Inflikt

They say that death and taxes are the only certain things in life. Everything else is in doubt, and that seems to be the case about the syndication television show Legend of the Seeker. After Tribune Broadcasting announced it would not carry a third season of the show in March, people wondered if ABC Studios would be able to replace Tribune’s 23 TV stations. No official word has been released yet.

Nonetheless, Entertainment Weekly kicked off a tumult of debate and activity in April by announcing that ABC had privately confirmed the show was doomed. “Not so!” said die-hard fans. They pointed to a new online publicity campaign that Slam Internet, Inc has just started for the show. “So!” came back EW, although they were still unable to provide any actual proof of their claims.

The ensuing debate grew more fierce as fans of the show organized a massive campaign to save the show. They launched a Website to Save Our Seeker and raised $10,000 to buy print advertising in Variety and other trade publications. They flooded SyFy, ABC, Disney, and local TV stations with letters, post cards, and emails. According to the Save The Seeker blog, fans have been covering Twitter and ABC’s Facebook pages with hundreds or thousands of pleas to save the show.

Campaign organizers dubbed May 9 as “Mother Confessor Day” complete with Mother Confessor Day postcards, pinups, and advertising for the show. At least one sponsor of the show is engineering a new advertising campaign to show its support for the cause. Tweets from celebrities like Felicia Day have helped spread the word. But no one at ABC has yet said whether all this frenzied activity is working.

One fansite, the well-known TrekWeb, off-handedly dismissed the show even while covering the story of the campaign to save it. That callous attitude drew immediate reproach from Seeker fans, who insist the show has not yet been cancelled. They point to the lack of confirmation from ABC as proof, and to the Slam widget.

Both sides cite evidence supporting their points of view but there is conflicting evidence. Bridget Regan, who plays Mother Confessor Kahlan Amnell on the show, seemed to confirm the rumor on Twitter. So did producer Mike Sussman and stunt double Dayna Chiplin. But then Chiplin said, “There is still a small hope”. Sussman deleted his Tweet. And Regan has politely said nothing further, except to express her appreciation for the fans’ support.

Other shows have been “saved” temporarily before being shut down but the situation with Legend of the Seeker seems to be unique. Tribune apparently let the show lapse because its viewers don’t match the demographic Tribune pitches to its advertisers.

Still, ABC Studios has yet to say whether there will be a third season. As time slips away, fewer TV stations have room in their Fall schedules. A third season might aooear in Spring 2011 if other syndicated shows are dropped.

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