Media Sightings Discussion

[beowulf]

The show was good, but it's just television. I hope all good shows end up getting canceled so people stop watching tv all together and actually do something with their lives, while i sit on my ass and complain on fark making me a complete hyprocrite.
Ah, yes, the joys of being hopelessy insane.Hey Everyone,

Okay, Atlanta Girl started the Media Sightings thread to report sightings of stories about our TV commercial in the media. Unfortunately, a lot of those sighting reports are getting buried in the discussions about the stories that inevitably follow. So I've started this thread so that we can quickly find the reports of media sightings, and still have the chance to vent or bubble about the stories we see.

After the Slash Dot and Fark postings, much of the discussion seems to be venting. That's why I picked the quote above from Fark. I had to laugh-out-loud because I think it perfectly sums up the modus operandi behind discussion boards such as Slash Dot and Fark. They're forums for a bunch of do-nothings to post some often really stupid opinions. But they're also forums for people to talk, and if the commercial has people talking, then we've already accomplished something! We have the satisfaction of that accomplishment.

Don't take the negative comments about the commercial personally. I'm not, and I made the damned thing! :rollin: It wasn't intended to look professional. It was intended to look homegrown (which it was), and so if they say it looks that way, then again, we've achieved our goal. But also remember that they're viewing the web-based ads, which have been greatly compressed for faster downloads. The quality on TV is going to be much, much higher, and the people who have seen it on the DVD I put together are surprised at the quality. The people who saw it on the big screen at the Burbank Convention were surprised at the quality. So don't despair at the comments of the detractors; they're going to be there even if we spent millions of dollars and hired a New York PR firm. Was it P.T. Barnum who said, "you can't please all the people all the time?" He also said, "there's a sucker born every minute," and those other discussion boards seem to be where most of them congregate. ;)

Fark Slash Dot, and just be proud of what we've accomplished! (And that was only the coverage the first weekend that the press releases went out!) :aok:

Best,

[VBKatLou]

Beowulf

I checked out "The Rescue". The little I saw was sooooo cool! Is this going to be another commercial?

VBKatLou

[beowulf]

Originally posted by VBKatLou
I checked out "The Rescue". The little I saw was sooooo cool! Is this going to be another commercial?

Thanks! No, KimRB would have my hide if I released this to the media. It takes relentless potshots at the SCI FI Channel, and according to Kim, "that's like talking trash about your best friend's sister." This one was created just for the fans, and was entered in the Creation Entertainment music video contest for the Burbank and NY FS conventions. It was shown to great enthusiasm in Burbank, and will be shown next in New York. Now that it's had its "world premier," ;) I'll be posting the full video on my site, so check back again soon.

Best,

[StarsGoBlue]

I printed out the first screen of commentary (50 pages, OMG!!) b/c some of the responses were very relevant for Sci-Fi (ie, lack of promotion & advertising the series, that different is good, that Farscape is the best, that a spoken committment should be followed through, that it IS possible to join the series late and still understand it, etc).

I'll be picking & choosing among them to include with my letters to Tom Vitale & Bonnie Hammer & the other bigwigs.

:D *******Stars

[mycattoldme]

Any one have access to articles posted on MediaWeek.com? Its a subscription service - to a Media/Advertising Agency Trade publication and it looks like they posted something about Farscapce - I don't have access....

FAR-SIGHTED
What's a computer geek to do when his favorite show is canceled? Take some hi-tech action!
PUBLISHED: November 25, 2002


http://www.mediaweek.com/mediaweek/search/search_results.jsp

[cofax]

Thanks! No, KimRB would have my hide if I released this to the media.

Indeed. I was thinking that when I saw it, too. It's marvelous, and so funny, and yet, as Deneba says, We Love Sci-Fi! We cannot afford to piss them off at this stage of the game.

[Alex]

There sure is a story on Mediaweek.com:

***FAR-SIGHTED

What's a computer geek to do when his favorite show is cancelled? Take some high tech action!......****

To read the rest of the story, you need to pay like $300 or some crap like that. Anyone have access?

[saska]

Ratscape Posted this on the other media sightings discussion:


I Am Farscape Sees Print
Found in the Nov. 25, 2002 issue of ADWEEK magazine--
----------------------------------------------------------
National News

FAR-SIGHTED

What's a computer geek to do when his favorite show is canceled? Take some hi-tech action!

That's what David Simerly, a programmer at Apple Computer, Cupertino, Calif., chose to do. While searching Web message boards for fellow aficionados of his favorite, most recently axed show, Farscape, he came across a suggestion that disgruntled fans create a commercial for the Sc-Fi program.

"I had a digital camcorder and a Mac and Final Cut Pro editing software, so I had all the equipment to put the video together," he said.

The internet-spawned "Save Farscape" movement organised rallies to save the show, which is about an American astronaut stranded on a spaceship with escaped alien prisoners. Simerly went to two rallies in California and filmed fans espousing their love for the show.

The result: a 30-second spot that can be viewed at www.savefarscape.com.

The ad's purpose, said Simerly, is "not only to show new people that Farscape is pretty cool, but to show advertisers that we are an intelligent, affluent audience."

Simerly hopes another network will pick up the series or that Sci Fi will reconsider.

The commercial was placed on cable stations in selected cities across the U.S. through a media broker in San Francisco. It will run through Dec. 1.

--Mae Anderson

------------------------------------------------------------

[CMScaper]

Beowulf,

I just watched The Rescue, and I think you just gave me a reason to live out the rest of the day! That was great!!!

The blue funk ain't gone yet, but I can see light at the end of the tunnel, and for the first time today, I'm thinking it might actually not be a train :aok:


Also, glad to see another Mac user! :D

[beowulf]

Originally posted by saska
Ratscape Posted this on the other media sightings discussion:
Cool! I was interviewed by Mae last Thurs, right before I left for Burbank. She said she was from AdWeek, which I guess falls under the MediaWeek umbrella. I wasn't sure how she was going to slant the article, but I think it came out pretty nice.

