TELEVISION | Campaigns to keep our favourite TV shows on the air are all the rage.

Once a TV show gets axed, convincing a network to change its mind about it is practically impossible.

Or at least, it used to be.

Petitions and save our show campaigns are springing up on the web faster than you can say “but the ratings sucked!” They are rarely successful, but clearly, folks think there’s at least a chance. And as more and more networks and service providers spring up in the television landscape, I predict these campaigns will become more and more viable.

TV shows are getting better and better all the time.

That’s one factor. And in a saturated market, so many factors go in to a show’s ultimate success or failure. On a new network, or in a new time slot, many overlooked shows may find a second life.

And if not? Better to die than to crawl, as they say.

Here, I profile the valiant efforts made to save three shows dumped from the fall 2005 line-up.

Joan of Arcadia: A teen drama about a girl who talks to God. Literally.

The cast of Joan of Arcadia, 2003-2005.

Cancelled: May 18th, 2005. The people at savejoanofarcadia.com [defunct] call their efforts to save Joan of Arcadia a “mission” or “crusade from God”. Joan’s crusaders have sent CBS and other networks:

• Chess pieces, referencing the S1 episode “Touch Move” with a note that reads, “Make the smart move and pick up Joan of Arcadia in your midseason line up.”
• Scarves, thread, or yarn with a quote from the episode “Common Thread” that reads, “All of creation shares a common thread, like your scarf. How you use that thread becomes the pattern of your life.”
• Seeds, with a note that quotes “Back to the Garden” and reads, “You can’t force a bud to open or a plant to grow faster. Growth is a process. Just be part of the process. Bring back Joan and watch your viewing audience grow!”

Star Trek: Enterprise: The latest in this iconic series of spin offs about peeps in space.

Cancelled: February 2, 2005. The Trekkies at saveenterprise.com call the site the “headquarters for the bid to resurrect the biggest media phenomenon the world has known!” In addition to their letter-writing campaign, they’ve set up:

• A congressional letter that complains to government about the cancellation of Star Trek: Enterprise and calls it “a quality program and positive influence for millions of people.”
• A telephone campaign that targets staffers at Viacom, Paramount, SpikeTV, and UPN.
• Live rallies, conventions, and resources to help you host your own.

Eyes: A midseason replacement drama about private investigators at Judd Risk Management.

Cancelled: May 17, 2005. The visionaries at www.saveeyes.com [defunct] buck up sad fans by telling them that Eyes’ “executive producer John McNamara has asked saveeyes.com to extend his heartfelt thanks” to everyone who signs their petition. In addition they’ve:

• Subsidized their letter writing campaign with a printable postcard from their website.
• Introduced a pledge form, signed by people who promise to watch the show if it returns.
• Spearheaded a DVD crusade, so that even if the show doesn’t come back, fans will still be able to get their hands on it.

Failed save our show campaigns of yore

We won’t go down without a fight! Other groups that have tried (and failed) to resurrect a TV show from the network graveyards, include:

Angel, 1999-2004

The Saving Angel site (a dot org!) raised over $17,500 to pay for ads, billboards, a chocolate bar campaign, and a rally. Organizers also gave some cash to charity.

Forever Knight, 1992-1996

At its peak, the Save Forever Knight site averaged one hit every three minutes. And these relentless folks are still sending letters and urging networks to air reruns, nearly a decade later.

My So-Called Life, 1994-1995

The cast of My So-Called Life, 1995.

This is one campaign dear to my very own heart. The Internet wasn’t what it is today ten years ago, but Operation Life Support still used it to rally fans and raise funds for a full-page ad in USA Today and from my parents’ living room in Toronto, I took part as best as my little teenage heart allowed.

It’s alive!

More importantly, when it comes to save our show campaigns, despite the odds, success is possible! As I mentioned, save our show campaigns don’t always fail.

This past May, the animated series Family Guy returned to the airwaves with new episodes after a three year hiatus that was intended to be a permanent cancellation.

The show was originally yanked in 2002 after it’s third season, when it was averaging 4.5 million viewers an episode. Fox decided to resurrect it following unprecedented rerun ratings and the success of the series’ DVD. Now in their fourth season, Stewie and all the Griffins are part of a real-life top-25 ranked hit, with 11.9 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. So keep trying, show-lovers. And take heart. Your efforts may not be in vain.

A version of this piece published in Dose in June of 2005. A clipping is shown below. More television and film stuff is here. More culture and trend pieces are here.

Published in Dose, June 2005.