Hm, well. Instead of a writeup about 9/11 — which I still may or may not do — I wrote a letter to CNN.com’s Headline News, who have actually covered the SaveFarscape campaign this evening. Here’s my letter:
I was actually online in a chat with Gigi Edgely, who plays Chiana on Farscape, when a handful of people reported that “We were on CNN!” I missed the 8:45 Eastern report, but caught the repeat for the West Coast at 9:45 ET (5:45pm my time; I’m in Alaska).
I wanted to thank you for covering the Farscape story, and to encourage you to continue to do so. The SciFi channel cites an insufficiently large fan base and too-high costs as their main reasons for cancelling the Emmy-nominated show. It’s the second-highest rated show on SciFi (and was, I believe, the highest until SciFi bought SG1 from Showtime), and its latest aired show, “Unrealized Realities”, had a reported 1.5 Nielson rating. I’m given to understand that cable shows are considered to be doing very well if they have an average .8 Nielson rating — as Stephen [the anchor –ed] said on air, “Why are they cancelling this show?”
CNN Headline News’ coverage of the SaveFarscape campaign offers the kind of clout that a grassroots campaign often can’t achieve. Those of us who are fans of the show greatly appreciate seeing our efforts recognized, and I hope you’ll continue to cover the story, whether we win or lose.
Previous to CNN picking up this story, ‘Scapers achieved some victories already — the sets for Farscape were supposed to be destroyed starting today or Friday; then word came that the sets were to be dismantled, not destroyed — and now word is that the dismantling is on hold while negotiations regarding the show’s future take place.
Maybe it’s a crazy thing, putting so much time and effort into saving a television show, but the fans are dedicated. CNN’s coverage of the story gives our efforts just a little more oomph. For that, I’d like to thank you, and again, I encourage you to continue covering the story.
Sincerely,
Catie Murphy
On one hand, I think I’m nuts. On the other hand, I really like Farscape, and it doesn’t take a whole lot of effort to write a letter and say ‘bring this show back’.
I think I’ll pop back up to the tv at a quarter to seven and see if there’s any more on the story. CNN got 30 emails about it between 8:45 and 9:45 their time, and they were amazed by that. So, well, let’s see what else they get. *grin*
Boy does dinner smell good. Hungry!