The "Save Our Show" Campaign Begins
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All items on this page are from our personal collections, not gathered from the internet.
After receiving word about the cancellation at 5:09 pm ET, the list members sprang into action and updates were pouring in:
6:11 pm -- A fan reported being told by a secretary they were receiving a lot of calls, and they were all being logged.
6:20 pm -- Mel’s Karmazin’s email address was re-posted. Fan websites for Dr. Quinn, Jane Seymour, & Joe Lando were now posting the phone and email info. Some fans were even posting it on their personal websites.
6:24 pm -- Multiple fans reported that their calls were now going to voicemail.
9:50 pm -- Mel’s Email box was full.
9:59 pm -- Mel’s Voicemail was full.
Calls, emails, texts were sent to TBTB, sponsors, DQ websites, media sites, and news outlets. Friends and family were also asked to call, especially any YUMS, as a counter to the “demographic issue.” The policy was: be polite, state your love of the show; articulate your strong feelings about how you wanted it to continue.
List members from all over the world were also sending emails, making phone calls, sending faxes, and snail mail.
Day 2, Tuesday, May 19, 1998
6:55 am
First report of a call for the day, and Mel himself was now answering. When asked about the show’s reported cancellation, he would neither confirm nor deny but did say, “The announcement would be made tomorrow”.
7:00 am
I made a call to Mel’s number, and he answered. He was half laughing and called it all a “fan conspiracy.” He also asked me how I got his number. I truthfully said, “A friend.”
7:00 am Onward
Calls continued all day and those who spoke to Mel reported he was mainly interested in how people got his number and was a bit testy with some, saying he had gotten too many calls. One Lister quoted Mel, “I have been alerted to a major campaign on the Internet to save the show and that websites have posted my phone number.”
5:00 pm PST
A Lister reported that the writers for the show were packing up their desks out at Paramount Ranch, and that they were very upset and the whole scene was “a madhouse.” Similar reports from Listers were coming in from their contact with crew members. The word was they were not officially informed until late on May 19th that they were unemployed.
We were informed by a Lister who ran a William Shockley website, that both he and Joe Lando were supportive of our efforts but couldn't say so publicly. Other cast and crew were cheering us on.
The Webmaster of the official CBS Dr. Quinn website was in a chatroom and informed Listers about the show’s cancellation. He encouraged everyone to keep on bombarding Mel Karmazin with phone calls, and he gave an additional number to call at the office of CBS Programming.
Reports were posted that Beth Sullivan was in New York City, actively looking to acquire the rights to the show, and pursuing 3 networks that expressed an interest in carrying it.
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6:11 pm -- A fan reported being told by a secretary they were receiving a lot of calls, and they were all being logged.
6:20 pm -- Mel’s Karmazin’s email address was re-posted. Fan websites for Dr. Quinn, Jane Seymour, & Joe Lando were now posting the phone and email info. Some fans were even posting it on their personal websites.
6:24 pm -- Multiple fans reported that their calls were now going to voicemail.
9:50 pm -- Mel’s Email box was full.
9:59 pm -- Mel’s Voicemail was full.
Calls, emails, texts were sent to TBTB, sponsors, DQ websites, media sites, and news outlets. Friends and family were also asked to call, especially any YUMS, as a counter to the “demographic issue.” The policy was: be polite, state your love of the show; articulate your strong feelings about how you wanted it to continue.
List members from all over the world were also sending emails, making phone calls, sending faxes, and snail mail.
Day 2, Tuesday, May 19, 1998
6:55 am
First report of a call for the day, and Mel himself was now answering. When asked about the show’s reported cancellation, he would neither confirm nor deny but did say, “The announcement would be made tomorrow”.
7:00 am
I made a call to Mel’s number, and he answered. He was half laughing and called it all a “fan conspiracy.” He also asked me how I got his number. I truthfully said, “A friend.”
7:00 am Onward
Calls continued all day and those who spoke to Mel reported he was mainly interested in how people got his number and was a bit testy with some, saying he had gotten too many calls. One Lister quoted Mel, “I have been alerted to a major campaign on the Internet to save the show and that websites have posted my phone number.”
5:00 pm PST
A Lister reported that the writers for the show were packing up their desks out at Paramount Ranch, and that they were very upset and the whole scene was “a madhouse.” Similar reports from Listers were coming in from their contact with crew members. The word was they were not officially informed until late on May 19th that they were unemployed.
We were informed by a Lister who ran a William Shockley website, that both he and Joe Lando were supportive of our efforts but couldn't say so publicly. Other cast and crew were cheering us on.
The Webmaster of the official CBS Dr. Quinn website was in a chatroom and informed Listers about the show’s cancellation. He encouraged everyone to keep on bombarding Mel Karmazin with phone calls, and he gave an additional number to call at the office of CBS Programming.
Reports were posted that Beth Sullivan was in New York City, actively looking to acquire the rights to the show, and pursuing 3 networks that expressed an interest in carrying it.
► NEXT PAGE