Health Upgraders

Now is not the time to write off Legend of the Seeker if devoted followers of the short-lived show have something to say on the outcome. Minded to convince the Disney/ABC family there is sufficient market to sustain the show, Seeker fan groups across the globe have assembled and themselves known. Contributing more than $20,000 for print ads besides other things in barely a few weeks, Seeker fans have flaunted clear resolve to win. Seeker fans socialize on Websites like this Legend of the Seeker fan Site.

Legend of the Seeker was cancelled because ABC Studios was unable to negotiate a contract with another network to replace Tribune, which declined to renew the Seeker in March. Tribune declared bankruptcy in late 2008 and has cut costs by any means possible. Unable to grow visibility for the show, Tribune rather elected to schedule simple programming from Jerry Springer.

Proving to television executives that fandom signifies audience, fans came together to produce a video that appeals for the production’s return. People in numerous countries shot short videos designed to be combined. A musically inclined fan, Aleyna Dennis, distributed a tribute song (“Hey there, Seeker”) to the tune of Plain White Ts’ “Hey There, Delilah”. The tribute is the soundtrack for a very cool tribute about the Seeker and the show’s cast.

In what may be the best plan yet, viewers for Legend of the Seeker now seek to have series star Craig Horner selected for Time magazine’s Person of the Year. The message they are using is “Never Give Up!”; to Seeker fans “Never Give Up!” is the perfect refrain for 2010. The Time POY movement has inspired fan artists to suggest other magazines to put cast members on their covers. Crative fans are uploading replicas of magazine covers to get their point across.

Do you think the fan community resurrect their show? Commentators note that some productions have been resurrected after being dropped. Some TV shows migrate from television to movies. In online communities, on blogs, and on Seeker sites like The Seeker Wall the viewers develop more initiatives. They are not about to lost their momentum. In fact this is only the start of a long process.

The issue simply boils down simple business. While there is adequate market share for Legend of the Seeker there may be yet lower cost options lined up. SciFi and Fantasy TV has lost a high percentage of shows lately. Genre series including Robin Hood and Defying Gravity were cancelled prior to accomplishing their final resolutions.

It seems a time-honored tradition in Tolkien readership that people inevitably ask, “Did the Balrog of Moria have wings?” No question seems to cause more division within the rarely-peaceful circles of Tolkien fandom more than this one. The correct answer has been well-established in numerous essays: yes, but the wings were simply extensions of the dark emanation with which the Balrog surrounded itself. Nonetheless, some people have to have it their way, and they launch unjustified personal attacks on anyone who disagrees with them.

The truth about Balrogs is that people like to argue about what is really a very minor character in one of the most popular books in history. Fewer than 25 pages of text out of a 1200-page story even mention or describe the Balrog. So why do people become so defensive and angry when their unorthodox ideas are challenged? Numerous surveys and polls show that an overwhelming majority of readers (in excess of 75% in most cases) believe the Balrog has some sort of wings.

Two people who recently decided to resurrect the debate, posting under the screen names Halfir and Elenhir, supplemented their flawed arguments by attacking the credibility of writer Michael Martinez. Martinez more than any other Tolkien scholar has shown repeatedly that the truth about Balrogs wings’ debates is that the anti-wingers don’t play fair. And they did not play fair in attacking Martinez again on this occasion.

It was brought to Martinez’ attention that David Gransby, posting as Halfir, recently launched a series of verbal personal attacks on him. In the lies that pervade Tolkien fandom Martinez explained in plain language why people like David Gransby (and his pseudonymous friend Elenhir) cannot be taken seriously. What Martinez did not show is that in their attacks on him, Gransby and Elenhir deliberately refrain from linking to Martinez’ essays, which being citation-rich and well-reasoned, would reveal that the false claims Gransby and Elenhir make are just that: false.

This is not the first time someone has tried to make a name for himself by attacking the credibility of a well-established “bigger name” in an industry. It won’t be the last. But about all Gransby and Elenhir have proven is that they lack the credibility they need to be taken seriously. One of Gransby’s oft-repeated claims is that Martinez does not back up what he says with citations — and yet even the briefest perusal of a random Martinez essay shows he is quite meticulous and detailed in his research.

In this latest round of the Balrog Wings War, it looks like the anti-wing activists have struck out once again.