???
Sci-Fi already
knows we want a new series in the
B5 universe. That's why they're spending the better part of $4 million (U.S.) to create a TV Movie/pilot.
It is not a question of whether or not the fans want it, it is all the usual questions that go into approving a potential TV series: What is the overall budget for the production year for the network? Which current shows are and are not returning? How many open time slots will there be, how many other pilots are competing for that limited number of slots, what kind of ratings/demographcis is each show likely to pull? How
good are the finished pilots and how sustainable do they seem to be as series?
None of these things has anything to do with fan desires, and none of them will be affected by letter-writing campaigns. These are business decisions. Frankly unless Netter and Straczynski either go totally overbudget, or the finished film
stinks, I think this one is going to series. Sci-Fi has wanted to do a show with this production team since around the time that Bonnie Hammer came aboard in 1998. They have just needed to deal with practical realities and take things a step at a time since then.
The mere fact that they are letting us get a look at some early footage now tells me that they're happy with what they've seen and excited about the prospects. They had other ways of hyping
Dune and the
B5 audience isn't that huge in comparison to that for other shows. It does indicate that the
B5 audience is important to them, though, and worth courting.
Organizing a letter-writing campaign seems to me to fall somewhere between gilding the lily and preaching to the choir. These folks do not need to be convinced of our interest. The
B5 and
Crusade ratings are all they needed to gague
taht. They need to be convinced that
Rangers is a good place to invest some of their limited resources. This is something that Netter and Straczynski have to do. There is no way we can affect the decision at this point.
Finally e-mail campaigns are all-but worthless. Most business executives are not very tech-savvy to begin with, and tend to view e-mail with suspicion. Then there's the fact that anyone who really wants them can setup 20 or 30 e-mail addresses, so a 600 message "campaign" can be the work of 20 people. E-mail is also a) easy and b) free. People who are not passionately interested in a cause can easily be persuaded to type up a quick note and hit "send", or "sign" an on-line petition, by a minority who
are passionate about it. Many companies will simply start filtering such "spam" after they start getting enough of it. And e-mail can easily be deleted unread.
Snail-mail, on the other hand, has to be opened and read by
somebody just to find out what it is. No company is going to risk throwing it out unopened. Most companies also have policies (sometimes mandated by local laws) that require them to file all consumer correspondence. Snail-mail also requires some effort, and a small investment, to send.
If someone takes the time to hand-write a letter, or print it off a computer, sign it, and stuff it in an envelope, I know they've invested more time and thought than goes into an e-mail. If they're paying 36 cents, or whatever a stamp goes for these days, to send it to me, I know that they are serious about telling me what they think. More often than not they'll get some kind of answer, even if it is only a form-letter.
Often it is more than that. Many of the letters I sent to sponsors of
Crusade prompted personal replies that either quoted from my letter or addressed specific points raised. A few of the companies even included coupons for their products or other items. (Kia sent me a very nice pen.
)
So if you're going to do anything, mail a letter to Sci-Fi. But at this point I think everyone should save the postage. There's nothing we can tell them that they don't already know. They are either going to green-light the series based on a cut of the film (the rough-cut in a couple of weeks, or the final cut around August) or they're going to wait until the thing airs in December and they can see the ratings. Either way their decision isn't going to be influenced by letters or e-mails that they receive in June.
Regards,
Joe
------------------
Joseph DeMartino
Sigh Corps
Pat Tallman Division
joseph-demartino@att.net
