Media Mentions: Giving The Devil His Due

[randomnation]

In other CW news, The Gossip Girl spinoff appears to be dead!!!!! Wooo!!!

www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/that-gossip-girl-spinoff-dead-at-cw/

[cko]

Another sillly poll, this one on someone's random blog, but it wouldn't take much to 'win" since there's only like 4 votes there now: Which bubble show to save?

And here's a podcast from Fandomania that covers "geeky" stuff like Buffy, Star Wars, and Reaper! Not too much on Reaper, but nice thing is they have it all laid out so you know when the different subjects are coming up.

[Blue Sunflower]

A note from Alan Yu, the extra who got us the shots ("Devil's trailer") when he was called in to work on the finale.

I was asked a question recently about the show The Reaper as apparently I was told that the show was being canceled and a fan asked if I knew anything about it since I worked on it before. I haven’t been called for that show since my last visit and since I wasn’t exactly an actor for it my knowledge of the show’s status is unknown to me personally.

Although, I did notice something interesting which may mean nothing in the long run. Basically, I have been in the North Shore Studios for the past week working on this movie and I noticed there was this large truck there where it was branded as “The Work Bench”. I believe that is the name of the fictional company in the show.

In all honesty, that could just simply mean that the old truck was simply used as a transportation truck for a different show since it is not needed anymore for the Reaper production. On the flip side, it could mean that they were shooting an episode. Again, highly doubt it though as there were no cast or crew from that production on the studio that I noticed. Sorry, that’s all I know Reaper fans.

Honestly, I have no idea who contacted him.

www.actorgrowth.com/2009/05/10/random-show-work-question/

[cko]

Season One promo in German, pretty cool. I tried to post there IN German but no luck because apparently 1+ 9 doesn't equal 10? Here's what I was going to put:

Rette Reaper! Unterschreiben Sie die Petition! Schreiben Sie an das Netz! community.livejournal.com/reaperdmv/37449.html

[cko]

Poll at our friend's spoilertv.com: What did you think of To Sprong, With Love. Might as well vote!

[randomnation]

From the Hollywood Reporter:

Thought "Reaper" was dead?

Well, think again. Like some of the undead creatures on it, the quirky CW dramedy is refusing to die.

Sources said show producer ABC Studios is in talks with CW affiliate stations about continuing "Reaper" as a syndicated series for Sunday night.

While "Reaper" has been pretty much canceled at the CW, most stations are said to love the series starring Brett Harrison as the Devil's bounty hunter. The show enjoys a rabid fan base.

So when the network decided to give Sunday night back to its affiliates last week, they started preliminary conversations with ABC Studios about possibly continuing the show with original episodes.

Sources said that ABC Studios also is exploring a possible afterlife for the cult series on cable.

Both scenarios are considered a long shot with two major obstacles.

"Reaper" creators/executive producers Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters have moved on, recently inking an overall deal with 20th TV.

And the show's sidekick, Tyler Labine, stars in the newly picked up Fox comedy series "Sons of Tucson."

There are conflicting takes on whether a syndicated version of "Reaper" would be in first or second position to "Tucson," but he may be unavailable to stay on "Reaper."

Since its midseason return for a second season, "Reaper" has averaged about a 1.0 rating in 18-49, ranking as the network's lowest-rated drama.

But with the current programming on Sundays averaging below a 0.5 in recent weeks, "Reaper" could potentially improve the slot.

www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3id56fc6d97f8a77c13fed23e977d3c69b

[pacejunkie]

I've e-mailed my local affiliate and we are asking everyone who visits here to do the same. Here is a sample e-mail composed by cko and myself that you can use:

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that CW Affiliates may pick up a third season of Reaper to run Sunday nights. I'm here to say that we have a devoted fan base here in the (name of city) area for this show. 2 million of us have proven we will follow the show anywhere it is programmed, with an additional 400k to 600k every week that DVR the show, for an average audience of 2.5 million. Reaper can get ratings for Sunday night!

You can see a sample of this devoted fanbase at reaperdmv.com, the fastest growing reaper fan forum on the net. I urge you to consider picking up Reaper for syndication in the (name of city) area, and tell ABC Studios and the CW that your viewers want Reaper to stay on the air.

