UNITED WE FAN Documentary Takes a Look at the History of Show-Saving Campaigns

Actor Zachary Levi shows off a sandwich he made after leading fans of his series CHUCK on a pied piper-like pilgrimage to Subway as part of their “Finale and a Footlong” campaign. (Credit: UNITED WE FAN.)

With network television winding down for the calendar year, there’s no shortage of things to watch during its (brief) hiatus. A fun watch for TV fans is UNITED WE FAN, a new documentary from director Michael Sparaga (available via DVD, On Demand, and to rent/purchase digitally), that focuses on the the history of attempts to save shows.

Naturally, STAR TREK (which was the first show credited as being saved by fans) gets a lot of love, as do recent fan campaigns for CHUCK (Subway!), LONGMIRE, and JERICHO (nuts!). (PERSON OF INTEREST also gets a sizable shoutout, though the campaign to save the series was ultimately unsuccessful.)

But what was relatively new territory (for me) was Viewers for Quality Television. I had previously heard the name, but didn’t realize how deep their influence was—and the iconic shows they had supported. It’s fascinating to see their impact (and strategies, especially in a pre-internet age) on the television landscape.

The documentary also includes new interviews with the people involved in the campaigns and the shows (including STAR TREK’s Nichelle Nichols, CHUCK‘s Zachary Levi and Matt Miller, VERONICA MARS‘ Rob Thomas and Enrico Colantoni, PERSON OF INTEREST‘s Amy Acker, Greg Plageman and Jonathan Nolan, and more.)

Intrigued? Check out a trailer for the film… Read more