News and Information
WB Heeds "Roswell," "Felicity" Fan Mail
May 17, 2000Posted by squanto  
Thanks to Jencbean, Courtney, Jenn, Jenna, and Angela for sending this in!


From: Eonline

WB Heeds "Roswell," "Felicity" Fan Mail
by Mark Armstrong
May 15, 2000, 5:00 PM PT

Attention, Roswell fans: The Tabasco sauce can now go on your food, not in
the mail. Felicity lovers, pull those scissors away from your heads.

And you Sports Night viewers, just keep praying.

As the nail-biting continues over this week's announced fall TV picks, fans'
desperate campaigns to save their favorite shows are paying off with mixed
results.

First, the good news: According to network sources (and E! Online's own TV
scribe, Wanda), the WB will announce tomorrow it's renewing Roswell and
Felicity for another 13 episodes.

Both shows had relatively dismal seasons, and both were the subject of a
midseason schedule shuffling. But they also had intensely devoted fans, who
organized their own Net campaigns to keep their twentysomething casts on the
tube.

Devotees of the freshman sci-fi drama Roswell flooded the WB with thousands
of tiny Tabasco sauce bottles--using the show's own alien space drink to
lobby for its survival. And two weeks ago, Felicity fans let their obsession
with curly-topped star Keri Russell go to their heads,
literally--encouraging viewers to snip off locks of their hair and mail them
to WB head Jamie Kellner.

According to draft schedules currently making the rounds, the WB may put
Felicity in the same Wednesday night slot as Jack & Jill, giving the shows
alternate weeks to see how they stack up, ratings-wise. This season,
Felicity has ranked a dismal 148th, drawing some 2.9 million viewers on
average. And Roswell hasn't fared much better, luring about 3.6 million
viewers every week and landing in 140th place.

Those who did watch, however, were pleased about the news. "We were
worried," says Felicity campaign founder Kristen Dee. "But we had gotten
hundreds and hundreds of messages on our boards. It was a desperate
attempt."

In other WB news, Eddie Murphy's Fox foamation comedy, The PJs, also will be
joining up with the Frog this fall. The network had a deal with the show's
producer, Imagine TV/Touchstone, to pick up the show, but it had been
uncertain whether the WB would take it.

Now, the bad news: It looks like fans of ABC's Sports Night couldn't scrape
together enough support, or ratings, to keep the show on. Wanda also reports
that the critically lauded, but poorly rated, TV sports dramedy is a
definite goner from ABC's fall lineup after two seasons.

But all is not completely lost. According to the Hollywood Reporter, creator
Aaron Sorkin may be close to a deal with HBO to serve up a "revamped"
version of the show on cable. ABC is set to announce its schedule Tuesday,
but there's been no official comment yet on Sports Night's fate.

One fan site, however, allegedly received an email from Sorkin confirming
the cancellation. "I'm sorry to report that it's true. Tommy and I are
absorbing the news for the moment, and we'll re-group tomorrow to discuss
the future. In the meantime, don't miss Tuesday night's show."

It could be the last.

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