This one's an industry trade journal, so hopefully some network marketing mucky-mucks will set it an wet themselves! ;) Thanks for posting that.

Later,

[beowulf]

Originally posted by CMScaper
I just watched The Rescue, and I think you just gave me a reason to live out the rest of the day! That was great!!!

Thanks! That's why I made it. Glad you liked it!

[kimrb]

Not just your hide, but your liver and colon as well. It really is a nice piece of work.

[beowulf]

Originally posted by kimrb
Not just your hide, but your liver and colon as well.

With fava beans and a nice chainti, no doubt! :P Thanks Kim!

[saska]

http://www.wirehedmag.com/links.htm

Scroll down to the 11/22 section. At least we rate a "cool" even if he thinks we won't succeed....

[Zen Blade]

I think this kinda applies here...

I don't know how many of you guys have ever seen fan-created music videos, but I think this would be a good way to get farscape out to the general internet audience. Particularly amongst the teenagers and twenty somethings...

Post it at a few sites throughout the web...

Videos of farscape with a number of different artists... everyone's favorite!

This is not just a great way to advertize at no cost, but it can also be fun to create.

Imagine farscape scenes/characters to all the various hits of the day... or yesterday...
Welcome to the Jungle...
Oops! I did it again. (kidding)

anyways, I think the idea is pretty cool. I've never created one, but I've seen many. Especially with regards to anime.

-Zen Blade

[Kithlyara]

Beowulf!

I LOVE the video!!! It is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You NEED to send me an e-mail with some details on making videos. The main problem I have is with compressing the video down.

[Alex]

Edit: Nevermind

[beowulf]

Originally posted by Zen Blade
I think this kinda applies here...

I don't know how many of you guys have ever seen fan-created music videos, but I think this would be a good way to get farscape out to the general internet audience. Particularly amongst the teenagers and twenty somethings...

Post it at a few sites throughout the web...

Videos of farscape with a number of different artists... everyone's favorite!
They're already out there. Here's just one site that hosts 89 videos:

<http://www.farscapefantasy.com/theater_music.html>

Do a search for "Farscape Music Videos" and you'll get even more.

Best,

[beowulf]

Originally posted by Kithlyara
I LOVE the video!!! It is awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You NEED to send me an e-mail with some details on making videos. The main problem I have is with compressing the video down. Thanks Kith! I'd be happy to send you some pointers, but the problem is I've never done this on a Wintel machine, only on a Mac. I think the pitfalls on each platform are quite different. Most of your success/failure hinges upon the software you use, and I'm not at all familiar with Wintel software, so I'm not sure how much help I'll be to you. Talk to you later.

[VBKatLou]

Which thread is posting the links to media and which thread is discussing them????

I'm posting about the commercial and the media reaction on some other Bboards and I'm starting to get dizzy! :scramble:

I think I'll just start a list in Word and keep checking both threads. :)

[beowulf]

Originally posted by VBKatLou
Which thread is posting the links to media and which thread is discussing them???? The one whose title ends in "Discussion," this one, is the discussion thread. I simply posted a link to some music videos. Nothing to do with the commercial or the media.

[RobinC]

Looks like the OC Register (OC, Calif) is picking up the story about our commercial. But there's a catch. They gave the press release to the humor columnist (Jeff Kramer, for you OC people). He pretty much makes fun of stuff, but who knows, maybe he won't be too cruel this time (hope springs eternal, huh?).

He just phoned me to ask a bunch of questions about the show and the campaign, and it sounds like the article is going to appear next Monday. I tried to represent the show and the campaign intelligently, but kept hearing myself sounding like an complete idiot. I mean, come on, how can you explain plot points to such a complex story arc in 10 minutes to someone who's never seen the show? I did send him to this website, though, for more information.

Here's hoping it comes out okay. I'll post the resulting column (...if I don't come off looking too dimwitted).

And at least it's publicity? Kimrb are you out there--please tell me this kind of publicity is better than none!

Robin

[beowulf]

Originally posted by RobinC
He just phoned me to ask a bunch of questions about the show and the campaign, and it sounds like the article is going to appear next Monday. I'm sure you did just fine. But I'm curious: why/how did he contact you instead of one of the contacts listed on the press release?

[RobinC]

Originally posted by beowulf
I'm sure you did just fine. But I'm curious: why/how did he contact you instead of one of the contacts listed on the press release?

Very good question, and one I asked him myself, while absolutely begging him to talk to them instead of me. He said that he tried calling Julie Rayhanabad, but got a bad voice mailbox. Since he's a local columnist, he wanted to talk to someone local (she would have been local, too), so he found me (heaven only knows how--my name is quite common, and I didn't put my phone number in there).

He said he'd try to call Julie again, so I hope that he can get hold of her. Hmmm...do you have her email address? I could send her his phone number and let her call him. Wonder if that would work. I really didn't want to be a spokesperson for anything--I'm fine when writing, but not smart enough or quick enough verbally.

Robin

[RobinC]

Okay, I'm a dork. Julie's email address is right on the press release. I'll email her and explain the situation, see if she wants to call Kramer.

Robin

[scapeartist]

Robin--

Julie realized that her phone number was wrong on the press release after they all went out. His best bet, though, is to email any of us to set up an interview. Part of the problem is that we all have regular jobs and can't get phone calls there during prime business hours, and it's sometimes easier for us to schedule interviews that won't interfere with work. I'm sure Julie will be able to accomodate him though.

Thanks!
SA

[beowulf]

Originally posted by RobinC
Very good question, and one I asked him myself, while absolutely begging him to talk to them instead of me. He said that he tried calling Julie Rayhanabad, but got a bad voice mailbox. Not a problem, I was just curious. This campaign belongs to all of us, so anyone is free to speak to whoever about it. Like I said, I'm sure you did just fine. And if he's as ascerbic as Dave Barry, then I'm definitely glad that he has your name for his column instead of mine! :P

[ElectricLandlady]

Originally posted by saska
http://www.wirehedmag.com/links.htm

Scroll down to the 11/22 section. At least we rate a "cool" even if he thinks we won't succeed....

