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Team
Tarzan could save Tarzan!, by Greg Tingle - 5th January
2004
When
I first received the e-mail letter (bellow), I thought,
"here we go again"! Sorry to be cynical,
but Mediaman gets a lot of mail, including
a great deal from lobby groups and the like.
The
more I examined and pondered "Team Tarzan",
the more I realised that they have a point.
Too
many corporations in the world, let alone "Hollywooders",
are forgetting the fans.
This
Team Tarzan reminds me of when Australian WWF wrestling
fans lobbied both Channel 10 and FOXTEL in the past,
to see their beloved wrestling return.
Ok,
Tarzan ain't wresting, but it is a staple of the American
TV diet, and predominantly, it is good, wholesome
stuff.
Team
Tarzan also strikes a chord, as it's also about the
"law of the jungle", and one may wonder
if the Warner Bros executives see Tarzan fans as just
more prey for their powerhouse production company
to swallow up!
Recently
Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin became the
hunted, when the world saw Stevo put his baby in arms
length of a crocodiles jaws. What's this got to do
with "Team Tarzan"? Arrogance for one. The
hunter can, and often does become the hunted!
Already
fans of Warner Bros have been looking elsewhere for
their dose of Hollywood entertainment. In this writers
estimation, when Warner Bros became part of Time-Warner,
that alienated many fans to the point of no return.
Will
WB see the error of their ways, and return power to
the people who help sell their over-priced merchandise,
and fill up their 30-second advertising spots, or
will they ignore their fans calls for help, and as
a result, be just another entertainment giant that
used to be great, only to have headed south. Could
WB end up be known as "Was Better", rather
than Warner Bros?
Something
tells this writer that unless WB listens to their
fans, known as "Team Tarzan", the law of
the jungle will prevail, and WB could end up at the
bottom of the "murky deep".
*Disclaimer:
Greg Tingle is the author of this article, the publisher
and broadcaster of Mediaman, and is also
a member of the Friends Of The ABC (who help keep
Australia's Australian Broadcasting Corporation, well,
let's say "honest" and open).
Press
Release / letter received from Kim Roth (Team Tarzan)
I
am a member of Team Tarzan. Team Tarzan is a group
of fans who are involved in the campaign to save the
WB's series Tarzan. We are very dedicated to the fight
to save our show. We have been sending emails, postcards,
stuffed animals and banana baskets to the executives
at the WB to show them how much the show means to
us. We have placed an ad which will be in the January
6th edition of the Hollywood Reporter to further show
our commitment to the show. We are having a shipment
of stuffed animals delivered to the WB on the same
day as the ad.
Various
media sources have reported that the show has been
canceled, but the WB's official statement is that
the show is on production hiatus and that a decision
on its future would be made in either January or February.
We are asking that the WB to give Tarzan another chance
and bring it back. We are also asking that they move
the show to another timeslot, as the Sunday night
time (9:00 pm) that they originally aired the show
in is a difficult time for any new show. There are
too many well established shows on at that time and
during the fall and winter seasons Sunday night football
is still on.
There
are a lot of people who watched the show who may not
be aware of our efforts. If we were able to reach
them and get them involved in this campaign, we could
show the WB that the show has a larger fan base than
they realize. If you could do a piece on our efforts,
it would help our campaign tremendously.
Kim
Roth
Allentown, PA
Dear
Greg,
Thank
you for your article on Tarzan.....It was very insightful
and quite accurate about the broad sweeping power
these networks have over program choices.
As
viewers, we are not just the consumers of the products
sold in advertisements during shows, but consumers
of the shows themselves. And when consumers are not
listened to, they turn elsewhere for better service.
We are more than just dollar signs and have voices
which are not represented in the Nielsen's.
The
Nielsen's as the big brother of media statistics,
don't even serve to paint an accurate picture. Most
fans do not have those boxes, and the ones that do
are the same people being surveyed for nearly 2 years.
If political polls didn't have random samplings, the
results would always be the same because opinions
rarely change from person to person...In addition,
the WB network stated that national meter ratings
did not match market trends, or account for Tarzan
being well received in local markets such as Dallas.
