International Seek Fan Video Project Launches

In case you've been on vacation for the last few months, Legend of the Seeker has been inexplicably cancelled (despite the fact that millions of people love to watch the show). Well, fans have not taken this sitting down. They're doing something about it.

Actually, they're doing many things to Save The Seeker. But one of the most anticipated projects has been the Seeker Fan Video Project.

Yesterday the LOTS Video Team uploaded this teaser:



And now they have uploaded the actual video itself:



Yes, you can see me in there -- AND they gave me a credit at the end.

Anyway, if you have a blog or other type of Website, please embed or link to these videos so that your visitors will see them.

____________________________________________ SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.

French TV site wants fan questions for Bridget Regan

If you had the opportunity to ask Bridget Regan any question in front of the whole world, what would that question be? Okay, you don't get that opportunity but some lucky journalist at Cine TV Buzz will be talking with Bridget Regan at The Monte Carlo TV Festival which is being held June 6 - 10, 2010.

And Cine TV Buzz asked Xenite.Org (SF-Fandom is part of the Xenite network) to reach out to Bridget's fans and solicit questions for her.

You're more than welcome to send your questions to us through the Xenite.Org Contact Form.

We'll be posting the fan questions on this thread at SF-Fandom and also on the Save The Seeker blog at Wordpress.

So take a day or two to think about this and please send us 1 or 2 questions for Bridget. We'll do our best to group similar fan questions together.

____________________________________________ SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.

Download Middle-earth Talk Radio Episode 23 Now

Hawke and I recorded Episode 23 of Middle-earth Talk Radio on Sunday, Mother Confessor Day (Mother's Day to most people). (NOTE: Subsequently, confirmation of the cancellation of Legend of the Seeker was published).

These were the topics that came up in Episode 23:

Topics:

• Grovelling to Theonering.net
• Michael the "Uber Geek"
• Iron Man II
• Mother Confessor Day foreshadowing from "Legend of the Seeker"
• Burren in County Clare claimed as another inspiration for J.R.R. Tolkien's work
• Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien relevant to Ireland, Letters #165 and #211
• Flintshire grandson of J.R.R. Tolkien stars in film "Pimp"
• Hugo Weaving will be The Red Skull in upcoming Captain America film
• Tangent: Hugo Weaving's accent as Agent Smith based on Wachowski Bros.
• Why there is no Jewish Narnia
• Development of role playing games for use as a therapeutic modality
• Israeli Defense Force frowns on Dungeons & Dragons participants (2005)
• Refuting the claim (through research) that role playing gaming causes "weak personalities" or "detachment from reality"
• The Middle-earth Weekend 2010 UK
• The Isle of Rum claims to have inspired J.R.R. Tolkien's peaks of Mordor
• The Isle of Muck ties to Isle of Eigg which ties to Howlin House where J.R.R. Tolkien was reputed to have visited on holiday
• Will Harry Potter have the global longevity of The Hobbit or the Lord of the Rings? Vote in the poll.
• Legend of the Seeker, Shakespeare, and J.R.R. Tolkien
• Twitter Take Over on Mother's Day for Mother Confessor Day
• Save the Seeker Campaign
• How would you produce a TV series on Tolkien's works?
• Circa Second Age 1000 to 1500 fertile time period
• The Middle-earth 3D Interactive mapping project: ME-DEM
• Merp.com launches version 7.0 of their website
• More rambling from Hawke - mining terminology for "muck"

With music by Rehtaeh
http://www.rehtaehmusic.com

You can find all the episodes by visiting Middle-earth Talk Radio.

____________________________________________ SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.

Legend of the Seeker fans launch fan video project

Fans of Legend of the Seeker are coming together to create a video tribute to the show. Regardless of whether there is ever a third season for Seeker fans want to make sure they create a legacy that the cast, crew, and producers can appreciate for years to come.

To that end I've been asked to help promote the project, and I've agreed to post this ad in a few places. I hope you'll do so, too.

Just click on the ad to learn more about the project.

____________________________________________ SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.

Amazing videos inspire Legend of the Seeker fans

The Seeker Fan Video project is getting underway as I write this. So what is it all about? Quite simply, Seeker fans want to show their unity and support for Legend of the Seeker. The two videos below are examples of the kind of video the fans are hoping to produce.

