Red
09-09-2002, 06:30 AM
Save Farscape sent out a press release this morning to major media outlets across the US. Feel free to use this in any of your correspondence, we just ask that you keep the link to the site attached somewhere.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT:
Save Farscape
sfmedia@wdsection.com
http://farscape.wdsection.com
Internet Campaigns Ignite After Sci-Fi Cancels Farscape
Los Angeles, CA - September 9, 2002 - On Friday evening fans of the Sci-Fi original series Farscape were outraged to discover that the network had walked out on its contract with Jim Henson Co and Hallmark Entertainment, effectively canceling the show after its fourth season. The news was broken to fans by David Kemper, Executive Producer of Farscape, during a live chat on SciFi.com. Apparently, the stunning news was delivered only 24 hours before to the cast and crew, which were wrapping up the show's fourth season in Australia. Insiders say that an outclause was engaged by Sci-Fi when Jim Henson Co. and parent company EM.TV would not lower the fee Sci-Fi pays for the rights to air Farscape, which the network had renewed for two seasons (44 episodes) only one year ago.
Outraged fans, upon hearing the news, immediately began campaigning to save the show. E-mails, letters, telegrams, faxes, and phone calls voicing their outrage and disappointment have clogged the fax lines and voice mail boxes of the executives at the Sci-Fi Channel. Some fans have taken to sending in boxes of crackers or empty cracker boxes as part of a campaign strategy with the slogan "Crackers DO Matter" (a play on the title of an episode of the show entitled "Crackers Don't Matter"). The strategy is reminiscent of recent Roswell and La Femme Nikita campaigns that saw fans sending in bottles of Tabasco and sunglasses, respectively. Within minutes of the announcement that the show would not see its fifth season, Save Farscape websites began to pop up all over the internet. Two of the websites collecting and disseminating information to the campaigning fans are http://farscape.wdsection.com and
http://farscapeweekly.com.
A critically acclaimed and award winning show, Farscape was recognized by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films' Saturn Awards as the Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series in 2001 and 2002, and series star Ben Browder received the Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television in 2002. In addition, Farscape is currently nominated for an Emmy in the Creative Arts category of Outstanding Costumes for a Series for work in the season 3 episode Into the Lion's Den pt 1: Lambs to the Slaughter.
Farscape is one of the highest rated series on the Sci-Fi Channel, bringing in, on average 958,000 households, a Nielsen rating of 1.2, but of that number 913,000 are adults in the all important 18 - 49 age range. Furthermore, Farscape's new episodes, part of the Sci-Fi Friday night line up has been credited with helping the network earn its best-ever summer, up 13 percent over last year, helping the cable net break the 1.0 ratings average barrier for the first time in its history. Farscape is one of the last remaining hour long series that made up Sci-Fi's original programming arsenal. This cancellation may have significant effects upon the two other shows in their Friday night line up - Stargate SG-1 and The Dead Zone - dropping those viewer numbers as many viewers report watching Stargate SG-1 while waiting for Farscape to begin. Furthermore, Stargate SG-1 is currently scheduled to cease new productions after the current season.
Farscape is the tale of a contemporary American astronaut (Ben Browder) who finds himself on the other side of the universe, befriended by some aliens and ruthlessly hunted by others.
For information: http://farscape.wdsection.com
Contact: sfmedia@wdsection.com
###
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT:
Save Farscape
sfmedia@wdsection.com
http://farscape.wdsection.com
Internet Campaigns Ignite After Sci-Fi Cancels Farscape
Los Angeles, CA - September 9, 2002 - On Friday evening fans of the Sci-Fi original series Farscape were outraged to discover that the network had walked out on its contract with Jim Henson Co and Hallmark Entertainment, effectively canceling the show after its fourth season. The news was broken to fans by David Kemper, Executive Producer of Farscape, during a live chat on SciFi.com. Apparently, the stunning news was delivered only 24 hours before to the cast and crew, which were wrapping up the show's fourth season in Australia. Insiders say that an outclause was engaged by Sci-Fi when Jim Henson Co. and parent company EM.TV would not lower the fee Sci-Fi pays for the rights to air Farscape, which the network had renewed for two seasons (44 episodes) only one year ago.
Outraged fans, upon hearing the news, immediately began campaigning to save the show. E-mails, letters, telegrams, faxes, and phone calls voicing their outrage and disappointment have clogged the fax lines and voice mail boxes of the executives at the Sci-Fi Channel. Some fans have taken to sending in boxes of crackers or empty cracker boxes as part of a campaign strategy with the slogan "Crackers DO Matter" (a play on the title of an episode of the show entitled "Crackers Don't Matter"). The strategy is reminiscent of recent Roswell and La Femme Nikita campaigns that saw fans sending in bottles of Tabasco and sunglasses, respectively. Within minutes of the announcement that the show would not see its fifth season, Save Farscape websites began to pop up all over the internet. Two of the websites collecting and disseminating information to the campaigning fans are http://farscape.wdsection.com and
http://farscapeweekly.com.
A critically acclaimed and award winning show, Farscape was recognized by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Films' Saturn Awards as the Best Syndicated/Cable Television Series in 2001 and 2002, and series star Ben Browder received the Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television in 2002. In addition, Farscape is currently nominated for an Emmy in the Creative Arts category of Outstanding Costumes for a Series for work in the season 3 episode Into the Lion's Den pt 1: Lambs to the Slaughter.
Farscape is one of the highest rated series on the Sci-Fi Channel, bringing in, on average 958,000 households, a Nielsen rating of 1.2, but of that number 913,000 are adults in the all important 18 - 49 age range. Furthermore, Farscape's new episodes, part of the Sci-Fi Friday night line up has been credited with helping the network earn its best-ever summer, up 13 percent over last year, helping the cable net break the 1.0 ratings average barrier for the first time in its history. Farscape is one of the last remaining hour long series that made up Sci-Fi's original programming arsenal. This cancellation may have significant effects upon the two other shows in their Friday night line up - Stargate SG-1 and The Dead Zone - dropping those viewer numbers as many viewers report watching Stargate SG-1 while waiting for Farscape to begin. Furthermore, Stargate SG-1 is currently scheduled to cease new productions after the current season.
Farscape is the tale of a contemporary American astronaut (Ben Browder) who finds himself on the other side of the universe, befriended by some aliens and ruthlessly hunted by others.
For information: http://farscape.wdsection.com
Contact: sfmedia@wdsection.com
###