Who Do You Believe ?

Since the LA Times article was released the Black Donnellys has been getting a lot of buzz; some positive some negative. The Firecrackers believe the negative comments stem from people who have not watched the entire season and/or people that believe that the networks are right. Interestingly, one blogger argues: If the networks believe that the show must be cancelled then it wasn’t worth watching to begin with…… If you believe that, you can ask the Jericho fans, Veronica Mars fans and TBD fans; they will tell you a much different story.

Do you believe NBC? NBC supposedly cancelled The Black Donnellys due to declining ratings. However, what most people don’t know is that TBD was a victim of NBC’s own indecisiveness. Originally, the series was going to air in the Thursday night time slot during ER’s hiatus in November 2006. But because ER was doing well at the time, NBC pushed back the airdate of The Black Donnellys to January 2007. NBC subsequently pushed TBD’s premiere date back even further until late February/early March when it became the Monday night replacement for NBC’s other high-profile series, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which was having ratings difficulties. Not only did NBC anger Studio 60’s viewers, who responded by boycotting The Black Donnellys, it also gambled with the high-budget series by putting it in the dreaded Monday night time slot.

Though The Black Donnellys pilot episode aired after NBC’s hit show Heroes and pulled in nearly 8 million viewers, subsequent episodes followed a game show, Deal or No Deal, and the viewers dropped to 5 million. In addition, The Black Donnellys competed with the NCAA March Madness Finals and CBS’s long-running hit, CSI: Miami. In the end, NBC made poor decisions with respect to marketing, scheduling, and storyline continuity. Regarding the latter, NBC showed an online only episode containing important plot details yet failed to notify The Black Donnellys television audience that such an episode even existed. Then inexplicably, when viewers became confused by the storyline, NBC panicked like they did with Studio 60, and pulled The Black Donnellys off the air after only 5 episodes. The Black Donnellys was replaced with yet another reality TV show, The Real Wedding Crashers. You don’t have to wonder where The Real Wedding Crashers are now. Shuffling shows in and out of the television line-up is not very cost-effective. A new series is a delicate thing and NBC failed The Black Donnellys from the start. NBC clearly did not know what they were doing or what direction they were taking and, unfortunately, The Black Donnellys fans paid the price for NBC’s mistakes.


Do you believe the fans? The Black Donnellys was in the top 10 most downloaded episodes and season passes on ITunes up until the finale aired on May 14, 2007, six weeks after the show was taken off the air. It was the only show that was NOT on the air, but was in the top 10 with hit shows like Lost, Grey's Anatomy, the Office and 24. In addition, following TBD’s cancellation, Mark Cuban immediately picked up the entire first season of the show and it is now airing on HDNet on Wednesday nights. Mr. Cuban noticed the attention TBD was getting in the online community, took note of TBD’s active fan base, and knew The Black Donnellys would be a hit for HDNet!

The petition to save the show has over 37,000 signatures and is climbing everyday! More importantly, the fans have come together to contribute time and money to the Save The Black Donnellys campaign
in order to convince HBO to pick up TBD. Though there are some naysayers, the campaign results so far demonstrate that there are more than just “7” fans out there as some bloggers have incorrectly posted. The fact that these bloggers have taken the time and effort to criticize The Black Donnellys and/or the fan campaign indicates that TBD does appeal to a wider audience. In fact, even the negative posts are assisting the campaign since they are creating a lot more buzz for a show that last aired in April!

So, if you believe the networks, then we will continue to see more reality TV and lackluster shows on the air! If you believe the fans, then we encourage you to watch more than just the pilot, watch the entire season on nbc.com or Itunes.com! Or if you prefer not to watch it on your PC, you can pre-order the DVD from Amazon.com.

Get to know the characters and their story! Fight for the opportunity to see great television!

We look forward to seeing you around the Firecracker Lounge!

Who Are The Firecrackers ?

You have read our press release and you have read our mission statement. So, who are the firecrackers and what is our story?

Jimmy Donnelly, the erratic brother, won a bar, yes, a bar during a card game. The bar, that doesn't make any money, is called The Firecracker. In one episode Jimmy decided that the bar needed a makeover; a jukebox, some fresh paint and a new sign. The new sign was adorned with a “flame” and a “cracker”. This sign represented new beginnings.

