Blog: Fan Activism in a Networked Culture: The Case of Stargate SG-1

[prion]

http://www.henryjenkins.org/2006/08/...worked_cu.html

excerpt:

Fan Activism in a Networked Culture: The Case of Stargate SG-1

Last week, on the eve of its 200th episode, the Sci-Fi Channel announced that it would not be renewing Stargate SG-1, ending a run that extended across 10 seasons. The series began on Showtime, where it was canceled after five seasons, and then, as the result of fan activism, got picked up by the Sci-Fi Channel, where it ran another five season and spawned a successful sequel, Stargate: Atlantis. One might imagine that the series was dying a natural death after a run which is far longer than the vast majority of series -- science fiction or otherwise -- in the history of American television or that the network and creative artists are performing a "mercy killing" of a series that might be well past its prime but as far as its most hardcore fans are concerned, the series is "not dead yet." They are seeking to rally the troops one more time and their efforts to do so demonstrate the potentials for audience activism within networked culture.

--thanks to the http://www.savedanieljackson.com/archives/000750.shtml for the tip

[Tok'Ra Hostess]

^ an interesting read, Prion. An adhocracy instead of a bureaucracy; that's cool. I like that.

Although in the particular case of SG-1 I agree with the thoughts of the first responder:

While the efforts of the fans are admirable, this time around things are a bit different. Most shows that go through a save the show campaign fight a simple battle - it's a war of attrition - if the numbers of people who want the show can demonstrate they are financially worth bringing the show back -- especially if that show is young and cheap -- then it's more likely to happen. There are other more important issues involved though, specifically realitionships and deals with talent.

As, I believe, Claudia Black said in that SPACE interview, show business is 10%show and 90% business. I, too, think that SG-1 will be back in a new incarnation - and quite possibly even on the SCI-FI channel - once the business end has been retooled.