can ‘Jericho’ be revived... again?
Speaking of last-ditch, past-the-last-minute campaigns to save TV shows...
I watching an episode of Threshold on Universal HD in December when an ad for the late, lamented short-lived series Jericho popped up. I thought, at first, that it was a promo for a rerun of the show on UHD. Not so. Turns out it’s part of a fan-funded and fan-produced crusade to revive the show. Its online HQ, SaveJerichoAgain.com, says that the ad also aired earlier in 2008, in June and September, in Los Angeles.
Here’s the ad:
I’ve never seen anything like this before: a TV spot funded and produced by fans as a rallying cry for their favorite dead series? A TV spot? That takes some major money... even on UHD, where, presumably, the audience is rather small.
It’s kind of cute, actually, but misguided, I think. The broadcast networks are all but dead. A cable network could, conceivably, pick up the show, but I suspect that any future this show -- and lots others like it -- has is purely Web-only. If fans can cough up the money to produce a TV ad, then surely they can cough up the money to pay for a show directly, at least in part. A million people watching a show on network TV ain’t much. A million people paying a buck a week to watch episodes of their favorite shows online should be doable.
Instead of pouring so much effort into trying to get someone else to make your show, why not make it yourself?
comments
posted by BillM (Fri Jan 02 09, 6:12PM)
I would imagine that there would be problems with that. I bet they couldn't buy the rights to it so easily from whoever retains them -- do they just collect money in Paypal and pay a studio -- do they need to create some kind of corporate entity to hire the studio -- etc. etc.
There was a weird campaign a few years ago to raise money to pay for another season of Star Trek: Enterprise when it got cancelled. They ran into a lot of these issues, along with some doubts about the veracity of how the money being collected was being handled.
posted by MaryAnn (Fri Jan 02 09, 7:01PM)
No, I mean that fans could fund the existing production company, not actually do the yeoman's work of producing the episodes themselves.
posted by Jason (Fri Jan 02 09, 8:56PM)
I liked the show, and I was glad when they cranked a few more shows out, but how much farther can it go? I don't want any web based crap, the cheese factor would be heightened.
Too bad Firefly couldn't have ran another season. I really liked that show, discovering it right as it was getting canceled.
posted by Gwen (Fri Jan 02 09, 9:27PM)
I really wish we could just send money to CBS Paramount to fund more Jericho! Unfortunately, that system doesn't exist yet.
The fan ad has a dual purpose - to let TV networks know the fans are still interested in more Jericho and to help the new fans find the fan organizations.
Gwen
www.jericho-kansas.com
posted by Mimi (Fri Jan 02 09, 9:39PM)
I would pay more than a dollar a week for "Pushing Daisies." Sigh.
posted by MaryAnn (Sat Jan 03 09, 12:18PM)
Not necessarily. It's not automatically a given that anything on the Web *must* be cheesy.
The first production company to realize that in a big way will be richly rewarded, I have no doubt.
posted by Mark (Sun Jan 04 09, 9:14PM)
Isn't that company Mutant Enemy?
posted by JoshDM (Sun Jan 04 09, 9:19PM)
Threshold. A couple episodes were very cheesy, but it had some serious potential.
posted by JasonJ (Mon Jan 05 09, 11:04PM)
I would give it a chance, but if I smell any dairy products....
posted by JoshDM (Tue Jan 06 09, 11:35AM)
Speaking about this Fans of Jericho thing, what was all that Firefly hoopla last year with all the Firefly commercials for DurnThaImpossible dot org or whatever ( http://www.donetheimpossible.com/ )
At the time the commercials were released, their website was lacking and I simply didn't understand it. I guess it's a documentary?