This first video is absolutely amazing, to me. I'm sure I'll share it on many occasions. (ON EDIT: It's too wide to fit within this blog's format. Here is a link to the YouTube page).



This video was produced as part of Starbucks' Red project to raise awareness of AIDS in Africa. People around the world sang "All You Need Is Love" at the same time and their videos were spliced together to create this incredible montage.



So what are the Legend of the Seeker fans doing? They're organizing. You can send an email to LOTSvideo -at- gmail -dot- com if you have the ability to record yourself (a Webcam or cell phone may be all you need).

I'll track the project's progress at Save The Seeker.

____________________________________________ SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.

Dear TrekWeb, Seeker has NOT been cancelled

Overzealous fans are out in force asking people for help in assuring there will be a third season of Legend of the Seeker. To show their support for the campaign, the good folks at TrekWeb published a brief article about the campaign to Save Our Seeker.

In their lead, they mentioned that Legend of the Seeker has been cancelled -- which is not true. The show has NOT been cancelled. Entertainment Weekly's Mike Ausiello (who is widely followed in media and fandom) started the rumor by saying he had heard from reliable sources at ABC that the should would not be renewed for a third season.

Nonetheless, there has been no confirmation from ABC and apparent support for the rumor by members of the show's cast and crew have been retracted. Studio executives and publicists have equally fallen silent BECAUSE NEGOTIATIONS FOR A THIRD SEASON ARE ALLEGEDLY IN PROGRESS.

Whose rumor is more true today doesn't matter. By saying the show is cancelled when it has not, in fact, been cancelled, you give people the wrong impression. If you're willing to support the show on your Website please do so by reporting the facts and not substituting rumors as facts.

As of this writing, Legend of the Seeker has not been cancelled.

____________________________________________ SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.

SyFy's Craig Engler gets down and dirty with SciFi fans

If you're favorite genre television show has just been cancelled or is about to be, Craig Engler of SyFy has some advice for you: Do the television network's job for them and build their audience share.

So, what do you think about that? Are you ready to make millionaires of people who won't pay you a dime for your hard work? Don't be so quick to rush out there and tell all your friends to watch the show.

In an article published on Boing Boing Craig says that all the Fluff fans of Law & Order: Criminal Intent send to the USA Network is wasted because it doesn't translate into increased audience share. If fans would only bring in a few hundred thousand more viewers for the networks ..., he muses.

It's that kind of sloppy thinking that gets people into trouble. Sure, put the burden of responsibility for bad marketing on the audience. It's the fans' fault that the studios and networks don't reach out and engage with them?

Like I say in a classic, lengthy Michael Martinez rebuttal to Craig, it's not the fans' responsibility to do the marketing for a television show.

Yes, we're willing to spread the word about shows we like but the shows that succeed have more than just word of mouth working for them -- they have actors, writers, directors, and business executives reaching out to fans in as many ways as possible.

Telling the fans they have to get out there and hustle to make your shows a success is about as limp an excuse for bad marketing strategy as one can think of.

If Legend of the Seeker fails and never comes back, the fault lies not with the fans, but with the idiots who didn't do their part to build the audience share like they should have.

____________________________________________ SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.

ABC Studios creates Facebook page for Legend of the Seeker

Responding to fans' determined efforts to be heard about their love for the Legend of the Seeker show, ABC has opened up a dedicated page on Facebook where fans can share comments about the show.

If you have a Facebook account, please drop by ABC's Facebook Page for Legend of the Seeker and share your polite thoughts and encouragement for their endeavors to save the show.

And remember -- television shows HAVE been resurrected after fan campaigns. A third season might not happen for a year. We might get a mini-series. We might get a movie.

Be patient, make a reasonable effort to show your support for the show, and keep your hopes up.

It's not over yet.

Be sure to visit the Save The Seeker blog to stay on top of news in the campaign.

And don't forget that fans have designated May 9 as Mother Confessor Day (which, coincidentally, just happens to be Mother's Day in several countries).

____________________________________________ SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.

Variety ad for Save Our Seeker now online

In case you have not seen it yet, here is what the advertisement that Legend of the Seeker fans are placing in Variety for tomorrow's edition looks like:



Money for the ad and design services were raised by the Save Our Seeker campaign site.

I'm proud to say that SaveTheSeeker.wordpress.com did its part in getting word out to the fans to donate money and vote on designs.

