Farscape Fans Produce Commercial

angst writes "Farscape fans have come together and produced a commercial called 'I am Farscape'. In the hopes of bringing more media and consumer awareness that the fans of this show are not happy that it is being cancelled. So far it will be aired in 24 cities nation wide. Look for it the week of Nov. 24th if you are in the list."

Comments

I hope it works

[Russellkhan]

Farscape is/was a great show.

I mean think about it, Enterprise gets funding and Farscape is a far better show (I know, I know, Farscape doesn't have detox gel)

Wow

[MacAndrew]

I'd like to see this -- what, no link? -- and have to wonder how Star Trek TOS would have done if it had had *this* kind of rabid support.

But then, how much does Sci Fi care what its hardcore geeks think? There was an interesting article in the Times on how terribly inaccurate the advertising world's obsession with the 25 to 34 demographic is. And it is what the advertisers want, or think they want, that drives commercial programming. (Maybe Farscape should move to HBO -- might even get me to subscribe.)

Why was the show canceled?

[joshua404]

I've seen and read so much from so many fans of this show all over the net, that I keep asking myself - if they have this large and loyal a following, why was this show canceled? What were the ratings like? What was Sci-Fi's reasoning? I don't exactly see a plethora of good original programming on that channel, so why kill off one of the few successes?

Re:Why was the show canceled?

[Robotech_Master]

There are several reasons given, depending on who you ask and when. Among the big ones are:

Too expensive: The show costs an awful lot to produce, as SF shows tend to, and apparently Sci-Fi's in a bit of a money crunch. The high production cost wouldn't be so bad, except...

They don't own the show; Henson does, as part of the production agreement (though they each finance half the show's cost). Which means SFC doesn't get the back-end income from syndication and DVD/video and such to recoup their costs. Adding to the problem is the fact that...

The show's fandom isn't expanding: Farscape is keeping the fans it has, but it's not causing more people to come to watch the show. See, that's the problem with shows that build up a lot of backstory...if you haven't watched the first four seasons, you have no idea what's going on. (This problem has been noted in other mega-arc-based shows, such as Andromeda.) SFC wants shows that suck more people in (and get them watching SFC). And finally, it's been said that...

SFC is supposedly moving away from "space-based" shows and heading more toward the "paranormal," in keeping with the latest fads/trends in the TV people are watching. Which makes you wonder why they even bother calling themselves "sci-fi," but there you go.

Re:Why was the show canceled?

[DarkZero]

I've seen and read so much from so many fans of this show all over the net, that I keep asking myself - if they have this large and loyal a following, why was this show canceled? What were the ratings like? What was Sci-Fi's reasoning?

Simple economics. The show was expensive to produce, so it needed a large audience in order to justify its existence. Its audience began to decrease, so it started bleeding huge amounts of money every week, and with a budget that high, it probably wouldn't have taken very long for the show to hit the point where it would have to do extremely well on a consistent basis for one or two full seasons just to become profitable again.

But even though that's their reason for doing it, it's still a very stupid reason. As Matt Roush from TV Guide pointed out, Farscape was the only thing that ever got the Sci-Fi Channel any national exposure in the entire history of the channel, and it got it quite a bit of national exposure too. Farscape was the only reason that the Sci-Fi Channel was ever mentioned in TV Guide, Entertainment Weekly, and all of the other national entertainment magazines, and it also got them exposure for their other shows because they from "the channel that brought us Farscape".

It's just a simple, familiar matter of someone basing a decision on nothing but raw statistics and not thinking about all of the other elements involved.

Re:Why was the show canceled?

[NetGyver]

Damn, that was best most well thought out post I have ever seen on slashdot. Seriously, this is no joke. I saw bits and pieces of farscape after Stargate SG-1 was over, and it seemed a bit weird to me and I never got into it enough to keep current with the show.

And your right-on about the kind of shows that build up so much back story in their early seasons. Again, Stargate does a shitload of this as well. Which is something I just can't understand since it recently moved to the Sci-Fi channel at the start of its 6th season. (As a side note, Season 7 is also underway)

So perhaps your idea of too-much-backstory-loses viewers-who-watch-later-seasons idea isn't really much of a factor.

