by Jenny Gibbons

Created on: May 14, 2009

In Hollywood today, unique and ambitious shows often find themselves punished for their creativity rather than rewarded. Studios are less and less likely to keep investing in an unusual tale because it's riskier than providing shows that appeal to the masses. Audiences partially contribute to this unfortunate trend by turning on "easy" shows-your run-of-the-mill episodic drama or so-called "reality" entertainment-and turning their brains off, rather than risking their time on something new and challenging. As viewers, it is our responsibility to support the shows written with creative integrity and emotional sincerity. Other than tuning in, however, what can one do to support a show facing cancellation?

The best way to answer this question is to look at what fans have successfully done in the past. Consider "Jericho," an apocalyptic serial drama. When fans discovered CBS wanted to cancel it in 2007, they banded together online and came up with a plan. First of all, they picked a symbol from the show. This symbol came from a moment in the season finale when the town of Jericho is forced to surrender-much like the show itself-and the protagonist responds by saying, "Nuts." As a result, the fans sent over 25 tons of peanuts to both the New York and Los Angeles CBS offices. Their voices were heard, and CBS decided to give the show another chance on the air.

"Roswell" fans actually started the trend of sending food to networks in 2000. They, too, selected an edible symbol from the show-in this case, Tabasco sauce, the aliens' favorite condiment-and sent 6,000 bottles to UPN. While 6,000 small bottles of Tabasco does not quite amount to 25 tons of peanuts, it was the first time a campaign of this sort had been launched, so it was effective. "Roswell" was renewed for another season.

Unfortunately, creative food campaigns have not always saved the shows that inspired them. Fans of "Veronica Mars," "Journeyman," and "Kyle XY"made similar snack-spirited attempts and failed. Perhaps this is a sign that fans need to use their imagination and come up with slightly new ways to shock the studio executives. For instance, in a non-food-related effort, fans saved "Reaper" in 2008 by sending socks to the CW, inspired by a character named Sock. However, the failures are also a sign that sometimes, protesting a show's cancellation is just not enough. Sometimes there are too many other factors involved, factors that have led to the show's cancellation in the first place and pushed

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>