And at least we got a mention. More than anything else, we're getting noticed. This is fantastic -- every time I see another mention, whether it's negative or positive, I get all tingly. Think of all the people who now know about us!

[kimrb]

Did you get that funny feeling in your tummy? Mouth go a little dry? Did your vocabulary escape you? Then you must have been interviewed by the media. You did great! Well done. I am a firm believer there is no such thing as bad PR. I am sure there are Scapers out there worried about their image, but that is a waste of energy. Get the show back and you can worry about image. Get the word out and maybe get the show back. The return of Farscape, is after all, the primary objective. Anytime someone who has never heard of Farscape is exposed to it in the media, there is a chance they will show interest and pursue more information. And that is the stated goal of the project. So relax, and look forward to being misquoted by the press. Its something to tell the grandkids about. You get a 'hell yeah!' from me.

[skinnyman27]

Anytime someone who has never heard of Farscape is exposed to it in the media, there is a chance they will show interest and pursue more information. And that is the stated goal of the project. .......KIMRB


Very well put statement. It is 100% true and kimrb is living proof. Just think what kimrb has helped all here achieve since his very 1st post. I for one consider you a friend in the bond.



__________________________________________________ _
Ooh Turkey, Stuffing, and Farscape ...What a Frelling Fantastic Thanksgiving.

[RobinC]

Originally posted by kimrb
Did you get that funny feeling in your tummy? Mouth go a little dry? Did your vocabulary escape you?

All of the above! I kept thinking, this is a reporter--everything I say is going to be twisted, and since what I was saying was pretty twisted to begin with (nerves), who knows what it'll come out like! Hmmm...maybe if they misquote my nervous misstatements, it'll all manage to come out right in the end? Oh well, I'll find out Monday (as will all my family and friends who read that paper...yikes!)

Thanks!

Robin

[RobinC]

And thanks everyone else for the kind words.

BTW, Julie did get hold of the reporter and apparently talked to him at length, so that's a relief. I'm sure she was more coherent with him!

Robin

[atlantagirl]

Okay, so NPR itself hasn't promoted the campaign nationally YET, but Lassievorc just posted this on the DOM bboard:

WBUR, the local Boston affiliate for National Public Radio: They were having people call in to nominate a "turkey of the year." A caller eloquently nominated the scifi channel because they cancelled FARSCAPE! The caller carried on for some time about how the fans were campaigning to save it; commercial, etc! This was SO cool to hear! Gettin' the word about FARSCAPE out!

Gotta love Scapers -- we are a vocal bunch. :aok:

[beowulf]

Originally posted by Hmpf in the "Farscape Commercial - Media Sightings" thread:
beowulf, any chance you might make the video (not the commercial) available for download for those of us with too slow a connection to view streaming video? I'm a fan video addict, and I'd love to see it, but it's just not possible with a 56k modem. Yeah, I suppose I could do that. Have you tried downloading and playing the file locally as it is? You should be able to just right-click (if you're on Wintel), or command-click (on Mac), and get an option to download the file to you local system. As long as you have QuickTime installed, then you can play it.

The reason I hesitate to just go ahead and put it in MPEG format or something, is because it's already a 7mb files as is. An MPEG at a decent size and quality will probably be significantly larger. Let me know, however, if there's just no way you can use QT, and I'll post an MPEG to download for you. Thanks.

Best,

[Jul]

BTW, Julie did get hold of the reporter and apparently talked to him at length, so that's a relief. I'm sure she was more coherent with him!

I didn't see this here, or else I would have posted on Wednesday afternoon...

I did get to talk to Mr. Kramer for a good 20 - 25 minutes on Wednesday afternoon. He emailed me to get a hold of me and I called him back and then I got Robin's email (Robin, YOU ROCK!! :aok: ). After talking to him, I left work early and dropped off a copy of the Season 1 DVD box set at the newspaper for him, so that he could get a look at what Farscape is :)

He said it would probably be Monday's article, so those of you that are in OC, pick up the register on Monday :D

:joy: if the OC Register gets it, the LATimes probably isn't far behind - to quote WG :D

[beowulf]

Originally posted by Jul
I did get to talk to Mr. Kramer for a good 20 - 25 minutes on Wednesday afternoon. He emailed me to get a hold of me and I called him back and then I got Robin's email (Robin, YOU ROCK!! :aok: ). After talking to him, I left work early and dropped off a copy of the Season 1 DVD box set at the newspaper for him, so that he could get a look at what Farscape is :) Nice going, Jul! He left me a voicemail on Weds because your phone number on the press release is wrong, but I was out of the office that day and couldn't return his call until Weds evening. I'm glad he's one of those persistent reporters and tracked you down. Why don't you e-mail me your correct phone number so if this happens again I can pass it along? Thanks.

Best,

[Jul]

not a problem ;)

[JA_Shipper]

One of of the media alerts that Jadeshand posted (http://www.quicktopic.com/boing/H/myv7b9yeqb52), someone mentions that the SciFi Channel has picked up Witchblade's complement of eps. Does anyone know if this is true?

If Skiffy cancels it's #2 show, just to pick up a show (even if it's not to produce new eps) that was cancelled a week earlier ... :eek: well, that sound you hear is my mind boggling.

That would just be too bizarre for words ...

Suse

[Halvdan]

Originally posted by saska
http://www.wirehedmag.com/links.htm

Scroll down to the 11/22 section. At least we rate a "cool" even if he thinks we won't succeed....

Give Farscape more credit than that and don't compare it to Star Trek. It's far better than any Star Trek francise. Want to compare it to something? Try Blake 7.

[Hmpf]

Originally posted by beowulf
Yeah, I suppose I could do that. Have you tried downloading and playing the file locally as it is? You should be able to just right-click (if you're on Wintel), or command-click (on Mac), and get an option to download the file to you local system. As long as you have QuickTime installed, then you can play it.


Right click on *what*? I tried to right click the link in your footer but only got the html page not the video. Then I tried to right click the video itself on the page, but there was no 'save target as' option there. I'm stumped.