Thank you.

[wdpender]

Check this page out from the CW outlet in Philadelphia:

cbs3.com/cwshows

This week on the CW: they cover every show, but Reaper!!!!!

This is what we are up against!

[novium]

Am I the only person who read that and went, "heh, we're rabid!" ? Yes? Oh well then.

[cko]

Hah, novium, no we've been laughing about that. It's true, right? And everyone, keep writing your affiliates, posting at random sites, and getting your friends to help out!

Like I said at TWoP, we've got a reputation to live up to, now.

[cko]

And because again, these are always funny to me, and I need a laugh right about now after posting about the Email Your Affiliate campaign on about a million blogs and sites, from Planet SG:

REAPER ESCAPING FROM CANCELLATION HELL
May 14th, 2009 Posted in Spoilers
ABC Studios is in talks with CW associate stations about stability Reaper as the syndicated array for Sunday night. The low-rated uncover has been insincere canceled during the CW. But many stations have been pronounced to adore the array starring Brett Harrison as the Devil’s annuity hunter. So when the network not long ago motionless to give Sunday night behind to the affiliates, they proposed rough conversations with ABC Studios about presumably stability the uncover with strange episodes. ABC Studios additionally is exploring the probable torture for the array upon cable.

While Reaper creators/executive producers Michele Fazekas as well as Tara Butters have changed on, not long ago inking an altogether understanding with 20th TV, they pronounced which they would go upon with Reaper if the uncover continued. Tyler Labine, the actress who plays Herrison’s sidekick Sock, is set to star in the newly picked up Fox humerous entertainment array Sons of Tucson. While Reaper is in initial upon all sides to Tucson, there have been opposing reports upon either Labine would be contractually thankful to Reaper if it changes formats from the network to the syndicated show.

[cko]

Kinda fun, from View Askew, a Kevin Smith site:

We’re still digging the CW’s “”Reaper”, which famously introduced Kevin’s directorial efforts to TV audiences when he took on the pilot. Since then, the show has moved into a critically acclaimed but unfortunately low-rated
second season. Though many speculated the show would disappear, a new report is indicating that a third season may syndicate in 2010. As the article says, “Reaper” has a devoted fanbase, and we’d sure love to see it continue for at least another season. Plus, we always hoped Kevin would come back for another episode in an acting or directing capacity. Let’s see it happen! The CW announces their new schedule later this month, at which point we’ll at least know what the next step for “Reaper” might be.

[pacejunkie]

Kevin Smith ain't ever coming back, but that's okay by me.

[cko]

Yeah, me too, but if his name is semi-linked, it doesn't hurt among the...er...fanboy types. And, he does mention Reaper on and off in his podcasts, Twitter, and blogs, in various types of references, so I think he has a soft spot (heh!) for the show and his (brief) experience with it.

[cko]

Take on the main story by Glenn Garvin at the Miami Herald:

But Reaper wasn't the only CW show with problems. The network's Sunday-night performance this season was such a disaster that The CW canceled the night's entire lineup and substituted a collection of motley but cheap reruns while it looked for alternatives. What it came up with: nothing, very literally. The network decided to go dark on Sundays next season and give the airtime back to its affiliates -- which suddenly had to come up with three hours of programming. Many of them have picked up a package of old MGM movies, which will fill two hours, but they need something for that third hour. And guess what? Some of them want Reaper. ABC Studios, which makes Reaper, is now considering reviving it as a syndicated show that would air primarily on affiliates of the same network that just got rid of it.

There are still a lot of obstacles to a Reaper comeback -- the cheaper budgets available to syndicated shows, the legal issues surrounding Labine's contract and the problem of finding a whole new set of producers. So it may not happen. That the possibility has even been raised is a monument to the bizarre way the television networks do business.

Hey, when people go read these stories, please post there, too. The more posts, the better! (Like blue says, so it doesn't seem like just one crazy fan. Several crazy fans = "rabid fanbase.")

