Digger
07-22-2003, 11:30 AM
I know, I know. There are those here who hate this guy. But this is actually a pretty good article.
Farscape Update from San Diego Comic-Con
Not a confirmation but not a denial, either.
July 18, 2003 - With speculation running rampant about a possible announcement regarding a Farscape mini-series, fans of the series packed a panel for the series at the San Diego Comic-Con, hopeful for some news of the series' future. While no direct announcements regarding the story posted on IGN FilmForce earlier this week were made, stars of the show were hopeful that the series had some kind of future.
Stars of the series, cancelled almost a year ago by Sci-Fi Channel, applauded the commitment of the fans and their efforts to get the series back on the air. When specifically asked about the story, Ben Browder, who played astronaut John Crichton on the series, relayed that he had called Executive Producer Brian Henson in London when he heard the news and was told to say nothing. No confirmation, no denial, just stay mum on the subject while reiterating Henson Co.'s commitment to the series. But if there is a mini-series or a new series, Browder plans to be there, even if "they film it in Iceland," the actor joked. Actor Lani Tupu, best known as Crais and the voice of Pilot, summed up all of the information they had on the subject when he said "before anyone asks, we don't know."
While there was nothing definite to be said at the convention, the lack of a denial has led to speculation about just where a mini-series might wind up. As reported earlier in the week, Sci-Fi Channel currently has no knowledge of a new Farscape project. Another possible home that has been speculated by fans is Henson's former partner in the Odyssey Channel, Hallmark. Now sole owners of the re-branded Hallmark Channel, representatives from the network have assured IGN FilmForce that the network is not involved with any Henson project, including Farscape.
According to a number of industry sources, it's unlikely that any deal to broadcast a mini-series or even a 5th season could be made without including the previous 4 seasons in the package. If that's the case, the Farscape fans, also known as Scapers, may have to wait a while: a representative from Sci-Fi Channel has confirmed that the network has the exclusive U.S. rights to the series until March of 2005.
Another theory would have Henson producing the mini-series as a way to launch the series for syndication in Fall of 2004. While this might be a little bit of wishful thinking on the part of the fans, it does have some potential. Even though Sci-Fi owns the series until early '05, Henson can still pre-sell the series for U.S. syndication prior to that. The costs of re-building the sets and working out deals with the cast and crew, estimated at one point by Producer David Kemper as being around $14 million, could be justified if the pre-sales to stations in the U.S. are good.
Meanwhile, the Scapers continue to keep the faith. The main hub of the Save Farscape campaign, www.savefarscape.com, has reportedly raised over $100,000 for their efforts to keep the series in the public eye with more donations coming in all the time. New viewers are finding the series, thanks to stories about the cancellation in the press and episode being released on home video and DVD. Sci-Fi Channel continues to run the series in the U.S. on Sunday nights, exposing some new fans to the series for the first time. Entire sites on peer-to-peer file sharing programs are devoted to the series, helping fans access episodes they might have missed. A convention devoted solely to the series, ScaperCon, is set for the first weekend of August in Chicago.
Not bad for a series that only a limited number of people got to see during its first run. More on the story as it develops at IGN FilmForce.
-- KJB
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Edited to add: One thing he hasn't considerred here is that if Henson is working on getting Farscape back on the air (duh, of course he is!) part of the bargaining might be over getting those re-run rights back from skiffy. Just a thought.
Farscape Update from San Diego Comic-Con
Not a confirmation but not a denial, either.
July 18, 2003 - With speculation running rampant about a possible announcement regarding a Farscape mini-series, fans of the series packed a panel for the series at the San Diego Comic-Con, hopeful for some news of the series' future. While no direct announcements regarding the story posted on IGN FilmForce earlier this week were made, stars of the show were hopeful that the series had some kind of future.
Stars of the series, cancelled almost a year ago by Sci-Fi Channel, applauded the commitment of the fans and their efforts to get the series back on the air. When specifically asked about the story, Ben Browder, who played astronaut John Crichton on the series, relayed that he had called Executive Producer Brian Henson in London when he heard the news and was told to say nothing. No confirmation, no denial, just stay mum on the subject while reiterating Henson Co.'s commitment to the series. But if there is a mini-series or a new series, Browder plans to be there, even if "they film it in Iceland," the actor joked. Actor Lani Tupu, best known as Crais and the voice of Pilot, summed up all of the information they had on the subject when he said "before anyone asks, we don't know."
While there was nothing definite to be said at the convention, the lack of a denial has led to speculation about just where a mini-series might wind up. As reported earlier in the week, Sci-Fi Channel currently has no knowledge of a new Farscape project. Another possible home that has been speculated by fans is Henson's former partner in the Odyssey Channel, Hallmark. Now sole owners of the re-branded Hallmark Channel, representatives from the network have assured IGN FilmForce that the network is not involved with any Henson project, including Farscape.
According to a number of industry sources, it's unlikely that any deal to broadcast a mini-series or even a 5th season could be made without including the previous 4 seasons in the package. If that's the case, the Farscape fans, also known as Scapers, may have to wait a while: a representative from Sci-Fi Channel has confirmed that the network has the exclusive U.S. rights to the series until March of 2005.
Another theory would have Henson producing the mini-series as a way to launch the series for syndication in Fall of 2004. While this might be a little bit of wishful thinking on the part of the fans, it does have some potential. Even though Sci-Fi owns the series until early '05, Henson can still pre-sell the series for U.S. syndication prior to that. The costs of re-building the sets and working out deals with the cast and crew, estimated at one point by Producer David Kemper as being around $14 million, could be justified if the pre-sales to stations in the U.S. are good.
Meanwhile, the Scapers continue to keep the faith. The main hub of the Save Farscape campaign, www.savefarscape.com, has reportedly raised over $100,000 for their efforts to keep the series in the public eye with more donations coming in all the time. New viewers are finding the series, thanks to stories about the cancellation in the press and episode being released on home video and DVD. Sci-Fi Channel continues to run the series in the U.S. on Sunday nights, exposing some new fans to the series for the first time. Entire sites on peer-to-peer file sharing programs are devoted to the series, helping fans access episodes they might have missed. A convention devoted solely to the series, ScaperCon, is set for the first weekend of August in Chicago.
Not bad for a series that only a limited number of people got to see during its first run. More on the story as it develops at IGN FilmForce.
-- KJB
************************
Edited to add: One thing he hasn't considerred here is that if Henson is working on getting Farscape back on the air (duh, of course he is!) part of the bargaining might be over getting those re-run rights back from skiffy. Just a thought.