January 11, 2008Hi Underground!
Happy 2008! It's been a very busy few weeks--but we're glad to be back, promoting Supernatural!
On that note--at this point, and to get to business, most people know that the CW has release a presser announcing its schedule for post-strike airing. And, as many of you know, Supernatural has been preempted by the series "Reaper". I'm sure many of you are worried that this might be a first step towards cancellation.
We're here to tell you: DON'T PANIC!
News from some of our Underground members is that the CW has not announced any intention of canceling Supernatural or removing it from the Fall lineup. The CW initial response has been that it is seeking the Thursday at 9 PM timeslot to help promote and save "Reaper", which did not have a strong Fall in the ratings. While we do note that removing SPN from the schedule could have an impact, more than likely this move is to utilize the Thursday night time slot--the most sought after and difficult timeslot in the US's weekly TV schedule--to the best advantage of original CW programming.
HOWEVER...
That does not mean that we are going to sit back on our hands and wait for news. We still want to let CW know that we, the Supernatural fans, are eager to see our show, and that we fully support it.
But, getting worked up and jumping the gun on a 'save our show' campaign may not work to our best advantage. As fans, we need to sit back and think things through--and make sure we're approaching this carefully and professionally, so that we can have the most impact and remain unified through this time period.
So the Underground has two ideas we'd like you please spread around the fandom as a way to keep the fanbase united, but also continue to show the CW our support of our show. Hopefully, these two options will get the point across that we are here, eager to keep our show on the air.
1) Contact the CW's comment line:
Many of you may not know the CW has a comment line--a line where you can leave a message about CW programming. Your messages are typed up and distributed to the appropriate CW personnel. This is one VERY ADVANTAGEOUS AND EASY way of letting the CW know you support Supernatural.
The phone line is NOT TOLL FREE--there is a long distance charge if you don't have free long distance. The number is here:
818-977-6878.
Please, leave a message explaining why you love Supernatural. Not just that you love it, but the reasons why--writing, directing, acting, special effects--these are all things you may want to consider when leaving your voicemail. Your message will have much more of an impact if you show the CW that Supernatural means more to you than just pretty faces on the screen.
You are also welcome to email the CW at their feedback address: feedback@cwtv.com
AS ALWAYS, THE UNDERGROUND DOES NOT ADVOCATE EMAIL SPAMMING. Please don't let us hear the feedback box has been peppered with meaningless emails. Write a thorough email explaining your love for the show. Overstocking someone's inbox with the same one-line message 500 times does nothing to prove we are an intelligent, sensitive fanbase.
2) JOIN OUR 'BACK IN BLACK' MUSCLE CAR CAMPAIGN!! (PICTURES ONLY!!)
To help celebrate the return of Supernatural--and to show our support--we're advocating a campaign where you WRITE the CW a letter talking about your love for Supernatural.
Along with your letter, send a PICTURE of a classic car or a muscle car--not just the '68 Impala, but any classic car you fancy. Be it a '66 Mustang, a GTO, a 70's Malibu, Jag or Barracuda, a 50's T-Bird--anything you think is cool. Clip the picture from a magazine, print one off the 'net, take a photo, buy a postcard, or draw it by hand--just include it in your envelope.
You are welcome to write a catchy line from a Classic song on your car pictures--"Back in Black" is our favorite, but choose anything you'd like (just keep it tasteful).
Hopefully, our efforts will show the CW that we are unified in our support of Supernatural.
PLEASE NOTE: WE ARE NOT ADVOCATING THE SHIPMENT OF ANY 'REAL' NOVELTY ITEMS OF ANY KIND. THIS IS A PAPER CAMPAIGN ONLY.
Our point is to appear united and professional. Please respect the CW as a place of business and a network. Any Underground members found to be sending anything other than paper pictures under the name of the SPNU "Back in Black" campaign will be immediately removed from the Underground mailing and member lists.
You can send your letter and picture to the CW offices. You can address them to Dawn Ostroff, but they will reach the CW network either way.
The CW
3300 West Olive Ave
Burbank, CA 91505
AND...we'd love to see your pictures! If you take any creative pictures, or draw your favorite muscle car, share it with the Underground! We'll post it up when we put up our "Back in Black" website a little later on.
And now for an update:
OPERATION: WINCHESTER
In November, we announced the beginning of the <a href="
http://www.operationwinchester.com">Operation: Winchester</a> Phase Two project. In Phase Two, we teamed with <a href="
http://siprojecthomefront.org/">Staten Island Project Homefront</a>, which ships care packages to troops overseas. We had hoped to send half a dozen or so copies of Supernatural Season 1 DVD sets to Project Homefront to be included with their packages, and asked fans for donations to help make that happen. Supernatural fans then surpassed our wildest dreams by donating enough to buy <i>twenty-four</i> DVD sets! Many, many thanks to everyone who donated -- clearly, SPN fans <i>rock.</i>
The DVDs were bought (from no fewer than eight different places, since nearly every online store had a purchase limit of three sets, and some of <i>those</i> were on back-order) and sent to Project Homefront. Then, <lj user="potthead"> and her contact at Harper-Collins arranged for a box of Supernatural books (nine each of <i>Nevermore</i>, <i>Witch's Canyon</i> and <i>The Supernatural Book of Monsters, Spirits, Demons and Ghouls</i>) to be sent to Project Homefront on our behalf. Many thanks to <lj user="potthead"> for all of her help -- I'm sure the troops will enjoy those books!
The folks at Project Homefront spent Jan. 3 packing the boxes for this month's shipment. Jack Semich, the Project Homefront Executive Director, was kind enough to take pictures of the DVD sets ready to be packed. <lj-cut text="Pictures behind the cut.">
<img src="http://pics.livejournal.com/hanncoll/pic/0000tqb5" alt="title or description" />
<img src="
http://pics.livejournal.com/hanncoll/pic/0000sa5w" alt="title or description" />
I think the yellow packets are phone cards that allow troops to call home.
<img src="
http://pics.livejournal.com/hanncoll/pic/0000ra2x" alt="title or description" />
<img src="http://pics.livejournal.com/hanncoll/pic/0000qzyf " alt="title or description" />
<img src="http://pics.livejournal.com/hanncoll/pic/0000p4q1" alt="title or description" />
</lj-cut>
The packages have been mailed and are on their way to the troops right now. Again, thank you so much to everyone who helped make this possible.
Now, we want to thank Project Homefront for all of their help by making a donation to help defray their postage expenses. Mr. Semich told me that this shipment alone cost $2700 -- and they ship every six weeks. All of those shipping costs have to be met by contributions. So please, consider making a donation to Operation: Winchester's Paypal account so we can help with that. Click the donate button below, or visit the <a href="
http://www.operationwinchester.com">Operation: Winchester website.</a> <BR />
Way to go, OP: Winchester! You can log onto the Operation: Winchester site to find out more on how to continue to donate to our troops.
As always, thanks for being a part of the Underground, and thanks for your support.
Early next week, we'll be updating some things with more ideas, a place to center the "Back in Black" campaign around, and a few Underground notes. Please let us know if you have any information!
Erika
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The Supernatural Underground