[Kwyjibo]

Well, I posted something... hehe

miamiherald.typepad.com/changing_channels/2009/05/can-reaper-cheat-death.html?cid=6a00d83451b26169e20115708c1a15970b#comment-6a00d83451b26169e20115708c1a15970b

Oh, and I saw this:

www.broadcastingcable.com/article/talkback/232444-ABC_Studios_Shopping_Reaper_to_Stations.php

I don't know if it has been posted before.

[cko]

At this site you can sign up for a drawing to win a Season Two DVD set! They want you to follow them on Twitter, which is probably spammy, but you can also just sign up in the comments, which probably is safe. www.weekinrewind.com/2009/05/giveaway-reaper-season-two.html

[cko]

Pretty amazing interview with Tyler at SciFiAndTVTalk, which I don't think we've seen already. Here's a real insight about the bar scene at the end of Sprong:

“The funny thing is, although I was doing the scene in-character, I was also getting the chance to tell my fellow actors how much I thought of them and just how awesome I think they are. I got to sort of paraphrase and ab-lib quite a bit, so I tried to throw in as many little personal things as I could about the characters I was talking about. I was able to get pretty emotional and give a big shout-out to all my friends as well as the characters in the show. This stands out for me as one of my favorite scenes this season.

A touch spoilery when he talks about the season finale, but you'll know from the paragraph just before it, so can look away. I'll put it here anyway.

SPOILER: Click to show

“There’s always a certain amount of emotion that comes with what could be the end of something that you’ve put so much work into and where you enjoy the people you work with as much as we do,” muses Labine. “So it got a little emotional around the set during the final days of filming this story. I don’t want to give away any details of the finale, but I can say that it won’t leave you frustrated if we don’t come back. It should leave you feeling like you could go off and imagine what the rest of Sam’s life would be like. I thought that was really clever because when they wrote this episode, the writers weren’t sure if they were writing the end of the show or the end of the season. So I thought it was a good move on their part."

[pacejunkie]

Still no word on Reaper which is interesting since they announced that Privileged was canceled. Also the proposed GG spinoff is not happening. Maybe they are waiting to see how the syndication deals work out. I also wonder if the groundbreaking pickup of Dollhouse based on non-Neilsen factors is the kind of thing that might inspire other networks to break from tradition and renew low rated shows with fan buzz and good DVR/internet performance. Can Dollhouse save Reaper?

ETA: And Ian Somerhalder's Vampire Diaries was picked up which I'm embarassed to say I may check out. You were a Boone fan Blue, what do you reckon?

[cko]

That's what I'm thinking, pace, and what a lot of the blogs and news sites seem to be saying. In other news, we got a mention in the NYTimes, it's a pretty funny take on the Fox Upfronts, which includes a bit on Sons:

MIDSEASON SHOW THAT WILL MOST APPEAL TO ALL TEN FANS OF “REAPER”: “Sons of Tucson,” a comedy starring the Jack Black-esque actor Tyler Labine (Bert “Sock” Wysocki of CW’s “Reaper”) as a “dreamer and a schemer hired by three sons whose father is in prison.” Looks like a mash-up of “The Toy” and “Drillbit Taylor,” though in its favor, it’s produced by Todd Holland (of “Malcolm in the Middle”) and Justin Berfield (!), who played Malcolm’s older brother, Reese.

Actually, that show doesn't sound all that badk, I liked that kid Reese, not that it matters I guess.

Oh, and Mike Murphy of the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat, who likes Reaper and has posted about our campaign(s), says the following RE: the Dollhouse news:

I know this might sound crazy, but suddenly it seems like networks are actually listening to audiences. Credit the power of the fanboy for a cluster of just-announced series renewals. Despite low ratings, smart shows with loyal -- and vocal -- viewers are on the comeback trail.

[...]Even "Reaper," which I had given up for dead, is showing signs of life. Even if The CW cancels it, as is expected, it may continue in syndication and end up being sold back to The CW's affiliate stations for their now-empty Sunday night lineups. It might be without Tyler Labine (Fox picked up his pilot "Sons of Tucson") or creators (they've got pilots too), but a tweak here and a tweak there and it could work.

Patience? Rewarding fan loyalty? Risk-taking? Thinking out of the box? What's happened to our TV executives?!?

