Entertainment Weekly Firefly Mass Mailing Request

POSTED BY: zoid
UPDATED: Wednesday, May 26, 2004 15:02
VIEWED: 13722
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DARKARCHON

Wednesday, May 19, 2004 6:39 AM

Well, I sent a letter praising Firefly and damning FOX. Was gonna post it here so you all could give me your opinions, but I sent it and didn't have a copy saved so no go on the feedback. Oh well, I think I was succesful in getting the point across.

-Dark

"No power in the 'verse can stop me."

PSELUS

Wednesday, May 19, 2004 3:35 PM

ok
who else is writing their letters today?
I will not leave this thread alone until next months EW comes out
WRITE LETTERS/EMAILS!!!

"Big Damn Heroes sir."

ALTA

Wednesday, May 19, 2004 4:58 PM

Haven't written a letter yet, still working on it, but I just had to say Fox is really off their nut. No audience? I was on vacation in Ireland in November of '02 & read an article in a UK entertainment magazine(can't remember the name of magazine)titled "American Shows We Want To See More Of". Firefly was #7 out of the 10 shows listed. Even in it's short run on Fox, Firefly had already gathered an audience over seas as well as in the U.S.

*****************************
There's no place I can be
Since I found Serenity

DARKARCHON

Wednesday, May 19, 2004 5:41 PM

Woot! Found a copy of the letter I sent. Here it is:

Dear Entertainment Weekly,
>
> I am writing in response to the article "The X-factor" in the May 21,
2004 issue of EW. Within the article, a FOX spokesman offers trite
condolences that "Firefly" could not garner enough support to continue the
series. Does their hypocrisy know no bounds? They signed off on the
show in a fashion to suggest there was complete trust in Joss' vision.
Then, when he presents the final product, they treat him like a wet-nosed
amateur and undermine the entire project. First, FOX's promotion of the
show was mediocre at best, so few people knew about it. Second, they
wouldn't let JW air the original pilot which introduces the characters to
the audience(i.e. the point of a pilot). Third, the episodes that were
shown (not all were), were not in order and often pre-empted, which
made the show difficult to keep up with. Fourth and lastly, FOX did not
give the show ample time to gather a fan base before consigning it to the
Friday 'Death Slot'.
>
> Despite all their Machiavellian attempts to assure JW and others that
they would love to keep the show going while simultaneously sabotaging
it, something amazing happened; "Firefly" instantly gained a cult
following among a diverse audience. Few who saw this gem were not
immediately swallowed whole by its genius. The wit, humor, pain, terror, love,
action, and real feel of this show had you laughing out loud one minute
and in tears the next. In a world where the nightly line-up of
mind-numbing 'reality tv' perpetuates an ad nauseum audience of mindless
drones, it was a breath of fresh air.
>
> Tens of thousands of DVD sets have sold since its release and
accounts for a large part of the fan base, which never saw the show while it
was on air. People who have seen "Firefly", recommend it and loan it to
their friends only to find that their friend do not want to give the
DVDs back. Groups of fans hold 'Shindigs' where they get together and
celebrate the experience of "Firefly" and discuss the show with each
other. There is so much fan support in fact, that Universal will begin
shooting the motion picture 'Serenity' in a couple of weeks. Now I ask
you: Does this sound like a show that has no fan base? The very fact
that this phenomenon persists is a testament to the thousands and
thousands of loyal fans. In light of this, FOX execs will forgive "Firefly"
fans if we don't take their hypocritical lip-service seriously.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Signature, Firefly fan

Too late to edit, but I would like to know what you think anyway.

"They said they were gonna waltz through Serenity Valley. We choked them with those words."

PSELUS

Wednesday, May 19, 2004 5:53 PM

sounds GREAT DarkArchon...
I love how each of these letters says the same thing in so many different ways...it shows that we actually have true love for the show and aren't just taking a form letter and changing it a little.

now who's next?...WRITE!

"Big Damn Heroes sir."

GHOLA

Wednesday, May 19, 2004 6:49 PM

I sent off my letter. I tried not to bash Fox/reality tv (do we want to isolate the huge numbers of reality fans from becoming browncoats?).

PSELUS

Wednesday, May 19, 2004 7:05 PM

I think even the reality tv fans realize how bad that genre is...but they're just addicted...

"Big Damn Heroes sir."

