* Origin: The State of Confusion * Arlington Tx * 817-274-1920 * (1:130/809)
Д [10] SFFAN (2:463/2.5) ДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДДД SFFAN Д
Msg : 51 of 185
From : Gary Warren 1:382/92 .тp 16 .нв 96 11:05
To : All
Subj : Save FOREVER KNIGHT Faq!
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.TID: IMAIL-386 1.70+ PK32
* Crossposted from: Austin Local: Movies and Televison
[The following has been forwarded by me from the FOREVER KNIGHT Internet
Discussion List. --glw--]
****************************************************************************
From AriCon@AOL.COMTue Jan 16 11:12:12 1996
Date: Tue, 16 Jan 1996 02:32:34 -0500
From: Felicia Bollin
Reply to: Forever Knight TV show
To: Multiple recipients of list FORKNI-L
Subject: SOS: FK FAQ v. 2.0!!!
It's here . . . sorry so late. Omissions, additions, corrections to me, as
always. Thanks for the patience
Felicia
AriCon@aol.com
Ravenette*Immortal Beloved
***THE "FOREVER KNIGHT" SAVE OUR SHOW FAQ***
Version 2.0
January 16, 1996
Ladies and Gentlemen:
"Forever Knight" is in trouble, and it needs your help NOW.
"Forever Knight" is a television show which features the embattled 800-year
old vampire Nick Knight (Geraint Wyn Davies), who fights crime in Toronto,
Canada in an effort to atone for sins committed in his centuries as a
vampire. Along with Dr. Natalie Lambert (Catherine Disher), he searches for
a cure to bring him back from the land of the undead. Adding to the conflict
is Lucien LaCroix (Nigel Bennett), Nick's vampire master, who seeks control
over Nick's eternal soul. The series had just recently inked an
unprecedented dual syndication and cable deal with USA Networks for the
television season of Fall '95-Spring '96, where the episodes would be shown
on both the USA cable channel and in local syndicated markets, with a window
of mere days between them.
On December 22nd, through information on the Internet, sources close to the
show informed the fans that USA Network had decided to cease their
involvement in the show. USA's financial support would also be removed from
the remaining unfilmed episodes of the season, and USA would discontinue any
showings on their network of any new episodes which were not funded by USA.
This meant that the remainder of the current season would be seen *only* on
local syndicated stations; and placed any future seasons of the show in
immediate jeopardy. (This communication was confirmed officially by USA in
an article in the "Hollywood Reporter", January 9, 1996, as well as other
sources).
The Friends of Forever Knight and other support groups across the country
began to mobilize immediately. Goals: To convince TriStar Pictures that
there truly is a market for this excellent, groundbreaking television series
and that it should continue into a fourth season and beyond; to convince
syndicated stations already carrying Forever Knight to *request* a fourth
season of the show and convince stations which do not carry Forever Knight to
pick it up as well; and to bring the program's plight and that of its
devoted fans everywhere to the attention of various media outlets, hoping to
find alternative sources of funding other than USA Network.
Here's what YOU can do to help:
I.) THE LETTER-WRITING CAMPAIGN
A.) The Parent Company
Send heartfelt letters asking for a fourth season and beyond of Forever
Knight to:
Mr. Jon Feltheimer
President
TriStar/Columbia Pictures TV
10202 Washington Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90230
Fax: Jon Feltheimer (310)202-4920 (direct)
Mail Room (*mark Attn: Jon Feltheimer*) (310)202-3272
and
Ms. Terry Johnson
Manager of Publicity
Columbia/Tri-Star
10202 W. Washington Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232
Fax # for TV Syndicated Sales (the ones who will help decide if TriStar sells
a fourth season of FK) : (310)280-2280
**Send a telegram or mailgram.** Some rates:
American Telegram: 800-343-7363
call at least one day ahead: $19.00 +0.89 cents/word
Unitel: 800-361-1872
$25.98 +tax (Canadian) if you call the day before
includes 15 words and a card (call Friday to get cheap rate)
Above rates vary for same day. They can also be charged to your home phone,
or to a credit card.
If you can't swing a telegram, send your letters via overnight mail (FedEx,
UPS, etc.) . We want to create a sense of urgency here, plus conveying that
FK viewers are a generous *and loyal* lot, willing to spend their disposable
income where it counts: for any future FK soundtrack, novelizations, episode
tapes, products advertised on FK.
If you can't afford that, send them priority mail. Send them regular mail,
send a postcard if you can afford nothing else.
***IMPORTANT***
NEVER send ANY letter with the words "Forever Knight" written ANYWHERE on the
envelope! Keep it as clean and anonymous as possible as to its contents.
*If you do not keep all mention of FK out of your envelope header*, your
letters will be treated **as fan letters**, and will either be sent directly
to Paragon, Forever Knight's Canadian production company; or be discarded
outright.
Do NOT mention *anything* that would indicate that you belong (pay dues, run,
etc.) to a fan group per se. Such groups are often seen as "fringe", and we
don't want to be discarded as "loonies" (these are the kind of executives who
probably think if you are a "ST" fan, this automatically means you wear a
pair of putty Spock ears to any and all social events). Same deal if you
attend conventions. I know it stinks, but in this world undereducated to the
joys of cult TV shows, them's the breaks.
