Help your fellow fans Galactica fans!

[peter noble]

fletch2 over at CA is asking for all BSG fans to support the Farscape mini-series coming up for broadcast this Sunday on Sci-Fi.

I'm in England, so I can't watch, but I would if I could, and here's why.

Throughout our long struggle for a continuation of the original BSG, many different famdoms have supported us, the Scapers being right up there with the best of them. It seems only right that we should do our bit for them in return.

So please watch it, I hear it's really good!

Best,

Peter Noble (CFF co-founder)

[jewels]

Will do. Looking very much forward to it.

[Dawg]

I plan on watching it.

I am
Dawg

[Captain Bran]

Me too! I love Farscape. I have a secret crush on Claudia Black

[CommanderTaggart]

I despise Skiffy, and I never really watched Farscape when it was on, but... by golly... they succeeded in doing exactly what we are trying to do... so, by golly, I will watch, and keep working towards the eventual return of Battlestar Galactica!

[amberstar]

Will do

[thomas7g]

But its on THAT channel!



I actually was planning on watching it. We are really lacking for good scifi.

[Gemini1999]

I've never really kept up with Farscape, but I have watched some of it now and then. You don't have to prompt me to watch the FS miniseries! I'm gonna watch!

Best,
Bryan

[Mustex]

Originally Posted by peter noble

fletch2 over at CA is asking for all BSG fans to support the Farscape mini-series coming up for broadcast this Sunday on Sci-Fi.

I'm in England, so I can't watch, but I would if I could, and here's why.

Throughout our long struggle for a continuation of the original BSG, many different famdoms have supported us, the Scapers being right up there with the best of them. It seems only right that we should do our bit for them in return.

So please watch it, I hear it's really good!

Best,

Peter Noble (CFF co-founder)

I don't need to "help" anyone as an excuse to watch it. Even mainstream critics admit it's good, EW gave it a B+, and you might note only one other show listed this week even got THAT hight (they reserve A- and above for things like the "Star Wars" DVDs, their main problem was that Criton jabbers about saving his baby too much).

Of course you have to admit we need them more than they need us. Galactica fans have been begging for a continuation for 25 years now, and we STILL don't have it. Farscape was canceled, the fans essentially said "BRING IT BACK OR WE WILL DRAG YOUR NETWORK DOWN IN FLAMES!" and were quickly able to force Scifi to bring it back with a gun to their heads. It's safe to say they out number us. Of course that's to be expected. TOS had higher ratings, but Scifi aims for the kind of niche audience whose dieing breaths will be "LONG LIVE (insert franchise here)!" While many of the 65 million people who tuned in for the TOS pilot would come to a movie, how many of them would be willing to get involved in letter writing campaigns. "Farscape" had far less "casual viewers" and more "die-hard fanatics".

That's another advantage TNS has, while it's fans may be fewer and number, more of them are die-hard (I am not claiming any of you are NOT die-hard, simply that the die-hard to casual viewer ratio on ABC leans far more towards the latter than on sci-fi).

[Sci-Fi]

Originally Posted by Mustex

Farscape was canceled, the fans essentially said "BRING IT BACK OR WE WILL DRAG YOUR NETWORK DOWN IN FLAMES!" and were quickly able to force Scifi to bring it back with a gun to their heads.

I would disagree with that statement. Sure there were many angry fans that wanted to do just that, especially when we knew season 5 was supposed to be the last and production was starting when it was cancelled. Boycott was NOT encouraged and was explained why those tactics would be counterproductive. I would suggest reading the forum over there and see for yourself. Here's one topic on the subject:
http://www.watchfarscape.com/forums/...ead.php?t=8326

And a quote from one post:

Why Savefarscape.com does not endorse a boycott


We get emails/questions frequently from people who want us to propose a boycott. Usually the question is asked politely or the statement is made reasonably, but more frequently than I'd like, the emails are rude or downright abusive. I'm with the campaign to save the show and I don't want to have anything to do with fans like that, I can only imagine what a network thinks.
I just want to take a moment to clarify and let everybody know the reasons why savefarscape.com doesn't support a boycott.

