The Worlds of Farscape (36 page)

Agreeing with Fidgeon, Rob Salem calls BraScape the fandom's most “clever ploy,” one that “had women fans demonstrating their gender-specific ‘support' by mailing their bras in to [Syfy]” (C04; see also Holder and Toy 13 as well as “Trying to Save” 87). According to Salem's interviewee, Canadian Scaper Nicola Wood, both the undergarments and the manner in which the female fans organized themselves gave a unique and feminine touch to the wider campaign: “Women are taught from a very early age a different way of problem-solving than men... Female methods of problem-solving involve co-operation, communication, and non-hierarchical thinking. Women are taught to co-operate with each other, rather than compete” (qtd. in Salem C04). Wood goes a step further than commenting on cooperative strategies. She directly attributes BraScape to legendary Trekker activist Bjo Trimble, calling her “a perfect example” and noting that Trimble herself “networked with
Farscape
fans very early in our campaign efforts. She and her husband shared inspiring words and gave us good advice” (qtd. in Salem C04). Importantly, the undergarments were being sent to Syfy president Bonnie Hammer, and by April 2003, “more than 200 bras [had] hit Ms. Hammer's desk” (Holder and Toy 13). Both Hammer's gender and the network's stated desire “to expand the channel's viewers beyond the typical male audience” invited such a response (Fidgeon 47), one both distinctive and intimate. Rather than the more typical mailing of objects related to a particular television show or character, female Scapers chose symbols that represented themselves; regardless of their small numbers, many of the women who love
Farscape
made sure their undies were seen and their voices were heard. Surely, BraScape was clever and creative, but just like letter writing, it alone was not going to save the series.

While some were engaged in BraScape, other Scapers were busy organizing and implementing a wide variety of other approaches (Boshra D4). In addition to a “furious e-mail and letter-writing campaign” (Strachan D9), online petitions, and BraScape, convention appearances, DVD drives for public libraries and the U.S. Armed Forces (The Jim Henson Company), “picketing of production offices” (Cunningham 20), print and film advertisements, and fundraising were all in the works. David Simerly, a Scaper and computer programmer for Apple, was skimming message boards when he stumbled upon fans talking about making a
Farscape
advertisement (Anderson). “I had a digital camcorder and a Mac and Final Cut Pro editing software, so I had all the equipment to put the video together,” he told
Adweek
(qtd. in Anderson). Because rallies for the series were popping up all over, Simerly attended several near his home in California. From the gatherings he put together a 30-second spot of “fans espousing their love for the show.... The ad's purpose, said Simerly, [was] ‘not only to show new people that
Farscape
is pretty cool, but to show advertisers that we are an intelligent, affluent audience'” (qtd. in Anderson). Intelligent and affluent, “hearty” (Boshra D4) and “almost supernaturally passionate” (Bianco 9)—this combination of characteristics catalyzed several more extraordinary and unparalleled moves. For instance, one group of Scapers “bought the cover of American
Variety
magazine in protest, as well as doing radio and TV commercials across the U.S.” (20). Yet another strategy to save the series involved some devotees uniting themselves as the Viewer Consortium, an independent organization whose purpose became exploring how they themselves might “directly finance quality television shows such as
Farscape
” (Fidgeon 47). According to Strachan, “unnamed investors raised some $20 million U.S. on behalf of The Jim Henson Company to pick up the story where it left off” (D9). In light of this long list of efforts, some of them involving substantial time and financial investment, it sounds silly and even patronizing for a network spokesperson to go on record claiming, “There are no bigger fans of
Farscape
than we here at the [Syfy] Channel” (qtd. in Petrozzello 72).

The ultimate televisual result of these collective efforts—
Farscape:
The Peacekeeper Wars
—can definitely be considered significant; however, the media's validation of Scapers' success, I posit, is even more significant because that validation fortifies the myth of fan power for many generations to come. Notably, journalists and critics around the globe claim a direct cause and effect relationship exists between fan activism and the telemovie, again, confirming fandom's influence:

• 
USA Today
—“
Farscape
is just the latest show to be brought back to life by passionate, committed fans” (Bishnoi 9E).

• 
The Gazette
(Montreal)—“
Farscape
aired on Space in Canada and on [Syfy] in the [United States]. Cancellation, when it came, was abrupt.... and
Farscape
fans went nuclear.... The two-night, four-hour miniseries
Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars
(Space, 9 P.M.) is the result” (Strachan D9).

• 
USA Today
—“
After [
Farscape
] was canceled in March 2004 without an ending, fans organized a campaign at savefarscape.com and paid for TV and print ads to save the show. As a result, Jim Henson Productions made a four-hour miniseries called
Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars
to resolve the story lines” (Snider 6D).

• 
The Australian
—“
Emails, widespread publicity and newspaper advertisements paid for by fans
forced
the network to review its original decision to cancel” (“Home-Grown Sci-Fi” 4, emphasis added).

• 
Daily News
(New York)—“
The rebirth of
Farscape
, an imaginative sci-fi series returned from the dead by fervent fans, dedicated collaborators, and a few passionate investors, is an amazing story” (Bianculli 110).

• 
The Observer
(London)—“
Space opera
Farscape
deserves to be celebrated purely for the way in which it shows that occasionally TV executives listen. The original series ... ended in 2003, but continued pressure from the programme's dedicated fans ensured that TV executives
bowed to pressure
and brought back the original cast for this mini-series which ties up all the loose ends” (Hughes 72, emphasis added).

• 
Daily News
(New York)—“
When [Syfy's]
Farscape
was canceled ... hopeful viewers sent the network flowers, singing telegrams, a Halloween jack-o'-lantern that resembled one of the characters, cupcakes, and more. They also used the Internet to try to find financial backers for the program.... Their year-long effort paid off. A four-hour
Farscape
miniseries will air this fall” (“Trying to Save” 87).

