Save Our Shows!
We continually get requests asking us to save other various Disney shows. It may be a show currently in production. It may be a show that has been out of production for 2 or more years. First things first we want to be clear, we are not Disney. We are not affiliated with Disney in any way. Not any one of the owners or members of this organization have the power to single handily renew a show. If we did we’d be making a whole lot more money then we are now. ;-)
We are fans, just like you, who love Disney and want to see the best quality, family-oriented TV shows and movies that Disney has to offer. We believe that if ordinary people like you and me, are willing to put forth an honest effort, we can accomplish amazing things and save our favorite show.
So how do you save your favorite show? First let me explain that there are different tasks that we try to accomplish when we are saving a show. First and most common is a renewal of a Disney Channel original television series. Most commonly this is a show that is currently in production or was recently cancelled from production.
Another thing we try to accomplish is theatrical and DVD releases of our favorite shows. There’s nothing like watching a full length feature movie of your favorite show on the big screen. This can be costly for Disney. So it is important that we show Disney that there is a very high interest in a certain show hitting theaters or going direct to DVD. That way Disney knows that this type of investment will be a profitable one.
Last but not least we try to get season box sets of our favorite shows. Walk into any Best Buy or other electronics store and you will see just about every other show today getting full seasons released on DVD. But take a closer look and see how many Disney Channel original series are being released on DVD. Chances are you will find only a few. For reasons unknown Disney does not be believe that this is worth their time. From shows that went out of production 15 years ago, to shows that just went out of production a couple years ago and even shows still currently in production, we must let Disney know a decision to release season box sets is a very profitable one and is in high demand.
Not every show can be saved. There are only 24 hours in a day to show and only so many half hour slots on Disney Channel. And Disney wants to and will pursue other projects. If there was nothing ever new on Disney Channel, especially for younger kids, they would get bored, and they would lose interest. But don’t let Disney fool you. There is still room for many shows to be renewed. After all, many shows are replayed several times a day. And theatrical, direct-to-DVD and season box sets do not take up the time slots.
The chances of your show getting renewed, or getting a theatrical, direct-to-DVD or season box set release is almost entirely up to its fan base, and the effort the fan base is willing to put forth to accomplish these tasks. A campaign needs a leader, or multiple leaders, who are willing to take the time to get a campaign off of the ground, search for the fans, and rally them to put forth the effort to send the e-mails, make the phone calls, write the letters and send the faxes.
As you explore the Save Disney Shows web site, you will see that there are already campaigns set up to save many shows. If you see your show, sign up and start sending those e-mails, letters and faxes. And make those phone calls. Detailed information is available on each campaign’s web site and on the Save Disney Shows "How to Help" page at http://help.savedisneyshows.org/.
If you don’t see your show listed on Save Disney Shows you need to understand that the leaders at Save Disney Shows are often taking on two, three or more campaigns at one time. Mix that in with work, school and family, our time runs very thin. For us to be able to run campaigns for every single show that every single person wants saved is nearly impossible. On deciding what shows to take on, we’ll look at the amount of shows we are already taking on, what shows are in most urgent need of attention, and what shows have the highest fan base. Through time the shows we try and save will change, but if you really feel your show needs to be saved, you need to ask yourself, "Am I a leader?"
We are willing to give people a chance to prove they can be a leader, to organize a campaign and find a high amount of fans who want to save the show as well. The information and resources to contact Disney and save a show is already here. But for a campaign to be truly successful it needs strong leaders who are willing to put forth the time and effort to run a campaign.
To start up a campaign, first thing I would suggest is to create a Yahoo! Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/. We use this free service for all of our current campaigns. Creating a Yahoo! Group is free and easy, and we can help you as needed through the process. Your group is now command central. Now is the time to advertise. Spread the word through ads, forums, message boards and whatever else, letting them know that a campaign is started to save the show. How many people you get to sign up to the group will be a key factor in the campaign. If you have less then 5 people it will be very difficult to get Disney to notice you. Now as the leader you must rally everyone to remain active and do their part. You need to create and advertise special e-mail/phone/fax days. And be sure people participate on those days.
Next step is to create the web site. If you have webpage/HTML knowledge this is a big plus. If you don’t know HTML specifically we have tools to help create the web site. We can give you the space on Save Disney Shows to create and maintain a campaign’s web site. Look at the variety of campaign’s web sites already on Save Disney Shows to see the sort of content that should be on them. We can also create an e-mail program for your campaign with your own form/template letter if you take the time to write one.
We hope this will help you with the many common questions and concerns that arise about Disney shows that fans want to have saved. If you have any further questions or want to be a team leader on a Save Disney Shows campaign, don’t hesitate to contact us: webmasters@savedisneyshows.org.
Thank you for your support,
Save Disney Shows Team Leaders & Webmasters
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