What do you mean by 'Wintel'?

I'm sorry, I'm not very computer literate.

I can play most media formats, so the quicktime format is *not* the problem. I just need to know how to download the video. Can I get a *direct* link to the video itself, without the html 'framing'? I don't know how to download streaming media.

[beowulf]

Originally posted by Hmpf
Right click on *what*? I tried to right click the link in your footer but only got the html page not the video. Then I tried to right click the video itself on the page, but there was no 'save target as' option there. I'm stumped.

What do you mean by 'Wintel'? Hi Again,

Sorry to confuse the issue. You're right about right-clicking; I didn't realize that was disabled. I'm not sure why it's disabled for this one, but others have been able to download the commercial. :confused: At any rate, here is the direct path to the movie file that should let you download it:

<http://homepage.mac.com//beowulf/.Movies/The%20Rescue.mov>

Or it may open in its own window and you'll need to do a Save As. [shrug] Your kind of on your own from here.

"Wintel" is the generic term most of us in the Mac community use to identify a Windows PC running on an Intel processor. Of course, if your computer has Windows running on an AMD processor, then I suppose you'd be WAMD! :D

Best,

[Hmpf]

Thanks Beowulf!

This time it worked. Good work, although it's not quite my kind of music ;-)

Hey, why is Barcelona and Afghanistan in there but Cologne isn't? After all, we only did our little rally there so that you Americans could say it was an international rally! ;-)

[JA_Shipper]

Don't worry, Hmph, Toronto isn't in there either ... ::Suse taps her foot and whistles::

;)

Suse

[beowulf]

Originally posted by Hmpf
This time it worked. Good work, although it's not quite my kind of music ;-)

Hey, why is Barcelona and Afghanistan in there but Cologne isn't? After all, we only did our little rally there so that you Americans could say it was an international rally! Thanks! Glad you were able to see it finally. I picked the music more for the words, attitude, and general theme. I was driving home from work one night, thinking about the video and wondering what music I would use. I wanted a good fight song. And then the local alternative station played this new song from this new group, and they were talking about a worldwide movement that uses a blending of the sword and the pen and all this other stuff that just seemed to fit amazingly well with what we're doing (of course, we use a lot more pen and very little sword, but you know what I mean...). ;) So that's how the music came about.

About the pictures, you'll notice that San Francisco isn't in there either, and that's the rally I attended. The problem was that no one bothered to take a nice group shot at the SF rally, and I only had time to include group shots. I found a nice collection of them at savefarscapecentral.com, so that's what I used. Unfortunately, Cologne and Toronto were not represented there. :(

[Eve11]

so...

Robin or Jul, did mr. Kramer give you guys any idea of what kind of spin he's putting on this whole thing, what with it being in the humor column? I mean, I got a tough skin and everything, but I'd still like to know beforehand. At best I see self-effacing humor a la Dave Barry. At worst... eh, visions of The Daily Show interviews. Yikes!

(btw, I did check out his column. There is this twisted little segment he's got where he uses the Mighty Ducks mascot to try and teach his 2-year-old how to cope with a new baby in the family... really, I swear. I guess you gotta read it for yourself; it's pretty damn funny. As for Farscape, I think he'd actually like the show but I bet a million dollars he mentions the fart jokes before the love story.)

[Spider01]

So has anyone seen the commercial in the Philadelphia area?

[grapeshot]

I don't know if this was mentioned (the thread seems to be getting rather off-track) but someone spotted a mention on the BBC's website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/news/02112801.shtml

[RobinC]

No, Jeff Kramer didn't mention what spin he was going to put on it, alas. I don't think he really knew what spin to put on it when he was talking to me. Perhaps he got one from watching the DVD Julie gave him (and yes, he probably will do the fart jokes <sigh>).

But I have read his column for a few years, now, and he tends to be somewhat like Dave Barry, and poke gentle fun at things, so perhaps it won't be too bad. His columns do make me laugh, but then, I've never been the butt of one, so we'll see.

I'm sure there wiill be a link to the article that I can publish. I'll let y'all know tomorrow (if I'm not too busy hiding my head in embarrassment).

Robin

[Jul]

When I talked to Jeff the second time, I think he mentioned that part of the article he was going to write was going to be "what is farscape" if it's as good as Gordon Dillow's Jesus and the SUV article from last week, i'm sure I'll be ROTFL.... :)

edited to add: for anybody that wants to see what he writes, here's a link to his page at the register

http://www.ocregister.com/accent/kramervision/

[waltersgirl]

Not all those who wander are lost...JRR Tolkein

smiles quietly

a rather wise man, wasn't he.

[waltersgirl]

http://www2.ocregister.com/ocrweb/ocr/article.do?id=14163&section=ACCENT&year=2002&month=12&day=2

shrugs...coulda been worse. and hey, it's free press. :D


By JEFF KRAMER
The Orange County Register

They're organized, relentless and, by and large, dateless.

And they will not be denied.

While most of this fat, spoiled country spent the weekend immersing itself in eggnog and tryptophan, dedicated men and women were working tirelessly to save "Farscape" from cancellation.

"Farwhat?" you ask.

Do I have to explain EVERYTHING to you people?

"Farscape" is a space opera that airs on the Sci-Fi Channel. On Sept. 5 - "Black Friday" - network executives said "Farscape" would not return for its fifth season because of cost concerns.

Some Farscape fans were so outraged that they threatened to impale themselves on their browsers in protest. In no time, "Scapers" had a Web site - savefarscape.com - and a new pickup line:

Um, wanna, like, come upstairs and see my Adobe Print Shop downloads of the Save 'Farscape' rally?"

Three months later, "Farscape" fans are waging an international campaign to save the show. They've raised over $13,000 - admittedly, less money than you'd pay for a plate of broccoli and soy cheese at a Gray Davis fund- raiser, but it's a start.

"We're just a bunch of regular people (emphasis added) who thought this was worth saving," Scaper Robin Clark of Irvine told me. "The writing is so intelligent. They keep it really smart."