Another good point you made is that the sci-fi channel is turning to a paranormal-horror flick channel. I got my overdose of that from watching the x-files and it gets very wornout after a while. (by no means am i knocking the x-files, it's just...well...it really drug out)

It's sad, really sad to see that happen. Remember Sliders?

Granted it never was quite the same after the professor left, when Wade got replaced by a Rambo-babe, and and Quinn dropped out. The only guy left standing is Rembrandt. I really dug that show, but it should have died, considering 3/4's of their orginial cast was gone.

VR-5, Babylon 5, TNG, Viper(hey, i liked it), Earth: Final Conflict, Adromida, (and other great shows that i'm missing) should all be reborn via re-runs and put into a mega-block spot on one channel.

Since i'm going hidiously off-topic with my idealist rants, I may as well add my thoughts on the "network-no-one-thought-could-be-so-good"....

TNN certinally turned my head, airing old TNG episodes at least once a day, and 4 back to back episodes on sunday nights. Did any of you see that HILAROUS (and pretty outragious TNN commercial they'd air during the show?

The one with the klingon woman and the exec asking the other if he'd do her. That one really cought my attention, I can't remember when i laughhed that hard at a commerical. In any case, need to get back on topic:

The level of outcry for Farscape's return is inspring to hear about. Alot of people here on slashdot sneer about it, but hey, they're putting hard-earned fan money towards a show that they loved, and their entitled to doing it. There's a certian respect in that, and I'd be the first one to sign a patition and donate some money if my favorite sci-fi show was dying too.

Re:Why was the show canceled?

[spectecjr]

There are several reasons given, depending on who you ask and when. Among the big ones are

These are all the reasons given by SciFi.

They also have all been - to greater or lesser extents - debunked.

For example - too expensive? SG1's budget was increased for their 7th season, and is way more than that of Farscape.

($2.5MM for SG1 vs. $750K for Farscape, per episode)

Simon

This has been done before

[packeteer]

with mixed sucess... i know freaks and geeks fans tried to get it back on but they werent successful... does anyone know of any shows that did comeback this way?

Re:This has been done before

[Minna Kirai]

Now I feel really old. Kids today... no attention to history.

Heard of Star Trek? The campaign that ressurected the cancelled original series is what inspires all of these latter-day fan-intervention imitators.

Re:This has been done before

[Babbster]

Good examples except one: Buffy the Vampire Slayer was dropped because Mutant Enemy wanted more money per episode than the WB was willing to pay - UPN picked it up before any groundswell of fandom had a chance to build up. No fan intervention necessary. UPN felt that they needed more than one franchise show (Enterprise), so they were willing to pay the green necessary. The WB, on the other hand, still had Angel to keep a lot of Buffy fans watching, Smallville getting a following, and had Birds of Prey in their sights (a WB property via DC, as is Smallville) - I think they figured BoP would meet their "hot fighting chick(s)" requirement.

Re:Yikes!

[Robotech_Master]

I dunno...I'd characterize the commercial as "quirky," but not necessarily bad. And in the end, it really doesn't matter how good or bad the commercial is; the important thing is that it's getting aired and getting publicity for the campaign. These people aren't giving up, and if it gets me more episodes of the show, I have to say more power to them. This thing has gone farther than any save-our-show campaign I can recall...it's going to be interesting to see where it ends.

Re:Yikes!

[kingkade]

I've seen this commercial, and if anything, it will convince Sci-Fi that Farscape fans are a bunch of untalented fan-boys (and girls) that smell bad...

Have that new smell-o-vision, huh?

really, now....

[nostromo_42]

In many of those cities, the ad may air only once, and it may be in the middle of the night on an undisclosed channel.

would it take that much extra work for them to specify which channel, or at least which network it's an affiliate of? i'm a little skeptical of the claim that "it doesn't matter what channel", since the mainstream media isn't exactly going to rush out headline stories about this unless people see it.

Re:really, now....

