May 8, 2006
Letter from the editorA Time to Cancel, A Time to Renew
So, the end of the season beckons. We're on those penultimate episodes: the slow build to the dramatic climax is not so slow anymore. And the tension's not just on the screen, but behind it. What the hell is going to make it on the air come fall?
We'll start finding out next Monday (and SMRT-TV will have analysis for you the Monday following). Needless to say, everyone in TV-land is biting their nails a bit. Kathryn Halloran, a member of the "Cloud Watchers" Save Veronica Mars campaign, wrote in to report on the incredible variety of activities fans are engaging in to save this show, including:
- Hiring a plane to fly across the skies of Los Angeles towing a banner
proclaiming "Renew Veronica Mars! CW 2006!" The plane will fly between
UPN's downtown LA HQ and the offices of the future CW network in Burbank
during the morning and afternoon rush hours on Tuesday, May 9th, the day
of Veronica Mars' second season finale and one week before the CW announces
its fall season line-up. [Note: due to weather conditions, the flight
occurred at lunchtime and during the late afternoon.]
- Putting together their own publicity kits, including Veronica Mars-inspired
t-shirts, care packages, and flowers, and sending them to decision makers
at the CW, its parent companies and influential people in the media.
- Raising money to donate sets of the first season DVDs to libraries in the top 10 Nielsen markets, with individual fans donating sets independently to their local libraries and organizations like Amvets and the US Naval Academy. "As I write," Kathryn says, "more than 60 DVDs of Veronica Mars have been sent or pledged to library systems across the US and Canada since May 1st. [Molly Pickrell, the campaign organizer] is confident that the campaign will easily exceed their goal of donating more than 100 DVD sets."
It's that last one that I think is especially cool, mainly because it enables more people to see good TV. Something worth making time for. But I actually think Veronica Mars has a strong chance of making it back even without the help of a fan campaign; the CW's decision to cancel the relatively well-rated but family-oriented Reba shows a clear interest in targeting the young female demographic — and if they think that canceling a show featuring one of network TV's most complex and engaging female protagonists is the way to do that, then... Well. That'll suck. But better to burn out than fade away, right?
I kind of enjoy these uncertain times — for me, speculation and anticipation are pretty damn fun. And Michael Adams has my back on this; his extremely thorough fantasy fall schedule is chock full of good ideas and outside-of-the-box thinking.
Though we don't agree on what Veronica Mars's fate should be. But hey, that's part of the joy of TV, right? Everyone ultimately makes their own viewing schedule; everyone has so many options. Infinite diversity in infinite combinations.
TV is so very Vulcan.
Return to Season 2, Episode 16.
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