Obviously, that type of writing isn't my style, but I've always been open-minded about the Nut Job Community, so I asked Robin to tell me more about the show.

She explained that an American astronaut, John Critchton, is sent into space, gets sucked into a wormhole, meets up with a group of escaped prisoners and gets chased by bad guys.

"It's a relationship show," she said.

"Right," I said.

She added that the prisoners are on a "biomechanical" spaceship named "Moya."

"She has a brain. She has a soul. Pilot is sort of grafted to her and helps control her and work with her. This isn't going to make any sense. It makes perfect sense on the show. I am sounding dumber and dumber every second."

I told Robin not to worry; in my capable hands, she would appear articulate and intelligent to hundreds of thousands of readers.

Thus assured, Robin told me that the spaceship, Moya, had a baby.

"The ship she bore, his name is Talyn. He actually has weapons,which Moya does not. He's more of a battleship."

Of course he is.

There's even more "info" on the Web site, plus lots of informed opinions from the under-employed.

"In my humble opinion," one posting reads, "I believe that Talyn should first be removed from negative influence and spend more time with his mother and her Pilot. And after a structural and schismatic examination, have a Pilot installed, and have the joining process performed, for three full cycles, in the presence of Moya and the Pilot."

Hope that clears everything up. If not, the first 11 episodes of Season 4 air 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Christmas Eve on the Sci-Fi Channel.

You have until then to find a date.

[buggabboo]

did i mention that I just watched Galaxy Quest...

[Dominar of Action]

Yes, it's free publicity -- anything that gets the name, Farscape, out there is better than nothing. But sadly, his anti-sci fi attitude is typical of the kind of resistance the general public has to watching Farscape. They think they know what it will be like and so prefer to remain comfortably within their zone of "superiority."

Ah, well...

[Jul]

yeah, they did laugh at our expense, but they also got the information out there so, yea! :)

and YEA Robin!!! :aok: {{{{{{{{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
You did Great!!! :D

[scapeartist]

Well, a friend of mine (who watches the show) did happen to catch the commercial itself by accident in the Boston area. It was either Friday or Saturday night around 10pm she said. And it must have been on a relatively popular channel if she caught it. So, we at least got our money's worth in New England! :)

SA

[RobinC]

Originally posted by Jul
yeah, they did laugh at our expense, but they also got the information out there so, yea! :)

and YEA Robin!!! :aok: {{{{{{{{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}
You did Great!!! :D

Thanks, Jul! And for everyone out there, I want you to know that the only thing he quoted me on correctly was the comment that "I'm sounding dumber and dumber every second." (He just HAD to quote that one, huh?!). Everything else he said I said that sounds pretty stupid...well, I actually sounded much dumber than that on the phone when I was talking to him. He really did clean it up a bit.

But I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out--it could have been a lot worse. And hey, we did get publicity!

Robin

[RescueFarscape]

Well, I found it pretty funny :lol: But, then again, I read Dave Barry every Sunday. I may have just been primed to laugh.

By the way, sent an email thanking him for his support:)

Here's the addy at the end of the article
jkramer@ocregister.com

[beowulf]

Originally posted by waltersgirl
http://www2.ocregister.com/ocrweb/ocr/article.do?id=14163&section=ACCENT&year=2002&month=12&day=2

I've always been open-minded about the Nut Job Community Shall we show Mr. Kramer just how "nut job" we are and start sending him empty cracker boxes? :rollin:

[kimrb]

I am very pleased. We have reached a very large audience.

[atlantagirl]

Perhaps instead of cracker boxes we could send him thoughtfully worded letters that show we are not under-employed nut jobs, but intelligent, professional people who care enough about something to try to save it.

[beowulf]

Originally posted by atlantagirl
Perhaps instead of cracker boxes we could send him thoughtfully worded letters that show we are not under-employed nut jobs, but intelligent, professional people who care enough about something to try to save it. No, I was just kidding. The best approach for this sort of thing is to laugh along and show that we have a sense of humor too. The best way to disarm these guys and get them on your side is to act like it's the best joke you've ever heard and tell them how funny they are. If they think that we are taking ourselves too seriously, then things will really get ugly.

I've seen this happen many, many times on Letterman. His jibes at Madonna and Cher have become legendary, because neither of those celebrities are willing to laugh at themselves, and instead, attempt to fight back. Which only makes Letterman that much more relentless. The people who play along with him are left alone (for the most part), and often get a lot of support in return.

[Dominar of Action]

Perhaps instead of cracker boxes we could send him thoughtfully worded letters that show we are not under-employed nut jobs, but intelligent, professional people who care enough about something to try to save it.In addition to thanking him for publicizing our efforts, I did gently chide him on falling back on a tired stereotype as the basis for his humor.

[mycattoldme]

I know the article from AdWeek was on their web site but I just received my print issue today and we're in - Page 32 next to the New Wire - with a nice screen cap from the commercial.

:aok:

[beowulf]

Originally posted by Dominar of Action
In addition to thanking him for publicizing our efforts, I did gently chide him on falling back on a tired stereotype as the basis for his humor. Hey DOA,

Looks like you're going to get to talk to another reporter. I just got off the phone with Julio Ojeda-Zapata, who's the technology reporter for the Pioneer Press in MN. He's familiar with FS and asked a lot of really good questions. In the course of our interview, I mentioned your contribution to the commercial campaign and now he wants to talk to you. He's either going to PM you here, or send you e-mail through the link in your profile. Have fun! ;)

Best,

[RobinC]

Exactly! No cracker boxes, or we'll get another writeup that demonstrates all the wrong things about us. Nice thank you letters would be good. Please remember, all the time Kramer was pumping me on the phone about Farscape, he was very nice, very considerate, and actually seemed interested. And he realized how nervous I was (well, it was kind of obvious) and was very kind. I came away from the conversation very impressed with him.

I've already sent him my thank you email for not trashing me too awfully badly.