[Photon Ghoul]

I agree that it would be nice of them to list channels and times (harder) that they've bought for the spot.

You are dead wrong on the fact that the "mainstream media isn't exactly going to rush out headline stories about this unless people see it." CNN - which we can all agree here is about as mainstream as you can get, right - has already aired two 'lengthy' stories on the fan response to the show being cancelled. This was done when there were websites first popping up and the letter-writing campaigns were just getting started. If I recall correctly, there were stories in many other places as well. So, it stands to reason, that fans caring enough to produce (even supposedly amatuerish) commercials for *any* television series will be news. It really is groundbreaking in the history of television if you think about it.

Still, I'm skeptical the show will be granted an extended lifetime for other reasons....

Awareness

[faeryman]

I walk around in leather and say I'm a Peacekeeper and try and drum up interest in the show. It doesn't work that well though..people just smack my ass, so I'm all for the new TV commercial to succeed in getting people interested.

how it will be saved

[Drunken Coward]

Apparently, the only way Farscape will be saved is if UPN picks it up for season five. This will only happen if the remaining season four episodes get high ratings, which doesn't seem likely without publicity. So write to UPN and encourage non-geek friends (or those who happen to have Nielson boxes in their homes) to watch the show.

It's very ironic

[JessLeah]

that the first "grassroots" (as opposed to "astroturf" ;) ) protest commercial I've ever heard of involves Farscape. I've heard a lot of good things about this show-- but still, where are the "the environment is going to pot and the politicians don't care" protest commercials.. or the "drug companies are keeping patents to life-saving AIDS and cancer drugs under lock and key, while millions die" protest commercials?

I'd love to hear about (I'll never see it unless someone puts it online, since I don't own a TV, nor do I want one) MORE protest work on TV. It's about time that the "little guys/gals" claimed their piece of the television pie. Nowadays, it seems that 90% of the content on TV is dictated by the Fortune 500 companies...

Does anyone know of any other efforts to produce true 'grassroots' commercials like this?

Personally, I would love to see a grassroots commercial that advocates re-opening the Federal case against MS. But hey, that's 'cuz I'm one of those evil Unix lovers your mom warned you about.

Is there a 'grassroots marketing forum' anywhere?

Re:It's very ironic

[packeteer]

AOL/Time Warner is very bad but there are 6 coprorations that is considered to own pretty much all media the average american gets. AOL/Time Warner, Viacom, News Corp., Disney, General Electric and Bertelsmann are the companies in no order. 5 years ago it was about 10 companies and 20 years ago there was 50. You can find a list of who owns what in the world of big business. Just look at the freakishly long list that is owned by only Viacom.

It makes me glad i dont watch tv. Although slashdot is no suppliment for an all enclusive news source it sure fills the most time of my news reading in a day.

Re:It's very ironic

[JessLeah]

And even sicker is that anyone who dares protest this state of affairs is branded a "communist" or a "hippie".

This is not how capitalism is supposed to be.

We need a sound balance of capitalism and socialism-- and a heavy dose of fairness. Unfortunately, lots of people do not have the Buddha-nature and are quite selfish and greedy. (And I'm sorry, I don't care how much of your $billions you gave away to charity, BillG, wanting/insisting upon 100% market share in every market you touch does make you "quite selfish and greedy").

Commercial Will Reach Wrong Audience

[fuzdout]

Unfortunately for the FS fans, more than likely their efforts won't work and if anything cause a lot of snide and humorous jokes about their commercials on SNL, Jay leno and such. Even if simply because the lack of quality.

It's nice that they are willing to try and make a point about their dedication but it probably will just reach the average TV viewers and NOT anyone in control of FS's life-span.

Only fools would pass on picking up this show

[blincoln]

Seriously, has *any* series ever gotten this kind of rabid support? Even Babylon 5 didn't inspire loyalty on the same level.

Since I don't have cable, I never saw FarScape, but any marketing department in their right mind would kill to have fans so willing to spend their money on a given product that they'd pay for their own ads to be aired.