The statistics are missing large demographics, and
are being questioned on every front from sports to
dramas, yet Tarzan was canceled because of them when
they may be faulty.
What's
worse is the hypocrisy and outright dismissal of the
fans. Public statements are made by networks that
they stand behind their programming and believe in
their product by giving it time, yet people are barely
allowed to build a relationship with the characters
before it's ripped off air. The hypocrisy is in that
a large portion of the WB's hits, Buffy, Angel, and
7th Heaven in particular, were close to being canceled,
but were allowed to stay on. One Tree Hill got a reprieve
because it was set to be the Dawson's Creek replacement,
yet its ratings were ranking it close to Tarzan on
the national chart, and it had more advertising and
a better time slot, but it goes on.
I
guess I figure if you're not going to have faith in
your programs after the first lap, don't expect fans
to continue to have faith in the network after we
become invested in a program.
Tarzan
is loved by so many, and it's a refreshing change
from the recycled reality shows, teen issues, and
loveless impersonal crime dramas on tv.
A
quote from the WB is "The WB is a network of
fans." I can't imagine our network of fans returning
to shop there again when such a wonderful show is
thrown away.
Thank
you again so much.
Sincerely,
KJ
Press
Release
Fans
Rally For Tarzan
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Fans
of Tarzan have announced a campaign to keep their
favorite show on the WB.
Warner
Bros. Television has canceled Tarzan and will air
the final three episodes in November. A number of
websites are spearheading the campaign to keep Tarzan
on the air. They are led by Tarzan the Series, Devoted
to Tarzan, Tarzan: Wild Innocence, and Save Tarzan
The
campaign consists of contacting TheWB via emails,
phone calls, messages at their Tarzan forum and on-line
petitions. AND in a symbolic gesture reminiscent of
the Roswell fans and their Tabasco sauce stunt when
their show was in peril, the fans of Tarzan are sending
in post cards with various screen captures from Tarzan
with...“It’s a JUNGLE out here. We need
TARZAN!!!” to the studio in a show of unity in
hopes that Warner Bros. will reconsider their decision.
Warner Bros. Television is known for new and innovative
programming and to cancel Tarzan only after 5 episodes
goes directly against their own mandate. According
to the fans, “Not only would they suffer the
great loss of Tarzan; but they will not be able to
look at TheWB the same ever again.”
Links:
http://www.tarzantheseries.com/forums
http://savetarzan.withtheprettiness.net
http://www.ibelongwithyou.com
Press
Release
“
Toys for Tots - Tarzan Campaign Press Release
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Fans
of Tarzan and TheWB make an unlikely team.
In
an effort to convince Warner Bros Television to renew
their original series Tarzan, fans of the show have
been sending in stuffed animals with the slogan, “It’s
a jungle out here, I need Tarzan!”
It’s
their hope to dramatically demonstrate to the network
executives that Tarzan is a show that is dearly loved
by fans nationwide; and at the same time, once the
point is made to the network executives, that the
toys will be given to needy children.
As
fate would have it, TheWB is a corporate supporter
of Toys for Tots. Once the stuff animals are given
to the designee; they are then collected in a centralized
location to be donated at a later date.
The
fate of Tarzan rests solely in the hands of TheWB.
BUT the generosity of the fans, together with the
corporate might of TheWB, will bring a brighter Christmas
for thousands of children.
For
more information, visit:
Tarzan
the Series forum http://www.tarzantheseries.com
Save
Tarzan Campaign website http://savetarzan.withtheprettiness.net
Links:
Mediaman Entertainment News
Warner
Bros.
Tarzan
The Series: Forums
Save
Tarzan
I
Belong With You
Miguel
A. Nunez Jr official website
Article:
Movie Makers and Movie Stars
Article:
Crocodile Hunter Bits Employee or Baby Stunt Bites
Stevo
PRESS
RELEASE: ABC FRIENDS HOLD FORUM TO SUPPORT EMBATTLED
BROADCASTER
Internet
Movie Database: Tarzan photo gallery
Yahoo!
Classic Television
Mediaman: News
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