Robin

[Dominar of Action]

Looks like you're going to get to talk to another reporter. :eek: :eek: :eek:

Happy to do it ... yeah, that's right ... happy ::gulp::

If he wants to reach me during the day, though, he'd be better off contacting me at work. I believe you have my work e-mail already, but if not I'll PM you.

[Dominar of Action]

Hand off!! He's after DaMenace now ;)

Spoke with him for about 1/2 hour :eek: -- very nice and definitely interested in how the internet has been/is being used to organize our efforts and why so many people are so willing to put their time and money into it.

[beowulf]

Originally posted by Dominar of Action
Hand off!! He's after DaMenace now ;)

Spoke with him for about 1/2 hour :eek: -- very nice and definitely interested in how the internet has been/is being used to organize our efforts and why so many people are so willing to put their time and money into it. I'm chatting w/DaMenace now. I've passed along Julio's e-mail.

[Eve11]

wow, nice press and all, but you'd think being a humor writer for a living, that he would come up with something a little bit more original than that. The same tired old nerd cliche. If I'm going to be poked fun at, I at least want it to be done well.

Hell, if anything's worth doing, it's worth doing it yourself.

----------------

They have marketing experts, media relations teams and advertising plans. They have campaign slogans, raffles and fundraisers. They have buttons, bookmarks, TV and radio commercials. Blazing passion sends them in droves up from mom's basements across the country, blinking palely into the sun and displaying placards for all the world to see.

"You will watch," they say.

Who are they? They're not campaigning for politcal candidates. They don't know where East Timor is and they could care less if you smoke two packs a day and die of lung cancer in twenty years.

They're Farscape fans, and they're waging cyber-war on the SciFi channel, the network that axed their beloved show.

Wait, you say. Television show? SciFi? Far-what?

You heard me. Farscape tells the story of an American astronaut who gets shot through a wormhole and ends up on a living ship far from home with escaped prisoners, being chased by insane military commanders, and looking for a way home. If you don't know it or haven't seen it, don't worry -- this storyline is conveniently replayed during the opening credits of each episode, lest you forget.

(Not, um, that I actually own any episodes. SaveFarscape.com is trying to assimilate me, I swear; they're pushing DVDs and websites like dealers to a wide-eyed innocent. Back, ye demons of nerdiness! Back, I say! There is no succor for you here!)

Putting aside their qualta blades, their half-finished plaster pulse pistols, and their 1/100-th scale models of Moya, Scapers are taking up the pen, demanding with anyone who will listen that their show should be saved. This rabid throng of nerd-dom has hijacked the net and taken it upon themselves to champion the science fiction cause. Yes, my friends, this is the dark underbelly of politics and passion -- geek style.

"I made cookies," says a 42-year-old housewife. "The recipe is in our fundraiser cookbook."

"Check out our cool Farscape Holiday cards," the graphics team offers. "And put in a bid in the quilt auction!"

They are tireless. Lurking amid the unwashed masses, wasting away pale-faced in the dim glow of their computer monitors, Scapers are planning a full-scale subversive attack on unsuspecting normal people.

"I'm a lawyer," says a fan. "I've been working with the research team on copyright issues."

Beware! Watch the show, join them, and start down the slippery slope to pariah status. Two episodes in, and you will forget to shower, then get into chat room arguments about whether Aeryn or Buffy would win in a mud-wrestling match.

"It's all SciFi's fault," says a 34-year-old paralegal. "They moved the show to 10pm Friday. They should know that's Chick's night out. How am I supposed to watch it then?"

Scapers are mobilizing. They will not be reasoned with. They will not be denied. And they're out to destroy us all.
----------------

(And btw, Robin, you did great ;) )

[buggabboo]

It would have been at least a bit more amusing.

[beowulf]

Originally posted by Eve11
get into chat room arguments about whether Aeryn or Buffy would win in a mud-wrestling match :rofl: You're right! That's much better!

[atlantagirl]

Brilliant, Eve11!! Now THAT's funny. :bgb:

[Dominar of Action]

::applause:: ::applause:: ::applause::

Take a bow, Eve11, that was great!

We, the demons of nerdiness, salute you!

[RobinC]

Now THAT's a great article, Eve11!

BRAVO!

Robin

[DaMENACE]

I thought his article was great actually. Anyone that reads his article regularly will be able to see past the cheap jabs and may even want to see what Farscape is all about.

Not only that, he got some of the back story out there to the viewing public! Beowulf's right... you got to roll with the punches from writers like this. Be honest with yourselves folks... we are all bunch of geeks at heart and saving Farscape is about as geeky as you get. Laugh with them I say... "yep, we are pretty geeky and I couldn't get a date if I wanted to... I just need my Farscape fix." :rollin:

I am very pleased with that article! It even gives the day and time to watch it. That is one of the best info pieces I have seen done yet on the commercial.

Denis DaMENACE

[beowulf]

Just got off the phone with Kelly DiNardo from TV Guide. She also wants to talk with El Dominar! See what you got yourself into? :D

[aeryncrichton]

Originally posted by RobinC
Exactly! No cracker boxes, or we'll get another writeup that demonstrates all the wrong things about us. Nice thank you letters would be good. Please remember, all the time Kramer was pumping me on the phone about Farscape, he was very nice, very considerate, and actually seemed interested. And he realized how nervous I was (well, it was kind of obvious) and was very kind. I came away from the conversation very impressed with him.

I've already sent him my thank you email for not trashing me too awfully badly.

Robin

I sent him a nice e-mail, told him I was giggling over his column (which I was, actually, all things considered it was funny, AND got the URL and the Chain Reaction info out there) -- and went ahead and kinda nicely suggested that the show DOES have relationships and so do we..... :)

Presumably he'll take it in the spirit in which it was intended.....

[GeekedOut]

Wow TV Guide and our own Dominar. And I knew her when she was just a little person :D Go girl go!

[cofax]

I dunno, I was a bit affronted by the constant harping on "dateless nerds" in the article. And the automatic assumption that we're all nutjobs with too much time on our hands. (I have NO time on my hands...)