If SciFi was concerned about profitability, they should have started cranking out the merchandise, because this is a bunch of people who are obviously willing to put their money where their mouths are.

Re:Only fools would pass on picking up this show

[ajs]

Babylon 5's fan base was quite active and vocal, but there was no need for the sort of attention-getting that one has to go through to get a show put back on the air. For the most part, with Babylon 5 the largest problem fans had was getting syndicators to show it in a stable time-slot, and that was done market-by-market.

So, I think you're comparing apples-to-oranges when you say, "Even Babylon 5 didn't inspire loyalty on the same level".

Speaking of which, I just got my B5 DVDs in the mail for season 1. I'm going to see if I can get some decent video-editing software and create that 3-hour "all you need to know about season 1" tape that I've been threatening. It's basically:

Midnight on the Firing Line -- Large chunks
Soul Hunter -- A bit, mostly intro
Born to the Purple, Infection, The Parliament of Dreams -- A few scenes
Mind War -- Intro of bester
The War Prayer -- Bits
And The Sky Full Of Stars -- Some of the war
Deathwalker -- Ending
Believers -- Bits
Survivors -- Bits
By Any Means Necessary -- None, I think
Signs and Portents -- 30 min or so
TKO, Grail, Eyes, Legacies -- None, I think
A Voice in the Wilderness part 1 & 2 -- Bits
Babylon Squared -- Bits about B4
The Quality of Mercy -- Bits
Chrysalis -- 30 min or so

I can edit that down to 5 hours easily, 3 hours if I'm very, very harsh about cutting out stuff that is amazingly cool and interesting, but not part of the B5 story arc.

When I do, I'm going to get all of my friends who keep saying "I'd love to watch, but I don't have time" and strap them to chairs for 3 hours :)

The Story So Far...

[Soulslayer]

Strange Horizons had a great write-up on the corporate shuffling that has killed Farscape.

Personally I think Vivendi-Universal/Sci-Fi Channel has sorely miscalculated the resolve of the highly technical and intelligent Farscape fanbase. Despite the explosion of tech industry careers at all levels and the susequent rise in demand for genre programming no one has really provided quality television for them. The watchable genre shows can be counted on one hand. Of them Farscape was the most consistently daring and well written, appealing to wide (by sci-fi standards) demographic. I don't think Vivendi and company realized exactly how attached this fairly ignored market segment felt to that show. The longer they hold out, the more foolish they look.

Re:with this much support

[Dallascaper]

I assume you are referring to Nine Network in Australia. Nine thought enough of Farscape to help bankroll it with the Jim Henson Company in 1999. Knowing Australia's bleak history with science fiction, Nine waited until May 2000 to broadcast the first half-dozen episodes. The show didn't do well, so Nine decided to put the show up against the 2000 Olympics. No wonder Farscape hasn't done well in Australian ratings.

My experience with Australian Scapers is that they are among the most vocal and intense Farscape fans out there. Last December/January, when Nine finally broadcast the show's second season, my Farscape site got more hits from Australia than from any other country. My point is that Aussie Scapers may be few in number, but they do have excellent taste in television programming.

Long live Farscape!

Dallascaper
Webmaster, http://www.farscapefantasy.com

Didn't follow the link, eh?

[Russellkhan]

1. The commercial didn't remotely resemble your description.
2. The only pretension here is yours. There was no namedropping in the commercial, but your first paragraph sure seemed full of it (pun intended).
3. Just because you don't understand something (because you haven't bothered to try) doesn't mean it's an attempt at individuality.
4. These people putting their time and money into supporting something they like. Is that too superior for you? Would the world be a better place if everyone took your attitude and just sat back and criticized everyone else if they tried to do something that challenged their tiny little worldview?
5. Did it ever enter your mind that there are people out there who do things for reasons other than conformity or rebellion? No? Don't worry, in about 10 years, when you hit 25 or so you'll grow out of that attitude.
6. Not even going to address the Windows/Linux part of your post - it's clear enough that it's nothing but a troll that refutation is unnecessary.