We have, from day one, tried very hard to conduct ourselves in a positive, professional manner. The result of that is that we are being treated with respect and we are being listened to. They (networks, tptb, media) know who we are and they're not afraid to talk to us or about us. If we begin to act out angrily, with threats and venomous letters and calls, that ruins all that we've worked so hard for. Those people won't want to have anything to do with us. Why would they?

Our campaign is a positive campaign because we want a positive outcome. We want somebody to pick up Farscape. To achieve a positive outcome we must use positive actions. Positive actions include thanking Henson for Farscape and asking them to continue to support the show, thanking the advertisers for advertising during Farscape and asking them to continue their support, contacting new networks and showing them just how valuable Farscape and its fans can be to them, and sending politely worded letters to the SCI FI Channel expressing your disappointment over their decision and encouraging them to show the reruns at a reasonable hour.

A boycott is a negative action – useful if you want to try and stop a behavior, not particularly useful if you want to encourage a behavior. If this was a campaign trying to achieve a negative outcome – for example, if we were trying to get a show off of the air – than a boycott is a viable and effective tactic. However, we cannot use negative tactics to try and influence a positive outcome. It just won't work the way we want it to.

This campaign is about trying to find a home for Farscape so that that story can be told, in its entirety, as it was meant to be told. This campaign is not about threatening people, advertisers, and networks. We want to continue to be seen as a positive force, and because we are now attached, in people's minds, to Farscape itself, it will serve us better and the franchise better if we continue to be as positive as possible. I'm not talking pie-eyed, happy, fluffy, bunny thoughts, but I am talking about positive forward moving actions. The networks now know that if they get Farscape they get us. How do we want to look to those networks? We want to look like a powerful, valuable, loyal, positive audience; we don't want to look like an angry mob.

Look at the multi-faceted campaign the fans conducted. Besides the traditional writing, e-mail, etc campaign, The original marketing plan: http://www.scaperoute.com/sfmarketing.html. The Library Project and Military Project, donating Farscape DVD's and Video Tapes to local libraries and the Military. Radio, print, and TV ad's, freeway banners, flyers, bookmarks, business cards, etc. The advertiser thank you's from fans, in particular the positive response from KFC where receipts from fans were collected and sent to KFC and thanking them for supporting the series. Fans setting up a non-profit corp to collect donations. Charity raffles of Farscape merchandise conducted at major movie openings to raise awareness. Buying personal checks with "Save Farscape" or whatever is tasteful imprinted on them and mailing labels. Some have placed "Farscape" stickers on money, paper and coins. Buying Internet Banner Ad's, etc, etc. There was even an effort to collect enough money to fund a season 5.

There is a "Watch the Farscape:The PeaceKeeper Wars Mini Series" campaign as noted by the above posts. If the numbers are high enough, the money managers, tptb, etc may look at the Farscape property differently and may fund a movie or continue the series. The hope is to persuade the Nielson families to watch the mini (and the series) with all the raised awareness and achieve the rating numbers neccessary to continue the campaign to a successful conclusion.

All Farscape fans want is the same thing Lexx fans received. The series ended by the writers when the story was fully presented and when it was intended to end.

Forgot to add:

( ChatMod) (Nessus) to (ChatQ): Where did the funding for the mini come from?

( BrianH) It came from a consortium of financers who would not have heard of us if it weren't for all of the attention the fans bought to the cancelling of the series.
( BrianH) So thanks to all of you, the mini series was funded.....

( ChatMod) Brian -- final question...asked by many people. How much does the future of Farscape depend on the success of the mini and what can fans do to help it succeed?

( BrianH) The future of Farscape depends a lot depends on the mini.
( BrianH) And we should all put our heads together to come up with ways to get the word out to everyone in the country, two weeks before the mini airs on SCIFI.
( BrianH) Thank you all so much for everything that you've done to make it possible for us to continue to make Farscape.
( BrianH) It's been an honor to speak with you.

Rest of the chat transcript:
http://www.watchfarscape.com/stories/1082688245.php

[julix]

Thanks for all of that info Sci-Fi, it is very informative!