Submitted by: Chris Parker (SoSF Contributing Fan)
Things might be looking a little glum for Harry Dresden fans. According to screenwriter and Jim Butcher’s friend Robert Wolfe, over at the JimButcher.com forums, it may be time for fans of The Dresden Files television show to start campaigning.
When that very question was put to him just yesterday Wolfe responded, “I suppose now is as good a time to push as any, though, honestly, I’m not sure it will help. The decision was supposed to be made last Friday, but it wasn’t, so that’s something at least.”
The decision he speaks of is the one that SCI FI Channel execs will be making concerning the renewal hopes of “The Dresden Files” for a second season. The show, which debuted last season didn’t do as well as many had hoped in its Sunday night timeslot, even though it was a lead-in for “Battlestar Galactica.” BSG’s numbers have also dropped since the move to Sunday night. Fans complained from the beginning that it was starting to look like SCI FI was pulling a Fox when it aired the episodes out of sequence (Fox basically buried “Firefly” when it did the same exact thing for that show).
It’s not really fair to say that SciFi was pulling a Fox here. For one thing, the Dresden Files episodes are pretty much standalone. But the real reason that they delayed airing some of the episodes was purely practical: they needed time to do the special effects for the bigger, more expensive episodes. You know the saying: you can have it good, you can have it fast, or you can have it cheap — pick two. 🙂
The real reason that I think Dresden Files might not have done as well as they hoped was just because it was airing late on a Sunday night, which is not an optimal time for TV viewing. They really ought to be fairly happy with the numbers they got; it may not have been a smash hit, but it got better numbers than Battlestar has gotten since the change in time slot.
Damn, I liked that show.
Okay…What do we need to do to bring Harry back!???
Well, I would call it pulling a Fox, because they did the same exact thing to a few other shows of theirs, where it would get stuck on a crappy timeslot, and they’d kill it due to the sorta low numbers. And really, what shows do they have going for them right now? Battlestar Galactica, SG-1 (which is ending), Atlantis, Eureka, Painkiller Jane, and Ghost Hunters. Eureka only goes for half seasons. So 24/7 TV channel, and they have a half dozen shows worth watching (and 9 shows in total). What else do they want to stuff down our throats? More shitty movies and reruns? Fox did same thing, get rid of the good, for more crap. I wouldn’t be surprised if they canceled Dresden Files for “Who Wants to Marry a Trekkie?”.
Hey Chris from Detroit,
That production values hypothesis was put forth by Jim Butcher himself as only a guess. He was clear in that he was guessing (when being interviewed by the gang at Cover to Cover and later used on a Slice episode) it was by no means concrete fact as you have presented it.
SciFi made a crappy show, put it in a crappy timeslot, under promoted it, and then aired the episodes out of order. If that’s not pulling a Fox, I don’t know what is.
I really hope, that unlike Firefly, this series eventually makes a come back.
If all else fails, I am buying the books, reading them, and writing a screen play for the movie.
Unless someone is already working on one?
I believe with all my heart that SciFi was pulling a Fox. Look at what it did:
1) Didn’t advertise it. I never ONCE saw an ad for The Dresden Files on SciFi.
2) Put the show in a poor timeslot.
3) Frequently shifted the show’s timeslot around. I couldn’t tell you how often I turned on the TV at 9 only to discover that the show had been aired at 8, or at 8 to learn that it wouldn’t be shown until 10.
4) Frequently cancelled the episodes in favour of other shows and made-for-TV movies.
5) Didn’t air all of the episodes.
6) Showed the episodes out of sequence.
Brilliant, innit?
The overwhelming impression I had was that the SciFi channel did not WANT The Dresden Files. Despite the fact that TDF brought in good demographics and quite a respectable audience for a show whose episodes were continually being shifted about and cancelled, the SciFi channel has been behaving as if a show with good writing, good acting, good dialogue, good storylines and good characterization is unwelcome on amidst such stellar company as Ice Spiders, Mansquito, Painkiller Jane and ECW Wrestling.
My only hope at this point is that The Dresden Files will get a new lease on life on another channel. I don’t think that we can count on Skiffy to do right by the show.
We’ve got a campaign going to show Sci-fi that TDF has a fan base. Go here:
http://home.comcast.net/~zarina43/wsb/index.html
http://maenad.tripod.com/saveharrydresden/index.html
We’ve got the contact info for the decision-makers and suggestions on what to do. I love the show, and can’t just sit idly by while Sci-fi takes its sweet old time announcing the show’s fate. Man, sounds like a PBS pitch, doesn’t it? LOL
I sent a couple of post cards to Ms. Hammer and Mr. Stern today to follow up the letters I sent to them back in May. I have emailed and signed petitions. Hopefully they will listen to the fans.
There is contact info and more at the links posted in #9 above by “debi” but the basic addresses and emails and phone number are:
Mark Stern, Executive VP Original Programming
NBC Universal/Sci-Fi Channel
100 Universal City Plaza, Bld. 1440, 14th Fl.
Universal City, CA 91608
Bonnie Hammer, President
NBC Universal/Sci-Fi Channel
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112
email and phone numbers for Sci-Fi channel are:
feedback@scifi.com
programming@ scifi.com
Viewer Comments line, at 212-664-3571
I would just like a good show to stay on air. There are so few of them these days despite the plethora of channels.