Semi-final updated post-cancellation support party press release; use, distribute, edit or rewrite at will:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 16, 2002
FOX'S FIREFLY LIGHTS UP THE SCREEN FOR BAY AREA FANS
BERKELEY, CA- On December 20, local fans of Fox's just-cancelled drama Firefly will gather for a viewing party in Berkeley in a show of support for the show. Party attendees want to send a message to network executives at UPN, SciFi Channel, and other possible future homes for the orphaned show, that its lukewarm Nielsen ratings are overlooking a sizeable population of loyal viewers.
Friday nights this fall, millions of eyes have been glued to Fox affiliates nationwide because of Firefly, a riveting "space Western" from Mutant Enemy Productions, creators of the critically-acclaimed Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Like Buffy and Angel, Firefly has quickly developed a devoted following, thanks to the originality of the stories told by show's executive producers Joss Whedon and Tim Minear, and the exceptional skill of the cast and crew, whom Whedon has described in several interviews as the most gifted group of people he's ever worked with.
From the beginning, though, Firefly has been hampered in its attempts to find a wider audience beyond its core base of fans. The original series premiere, a several months' labor of love by Whedon, was rejected by Fox as being too wordy with too little action. A replacement episode hastily written to meet Fox's demands got lukewarm reviews from critics nationwide and was ignored in droves by audiences across America.
The handful of critics who stuck with the show have noted its many virtues despite its rocky start with everything from cheerful approval ("Firefly offers...[a] well-balanced blend of humor, action, sharply drawn characters and unexpected twists on genre conventions." - Robert Bianco, USA Today, 9/18/02) to flat-out adulation ("Whedon does what too many feature filmmakers these days do not: entrance us with elaborate narratives in which small, precise details add up to a coherent philosophy -- a worldview." Ken Tucker, Entertainment Weekly, 10/1/02). But the combination of Fox's lack of publicity for the show and a timeslot constantly jostled by Fox's coverage of the World Series, made it difficult for Firefly to grow.
Despite these trials, Firefly's core base of fans is already passionate, solid, and phenomenally productive. Just three months after the first episode, a websearch for "Firefly Whedon fan" will turn up over a hundred fan-created sites, many impressively professional and polished. Front and center among these sites is Firefly: Immediate Assistance, a campaign to communicate to network executives and corporate sponsors that demographically valuable viewers are watching and loving this unique drama.
Whedon is continuing to campaign for the show as well; within hours of the cancellation announcement, he was giving interviews and showing up on fan message boards to say that Fox has already given him its blessing to seek a new home for the show and that he is going to do his best to do so. He and his writing team and cast are no more ready to leave the universe of Firefly than the fans are.
On December 20, the original Whedon-penned two-hour series pilot will be aired for the first time. As part of the campaign, fans in Berkeley will gather to watch and discuss the show's brilliantly-imagined universe. In nearly 20 other cities across the country, and at least one in the United Kingdom, other local fans will do the same. If all goes as planned, they will send a message to network executives and sponsors that Firefly is a shining light in the lineup of new shows this season, and that Fox's loss may be someone else's golden opportunity.
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Note to Editors: Cameras and reporters are welcome at the Berkeley viewing party! More information about the Firefly: Immediate Assistance campaign is available at [link] .
Also, any Bay Areaistas wanting to attend,
please
email me at my profile addy, since so far I only have 3 attendees confirmed. Grazie!
Those who sent money for the flowers and candy for the Firefly cast:
Everyone got their flowers, which I am told were incredibly gorgeous and were wrapped with ribbons and candies.
Summer got hers, today, because she left the set before the flowers got there on Friday.
Am told everyone was greatly touched by the bouquets, so I think you all done good. You cheered some peeps.
LAISTAS:
I know it's a new Buffy and I know it's a school night for some of us, but I have, in my hand, Harry Potter 2: The Chamber of Secrets on DVD!!! Anyone who can wait til tomorrow to watch Buffy is more than welcome to come over tonight.
My Niece, the hero:
Fergus Falls Daily Journal, Fergus Falls, Minnesota
Tuesday, December 17, 2002
Highway heroes
By Jim Sturgeon
A 120-pound college student and her best buddy, Thor, likely saved the life of a woman who was kidnapped and assaulted last Thursday just south of Fergus Falls.
Teresa Jensen, 21, Fergus Falls, was driving south on Highway 59 by the entrance to the Big Chief Truck Stop at the junction with Interstate 94, about 11 p.m. when she saw shadows in the roadway ahead. As she drove closer, she saw a man dragging a woman from the road.
She had to slam on her brakes to avoid hitting them.
"I noticed she was all bloody and screaming for help, so that's why I stopped," Jensen said.
Jensen clipped a leash onto her pit bull, Thor, got out of her car, and confronted the man.
"He was holding onto her," Jensen said. "It stopped him in his tracks when Thor got out of the car. I said 'this is a pit bull dude, so let her go.' I just kept repeating that and finally he let her go. It happened in just a few seconds."
While the victim ran to the Big Chief for safety, Jensen and Thor stood by to make sure the suspect, Jesse Alberto Walters, 23, didn't follow her into the parking lot.
"The look in his eyes was just cold, like something had snapped," she said. "I didn't think about him having weapons. I don't think I even cared."
While the clerk called authorities, Jensen said the victim locked herself in a shower room while a trucker stood guard outside. Paramedics arrived within minutes and took the victim to Lake Region Hospital for treatment.
"She was walking and talking, but was very panicked," Jensen said. "She wouldn't open the door to the shower room until I said it was OK."
When Jensen visited the victim in the hospital, the victim said she believed her estranged husband was going to kill her.
Jensen said she stopped to help without giving it a second thought.
"I didn't even think, I didn't care, I just had to," she said. "The only threat I could come up with on short notice was to threaten him with my pit bull."
What the suspect didn't know was that her 11-month-old dog is actually a sweetheart.
"A lot of people think he's a big pansy," she said.
Jensen said she wasn't sure if Thor would have actually intervened during the incident, but if Walters had attacked her, she knows he would protect her.
"Their instincts are to protect the ones they love," she said.
Jensen visited the victim in the hospital.
"I met her mom, sister, cousin and oldest boy," she said. "The first thing the oldest boy did was give me a hug. I got hugs from everyone. We all sat down and they even gave me a quilt. Coming from native Americans, it was a very precious thing. It was beautiful."
Female intuition is the only way to explain how Jensen was passing the scene of the assault that night. She left M and H convenience store in Fergus Falls and told her friends she would meet them at their house near Dalton.
"I could have taken the Swan Lake Road, but I took the Big Chief Road," she said. "I completely gapped out taking the Swan Lake Road. It's like why do you turn left when you wanted to go right."
Walters is charged with kidnapping, assault and terroristic threats. Jensen said she hopes she's called to testify in Walters' trial.
As looking out for others, Jensen said "People have to stop when they see this stuff. She was doing the right thing, trying to get away from him. Once she's healed up, she'll have a new beginning."
And Thor, even though he didn't get any treats for his part in stopping a potentially fatal situation, is well cared for.
"He's always spoiled," Jensen said. "He's been getting a few extra table scraps. He's getting fat from them."
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--intro to post edited to spell Niece correctly.
Peter Jackson's on Charlie Rose right now, East coasters!
edit: I think it may be an extended verision of last week's interview as Elijah & Viggo are there, but it's at the top of the show, and not in the middle like last time.