In other news, some Seeker fans are concerned that Jerry Bruckheimer's reduced budget for Pirates of the Caribbean 4 may signal a problem for the syndicated television show. I'm not sure there is a direct connection.

____________________________________________ SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.

Save The Seeker campaign tips

Tip #1: If you are blogging on Wordpress.com, you can use tags to create or populate pages like Save The Seeker. See the Save The Seeker blog for more examples.

Tip #2: If you blog ANYWHERE, please mention ABC Studios and Disney's names. Many companies are now monitoring the Internet for mentions of their names. You can let them know you want them to hear your voice by using "ABC Studios", "Disney", and "Legend of the Seeker" in your blog articles.

Tip #3: Link to as many Save The Seeker sites as you can. Don't make the mistake of just linking to one site. Link to them all!

Tip #4: Link to the Tweets of famous celebrities who join the campaign. For example, Felicia Day wants to Save The Seeker. She has almost 2 million followers. LOTS star Bridget Regan also Retweeted the slogan.

Tip #5: Do NOT link to bad press articles. Entertainment Weekly attacked the Seeker fan community yesterday, obviously hoping to provoke angry reactions. There are plenty of good press reports about the campaign, such as TV Guide's Save The Seeker article, Spoiler TV's Save The Seeker article, and The Examiner's Save The Seeker report.

Tip #6: If you see a Facebook "LIKE" button on any pro-Seeker sites, click on it (if you have a Facebook account). Help get the word out and help show people that these sites are popular. This is a new feature from Facebook and not very many sites have added it yet, but it should appear on more and more.


____________________________________________ SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.

Entertainment Weekly trolling with taunts to Seeker fan community

Entertainment Weekly's Hollywood Insider blog has taunted fans of Legend of the Seeker with insults, calling us a "small" and "rabid" community. This is clear and obvious attempt to draw angry fans in to comment on their blog, driving up their page views, getting more links, and increasing their advertising revenues.

I am advising Seeker fans to not respond to Entertainment Weekly. That is what they don't.

Don't post any more comments on their blog.

Don't link to the article.

Don't Tweet about it.

Don't express anger or outrage over it.

Just ignore them.

The blog article publishes no new information -- it cites no credible sources. EW's writer is practicing classic yellow journalism.

If ABC Studios decides to cancel the show, we can turn our efforts to asking for a movie or mini-series. We don't have to be silenced by one setback -- IF that setback happens.

Disney and ABC Studios, are you listening?

____________________________________________ SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.

Update on the Save The Seeker campaign

So that was not Michael Hurst who Tweeted yesterday, just someone connected with Michael's Website (which is still cool).

In the meantime, The Torch Online and the Examiner have both carried stories about the campaign to save the Seeker.

The Save The Seeker blog has been posting updates frequently as new strategies are developed by the fans.

Fans are buying an ad in Variety, planning a Twitter Takeover on May 1, and are actively contacting U.S. sponsors of the show to ask for their support.

Some more visible Tweeters are also jumping on the bandwagon and retweeting the campaign slogans for fans.

Seeker fans are also voting for the show as Best On TV at the Faxo site. LOTS was leading by a wide margin the last time I checked the rankings.

ABC Studios and the Disney Company are, hopefully, aware of all this given all the emails fans are trying to send their way.

____________________________________________ SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.

Michael Hurst retweets for Save The Seeker

Michael Hurst, who has directed in at least 5 or 6 Legend of the Seeker episodes and appeared in at least one has just retweeted stunt lady Dayne Porter Chiplin's encouragement to fans of the endangered show.

RT @Daynastunts what ever you guys are doing is obviously helping in some way, im not sure what else you can do, thank you
34 minutes ago via web

RT @Daynastunts Just dont give up hope till the official announcement!!!! Theres a reason why there hasnt been one yet
35 minutes ago via web

Follow Michael's Twitter account: MichaelHurstNow.

Thank you, Michael! We know you love the work you do and we hope you continue to work for a long time to come, but those of us who live outside New Zealand don't have many opportunities to appreciate what you do.

Fellow members of fandom, KEEP ASKING ABC NOT TO GIVE UP!

