Crusade and Rangers letter campaigns. (And yes, Jan, we did target the advertisers when Crusade ran on TNT. For one thing it was still believed at that point that the network might change its mind if the ratings were really good. The full story of their duplicity had not yet come out. We also hoped that getting some good buzz going with the advertisers might help in case Sci-Fi tried to pick the show up. Anyway, I got lots of coupons from the Campbell Soup people and a few others, a nice pen from Volkswagen, and a few other items, along with what seemed to be personal, rather than form replies - letters that mentioned the show titles, or specific points I'd made in my own letters.)

Regards,

Joe

 

[Jan]

(And yes, Jan, we did target the advertisers when Crusade ran on TNT.

Ah, I didn't realize that, sorry.

Jan

 

[hypatia]

So, if we haven't heard anything in about a week or so, should we all send another round of letters out?

One thing I love about having computers and also being a relatively fast typist, it literally is a matter of minutes for me to modify my saved letter, address an envelope, and mail it out.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

Ah, I didn't realize that, sorry

Hey, no autopsy, no foul. It isn't like it was that Earth-shattering an even that everyone should remember it. I think the only reason I still remember it going on 6 years later is that nothing could ever erase the painful memory of going through "War Zone" on video tape repeatedly to make sure I could identify all the advertisers so I could look up their addresses on the internet. Then going through it again to try to figure out which were national spots, which regional and which just stuck in by the local cable operator so they could be properly flagged in the list on Tim and Heather's site.

"The horror..."

Joe

 

[StarStuff]

Yes, Joe I remember your list and writing all those letters on the computer. Was it really 6 years ago? I would have guessed maybe 3.

 

[Jan]

I think the only reason I still remember it going on 6 years later is that nothing could ever erase the painful memory of going through "War Zone" on video tape repeatedly to make sure I could identify all the advertisers so I could look up their addresses on the internet.

Greater love hath no fan... And to think there're some who actually doubt our motives. Sigh.

Jan

 

[hypatia]

Ah, I didn't realize that, sorry

Hey, no autopsy, no foul. It isn't like it was that Earth-shattering an even that everyone should remember it. I think the only reason I still remember it going on 6 years later is that nothing could ever erase the painful memory of going through "War Zone" on video tape repeatedly to make sure I could identify all the advertisers so I could look up their addresses on the internet. Then going through it again to try to figure out which were national spots, which regional and which just stuck in by the local cable operator so they could be properly flagged in the list on Tim and Heather's site.

"The horror..."

Joe

And you know, JoeD, I don't think I ever thanked you for yoru efforts. That was really amazing, what you did for the Crusade letter campaign. Truly above and beyond the call of duty, and it was very sweet of you.

I had Campbells for months, and even gave away many coupons I wasn't interested in. And I got coupons from companies other than Campbells, as well. It was really interesting.

I forget what all coupons I got, but I remember thinking "what a payoff for a few little letters".

 

[KoshN]

Ah, I didn't realize that, sorry

I think the only reason I still remember it going on 6 years later is that nothing could ever erase the painful memory of going through "War Zone" on video tape repeatedly to make sure I could identify all the advertisers so I could look up their addresses on the internet. Then going through it again to try to figure out which were national spots, which regional and which just stuck in by the local cable operator so they could be properly flagged in the list on Tim and Heather's site.

"The horror..."

Joe

Oh, it wasn't THAT bad. I've seen "War Zone" probably 20+ times, and enjoy 80% of it, especially the Eilerson moments. Take out the fight scene, whistle and look away whenever Senator McQuate/Tim Thomerson is on screen (Not Mr. Ames, he's good.), and hit stop before the unrelenting exposition in the Gideon/Galen scene at the end (The connect the dots for the TNT viewer scene.), and I'd rate it as a "C."

 

[StarStuff]

Rangers wasn't as great as we had hoped it would be but it had potential. Compared to most of what's shown on the Sci Fi Channel these days, Rangers was brilliant!

 

[hypatia]

Aww, so no one liked "Snakehead County"?

I like how KoshN gets to his "C" rating. Cut this... and that... look away when this person appears... fast forward through this scene... hit the restroom during that scene... mow the lawn for about half an hour...

and it's a "C" episode.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

I like how KoshN gets to his "C" rating. Cut this... and that... look away when this person appears... fast forward through this scene... hit the restroom during that scene... mow the lawn for about half an hour...

Turn off the DVD audio, fire up a doobie, and put "The Last Waltz" on the CD player and you're up to a solid "B".

Regards,

Joe

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

And you know, JoeD, I don't think I ever thanked you for yoru efforts

Well, I didn't bring that up to say, "Look at the good thing I did", but I certainly appreciate the kind words and thanks. But modesty (a vice I rarely exhibit) forces me to acknowledge that I wasn't the only one who collected and submitted sponsors and addresses. Lots of people helped in gathering all that information. I think I was the frst to copy and paste them all into an Excel file for use in a mail-merge document, but that was for my own convenience. Then I gave the file (and a delimited ASCII version) to Monica Hubinette and Tim for them to post on their sites.

Later,

Joe

 

[StarForBram]

Turn off the DVD audio, fire up a doobie, and put "The Last Waltz" on the CD player and you're up to a solid "B".

Regards,

Joe

NOW you're talkin! The B5 universe is always best enjoyed with a good buzz going on.

 

[hypatia]

Well, thanks for the effort, Joe. I don't think we ever knew it was you who collected all of that info. It was very handy. Just too bad it wasn't enough to swing a sweries. But business is business. I can see how if the Sci Fi channel really didn't see much profit in it for them, they just said no.

Bummer timing with that big game.

 

[Za_Ha_Dum]

The following people in South America have contributed to the recast campaign:

IN BRAZIL

3 people from Rio de Janeiro
1 from Campinas (Sao Paulo State)
1 from Manaus (Amazonas State)
1 from Vitoria (Espirito Santo State)
1 from Vitoria da Conquista (Bahia State)

Total: 7 (seven)

IN CHILE

1 from Santiago

Total: 1

The guy from Campinas and I sent twice.

Regards,

CADU

 

[darth_librarian]

Thats really great!!

 

[Za_Ha_Dum]

Thanks darth_librarian, however I believe it is really inexpressive the number of people. I will keep updated about the figures, since I am trying to convince more people to send letters. I believe that letters coming from countries far from WB headquarter such as Brazil or Chile call their attention.

Regards,

CADU
Zahadum

 

[Za_Ha_Dum]

DATA UPDATED

The following people in South America have contributed to the recast campaign:

IN BRAZIL

7 people from Rio de Janeiro
1 from Campinas (Sao Paulo State)
1 from Manaus (Amazonas State)
1 from Vitoria (Espirito Santo State)
1 from Vitoria da Conquista (Bahia State)

Total: 10 (ten)

IN CHILE

1 from Santiago

Total: 1

The guy from Campinas sent twice. I sent three times.

Regards,

CADU