FarStoned

[Ehsan]

I was like.. watching a show.. on the tv... and it was like boom.. and then like.. the show was gone.. and I was like hmm? it devoured devoured.. my show.. and it was a really good show and I had to watch another show and it wasn't as good..

it's kind of..

.. a bummer

A show?

[jonr]

An excerpt from the pilot:
Crais is the captain of a command carrier ship belonging to a military empire known as Peacekeepers. Peacekeepers are an oppressive, human-like species known for keeping "peace" and "stability" with the use of brutality and military cunning. One of their jobs is the assassination and imprisonment of political dissidents and trouble makers.

Hmm... haven't I seen this somewhere else recently...

Their Eyes Are Bigger Than Their Airwaves...

[cribcage]

Another show which boasts rabidly loyal fan support bites the dust. Just yesterday, Comics2Film reported rumors that the Batman-inspired "Birds Of Prey" won't be renewed by the WB network.

These networks need some perspective. They're never going to be NBC, and they're never going to produce "Friends." The absolute best they can hope for is to attract a couple of million die-hard fans, who tune in week after week -- guaranteeing a specific demographic to sell to advertisers.

So, "FarScape" only attracted a bunch of geeks and nerds. That's what's called a "high-saturation demographic." Sure, it's not very appealing to advertisers trying to sell basketball shoes; but for the company selling video games, or computer software, or pocket protectors...advertising on "FarScape" is money well-spent. You're pitching to an audience which might be 90% favorable to your product -- as opposed to betting on the more mixed demographics watching, say, "Trading Spaces" or "Emeril Live."

Old marketing adage: Figure out your strength, and play it. As long as these cable channels keep trying to compete with The Big Three, they're going to keep tripping over themselves.

crib

Alcoholics Anonymous

[Cheese Cracker]

Did someone else get the feeling of an AA meeting when you watched the I Am Farscape commercial?

coming to a grocer near you

[!splut]

Did anyone else interpret that headline as announcing a Farscape-sponsored commercial for fruits and veggies?

"Farscape oranges. They're out of this world."

Money, and all things like it

[Thenomain]

Personally, I wish these people could have saved the money in advertising costs to bribe a UPN exec. From looking at the commercials, it'd have to be a lower exec, maybe a kid in the mail room, but I think the money could have been better spent.

Different applications of the same concept

[shivianzealot]

I'm sitting here wondering why we Slashdotters aren't raising money to air our own awareness ads regarding DMCA, SSSCA, and other Bad Things. We need a geek lobby. Now.

the commercial is a success!

[herrd0kt0r]

this commercial has already converted one person to tune in to farscape. how?

all i gotta say is that if that graphic designer chix0r is farscape, then _i_ wanna be farscape too!

Commercials..

[[cx]]

I've seen commercials for Farscape made by people who _MADE_ the show and I wasn't interested. Some fan effort is going to lack funds, and therefore lack the effects and quality of the actual commercial(s).

I hope that people find more innovative ways of trying to revive their old shows that quickly become cancelled because of the niche audience's problem with weekly viewing.

I personally think the old spider man needs some new episodes, but is that going to happen? NO. If i made a commercial would anyone care? No.
Maybe slashdot, but i think anything that goes away that was once nerdy and "unique"(same as the rest of those nerdy shows) is front line head page just to rally even more support to a lost cause.

My advice, save the time, farscape didnt cut it. wait for the next show you like to come out and watch it get cancelled.

Babylon 5 showed me that it doesn't matter how insanely popular a show is, it won't last.

[cxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Re:Commercials..

[T.E.D.]

Babylon 5 showed me that it doesn't matter how insanely popular a show is, it won't last.

WTF are you talking about? Babylon 5 was going to be a five-year show from the start, and it ran for all 5 seasons. It ended after that not because it got canceled by network types, but because the story was over.

Nobody else sees this but me?

[The Rolling Blackout]

A gang of geeks obsessed with their favorite TV show put out a broadcast-ready promo in order to keep it on the air.

WTF. We can't do the same for the politicians we support or in opposition to those bills we know will create a totalitarian state in the U.S. A.?