• 
USA Today
—“
Never underestimate the power of a committed cult. This small-but-mighty band of ‘Scapers' has
forced
[Syfy] to bring the unreasonably canceled space adventure
Farscape
back from the dead... The result of their near-ceaseless efforts is
Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars
” (Bianco 9, emphasis added).

The language of power and success came not only from these print sources but also from
Farscape
producers themselves. According to Brian Henson, for example, “‘The only reason we're making the miniseries is because the fans found me a consortium of partners who made it possible to put together'” (qtd. in “Trying to Save” 87; see also “If It's Good Television” K10). In an official press release for The Jim Henson Company, Scapers received public thanks for their activism on behalf of the series and news of a significant donation to the “Watch
Farscape
” website:

HOLLYWOOD, August 23, 2004—The Jim Henson Company has donated six autographed props used on the set of
Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars
to the fans of
Farscape
as a thank you for their tireless efforts in making the next chapter in the
Farscape
saga a reality. The announcement was made today by Brian Henson, director and executive producer of the television event and co–CEO of The Jim Henson Company.
Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars
is scheduled to premiere on [Syfy] on October 17th 9/8C and the props from the production will be given to the online community at www.watchfarscape.com, a grassroots fan website that receives an average of 400,000 hits per day and has been a leader in the campaign to get
Farscape
back on the air.

Brian Henson said, “It is because of the tireless efforts of the fans that this epic television event is a reality. Your commitment to invite new viewers into
Farscape'
s universe has been seen around the world. With the airing of the miniseries coming up fast, your support means more now than ever before and I am grateful for the unending dedication you have all shown. Thank you for all you have done to continue the
Farscape
adventure.”

Henson uses a key word that returns this consideration of
Farscape
enthusiasts and their activism to the hero's journey. That word is
adventure
.

As scholars at the University of California-Berkeley summarize, the Campbellian hero follows a path that involves various stages within three major rites of passage. The hero's life usually begins under “fabulous circumstances” (e.g., the immaculate conception of Jesus the Christ), although many contemporary hero journeys start not by being born but by being called to adventure. Such a call usually comes by way of an event or a messenger. For Scapers, the heroes of their own legendary tale, the call to adventure came in the online chat with Kemper, Manning, and Browder. While some heroes respond reluctantly to their calls, Scapers were willing from the outset. Once on the journey's path, early on the hero often receives assistance and even protection from a helper, group of helpers, or special amulet. Arguably, Trekker Bjo Trimble filled this role, particularly for the women of BraScape and generally for the wider community of fan activists. The concept of an amulet can be seen in Trimble's example and advice as well as in the “forefans” who had in the past successfully saved their own televisual objects of desire. Not too long into the journey, the hero must cross some sort of threshold, leaving behind the everyday world and the option to turn back. The crossing can happen either with ease or with great difficulty; either way, the contrast between the hero's home life and adventure life is clear. For Scapers, several different events could be read as the threshold, but I suggest Kemper, Manning, and Browder's confirmation of the series' cancellation serves both as the call to adventure
and
the threshold because that event marked, for the majority of active
Farscape
fans, “the point of no return.” Past the threshold, the hero, accompanied by helpers, withstands many trials and tests: “monsters, sorcerers, warriors, or forces of nature” (
Monomyth
). Though most of their foes were intangible and not-altogether evil, Scapers faced a variety of obstacles, including Syfy's claim of low ratings and high production costs, their own small numbers, and the understanding that to significantly influence network decisions they were going to need emotional endurance and financial fortitude. With each test, though,
Farscape
enthusiasts proved they had both and that they were each other's helpers, always already working in solidarity and exerting their collective energy.

The final stages of the hero's journey include the climax or final battle, flight or return to the threshold with the elixir, reentry into the everyday world, sharing of the elixir, and homecoming (
Monomyth
). While some of these steps are more difficult than earlier ones to pinpoint and name in regard to
Farscape
fandom, two seem very obvious: elixir and homecoming. Normally, a major reason the hero accepts the call to adventure and takes the journey at all is to secure knowledge, an object, or a blessing that will restore or redeem his or her community. The purpose of the homecoming is to gift that very knowledge, object, or blessing. As Campbell puts it, “the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his [or her] fellow [humans]” (30). My claim is that the boon Scapers acquired was not
The Peacekeeper Wars
but the powerful narrative of their activist adventure, one that has already given and will continue to give hope and instruction to generations of fandoms to come. Therein lies the great significance of
Farscape
and its followers.

“A myth,” posits Karen Armstrong, “is true because it is effective, not because it gives us factual information” (10). Admittedly, I am skeptical when I read reports that insist fans have “forced” network executives to alter their decisions or find fan forums that assert DVDs sales can and do result in textual after-lives for television series. If Armstrong is to be believed, though, both my skepticism and the facts regarding fans' (in)ability to influence executives are irrelevant. The real question is whether or not the myth of fan power works: “If it
works
, that is, if it forces us to change our minds and hearts, it is a valid myth” (10). How valid, then, is the legendary tale of Scapers' heroic journey? Evidence from several sources suggests that it is valid enough and growing more so all the time.

Regarding admirers of
Angel
(1999–2004), the spinoff of
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
(1997–2003), New York's
Daily News
notes that those fans who were trying to save the series from cancellation shared a lineage with many “activist TV viewers,” including viewers of
Farscape
. Additionally, months after the airing of
The Peacekeeper Wars
,
Newsweek
's Elise Soukup reported on the efforts of
Fraggle Rock
(1983–1987) enthusiasts to revive the series by way of DVDs quite a few years after the final episode aired on television. Soukup writes,