When NBC pulled The Black Donnellys off the air after the 5th episode, failed to upload some of the remaining episodes online and refused to respond to us, the fans decided that we needed a new beginning on another network. So the fans dubbed themselves as The Firecrackers and have been fighting for a new beginning ever since!

Visit this link to read about how some of the fans came to be a firecracker.

How can you become a firecracker? It's easy! Visit www.thefirecrackerlounge.com, become a member and chat with us! You can then join us in our daily action items http://www.savetheblackdonnellys.net/daily.html to help save the show!

Firecrackers Mission Statement

Our mission is to get The Black Donnellys picked-up for a second season on another network so that other viewers have the opportunity to watch this great drama and to find those supporters and give them a voice to help participate in the fight to Save The Black Donnellys! www.savetheblackdonnellys.net . They too, can see the intensity and excitement of the series and learn more about The Donnelly brothers: Tommy, Jimmy, Kevin and Sean.

The Petition to Save The Black Donnellys (http://petitionspot.com/petitions/) has reached almost 37,000 signatures and over 1,000 guests and users that visited the NBC Boards when the episodes were abruptly pulled from primetime and aired only online at NBC.com on Monday nights.

Jericho fans were successful in their campaign to bring the CBS cancelled show back to the air. They had sent over $32,000 worth of peanuts to CBS, referencing the last episode to air. With such a huge fan following, CBS responded by adding an additional seven new episodes. What Jericho fans did could only be described as "awesome"! Their motivation and organization is an inspiration to us all.

We must not accept what network moguls and executives throw out to the public. Rather, we have a voice in shaping what we believe should be quality television and we need your voice. The Black Donnellys represents quality television and every vote/donation counts! So, please join us in our effort to save our beloved show.

**Pre-order you DVD today at Amazon.com at $34.99 and please leave a comment! Your vote counts!

Press Release For Crackers

For Immediate Release
July 2, 2007

Nuts for Jericho, Crackers for The Black Donnellys

Save The Black Donnellys Campaign has purchased on Sunday, July 1st, 60 pounds of crackers as a first shipment to Carolyn Strauss, President of HBO Entertainment. Jericho's campaign to send nuts to CBS was successful and resulted in seven new episodes being purchased. The "Firecrackers" from the Save The Black Donnellys Campaign believe that the recently cancelled NBC drama has that same opportunity to thrive with HBO and be renewed for a second season.

The campaign was created by fans of The Black Donnellys, who dubbed themselves the "Firecrackers" after the name of the fictional bar owned by the Donnelly family. The fans purchased crackers that were representative of Jimmy Donnellys', one of the main characters from the series, new bar sign of the Firecracker Lounge. The "flame" cracker symbolized the "new beginning" or fresh slate for him and the Donnelly brothers. NBC's mistreatment of the drama gives HBO the opportunity to give The Black Donnellys a much needed fresh slate.

The Firecrackers decided to contact Carolyn Strauss from HBO rather than NBC, because they believed the show would be more successful and be a great fit for HBO's programming. Carolyn Strauss has brought great programming like The Sopranos and OZ to HBO. Several letters, phone calls, emails have been set to NBC network executives like President Jeff Zucker with no response. Rather NBC has prevented any fan uprising from occurring. NBC board moderators have suspended fans and deleted threads from The Black Donnellys online message board when there is any discussion or efforts to save the series. Their censorship sparked the Firecrackers to react.

Within a three week time span, The Firecrackers have been able to gather $733 in donations towards crackers which can purchase 244lbs to be shipped to HBO. As they are still receiving donations, they will continue to send shipments.

Along with the crackers they have also sent quarters and shamrocks to HBO to show support for The Black Donnellys. A Daily Action Item is completed each day to help bring back a deserved second season. The Save The Black Donnellys campaign includes streaming online episodes from NBC.com, downloading episodes from iTunes.com, subscribing to HDNet and pre-ordering the recently released The Black Donnellys: Complete Series DVD.

Contact:
Save The Black Donnellys Campaign
info@savetheblackdonnellys.net
http://www.savetheblackdonnellys.net
The Firecrackers meet at The Firecracker Lounge
http://www.thefirecrackerlounge.com