Renewal Efforts

Despite achieving more than respectable ratings and garnering many positive reviews, as of July 2007 there has been no word on production of any further episodes of the series. Representatives of the Sci-Fi Channel continue to insist that the show has NOT been canceled and that, indeed, no decision has yet been made.

Update: As of August 3rd, it seems that many sources are now reporting that SFC has "officially" canceled the show. This does not mean the campaign is over.

If you'd like to support future season of The Dresden Files, you can help in many ways - including the following.

1) Write snail mail letters to "The Powers That Be", specifically to those employees most directly responsible for programming:

Sci-Fi Channel

Dave Howe, President
NBC Universal/Sci-Fi Channel
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, NY 10112

Mark Stern, Executive VP Original Programming
NBC Universal/Sci-Fi Channel
100 Universal City Plaza, Bld. 1440, 14th Fl.
Universal City, CA 91608

Lionsgate:

General Inquiries - (310) 449-9200
E-mail: general-inquiries@lgf.com

Steve Beeks - President & Chief Operating Officer - Vancouver
Kevin Beggs - President of TV Programming & Production - LA
Michael Burns - Vice Chairman - LA
Jon Feltheimer - Chief Executive Officer - LA

1055 West Hastings Street
Suite 2200
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6E 2E9
Telephone (877) 848-3866

2700 Colorado Ave.
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Telephone (310) 449-9200
Facsimile (310) 255-3870

75 Rockefeller Plaza
16th Floor
New York, NY 10019
Telephone (212) 669-5000

Saturn Films:

Nicolas Cage
Saturn Films
9000 Sunset Blvd., Suite 911
Los Angeles, CA 90069

Norman Golightly, VP of Creative Affairs
Saturn Films
9000 Sunset Blvd., Suite 911
Los Angeles, CA 90069

Please keep all correspondence brief and polite. The network receives numerous letters every day and it's important that you get your positive wishes and points across as clearly and concisely as possible. Avoid negativity. Do not complain or insult the network. It is important to leave them with a good impression of Dresden Files fans in general.

Please Note: Email and online petitions, while worthy endeavors, often do not hold much value with network executives. It's perfectly fine to get involved with those type of campaigns BUT you should always make sure to send out your snail mail letters first.

2) Call the Sci-Fi Channel feedback line:

212-664-3571

If the mailbox says it full, dial (212) 413-5679

...and ask to be transferred to the viewer comment line.

Leave a short brief message including your name and a positive comment about the show.

3) Let everyone online know your love for the show:

Add Dresden content to your "Signature" on EVERY forum you visit. We need to reach people outside the normal core audience and most message boards allow signature boxes to be a 'free area'. So, it doesn't matter whether the forum's focus is Television or woodworking or organic gardening. So find something great to say about Dresden, and stick it in there with a link to the SFC Dresden site. This is the gift that keeps on giving because even when you aren't online, your signature is still doing the work for you at the end of every post.
Do the same as above for your personal email. Most of us exchange dozens of emails every day. We might have already mentioned Dresden to them but giving them a link at the bottom of your email gives them easy entry into Dresden's world.
Most forums have a general discussion area. Take advantage of it and strike up a conversation. Lots of people will be talking about Harry Potter over the next couple of months. Don't forget to point out our Harry - a wizard for grown ups!
If you have a blog, LiveJournal, MySpace page, etc... keep interesting Dresden content on the front page every week for people to see. Talk about your love of the show, etc...

Sample banners for your use (Contributed by "SnarkleMotion"). DO NOT HOTLINK :
dresden_files_renew

You can, also create your own and share them with others. Look HERE for info on popular banner sizes.

You can find other resources (more banners, letter templates, postcards), and submit your own, to a sub-section of our forum which has been dedicated to these items here:

4) Join and Contribute on the Dresden Files campaign section of our own Blue Whale Forum.

http://thebluewhalepub.com/viewforum.php?f=19

You can help in any number of ways. Our efforts are just beginning and we can use your ideas!

5) Visit other sites devoted to the renewal effort:

Bonnie Johnson has, also, put together a wonderful web resource for those who would like to contribute to the renewal efforts. She has featured "Letter Drives" and awarded prizes for committed fans in the past and may do so again. Please visit her valuable site for other ways you can help:

http://maenad.tripod.com/saveharrydresden/

Other notes:

When talking to new fans about Dresden and a second season, the mantra is "Support Renewal" not "Fight Cancellation". We need to be optimistic. A lot of the general public won't get involved in a show they believe may already be dead so stick to the basic facts when broaching this subject. We haven't heard that Dresden was canceled in any way, we simply haven't heard it's been renewed - yet. Once you know they're hooked then you can give them all the messy details.
It's a bit of a setback that TDF is not currently airing in reruns. HOWEVER, the show IS currently available from iTunes. New fans can buy the first episode for only $1.99 (or the whole season for less than $20) USD. Most people spend more than this eating lunch out every day. We *know* Lionsgate has been watching iTunes sales closely... the more people we can get to purchase from iTunes, the better. These are sales that TPTB can see right now. Pre-sales of the DVD really don't count, and retail sales of those probably won't be counted until it's way too late. For potential viewers that need to be convinced first there ARE other ways to see the episodes without cost.
We need some real Photoshop wizards to create web banners and graphics that people can use in conjunction with the above.

More later,
John