Anyone who has access to pre-printed airbills should use those.
Official-looking overnight envelopes, like the type companies use, are
automatically better than ones that look unofficial. If you don't have access
to pre-printed airbills/shipping slips (either USPS ExpressMail and Fedex),
try to *type* the airbills rather than handwriting them. *Any* letterhead
envelope from an organization can't hurt either. If you have a business
card, *include it*. Typed or handwritten are better than printed letters.
Demographically speaking, each single letter is seen as representing *one
hundred* viewers who feel the same way as you, yet who might not pick up
their pens and keyboards to write. Yes, your letter DOES COUNT!!! (I know
there were some of you out there who were thinking, "Why should I write a
letter? What difference does one person make?" 1 : 100, we're telling
you, you'll never get better odds!)
If you have friends and family who care about FK and want to help, **do not**
send petition letters with multiple signatures--- they are counted as *one
letter*. Get them to write their own; or, *you* play secretary for them and
compose the letter according to their own words and let them rewrite and
stamp it.
If you truly feel like you can squeeze no time or money out of your schedule,
at the very least boot up and send email to
TriStar: callback@mis20.msmail.spe.sony.com
Paper is more effective every time, and is far more enduring than email; but
every little bit will help. Carry around preaddressed postcards and offer
them to coworkers and friends. For the same effect, have them mailed from
different postmarks. It is very important that we let TriStar know what a
diverse group we truly are.
DO NOT: Make up names, or sign anyone's name to anything without their
permission. It only takes one call to one address that is false, and *all
the rest of the letters* sent by fans will be looked upon with suspicion---
and may even cause TPTB to disregard them all.
Most important of all, **Be Polite**! No ultimatums or threats like "if you
don't do this I will never ever watch anything on your network again".
They've probably heard such threats many times before, and this will most
likely hurt your chances of being taken seriously. For our purposes at hand,
concentration is key. This is not the time or place to air your personal pet
peeves about the show either; if you have any nitpicks or complaints, ignore
them for the duration of this letter.
B.) The Advertisers
Send letters telling the recent advertisers on FK (and those whom you *think*
could be well-suited to advertise on FK in the future), about this wonderful
show. Tell them that you started using their products *because* you saw them
advertised on Forever Knight. Call the toll-free numbers you find listed on
the back of their products. In other words; tell current advertisers that
their dollars were spent well! Tell future advertisers that they will be
also making the right fiscal decision if they choose to start advertising on
FK, because we will buy their products faithfully. Vote with your dollars!
Send the sponsors your *cash register tapes* with their product listed,
along with a "since you support our favorite show, we support your product!"
note. If you need a list of the show's sponsor addresses, visit the Save FK
website, or write to:
XFF Raven@aol.com
or
ktobin@tiac.net
Cynthia, choff@violet.berkeley.edu, is working on compiling the list of all
the syndicated stations which carry FK. If you want to know which station in
your area carries the show, send her email at the above address.
C.) The Local Station
This is *key*. **Call** your local station and:
a.) Ask for the Station Manager, Programming Director, or the person
responsible for purchasing their syndicated programming. (Trust us, they'll
be *thrilled* to hear from you. They don't often get positive feedback in
their job. All of those who have tried it reported experiences ranging from
the relatively painless to the positively enervating. Be extra-super-polite
to the person at the switchboard and all secretaries, and they will be
willing to help you.)
b.) Tell them how much you love Forever Knight, how glad you are that they
have the excellent taste to show it, and tell them your tale of woe (how USA
Network summarily dropped the show and now its future beyond the remainder of
this season is in jeopardy).
If they *don't* show it on your local station, tell them they should. If
that local station has web access, you can tell them to go to
http://www.cognito.com/0003/articles/00017326/17326824.htm
for some positive mentions of the show. Send them to the main FK webpage at
SONY (listed later), for more information.
c.) Tell them you have heard that TriStar will definitely *not* be offering
a fourth season of the show for sale next year but that they may *change*
their minds if enough of the syndicated markets ask for it.
d.) Tell them to call their TriStar rep soon and tell them they want to
purchase a *fourth* season of the show. Not the second, not the third; but
the FOURTH. If they are also sending a representative to NATPE, the
broadcasters' convention in Las Vegas where next year's programs are sold,
tell them to go to the TriStar booth and ASK for a fourth season of Forever
Knight. Do NOT take "We'll pick it up *if* they offer it" as an answer;
because we know that they are *not going to offer it unless* enough stations
ask!!
*They Must Ask* TriStar for a *fourth* season of Forever Knight.
5.) Thank them for their time, attention, and efforts. And write them a
*thank-you note*. Followup is very important. It keeps your request in the
front of their minds, and it's polite.
II.) THE CHARITY:
A.) Donations, to be sent to the Pediatric AIDS Foundation in the honor
of the cast and crew of Forever Knight. We will be sending a large lump sum