It's the same tired cliches about science fiction fans that we've seen for years. (NPR radio journalist Ira Glass is a huge Buffy fan -- I don't expect anyone thinks he's a nutjob.)

Where's the reference to the professional caliber marketing and graphics staffs, to the international scope of the fandom, to the fact that this is the same demographic as watches West Wing?

::shrugs helplessly:: You gonna tease fandom, get it right, like the folks who made "Galaxy Quest." Otherwise get out of my face.

BTW, Eve -- ROFLMAO! Now THAT is fabulous -- and over-the-top enough not to be insulting. You should send it to him. *grin*

[kimrb]

The goal of the project is to raise the awareness of Farscape among those who are clueless. Every effort has been made to present ourselves in a very professional manner. As a result we see the media turning it's eye in our direction. We will be measured more by what we do, rather than who we are. Don't turn your nose up at being called a 'geek'. What we have done is introduce many new people to Farscape. We have done it in a manner like no other. Save Farscape first. Then worry about your 'geekdom.' You cannot change an image without challenging it. We have done that.

[jadeshand]

Talked to Bonnie Hammer's secretary once and told her I was a geek and she tried to commiserate with me, "oh, I'm sure you're not!" I said, "Oh, but I am and I proud of it" She didn't know what to say for a minute. :D

[Tokeya]

Acutally I was expecting it to be worse, but this is rather mild. So Scapers are being painted as geeks, but look at what the geeks can do... Scapers are getting the JOB done.

Congratulations to the Media staff. You guys are the best!!!

[RobinC]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by cofax
[B]I dunno, I was a bit affronted by the constant harping on "dateless nerds" in the article. And the automatic assumption that we're all nutjobs with too much time on our hands. (I have NO time on my hands...)

Yeah, me too. Ah well, just don't hold that "dateless nerd" stuff against me--I never said anything about us being dateless or geeks (although I do actually resemble both categories).

I'm just thankful he didn't write anything about the Scapers vs. Trekkies thing that he was trying so hard to create! (Boy did I have to work hard to convince him that there was nothing in that idea. Just what we need a Trek-Scape war!)

Robin

[beowulf]

Originally posted by RobinC
I'm just thankful he didn't write anything about the Scapers vs. Trekkies thing that he was trying so hard to create! (Boy did I have to work hard to convince him that there was nothing in that idea. Just what we need a Trek-Scape war!) A most excellent and perceptive dodge on your part, Robin. Again, nice job!

[Eve11]

hey, I don't know about you but I could get a date or six if I wanted ;)

Really, I'm not angry. It's a pretty funny article -- I guess the whole "dateless" aspect just seemed forced and a bit tired. The rest of it was pretty good (I especially liked the "Obviously that's not my style" line about the writing). I wouldn't think about sending anything acerbic or biting; obviously he took time out to write about our campaign, I don't get the 'nastiness' vibe from him a la the Daily Show, he was polite and he gave us press and his time.

So my reaction is, thanks, but just don't call me a dateless nerd unless you know I am.

[beowulf]

Originally posted by Eve11
I don't get the 'nastiness' vibe from him a la the Daily Show This is the second time I've seen someone mention nastiness from the Daily Show; did they say something nasty about us? I've been deleting them off my TiVo because I don't have time to watch and I'll be really pissed if I missed a mention of us from Jon Stewart (nasty or not!). :P

[scapeartist]

I'm dateless, but my husband likes it that way. ;)

[DaMENACE]

We were on the Daily Show?? That is great! We all know SNL cribs their stuff so lets hope they put us on SNL.

:)

Denis DaMENACE

[skinnyman27]

I to used to be dateless before my wife set me straight with 3 kids.

First they accused us of not taking any bath's and now it's no dates.
Oh you mean we are supposed to smell nice in order to meet someone....Damn I knew there was a reason no one would sit next to me on the bus through my teen years..

____________________________________________
Oh the daily show..I hope his fans support him in this manner when the day comes and he gets a pink slip

[MediaSavant]

Originally posted by atlantagirl
Perhaps instead of cracker boxes we could send him thoughtfully worded letters that show we are not under-employed nut jobs, but intelligent, professional people who care enough about something to try to save it.

Unfortunately, for this type, writing the letter only reinforces their POV.

They consider NOT writing the letters to be proof you are intelligent and professional.

[Eve11]

No no no no, the Daily Show did not mention Farscape as far as I know. It's just that they tend to pick wack-o people to interview and are very much in the "laugh at them" as opposed to "laugh with them" vein. Mostly, the people they interview deserve it. A few times I've seen some less scathing articles (the one with the old lady who had a problem with vultures nesting on her lawn was great, lol). But sometimes they can be downright mean. Sorry for the confusion.

[beowulf]

Originally posted by Eve11
No no no no, the Daily Show did not mention Farscape as far as I know. It's just that they tend to pick wack-o people to interview and are very much in the "laugh at them" as opposed to "laugh with them" vein. 'Kay. So, I guess I won't be sending them a press packet then? ;)

[Eve11]

eep. I'd say send one to Leno instead. I love Steve Carell, but damn, if I'm being interviewed by him it means I'm a (to borrow a phrase ;) ) nutjob.

On second thought, well, if we were only mentioned in passing by John Stewart on headlines, you know, so they only could get in one or two jabs, that would be cool. What would be really cool is if they could get one of the actors on the show.

Wasn't Ben Browder on Politically Incorrect once? Did I hear that somewhere or am I imagining things?

[beowulf]

Originally posted by Eve11
Wasn't Ben Browder on Politically Incorrect once? Heh, from everything I heard and saw at the Burbank con, Anthony Simcoe should've been the one on Politically Incorrect! The guy's a wildman!

And just to let everyone know, since the press releases first went out and we started getting coverage on the web, the hit counter on the TV commercial clip on my web site has jumped to 24,000+ visits. I think it was somewhere in the vicinity of 2K before everything hit the fan. That's pretty darned good for just one week! It'll be interesting to see what happens now that Kramer's story is out and after the TV Guide and Pioneer Press stories are published.

