There is a
blind item over on Ausiello's blog that I, and many others, are 99.9999% certain is NCIS. I'd lay money on it. Every single item in there rings true. That said, some of us got together last night and talked about possible strategies for helping make the point that we fans would MUCH rather see NCIS retain the services of Mark Harmon and leave Shane Brennan to concentrate on NCIS: Los Angeles.
We need to keep it positive. Suits consider all employees replaceable. We need to let them know that we fans disagree. Some people are far more replaceable than others. Easy as it is, and much as we'd like to, we can't run Brennan down. That will only make his supporters (who are likely high up in production) get defensive. Defensive people are no longer
listening. We've got to focus on the fact that Mark Harmon is not replaceable because *Gibbs* is not replaceable. Gibbs is *the* central cog in the NCIS machine and without Gibbs the whole thing will grind to a halt. While I have no doubt that Michael Weatherly could *easily* carry the lead on a show, *Tony* is not designed to be the lead - that is Gibbs' role. Shane Brennan should be released from his duties on NCIS and allowed to focus fully on building up NCIS: Los Angeles.
We also need to spell out entire names. I know it sounds silly, but words have power and we need to tap into that power. It's easy to let initials pass us by, but harder to let full names go unnoticed. Also, we need to make sure we're spelling them right. Again, it may seem silly, but it's a subtle thing that simply reinforces the message. Misspellings, especially of names, subtly detracts from the message.
Hit every single online media venue you can think of. The
CBS boards (I'd start in the "general comments" section),
IMDB,
TWOP,
Buddy TV,
EW,
TV Guide, you name it. If it's some place that ever mentions NCIS news, hit it and hit it hard. Start threads, comment (appropriately) in existing threads, comment on articles. If your local newspaper has an article on NCIS comment there. Get out your envelopes and postage stamps and start writing letters to CBS. I wish I had the actual names of people who have the power to make or at least sway these kinds of decisions. If anyone can come up with those, please post them. Also, write actual letters to... who? Anyone have any suggestions? TV Guide? Any trade papers we should inundate with letters? (Other than the ones listed below. More is better.) We need to hit as many communications channels as we can. Email, tweets, article comments, snail mail, *carrier* pigeon if we think they'd let them in the door. :-)
See, here's the thing - the more people see something in print? The more they believe it. We need to harness that. Now, the good news is that this is really a no-brainer. Just looking at the sheer number of independent comments to the EW item supporting Mark Harmon over Shane Brennan lets us know we're not whistling in the dark here. The key is to let the suits know they're going to piss off their fan base if they don't pay attention. And to do that we need to gather as many people as possible saying pretty much the same things over and over again. Not so much in the same words, just get the meaning across. We can come up with what amounts to talking points, but use your own words as much as possible.
1. Gibbs *is* NCIS. No Mark Harmon, no Gibbs. No Gibbs, no NCIS.
2. Shane Brennan has a brand new show that needs his full attention as show runner. NCIS also needs the full attention of a show runner. Let Shane Brennan concentrate on his creation, NCIS: Los Angeles, and assign a new, full time show runner to concentrate on the more mature NCIS.
(And, in all fairness, LA *is* getting better. It deserves a solid shot and a dedicated show runner.)
That really is about all there is. I hesitate to include comments on the falling quality of scripts and story lines mostly because I don't think the suits give a damn. They're interested in ratings and how that translates into ad sales and stock prices. If you can find a positive way to talk about that, go for it. :-)
Here are some addresses we can use to get our message across.
Asking for Scoop:
mega_scoop@tvguide.com
ausielloscoop@ew.com
Tweeting:
@TVGuideMagEIC
@EW
@kbarkertweets – NCIS and NCIS LA Publicist
@kristenjane – CBS publicist
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?ref=mb#!/NCISThere are also specific ways of reaching the producers of NCIS. You can write to the following places:
"NCIS"
Att: C. Floyd Johnson
26030 Avenue Hall
Box 4
Valencia, CA 91355
CBS Paramount Television
5555 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90038
And directly to the lady at the top:
Ms. Nina Tassler
President, CBS Entertainment
CBS Entertainment
7800 Beverly Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90039-2112
Go forth, my people, and speak! :-)
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