Many people have said that it was the fan campaign that got the show a third season, but Herb Solow and Bob Justman said in Inside Star Trek that the impact of the campaign was overrated and that it was probably Trek's impact on RCA's sales of color TVs that got it another season. Is there a definitive answer as to what got Trek a third season(sorry if there's already a thread that answers this)?
Did the fans really save the show?
- Thread starter TalkieToaster
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Definitive? By this point in history the waters are quite muddy, but the idea that "millions" of letters were spontaneously sent by individual fans doesn't bear serious examination. Inside Star Trek says that Roddenberry organized a few staged events to keep his meal ticket on the air, but the total number of letters was at best tens of thousands, and had no real effect on NBC's decision.
Wasn't Roddenberry totally disconnected from ST by the third season preferring to focus on other projects instead?
One could argue that the fans save any show that succeeds -- because they watch it in enough numbers that it gets good ratings. The most important factor is always going to be whether the network and the advertisers feel that the ratings are sufficient to offset the expense of making the show. The number of people who write letters in support of a show is generally going to be a fraction of the number of viewers it would take to ensure a show could break even. Maybe sometimes it can help assure a network that there is audience interest, or bring publicity to the show, but unless that pays off in actual ratings, it won't make much difference.
There have been a few cases where letter campaigns have convinced network execs to keep a show or even uncancel it, though usually in concert with other factors. This article has a list of them, including the standard Star Trek myth, but let's focus on the others. In the case of Chuck, the deciding factor was probably the fans' efforts to convince Subway to come on board as a sponsor, which had an impact because there was actual money involved for the network rather than just enthusiasm. Jericho's letter campaign worked because it convinced the network to review the ratings more carefully and learn that Nielsen had underreported them. Friday Night Lights survived because the network was able to enter a cost-sharing arrangement.
So, yeah, sometimes it can make a difference, but rarely by itself. It's generally going to be some additional factor that makes the crucial difference. At the very least, there probably has to be someone at the network who wants the show renewed anyway and just needs a reason to be convinced they're making the right decision. But the show has to be enough on the bubble that it's at least credible that it could get better ratings.
In the case of Trek, there's so much mythology around it that it's hard to say. Fan enthusiasm may have been a contributing factor, but there's no clear evidence that the show wouldn't have been renewed for a third season anyway, even without the campaign. It was on the bubble, but that's all we know for sure. NBC had good reason to want to keep the show. It was a smart show that brought prestige due to the award nominations it garnered. It was visually striking and encouraged people to buy RCA's color television sets. So they would've wanted a way to keep it. And they did what networks generally do to shows with sagging ratings in order to keep them around: They slashed the budget. The third season had fewer episodes, virtually no location work, smaller casts per episode, etc.
So no, I don't think the letter-writing campaign "saved the show," not as the single deciding factor. Maybe it was a contributing element, an affirmation that the show had a loyal audience, but it wasn't the only reason the network had to keep the show around.
There have been a few cases where letter campaigns have convinced network execs to keep a show or even uncancel it, though usually in concert with other factors. This article has a list of them, including the standard Star Trek myth, but let's focus on the others. In the case of Chuck, the deciding factor was probably the fans' efforts to convince Subway to come on board as a sponsor, which had an impact because there was actual money involved for the network rather than just enthusiasm. Jericho's letter campaign worked because it convinced the network to review the ratings more carefully and learn that Nielsen had underreported them. Friday Night Lights survived because the network was able to enter a cost-sharing arrangement.
So, yeah, sometimes it can make a difference, but rarely by itself. It's generally going to be some additional factor that makes the crucial difference. At the very least, there probably has to be someone at the network who wants the show renewed anyway and just needs a reason to be convinced they're making the right decision. But the show has to be enough on the bubble that it's at least credible that it could get better ratings.
In the case of Trek, there's so much mythology around it that it's hard to say. Fan enthusiasm may have been a contributing factor, but there's no clear evidence that the show wouldn't have been renewed for a third season anyway, even without the campaign. It was on the bubble, but that's all we know for sure. NBC had good reason to want to keep the show. It was a smart show that brought prestige due to the award nominations it garnered. It was visually striking and encouraged people to buy RCA's color television sets. So they would've wanted a way to keep it. And they did what networks generally do to shows with sagging ratings in order to keep them around: They slashed the budget. The third season had fewer episodes, virtually no location work, smaller casts per episode, etc.
So no, I don't think the letter-writing campaign "saved the show," not as the single deciding factor. Maybe it was a contributing element, an affirmation that the show had a loyal audience, but it wasn't the only reason the network had to keep the show around.
Perhaps the fans did indeed save the show, but not in the way most widely thought. The letter campaign didn't do it.
No, the fans really saved the show when it went into syndication. They saved the show by not letting it fade into obscurity. Most network and studio suits probably thought after a couple of reruns the show would disappear from the broader public consciousness along with numerous other shows of the period. But that isn't what happened.
Stations numbering beyond just NBC affiliates begun running the show when they felt it most suitable and the viewership responded. Not long after NBC realizeg they let something go they should have held onto.
The fans--viewers both avid and casual--kept the show alive in syndication by continuing to watch those 79 gems (albeit some being rough gems) over and over and over again. And they kept the show alive by buying whatever tie-in merchandise came along.
Star Trek was one of those rare things whose popularity and recognition grew ever larger after its initial run. And until TNG came along TOS sort of became the standard by which other television sci-fi was measured.
No, the fans really saved the show when it went into syndication. They saved the show by not letting it fade into obscurity. Most network and studio suits probably thought after a couple of reruns the show would disappear from the broader public consciousness along with numerous other shows of the period. But that isn't what happened.
Stations numbering beyond just NBC affiliates begun running the show when they felt it most suitable and the viewership responded. Not long after NBC realizeg they let something go they should have held onto.
The fans--viewers both avid and casual--kept the show alive in syndication by continuing to watch those 79 gems (albeit some being rough gems) over and over and over again. And they kept the show alive by buying whatever tie-in merchandise came along.
Star Trek was one of those rare things whose popularity and recognition grew ever larger after its initial run. And until TNG came along TOS sort of became the standard by which other television sci-fi was measured.
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