[Dominar of Action]

Reporting in from TV Guide interview -- I survived ;) Lasted about 20" and went well (at least from my POV). She said it would be a short piece, only about 200-300 words. Don't have a publication date. Do any of you? And do you know if she is just shopping the story to TV Guide, or have they already OK'd the story?

[waltersgirl]

DoA,

well done. and Robin, YOU DID GREAT, GIRLFRIEND!!! :aok:

[saska]

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=02/12/01/174237&mode=thread&tid=167

Not the commercial, but yet more coverage on slashdot. Most people can't seem to figure out that the idea is to foot the bill along with Henson, not alone, but hey. More coverage.

Saska

[beowulf]

Originally posted by Dominar of Action
And do you know if she is just shopping the story to TV Guide, or have they already OK'd the story? I think she was commissioned by TVG because we didn't send the press release to any freelancers. Of course, she contacted me via e-mail rather than by phone, so it's possible she was working with the online version of the press release and not the printed one (which was the only one with phone numbers). [shrug] She seemed to think that she had a story in the cable edition of TVG signed, sealed, and delivered. She wasn't sure whether or not the story would also appear in the broadcast version sold in grocery stores.

[RobinC]

well done. and Robin, YOU DID GREAT, GIRLFRIEND!!! :aok: [/B]

Thanks! And such a relief to have it over with, too! ;)

But I think it was worth it--3 people asked me about Farscape today at work who wouldn' t have checked it out otherwise.


Robin

[orchidcactus]

I sent out a very short note of thanks for publicity after reading the 'Scaping By' article, and this reply was in my box this morning:

Thanks, Jennifer. I hope all you guys aren't just trying to butter me up, but I have been struck by the graciousness of 'Scapers' responses to my column. Best of luck saving the show!

Jeff


It could almost be a slogan: Scapers, they're everywhere, and they're politely demanding to have their show back.

Anyone else get email back?

:)

Eve- I'm almost certain BB was on PI (if not PI, then a similar program), I *think* I have a copy of it burned on CD somewhere.

[waltersgirl]

It could almost be a slogan: Scapers, they're everywhere, and they're politely demanding to have their show back.

sounds like a good slogan to me. :D

[Reefrunner]

I got e-mail back from Jeff Kramer. (I'd invited him to watch the show to see what all the fuss was about and said I'd invite him to watch with me but I already had a date :) ). His reply--

Thanks, Pepper. I will check it out. Great to hear from all you 'Scapers.
Jeff

From what I read on the Kansas board, he sent back mostly short replies--probably got so many e-mails he didn't have time to spend writing a bunch of long ones. :)

[RobinC]

I got a note back from Jeff Kramer, too, and it was such a nice one!

He said:

Thanks for the note today.

I have to say I'm hugely impressed by the graciousness of the Scaper community. All of the calls and emails I've received from you folks have been really good-natured. I will check out the show for sure. Good luck with the campaign to save it, and do keep me posted.

We've impressed another one! :aok:

Robin

[DaMENACE]

He said pretty much the same thing to me too.

You Farscape fans are so gracious it's scaring me.

So we scared him.

Denis DaMENACE

[kimrb]

"Thanks Kim. You Scapers are amazing".

[atlantagirl]

I really hope someone suggested that he rent the Best of Season 1 rather than trying the show out for the first time during Season 4.

[DaMENACE]

Originally posted by kimrb
"Thanks Kim. You Scapers are amazing".

Oh, now you are a true Scaper! Look at you, writing thank you e-mails to the media and everything. :P

Denis DaMENACE

[kimrb]

I just know how to play the game.

[Jul]

I really hope someone suggested that he rent the Best of Season 1 rather than trying the show out for the first time during Season 4.

I dropped off a Season 1 DVD Box Set after we did the interview, so hopefully, he'll watch it :)

[JA_Shipper]

Excellent, Jul!! Now he won't have any excuses not to watch. ;)

Suse

[RobinC]

Originally posted by kimrb
I just know how to play the game.

Never realized this was such an fascinating game! I'm sure learning a lot from this campaign.

Robin

[Shipscat]

Jorge saralegui said the same thing when Cbool and other Claudia fans showed up at the Wb Queen of the damned message board. "You guys are all terrifying in the best possible way" which is how CBOOL got it's slogan...

[beowulf]

Originally posted by JA_Shipper
I have a good one and a not-so-good one (apologies if any of these have already been posted:

First the not-so-good one:

**************************************

ARTS & LIFESTYLE
ARTS & TV IN BRIEF
12/03/2002
Boston Herald
Hey JA,

Thanks for posting those. The Boston Globe piece isn't so bad. They just say that there's not much hope of FS returning to the Skiffy Channel, which we already knew. By the beginning of October, I had written them off. Most of the reporters I've spoken with don't seem to realize the potential of getting the show picked up by another network. They typically ask something like, "do you really think you're going to get the SFC to reconsider their decision?" When I respond, "no, but we're hoping to influence other networks to possibly acquire the show," it's like a new concept for them.

So don't get discouraged by articles like that; the reporter just hasn't thought through the situation. We're not trying to get Skiffy to recind the cancellation. We're trying to find Farscape an even better home! :aok:

[Jul]

Thank you Julio :D YOU ROCK!!

http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/business/technology/personal_technology/4840969.htm

[RobinC]

We got another mention from Jeff Kramer of the OC Register...remember, the one who called us "dateless members of the nutjob community?" Well, he wrote a column today on corrections and mea culpas for the year.

He says:
"A Dec. 12 column incorrectly implied that fans of the popular science fiction program "Farscape" are members of "the Nut Job Community." Actually, many "Farscape" fans have families and jobs and are reasonably attractive to look at. The columnist regrets confusing them with "Star Trek" fans."

It's another funny column, but what the heck--it's a mention. (I don't think I'll email him and tell him I saw the Star Trek movie today.) :)

Here's the link, if you want to see the whole column. (http://www.ocregister.com/accent/kramervision/columns/kramer123102.shtml)

Robin