SKYDANCE

Wednesday, May 19, 2004 7:44 PM

Wow. Masterful wordsmithing, Zoid, and I really like what you did when you replaced the Ignoramus comment. It's an honor sharing a forum with you.

Here's mine:

Your recent interview with Joss Whedon (May 2004 “The X Factor”) was a treat. Thank you!

Like many of my fellow Firefly fans, I was taken aback by Fox’s comments that they “wish Firefly had found an audience ....” I might also “wish” I was rich, but since I avoid high-paid consulting work in favor of a single employer in a single city, it’s obvious that I value my time at home more than I do wealth for wealth’s sake. Likewise, FOX ran no marketing campaign beyond a single misleading commercial showing Summer Glau in a box. They pre-empted the show repeatedly. They aired episodes out-of-order. They failed to introduce the characters (nine of them, all richly detailed) in a 2-hour pilot (which had been shot; it was simply not aired until the show was cancelled). These are not the actions of a studio which has a show they “wish” to find an audience.

Since the cancellation of that show, a DVD collection was released which has sold many thousands of copies. I would be interested in comparing the total sales of Firefly DVDs (which was a “failed” show) with sales of Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs (which is considered a legendary success). Perhaps you have access to these numbers?

Firefly was a warm, compelling drama set in a very human future. The cast was brilliant, and the nine main characters each had depth and ... character. How FOX failed to see that, and why the series was not picked up earlier this year for another go-round, is beyond my comprehension. It hasn’t even been shown as reruns. If you have an hour to spare, I recommend visiting a rental source such as NetFlix and picking up Firefly, disk 3, episode “Out of Gas”. When you’ve finished, think back and ask yourself: when’s the last time you saw something that well-produced air on network television?

If I didn’t know any better, I’d think the cancellation was a plot by Blue Sun. *wink*

GUILDSSISTER

Wednesday, May 19, 2004 8:58 PM

Here is my letter - I mailed it, they take more notice of that.

Dear E.W.

Having read your article about Joss Whedon ("X-Factor"), and the statements made by Fox broadcasting company who said "We wish Firefly had found an audience" I felt compelled to write this letter. Their statement is blatantly wrong....Firefly had an audience. I am one of the "undiscovered" audience members that found this piece of art despite Fox's best efforts. There is no show on television today that compares to Firefly. Firefly currently ranks higher in online sales lists than the entire Friends series. (71st place to 96th place respectively). What really happened is that the show found an audience despite massive mistakes by Fox.

Those of us who loved Firefly purchased the series DVDs the minute they were released. We purchased sets for friends as gifts. We purchased sets to send over to our troops in Iraq. My husband and I have since shown them to 7 sets of friends, who also ran out and purchased their own copies of the DVDs....and they are sharing these with their friends, etc. ad nauseum. This series could have made so much more money for that network had they only marketed it properly, and shown it in the order it was meant to be shown.

Everyone who sees this series is immediately hooked because it is INTELLIGENT, captivating and endearing in both its characters and its storyline. Networks would do well to notice that there is a more intelligent, discerning viewing populace out there than those who gobble up Friends and such. We would rather watch the DVDs of the cancelled Firefly series over, and over, and over than watch any of the drivel they currently call prime-time programming.

I thought you should be aware of this, and the fact that there are many, many groups on the internet, in coffeehouses, on university campuses, and in homes across the nation who are dedicated to this series, this cast and this creator - Joss Whedon.

A Browncoat Forever,

I hope no one minds, but I used parts from other browncoats letters too in mine.....you all are just so darned eloquent!!!

Guild Sister

PSELUS

Wednesday, May 19, 2004 9:44 PM

I don't mind Sister...in fact I feel complimented that you think my words are worth saying again...
thanks
:D

just so you guys know...that Firefly/Friends fact is a BIT skewed...Amazon.com does rank Firefly as it's 71st best selling DVD (set or single) and it ranks the Entire Friends Collection (meaning the $200 collection of every episode) as 96th...however single seasons of friends do rank higher than Firefly...but considering that was a show that ran for what? 7 years? and Firefly ran for 11 episodes?
Firefly wins pretty easy in my book just for the fact that only 70 DVD's on Amazon.com sell better than it.

*edit*
btw, GuildSister...what address did you mail it to? I'll send a couple snail mails as well.

"Big Damn Heroes sir."

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