I commented, thanked him for mentioning and supporting Reaper, and told him I preferred to be called a "fanwoman."

I actually think all this campaigning is driving me slightly insane. Blue promised me that would NOT happen, though, and she should know, right?

[cko]

ETA: Yay, he answered me back! I plan to pin a lot of my hopes on his answer.

You left the following comment at tv.pressdemocrat.com/default.asp?item=2378914:

As always, love your take on these TV developments; yeah, we Reaper fans (I prefer the term "fanwoman") are hoping the Dollhouse news, and syndication hopes, will work out for this show. What do you think the chances are? And don't you have a lot of pull around here?

The following reply was given for your comment:

My apologies, I didn't mean to exclude you fanwomen! I actually think "Reaper's" syndication chances sound pretty good. Bad as its ratings are, it still does better than the network's Sunday alternatives. It'll probably be stripped down a bit to become cheaper to make, but that might force better writing to make up for lost production value. I do have tremendous pull in the industry (they call me The Kingmaker), so I'll see if I can pull some strings (I'm also called The Puppetmaster).

[randomnation]

According to Ausiello, Reaper is cancelled.

"The casualties are piling up: Reaper, The Game, Everybody Hates Chris all axed." In addition, so has Privileged. When Dawn Ostroff strikes, she strikes hard. *angry*

twitter.com/EWAusielloFiles

[Blue Sunflower]

May 19, 2009 20:05:19 GMT -5 randomnation said:

According to Ausiello, Reaper is cancelled.

I'm pretty sure that's just CW, and we already know that. I think ABC Studios is still working the syndication route, so it's not over yet.

[pacejunkie]

*strikes Dawn Ostroff*

Here's hoping for syndication.

[randomnation]

I was still hoping they'd see the benefits of picking the show up. Guess everything rests upon ABC Studios and the affiliates now.

[Blue Sunflower]

May 19, 2009 20:27:01 GMT -5 randomnation said:

I was still hoping they'd see the benefits of picking the show up.

Ah, but that would mean the CW makes sense. So, you hoping they'll see it leaves you where?

[cko]

Hey, this is my day for hearing back from people. At last, randomly commenting on sites is paying off!

Hello! Just wanted to thank you for your kind words regarding my piece on Tyler Labine. Tyler is a great guy and a wonderful interviewee, so I'm pleased to hear that I did justice to his words. Please feel free to share the link to his piece with as many people as possible. Thanks again for your support!

Steve Eramo

And yeah, haven't looked at the Upfronts stuff yet, I guess it's what we knew already.

[awesomereaperfan]

Damn CW. Oh well, maybe ABC Studios can work their magic. Also, this may mean Sock could leave the show. This may be good news for certain people who think he's a pig...

[Blue Sunflower]

Damn, I am so tired of this. Variety:

As expected, gone from CW are dramas "Privileged" and "Reaper" and laffers "The Game" and "Everybody Hates Chris."

Which of course, gets translated to this:

Dingorue:

Reaper Cancelled

Headline Planet:

Variety also confirmed that dramedies “Privileged” and “Reaper” and comedies “The Game” and “Everybody Hates Chris” are officially done.

Which of course, is why everyone gives up and doesn't bother to try and save the show. And from the same people who KNOW they're shopping the show for syndication. I can't believe writers do this.

Freaking comment if you have the chance please. I tried to ask Variety if there was any news about syndication, but my comments so far aren't coming up.

ETA: Yay! At least IGN gets it right:

As far as Reaper goes, we heard just recently that it might be able to find new life. It was semi-expected that The CW would pass on Reaper, but the series might continue on, with different showrunners, in syndication.

[pacejunkie]

May 19, 2009 22:01:25 GMT -5 awesomereaperfan said:

Damn CW. Oh well, maybe ABC Studios can work their magic. Also, this may mean Sock could leave the show. This may be good news for certain people who think he's a pig...

I definitely think at this point the show could carry on without Sock. They should write him out and let Tyler take his new series (which he sounds really excited about) if the syndication deal goes through. Seriously, ever bad plot this year was Sock's. The show would have been much stronger overall without him.