Now all of US can do our part by printing this out and sending it to The Powers That Be at Lionsgate & Sci-Fi! Lay the facts out before them and let them know we're still here and the Dresden Files is an excellent idea for the Sci-Fi Channel or ANY channel!
TEN GOOD REASONS TO RENEW/BRING BACK THE DRESDEN FILES
1. Can You Say ‘Harry Potter?” - Just look at the incredible popularity of this franchise! And look at all the knock-offs.... The Dresden Files has been compared to Harry Potter time and time again! “Harry Potter grows up”, "the American Harry Potter”, "The OTHER Wizard Named Harry”... Fantasy, magic, wizards... it’s popular and big business right now! The final Harry Potter book was released last summer and the sixth Harry Potter film comes out this November. Anyone who is NOT aware of the mega-dollars being raked in by anything even remotely resembling Harry Potter these days needs to come out from under the rock they've been living under and take a good look at the market!
And Harry Potter is not the only popular offering in the Magic/Fantasy/Supernatural genre right now. There's a new BBC series of Merlin and in 2009 BBC 3 is doing a show called Being Human, a series about a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost sharing a place together. (Seems like someone borrowed some ideas from The Dresden Files and wanted to tap into that). The British Sky1 has been airing reruns of the first season of The Dresden Files, giving the show many new viewers.
A fairly recent poll from NBC / Universal asked if people like shows dealing in magic and the supernatural. What better suits this than The Dresden Files? NBC is now starting a new summer horror anthology series called Fear Itself to air Thursdays at 10 PM ET. If this family of channels is really interested in launching supernatural series, why not go with an established hit, like The Dresden Files, instead of taking a risk with a new, unproven show. Or better yet, run both shows. In any event, this is the perfect time to ride the wave of popularity for such a genre and continue The Dresden Files on The Scifi Channel with either a new season, a mini series or made for TV movies.
2. A Family-Friendly Show - With it’s low violence content and limited use of foul language, this was a show the whole family could enjoy. Quality time with a quality show... a rare thing these days! Check some of the threads on your own channel’s Dresden Files forums… You’ll find post after post made by parents who praised the show as one that the entire family sat down and enjoyed week after week, and were greatly saddened by the fact that the show was now off the air.
3. Demographics - A recent article in Variety stated that your network is now courting female science fiction fans/viewers…. The same demographic that you had decided were not worth counting when you decided not to renew The Dresden Files… a show that attracted female fans in DROVES. (By the way, this article garnered 15 “Talk Back” comments, 9 of them in regards to The Dresden Files, pointing out how many women were attracted to the show and were angry it had not been renewed.) It is a wise move indeed for Sci Fi to seriously start courting this particular demographic, considering that the females of the family are usually the shoppers, the purchase decision-makers in most households... a lucrative viewer base for potential advertisers/sponsors!
Additionally, except for the last two episodes, the show was aired opposite Desperate Housewives, which last year had an audience of about 25 million, nearly all of them women. Even when Dresden was pushed back an hour, it was still opposite Brothers and Sisters, another hit show that appealed primarily to women, so for Dresden Files to cut into the female demo at all was a remarkable accomplishment.
4. Ratings - Dresden received ratings comparable to Battlestar Galactica... one of SciFi’s “flagship shows”.
While on the air The Dresden Files was number 3 in the Scifi channel's highest rated shows. And this was for a show that was NOT well marketed and was up against football playoff games! Hey… if that isn’t impressive enough for you… WHAT IS?
DVR was not factored into Dresden's ratings, but if we assume for the sake of argument a 14% jump in ratings, this is what we get: The average rating for Dresden was 1.23. 14% of 1.23 is 0.1722. If we add those two figures together, we get 1.4022.Even with only a 7% jump of 0.0861, you'd still get a total of 1.3161.
According to Squall (one of the Sci Fi board moderators), the average rating of Stargate Atlantis, a much more expensive show, is 1.0-1.1; with DVR factored in, it jumps to 1.4-1.6. Yet THOSE ratings were good enough for your network to renew Stargate Atlantis for a FIFTH season.
Your network aired the two hour version of Dresden Files: Storm Front on March eighth. Though it was shown at three AM there were viewers! Those viewers who had home internet access and were able to log onto the SciFi Dresden Files Forums (which were experiencing major log-on problems at the time and prevented even MORE members from participating) held a live view-in. This view-in generated over 31 pages of posts…. Quite an impressive bit of traffic online at that ungodly hour of the morning!
By the way, there has been roughly a ten percent ratings drop for SciFi from last April to this April. And the key difference in shows from last year to this year? ….the lack of The Dresden Files.
5. DVD Sales - Impressive for a supposed little-known mid-season limited-run show that was never truly marketed/promoted properly... and the DVD was not even promoted AT ALL! The Dresden Files is developing a cult following with very high DVD sales in such places as Best Buy and Amazon. This DESPITE the fact that SciFi has done NOTHING to promote the DVD…. Fan support and word of mouth alone has been fueling the sales! In fact, it has been reported that Best Buys kept selling out the DVDs, which prompted them to double the price!
