Ezekiel Editorial: Campaign Mandates
Hello birdies.
It saddens me when I have to make editorials that are less than "happy-happy-joy-joy" in their full content, but sometimes it has to be done. Though while the initial outlook to this editorial is gloomy, the sun does burst through at the end showering us all with Millennium wonder.
We keep getting one persistent troll who keeps bringing up the same point in as many not-too-dissimilar ways and with as many different unverified handles as he can imaginatively conjure. We could mock him as he attempts to mock/demean what we do here, but that's not my style - neither is it Troy's. We are fans of Millennium, ergo we are Millennium fans, but neither of us have time for silly attacks and waging pointless wars. The drive of the silly message is always the same, "this place isn't as good as it used to be" with a hint of "wow, is this the Lance Henriksen fan page now?" added in of late. So I've done this editorial to address this point in three sections sensibly.
1. This place isn't as good as it used to be.
Well that depends on your context - and context isn't always clear. What defines BacktoFrankBlack? Is it the podcasts? The written interviews? Is it the video blogs? The themed weeks? Is it the fun graphics? The interaction with campaign and fans?
Well they are all part and parcel of BacktoFrankBlack, but they aren't what defines it. This is what we're about - This Is Who We Are:
We're here to bring the show back and we're in a better position right here, right now than we were before. Ever before.
So by that criteria, we are FAR better than we have ever been. Pure and simple. If one looks at us and says "are we as fan interactive or filled with fan debates as other places?", then no, we're less about that now as the campaign has a more serious slant. Clock's ticking and myself and Troy would rather have the campaign focus on the industry than on too much, too be rude, padding.
Bottomline, this is a campaign. We do offer interactive stuff and themes because we know followers love Millennium, it's interesting - and we love doing it, but this year we're balancing that out with the serious drive to get Millennium back. So we're doing more media promotions, more interviews and working closer with the industry - all of which doesn't always make for a fun Millennium fan page, but that is not who we are. For that, we heartily recommend our big brother Graham Smith's wonderful, Millennium: This Is Who We Are and the This Is Who We Are forums. Or even join one of the Millennium Facebook Groups such as this one by campaign supporter Steve Trotter. They are great spots for Millennium fans!
2. There's a lot of Lance Henriksen these days, is this like the Lance Henriksen Fan Page?
I shouldn't really need to explain this one. Millennium fans by nature are bright, so apologies if this is something which stands to reason.
Currently what we're working on can't always be mentioned in public, simply because deals aren't finalised, we're waiting on the go to announce stuff or we feel we'd like to hold back news until specific dates. That's part of promotions in a campaign unfortunately. So we can't always bring you campaign news. Rather than fill the blog up with reviews, debate or stuff best handled by a fan forum like This Is Who We Are, we look to find you news you won't find elsewhere, that is pertinent to the campaign in some broader way. What the cast and crew do is very much a part of that and after EVERY podcast we offer the actors and crew we interview the option to promote themselves through us. We get free interviews, these people spend their time valuable time with us, imparting their memories and hopes for Millennium with no reward, so the least we can do is support them as they support us, and given I think 90% of fans are interested in what Millennium cast and crew do, I think it works well. So yes, we will give details from cast and crew when we get them.
With Lance, he is involved in this campaign as much as myself and Troy these days so we do get inside scoops a lot. I'm willing to bet no one reading this in our position would ignore them given we have so many Lance Henriksen fans reading this, its publicity for the campaign and it keeps us current.
If you have objective concerns and rational feedback, let us know - but really I'm disappointed I've had to make this post as I would like to have imagined, as a silly idealist, that ALL fans would be behind a campaign that has the lead icon actually working on it! How often do you get a campaign in which the lead guy is actually working on the campaign to bring it back? And fans criticise us for having such close connections with him? Crazy?
So bottomline, yes we will update the blog with any exciting news from cast and crew from Millennium, yes we'll have quiet periods with such details help us keep the blog updated while we work behind the scenes, and yes the campaigns close association with the lead actor and the fact so many, many people reading this adore Lance as much as the show, means we will have Lance Henriksen articles.
So the bright stuff I mentioned at the beginning? Still got magazine articles to come, more websites have signed up to the campaign, looking at more radio interviews to spread the word, we have more podcasts being prepared, charity event is being reworked after talks with Lance as how to make the most of it.. yes the writers idea we teased you with is still in the works, we just need to time it right and sort out the details.. plus we've got a themed week being put together slowly. On top of that, we're hoping to announce another major campaign step shortly. Plus the usual video blogs, fan surveys and of course, cast and crew updates.
BacktoFrankBlack is doing what its meant to do. So is it as good as it was? It's better. Believe it.
