Hey y'all.
Just a friendly reminder to sign the petitions for Daria on DVD if you haven't already done so.
I checked the petitions and recorded the number of signatures as of August 31 11:59 pm Eastern Standard Time (GMT - 4). The DVDaria petition had 12,793 signatures since its launch in March 2001. More than half of those signatures were added since March 2003. (FYI, my sig is # 6510 -- you can tell it's mine by my somewhat, um, extensive commentary). Not bad, folks -- but we need to do better. (I'll tell you why in a minute.)
The petition at TVShowsonDVD.com has 1,438 votes for Daria (which was added in August 2001). So far, Daria is ranked 33rd out of 2459 unreleased shows and 62nd out of 6422 overall. This is impressive -- there were fewer than 300 votes when I signed on in February 2003. But again, we still need more votes.
Here's why I'm pushing for more John Hancocks:
Recent events indicate that the hydra known as MTV/Viacom has finally pulled its heads out of its backside to hear the cries of the people: WE WANT DARIA or GIVE US DARIA ON DVD or some such. Those In the Know have said that the petitions are playing a part in shaking MTV/Viacom from its lethargy. With more than 14,000 responses on the the 2 petitions MTV is starting to get the faint whiff of cold hard cash instead of their colons.
Looking at the Top Ten Most Requested Unreleased Shows on TVShows onDVD, the #1 show [Charmed] has 6,873 votes; the #10 show [SeaQuestDSV] has 2151. 5,000 votes would put Daria firmly among the Top 10.
Here in the US, the RIAA awards gold status to videos that sell over 50,000 units and platinum status to videos that sell over 100,000. Imagine if we got over 100,000 on the DVDaria petition. The voices of 100,000 people demanding DARIA on DVD -- all 65 episodes and both movies, uncut, uncensored, with all the original music and extras. How much longer could MTV ignore that?
What would be even more remarkable is if we could get 100,000 signatures on DVDaria AND 100,000 votes for Daria on TVShowsonDVD.com. And not just from people in the US; this would be an international effort. We would be telling MTV, "We have platinum-level demand for a platinum-level product. Give us what we want, the way we want it, and you will be handsomely rewarded."
We're headed toward Labor Day weekend here in the US; this would be an excellent time, in between barbecues, final trips to the beach, and giving some $ to help Jerry's Kids, to sign up on both petitions if you haven't done so yet. And encourage relatives, friends, relative friends, nodding acquaintances, primates who can do sign language, etc. to do the same. The rest of you on Planet Earth, join in as well. There's no age limit, no citizenship requirements, no essay exams or urine tests.
(Meanwhile, I'll be praying for those who are in the path of Hurricane Frances -- which looks like it will be WAY worse than just a big wet rainstorm. There will be no musical numbers this time 'round.)
I'll be posting a reminder around the first of every month until (1) we get Daria on DVD or (2) we get at least 100,000 signatures/100,000 votes. The links, as always, are below in my sig.
Let's show MTV/Viacom that Daria fans have THE POWER OF PLATINUM!!!
(Damn, that's probably the cheesiest thing I've ever said!)
Save Daria. Amen.
Chirping through the night (in PLATINUM!),
Cricket
"Daria" on Comedy Central e-mail: http://www.comedycentral.com/help/questionsCC.jhtml Phone: (212) 767-8600 Snail mail: NO LONGER ACCEPTED! DVD petitions: http://www.the-wildone.com/dvdaria/ http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/showinfo.cfm?showID=323