ABC Domestic Television, if you're reading this, have you checked out Tropins Blog? Look at the last paragraph:

If the show is so popular, then why was it cancelled? Tribune’s machinations may explain part of the problem but it could also be that Hulu and iTunes played a part in the Seeker’s failure to complete his quest. Is it time for ABC to launch a direct-to-Internet channel? Maybe that is a suggestion that the Seeker fans should put forward. It could help ABC save face and maybe spark a revolution in television programming that some feel is inevitable anyway.

That's all I'm sayin' -- FIND A WAY!

____________________________________________ SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.

New Save The Seeker blog

Well, despite the fact that producer Mike Sussman and star Bridget Regan have both paid their respects to a great show, fans of Legend of the Seeker are pressing on with their campaign to save or resurrect the show.

To help people keep up with the details of the campaign, I've created a blog (at someone else's suggestion) called SaveTheSeeker.wordpress.com.

I'm a little behind in adding links to the blogroll. I've put out a call for volunteers to help edit the blog -- please contact me if you're over 18 and want to help maintain the blog.

And I would like to personally thank the owners of these sites for picking up the news about the campaign and running with it:

Legend of the Seeker Fans Raise an Army against ABC
ABC Television Braves Irate Fans over Fantasy Show
Look out, ABC! Here Come the ANGRY Scifi Fans!
Angry Fans Gear up to Demand ABC save the Seeker
Internet Fans Rise up against ABC to save Show
Legend of the Seeker Fans May Boycott ABC Sponsors
Legend of the Seeker Fans Work to Revive Show


____________________________________________ SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.

Seeker fans rally to save their favorite television show

So you've been sleeping under a rock and you just woke up to the news that Legend of the Seeker has just been cancelled. Technically, as the show's hardcore fans are quick to point out, "NOTHING OFFICIAL HAS BEEN SAID YET".

Following that thunderous chorus, fans of the television show are plotting a strategy to convince ABC/Disney to save the show. Among many ideas put forward already, they have launched a petition to Save Our Seeker which (as of this writing) has already collected over 5000 signatures.

Not bad.

SF-Fandom will help as much as I can throw my weight into the battle (I cannot speak for the rest of the team at SF-Fandom -- they are free to follow their hearts in this matter). You can see that I am spreading the word about Save Our Seeker wherever I can (and you have NO IDEA what I can do).

I especially like this banner that one of the fans dreamed up:



I don't know where this is going, but I'll follow the road until I reach the journey's end.

Good luck to us all. :)

I'll post updates to SF-Fandom's Legend of the Seeker online promotion discussion.

____________________________________________ SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.

Cool new Legend of the Seeker widget

I don't know how long this widget will work. Hopefully a good long time. SLAM 360/Sander Moses has asked us to pick up a widget that promotes Legend of the Seeker.

Always glad to help out a good television show. We've embedded the widget on our LOTS fan site and on the Xenite Legend of the Seeker Forum home page.

And if your browser supports Flash, you can check out the widget here, too.



____________________________________________ SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.

Xenite.Org interviews Craig Horner

Xenite.Org was invited to interview Craig Horner, star of Legend of the Seeker, and you can now read the article here.

And SF-Fandom has a forum discussion about the Craig Horner interview. I hope you drop by and share your thoughts about the article.

In addition to the interview we added a Legend of the Seeker Web Directory to the site. I was having trouble finding fan sites and noticed they don't have many links to other fan sites. I think this is currently the largest list of Seeker fan sites on the Web but I cannot be sure.

And I also wrote "On Interviewing Craig Horner" at the other SF-Fandom blog, where I relate all the chaos and mishaps that led up to the actual interview and followed in its aftermath.

I sincerely hope you enjoy the article (and the directory).

And I want to thank WKT Public Relations for inviting Xenite to participate in the latest round of interviews.

SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.

Legend of the Seeker fan site now live

Because we now have a Legend of the Seeker Forum at SF-Fandom, and because we'll soon be publishing an exclusive interview with LOTS star Craig Horner, Xenite.Org has launched a new Legend of the Seeker fan site.

The interview with Craig is not yet live but it should be published sometime in the next 2-3 days. We'll post announcements across our network when the article goes live.

I think Craig Horner fans will enjoy the read.

SF-Fandom is a moderated, fan-run community devoted to science fiction, fantasy, history, and mythology. SF-Fandom was founded in 2001 and is part of the Xenite.Org network. Free registration is required to post. Please be sure you read our Posting Guidelines.