No more Nero Wolfe? Pfui!

Fans say 'Nuts' to A&E's plans to discontinue the super sleuth series.

(August 2002) As summer got longer and there was still no word confirming a third season for A&E's critically acclaimed original series, Nero Wolfe (starring Timothy Hutton, Maury Chaykin and Bill Smitrovich) fans on the A&E message boards got nervous. Several suggested letters praising the show be sent to Allen Sabinson, Senior Vice president of Programming at A&E to show that the audience for the show was out there and enthusiastic. Just as the letter writing was getting started, it was announced that Sabinson (one of the show's staunchest supporters) had been let go and word from the production was that the show was not being brought back. What had been a few letters here and there has suddenly mushroomed into a full-fledged campaign.

Word of the campaign has spread on-line and off with letters and postcards with messages like "We Want Wolfe" or "Fire Fritz? Pfui!" being sent to: Dan Davids, Executive Vice President/General Manager, Acting Head of Programming at A&E Television. And people aren't just sending letters. They are calling attention to themselves in a variety of ways. From Jay, who when he heard A&E's cry of poverty declared he would include monopoly money with his letter, to the girls buying up every orchid postcard in Seattle - ideas and projects are being implemented as fast as they can be thought up.

As ideas pour forth on the message boards and in emails about what action to take and who to take it to, fans compiled the information on central online Web site (http://www.personalephemera.com/nero). The site has contact info for A&E and sponsors of the show, ideas from other fans; reviews of the show, downloadable specially created postcards and related web links. Having everything in one place gets word of mouth going faster than scattered average water cooler conversations at the office.

Will letters change anyone's mind? It's not unheard of -- and fans would be thrilled if A&E continued with Nero Wolfe -- but equally important, it would also give an indication that the show is popular and would be worth picking up by someone else. And there are precedents for "network jumping" as well.

The bottom line is that whether or not a show remains on the air is still about ratings and the most effective thing fans can do in support of keeping a favorite show on a major network is something that impacts ratings--Word of Mouth. Talk to friends, family and colleagues -- get them interested -- or if they are already watching, get them involved. The idea is, the more people hear about it, the more people may watch it, and the better chances the show's ratings will have. For information on what you can do to help or to find out what others are doing, go to the "Save Nero Wolfe" site at http://www.personalephemera.com/nero