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People love ANGEL in Minnesota, too…

From the Brainard Dispatch, of Brainard, Minnesota:

Fans around the world fight to save ‘Angel’

Fans around the world fight to save ‘Angel’
By JOHN HANSEN
Staff Writer

For five seasons, Angel Investigations has “helped the helpless.” But after being canceled by The WB around Valentine’s Day — how’s that for a stake to the heart? — “Angel” (which airs its final four episodes at 8 p.m. Wednesdays through May 19) was suddenly the one in need of help.

To many fans of the David Boreanaz-starring vampire drama, the cancellation was shocking. “Angel” creator Joss Whedon had put The WB on the TV map seven years ago with the launch of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” It seemed rather cruel to dust his franchise before the story was over.

By most critical accounts, “Angel” has been better than ever this season, with Spike (James Marsters) coming over from “Buffy” and Team Angel taking over the headquarters of interdimensional law firm Wolfram & Hart.

To those who follow the TV business, the premature end of “Angel” is merely the most high-profile example of a disturbing trend: The eradication of quality programs from our TV dial, following the likes of “Freaks and Geeks,” “Roswell” and “Once and Again.” This season, “Miss Match” and “Karen Sisco” met quick ends, while “Arrested Development,” the funniest show on TV, is on the bubble for renewal.

While fans might feel helpless against the tides of the mammoth TV industry, the “Save Angel” campaign (www.SaveANGEL.org) provides a spark of hope. I recently conducted an e-mail interview with campaign coordinator Simon Fleischman. The 33-year-old communications consultant and freelance writer based out of Israel is the Angel of the Save Angel campaign. He works with a 12-member strategy board that includes plenty of Wesleys, Freds and Gunns, all of whom aim to help the helpless — in this case, Whedon and the “Angel” production team — by rallying fans around the world.

JH: How and why did you get involved with “Save Angel?”

SF: I started “Save Angel” after reading about the out-of-the-blue cancellation and Joss Whedon’s posted reaction, in which he said, “No, we had no idea this was coming. Yes, we will finish out the season. No, I don’t think the WB is doing the right thing … Yes, my heart is breaking.”

In particular, I was moved by his words, “You wanna know how I feel? Watch the first act of ‘The Body’ (the “Buffy” episode where Buffy’s mom dies).” To me, it had a particularly profound meaning — my mother passed away from cancer last year, in a way too much like life imitating art. I felt I owed Joss a karmic service for that episode, and the campaign was a way I could repay that debt.

JH: How many hours a day do you spend saving “Angel?”

SF: In the days following the cancellation announcement, organizing the site, writing postings and messages and spreading the word was nearly all I did. Because I’m in Israel, while most of the fans are at least eight hours earlier, I actually started having to follow a vampire schedule: I would stay up writing until dawn, and sleep in until early afternoon. I was sending out, on average, 50 to 60 personal e-mails a day in response to questions from “Angel” fans from around the world.

JH: TV networks generally don’t give reasons for canceling shows other than general references to ratings, but “Angel’s” ratings have actually been up this year. Why, to the best of your knowledge, was “Angel” canceled?

SF: In two Variety articles, Jordan Levin, the CEO of The WB, did actually give a number of reasons: wanting room for new programs, wanting more time slots for repeats, and Angel’s poor “repeatability” and lack of “audience upside.” While costs weren’t given as a factor, we know that in the end, it always does come down to money, particularly how much advertisers were willing to pay for the show.

JH: Who should fans contact, and what methods should they use, to make their voice heard?

SF: As Whedon declared in a recent interview, if fans have the time, to keep writing to “everyone.” At SaveANGEL.org, we provided a number of network targets, including, of course, Mr. Jordan Levin and Mr. Garth Ancier of The WB. But Whedon made a special point that contacting the production company behind “Angel,” 20th Century Fox Television, would also be a good idea. A strong showing of support from fans would give Joss’ Mutant Enemy company the leverage to negotiate additional franchise developments, such as spin-offs or even movies. It was a similar show of fan loyalty which lead Universal Pictures to greenlight a movie based on Whedon’s short-lived “Firefly” series.

Postcards are the tried-and-true method. If people want to say more by sending hand-written letters, we’re suggesting they do so on heavier stock paper, and to reduce security concerns, staple or tape the sheet closed, rather than using an envelope. We’ve gotten reports back that sealed envelopes have been returned, stamped “Refused.”

JH: The petition on your Web site has almost 20,000 signatures, and another Internet petition is near the 90,000 mark. How does the support compare to that of other canceled shows?

SF: We are regularly hearing that, at least anecdotally, the “Angel” fan campaigns are the largest and most diverse of any “Save Our Show” movement. It’s not just petitions and post-card mailings, however; fans have organized blood drives (appropriately enough!) and donated thousands to the L.A. Food Bank, sent hundreds of flower bouquets to Jordan Levin and over 500 beanie babies to Garth Ancier, had two rallies in Burbank, run full-page ads in the industry trades and had a mobile billboard circling Los Angeles.

The campaign effort of “SaveFarscape” is the best example of how a group of well-organized, dedicated fans can bring back a show. In their case, a year after its cancellation, “Farscape” will be shown again as a mini-series.

JH: What does “Angel’s” cancellation say about the future of quality TV?

SF: Already there have been rumblings among critics around the nation as well-loved series like “Angel” get dropped in favor of cheap reality shows. Everyone agrees that the network’s formulaic reality television are the bottom strata of programming. While “Survivor” may have started off as genuinely fun and engaging, we now get such lowest-common-denominator fare as “The Swan” and “My Big (Fat) Obnoxious Fiance.”

The network heads know that serial television like “Angel” is what they build audiences on; unfortunately, the quick fix is inexpensive filler like reality shows. Given a choice between quality and money, they choose the cheaper route.

Perhaps it’s time for networks to reassess their programming priorities. The FCC regulates whether stations are granted licenses to broadcast, based on the idea of the “public interest.” While groups such as the Parents Television Council regularly rally against what they consider to be indecency in television — such as the Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident — no one has been pushing the idea that networks should also strive for quality and be scrutinized when they aim instead for bottom of the barrel broadcasting.

JH: And on a fun note: What is your favorite episode and favorite season of “Angel?”

SF: This fifth season has been excellent. James Marsters joined the cast, Joss came on-board to lead up the storytelling, and we had a wonderful diversity of tales from comical (”Smiletime”) to tragic (”A Hole in the World”). But I have to say that my favorite has been the 100th episode, “You’re Welcome,” which featured the return and final appearance of Cordelia (as well as some amazing fight choreography).

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