WTF again. Where are our FUCKING PRIORITIES? Farscape is just a little bit less important than preserving civil liberties of American citizens, and for that matter, the peace of the rest of the world. If for no other reason than to preserve the freedom of our (possible) children, we should be exerting these efforts in favor of STOPPING NIXON-ERA FORIEGN POLICY TACTICS and electing officials who will make this planet habitable for the next two centuries at the very least.

Thank you for your time, I'm going to bed.

Possible farscape Switch ad...

[whiteranger99x]

Here's one they need:

I was watching a sci-fi show...

and it was like...beep beep beep beep beep...

and then...like...the entire show was gone...

i was like..uh?

sci-fi channel devoured it...it was a good show

It's kind of...(long silence...) a bummer.

I'm Ellen Feiss and I am a farscape fan!

Re:Expletive Deleted

[spectecjr]

We have laws in this country which allow prior restraint of publication for materials which a company claims it has a copyright for. The government is building a database of information about you, run by a convicted felon, in order to protect your "safety". The FBI confiscates the computers of your neighbors when the cable company accuses them of service theft. Habeas Corpus is suspended for U.S. citizens who are accused of 'terrorism', while the C.I.A. uses unmanned drones firing missiles to assassinate 'terrorists' that have been tried in no court of law. The country is run by a man who was elected purely by fraud, and the news media doesn't bother to report that in the 2002 elections (this month!) more than 100,000 legal ballots weren't counted in Florida (again!).


If you care so much about those things, start a campaign. Maybe take a few pages from the Save Farscape campaigns books and follow their lead.

Meanwhile, don't diss other people for putting their passion to good use. Is this as important as those other things? No. Does that give you the right to complain that people are wasting their time on it? No - it's their time, not yours.

That's the whole point of America. It's meant to be a free country -- which means We choose what We want to do.

Re:This has to be said...

[spectecjr]

There are MANY other causes (insert ANY anti-war/hunger/etc... effort here) that are far more worthy of the kind of attention that this TV SHOW is garnering.

Yet you're wasting your time posting on slashdot instead of supporting those far more worthy causes.

Don't you think that's a bit hypocritical?

Re:with this much support

[anno1a]

Because farscape is an extremely expensive series to produce. Although Scifi gets lots of viewers for farscape, they can make more money, producing a cheap, low-quality show which attracts half the audience. Unfortunately, with this strategy, we get a lot of boring cheap television, which no one really likes, rather than exciting visually stunning television, that everyone likes (or at least a large group of people).

We *have* a geek lobby

[Spoing]

We need a geek lobby. Now.

There are actually multiple lobbies for tech related issues. Some are just starting out, though most have some efforts occuring right now.

The first that has to be mentioned -- even if some moderator is hostile to it -- is the grandaddy Free Software Foundation, though there are others if that one is somehow not to your liking;

Bruce Perens has 3 efforts at the Global Technology Policy Institute.

The folks at The Linux Show often promote two efforts; GeekPac and American Open Technology Consortium

...and I'm sure that is not a complete list. If you can't support one, support one of the others.

Has this not been address?

[McFly69]

Here William Shatner's reponse to "Do It Yourself Media."MBR>
William Shatner: "Get a life ... will ya, people? I mean, for cryin' out loud, it's just a TV show."

Aired on Saturday Nigth live, late 1990's.

Re:with this much support

[cel4145]

"There's a poster in this topic who says he has 13G of FarScape on his HD, that's how much he loves it. Umm, no, if he loved it he would have bought the DVDs. People like him in fact killed the show."

sounds like you are working for the entertainment industry. haven't you heard? p2p file trading helps to increase the popularity of shows like farscape and push up sales and viewing audience. i've got 20gigs of farscape and own 3 of the dvd packs with a total of 12 episodes bought and paid for, and i'd like to buy more. just can't do it today.

Adbusters [Re:It's very ironic]

[Seanasy]

Adbusters is what you want. They have professionally produced -- i.e. really good directors/writers, even some from the ad industry -- uncommercials. They'll send you a broadcast quality tape if you buy the air time.