Hellblazers don’t quit
Here’s the proof
We planned a trend for June 8, which was a month from the last time we planned & trended #Constantine--coincidentally the day NBC cancelled the show on May 8. Reading Daniel Cerone’s farewell on June 7 rocked everyone, not just the professionals connected to the show, but also the Hellblazers because many have said they would continue fighting until Daniel said it was over and Daniel said it’s over.
While it is clear to us from his letter and from their seeming unwillingness to communicate with him that Warner Bros has decided to cut Cerone and the writers from the project, many of us do not believe the show has been shelved. It is perfectly cast, fits into a growing market for the DCU, already has a following... Shelving it makes no sense. Cutting Cerone out rises to the level of ass-holish behavior, but in general it falls under the category of standard show business tactics.
For the Hellblazers, June 7 was confusing as we tried to sort the news and figure out the messages we were receiving. (See below) In the end we decided to go forward with the trend, knowing we were going to have to overcome the weight of defeat from the news in the letter, being repeated endlessly in articles and tweets. We replied to Hellblazers and often got trolled in response. But when the time came for our trend yesterday, we were sure we had enough Hellblazers to make a healthy noise, and we did. We didn’t hit the top of the charts, but we made the top 100 during our trend effort, according to Topsy and this is what it looked like!
The graph reflects Central Time, which is an hour behind EST, and the time we set the trend was 4 to 9 pm EST.
Instead of being a joyous noise on a one-month anniversary of a really crappy day, showing the fan base was growing in spite of being ignored by the studio and the networks (Side note, AMC deserves a note of thanks for actually responding to programming recommendations. All of us received replies when AMC determined it would pass on Constantine, which helped us and them as we then knew to take them off our communications list. That’s how communications works, people!) we were repeating a cry of outrage!
Writing this has taken all day because I’ve tried to tread as neutral a course as possible. To be upbeat would be false; to be hostile is not my nature (though I have my moments); yet to give in to malaise will bring our fandom to a halt and I--many of us--refuse to allow that to happen. This show was beautifully brought to life by Cerone, cast and crew. It was never promoted properly. NBC put it in a dead slot, withdrew the back half of the season so the show ends at a mid-season cliffhanger, and cancelled it at the 11th hour when it was impossible to shop the show in time for the fall season. We don’t even believe Warner Bros has actively shopped the show yet.
The last episode aired six months ago, yet new viewers continue to find the show. The fandom grows. We don’t know why Warner Bros canned Daniel Cerone and the writers. We loved the writing, particularly from Ep 3 on. Certainly from Ep 4, Feast of Friends, which ranks at the top of most Hellblazers’ favorite episodes! Watch it. Come back & tell us this show doesn’t deserve to be saved. Watch Ep. 13, Waiting for the Man, which became the finale but which was intended to be a mid-season cliffhanger. That’s only halfway through a first season! How can it end there?
Warner Bros you’ve not done right by the fans or Constantine. I’ve written letters and made calls. I’ve spoken to personnel who’ve been astonishingly rude to me. Actually RUDE. I’m not rude to anyone, so I can assure you I didn’t provoke it. Try to remember for just a little while that we are the consumers. We are the market to whom you are trying to appeal. So far all you’ve done is offend, and blatantly. DC Comics, it is clear your priority is superheroes in tights. Right now there’s a huge audience in need of an antihero. There’s a whole bunch of walking wounded in the world who just don’t buy into apple pie and Beaver. Constantine feels like family. Wake up and smell reality.
Hellblazers aren’t gone. A lot have said enough it’s true. Many said they just couldn’t yesterday. But we want Constantine back and Warner Bros, DC Comics--and likely, CW--are our targets. Something stinks about this whole deal and we can smell it from here.
@JohnsBoots
