As if losing Keen Eddie wasn't enough...

[gwyn]

So today I found out that after taunting us, Fox has decided not to show the final four Keen Eddie eps after all. Last night I read that MI-5 has not performed well on A&E because the Brit-drama audience has sort of abandoned A&E after their crime-intensive reality/documentary shows. The only good news is that a friend is going to send me unaired Miracles eps... but then I managed to dim the glow by finally checking up on the La Femme Nikita message boards after a long time away, and found this from the group of fans who'd brought the series back from death on USA (WHV means Warner Home Video):

The purpose of our call to WHV was, of course, to ask about the official status of Season 2 DVDs and whether sales reports have improved over the past two or three weeks. Unfortunately, we were told that sales volume is still lower than expected and necessary before WHV can commit to continue with the series.

According to WHV, they spent a considerable amount of money on prerelease advertising which is their usual practice--they do not plan to spend more on promotion of Season 1.

Sales have not picked up as they had hoped as the summer is ending, and Season 2 has now been taken off of their release schedule. The representative assured us that this does not mean that the project cannot be added back to the release schedule if sales improve, but right now, that is the status.

Initially, we were told that a speedy decision was expected on whether Season 2 would go into production, but since the sales reports haven't been satisfactory to WHV, it is probably working to our advantage that a final decision has not been rushed. With more time, at least the likelihood remains that sales will increase.

We are deeply disappointed but will continue with our efforts to make others who may not be online aware that the DVDs are available, and we hope that you as individuals will continue to do the same.

I guess in a weird way I thought that there'd be interest, after all the buildup of the ass kicking chicks genre, the success of LFN's creators' new show 24, and Alias. WHV did a better job of advertising the discs than they ever did advertising the show (which I realize isn't saying much). And I know music licensing is an important issue -- all the fans who sent cards and letters and email and then didn't buy the discs are skewing the numbers, and a lot of LFN's fan base wasn't online (it's a weird fandom). So with lower numbers, the music licensing will be a big issue because sales won't make up for those fees.

This fan thing sucks sometimes, you know? Our hearts just get broken over and over again.

Comments

[batdina.livejournal.com]

My biggest problem (and why I haven't purchased the set yet) with La Femme Nikita is the price. I have yet to see it anywhere under $75, and that's the price of a volume of Talmud with a good binding, so I'm hesitant on my budget right now to spend it.

Is there any place to purchase it where it won't kick my wallet's ass?

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

The cheapest I found it was for $60 at northamericandvd.com. However, I've had lots of issues with their service, though none of my friends has. They all rave about the place, and they do definitely have good prices.

I think a lot of that expense is the music licensing. I've always been very surprised at Buffy's low prices, because they had a lot of music to license as well. Might be worth checking out e-bay, too.

[corngirl-jo.livejournal.com]

My biggest problem (and why I haven't purchased the set yet) with La Femme Nikita is the price.

I wanted to say the same thing. Gwyn, what's your problem with the service of that website. 60$ is just the amount I'm willing to pay.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

The people at northamericandvd are just nitwits. And annoying nitwits -- they really have no customer service people to speak of, and when an order goes wrong, which far too many of mine did, they are kind of stupid about trying to fix it. However, no one else I know has had an order go wrong, just me. And they're in Canada, which means that they often offer the Canadian versions of movies that have different packaging, such as the big multi-disc set for Brotherhood of the Wolf.

I've seen some sets for anywhere from $30 to 60 on e-bay, but I personally hate bidding for things. Just be sure if you use it you don't bid on the Luc Besson movie. ;-)

[yseultdb.livejournal.com]

Last night I read that MI-5 has not performed well on A&E because the Brit-drama audience has sort of abandoned A&E after their crime-intensive reality/documentary shows

Ack! I like MI-5, but I have to admit I'm a member of that Brit-drama audience that has not been watching A&E lately. In fact, I've been trying to talk the Irishman into getting BBC America. Can I ask where you saw the MI-5 article? Did they say anything else?

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

I have a brain like a seive, but I think it was in my TV Guide (paper version) -- I'm not sure if they'd have it online or not. It was an article about great summer series that didn't get support, including Keen Eddie. They mentioned that A&E's audience has stopped coming to them for that kind of thing, which is such a shame -- I mean, stuff like Cracker and all the weird movies they've shown from Brit TV, not to mention Hornblower... how sad that they haven't kept a consistent focus. I hope they get it back, but... who knows. Reality is all that counts these days!

BBC America

[namastenancy.livejournal.com]

I hate to tell you but BBC America is a waste of money. They show endless reruns of Sir Graham Norton, Changing Rooms and little else. The local PBS stations have newer Brit stuff than they do. Sorry to hear the bad news about MI-5 because I am liking it very much.
Oh well - word to Gwyn's original post!

namaste SF Nancy

Re: BBC America

[klia.livejournal.com]

I have to disagree with you. I've seen lots of great stuff on BBCA that isn't shown anywhere else. Red Cap is my current favorite, but there's Jonathan Creek, Parkinson, Rebus, Coupling, The Office, What Not to Wear, My Hero, Waking the Dead, Bargain Hunt, and Ground Force. And they ran Ballykissangel and Father Ted *years* before they were ever shown on PBS.

You have to remember, British TV isn't like American TV. I don't think they ever make 22-ep seasons of shows, the way we do. They do a lot of short runs, like 6 eps a year, over several years. And they're much bigger into reality-type shows that are cheap to make, like Changing Rooms and Ground Force. In fact, friends over there lament the situation, because the dramas we love have all but disappeared.

Btw, it's *So* Graham Norton, not Sir. I don't think he'll be knighted anytime soon. Maybe when he gets to be Sir Elton's age.

Re: BBC America

[yseultdb.livejournal.com]

BBC America is a waste of money

Really? My local PBS station seems to be in love with Are You Being Served?, a show which I absolutely abhor. During the summer we occasionally get BBC dramas that are shown on CBC (out of Canada). I'm just sick of watching reruns on PBS and would very much like to see something different.

[laurashalo.livejournal.com]

I was a big fan of LFN in the beginning and then only followed it sporadically towards the end (got really busy with school). I didn't even know they had dvds out there. Shame they aren't going to follow through.

[jcalanthe]

Unaired Miracles eps?? Can I bribe you or your friend for copies? I'm bouncing up and down here at the office at the thought of this.

After all the heartbreaks of last season, I'm starting to consider not watching new shows. Cuz jeez, all this crapola keeps running, and anything halfgood gets cancelled. My poor heart can't take it.

[gwyn-r.livejournal.com]

I'm not yet certain what the situation will be with the Miracles eps. I won't know for a while -- the person who is getting them has been very heavily involved with the production company as part of the fan support base, and was invited to a recent screening of those unaired eps out in Hollywood. She doesn't have them yet. But she heard about my and my friend's vid to the show, and got in touch with me (she's the person resonsible for getting me in to media fandom!).

It might be worth nagging me again in a while and asking me how/what is happening. I have a brain like a seive, so if you remind yourself to check in with me, I can let you know privately.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_nepthys_/]

The unaired episodes of Miracles have been distributed 'round the net in VCD format. Just a FYI. :) Even if they won't be available via DVD, they're not lost forever.