6. Fandom/Critics Support - Not only did this show have a loyal fan base during it’s airing, but that fan base has only grown exponentially AFTER it’s cancellation. There are literally hundreds of Dresden-based websites, blogs, fan fiction sites.... The Scifi channel's site's Forum for The Dresden Files has 53,465 replies and 1,281 topics. That’s more topic replies than the message boards for Jericho, Eureka, Ani-Mondy, Ghost Hunters International, Destination Truth, UFO Hunters, Charlie Jade, Star Trek Next generation, Heroes, Scariest Places on Earth, Haunted, Scary But true, Scifi Investigations, Mystery of the Crystal Skulls, Firefly, Scifi Drive-In, Mind Control with Darren Brown, Pain Killer Jane, Flash Gordan, Wolf Lake, Tin Man, Bionic Woman, Tru Calling, Conventions, Odyssey 5, Extreme Championship Wrestling, Roswell Confessions, and The Sarah Jane Adventures...
In fact the only discussion boards on the Scifi forum more active than The Dresden Files are: Battlestar Galactica, Doctor Who, Ghost Hunters, Stargate SG1, and Stargate Atlantis…. the shows they spend the most money on producing and promoting.
On an Amazon Scifi Channel store poll for Best Show on the Scifi Channel The Dresden Files is still at number 1 and has been at the number one spot for a full week, beating out Battlestar Galactica, the network‘s acclaimed “flagship“ original series show. As of right now, the totals are 40% Dresden, 27% BSG, and 33% everything else listed, including "other." So Dresden has more votes than every other listed show combined except for Battlestar Galactica.
* 12,178 signatures are now on the online petition to bring The Dresden Files back.
* The Hey Neilson! website has The Dresden Files in it's Top Ten.
* When someone tried calling The Dresden Files the worst scripted failure on the Scifi Channel in Variety magazine, that article got more negative responses than any other article published by Variety this year. The article drew 52 comments, every last one of them castigating SciFi for cancelling The Dresden Files and asking for its return. By contrast, most of the other articles had no more than 4 comments apiece.
* A New York Post review for Moonlight called Moonlight a low rent version of The Dresden Files, making it clear that critic had liked The Dresden Files. A majority of the critics reviews of The Dresden Files were very favorable, and more than a few critics were very surprised to find out the show had not been renewed. They thought SciFi had found a real winner and were amazed they let a potential hit slip away from them.
7. International Appeal/Marketing - Dresden Files fandom goes beyond the borders of the USA. Fans from all over the world are clamoring for more. Countries who have had fans sign the online Renew The Dresden Files Petition include: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Andorra, Anguilla, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chad, Chile, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Macau, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Uruguay, USA, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam and Wales! How many shows have such a broad appeal in so many countries? The show definitely has a lucrative market worldwide!
8. Based on Jim Butcher's Best-Selling Novels - The new Dresden Files graphic novels/comic books are currently sold out on Amazon with a second printing scheduled very soon. The latest Dresden Files novel, Small Favor by Jim Butcher, is on several best seller lists.
Anytime you have a show based on a series of incredibly popular books, you have an instant fan base/viewership pool ready-made. The better the books are selling (and they are doing VERY well indeed!), the better shot the show based on them has for success. Granted... there will always be those 'purists' who object to every last little detail that doesn't conform to the books, but there are more who are fans of both the TV 'Dresdenverse" as well as the printed version. The author, Jim Butcher is himself an avid supporter of the show, so if it has the creator's blessing, book fans should accept it as well.
9. Potential for Marketing of Peripheral Items - Read any forum thread on any Dresden Files-based website and you will find fans bemoaning the lack of marketing for replica items, such as Bob’s Skull, his manacles, his rings, Harry’s shield-bracelet or pentacle pendant, Morgan’s sword, Murphy’s necklace…. There is the potential to rake in further cash revenues from the sales of such items.
10. We’re STILL HERE! - There is still traffic on The Dresden Files forum – even though the show has been off the air for a year. There are still fans writing you letters like this one, sending you emails, writing articles, commenting on other articles mentioning the show. The DEMAND for this show is legion! What MORE do you want? We your viewers are TELLING you what we crave, what we want to watch…. And it’s NOT more turkeys like “Painkiller Jane” or “Flash Gordon” or your latest awful bug/alien/mythic creature movie of the week!
There is a preponderance of evidence to show that at the very least, this show deserves a second chance…. A second season, a mini-series, a made-for-TV-movie…. SOMETHING! You wasted how much money on such awful shows as “Painkiller Jane” and “Flash Gordon”…. not to mention those dreadful creature movies…. Couldn’t you afford to take a chance and give a show like The Dresden Files, which consistently was produced on-time and on or under budget, a second chance? At this point, what have you got to lose?
Take a good hard look at the facts, the ratings, the countless letters and emails, the critical reviews, and then go look at your network’s current ratings and your woeful lineup of programming. The Dresden Files was a great show that got the shaft from your network from the very beginning. That was unfair and as you can see in hindsight, unwise as well. It’s not too late to correct that mistake. Bring back The Dresden Files. Give it another chance. Give your viewers what they want. We’re waiting.
Sincerely,
