The Kickstart the Knight FAQ
BACKGROUND:
Late one night, back in January 1997, at Bridging the Knight,
roommates Julie Stafford and Bobbie Williams tossed around the
idea of starting another campaign to bring back "Forever
Knight". While they both agreed that "something"
needed to be done, neither was sure exactly what that
"something" was. They both knew, however, that a new
letter writing campaign was imperative to get the ball rolling.
They enlisted the aid of June Williams, who agreed that time was
of the essence if FK fans were to make any serious attempt at
reclaiming the Knight. A few posts to FORKNI-L, intended to
generate some enthusiasm about a letter writing campaign, went
largely unnoticed. Disappointed, but not defeated, they regrouped
and made plans to try again.
They then joined forces with a group of people organized by Leslie
Plummer who took on the arduous task of recovering Jamie Randall's
now-defunct SOSFK webpage. Mel Moser worked her own brand of magic
on the lost data, and made it accessible again as apart of her FK
fanfic site. Through this association, Leslie and Mel were brought
into the KtK fold.
As it is in life, timing is everything, and just about this time,
the FK segment on Sci-Fi Vortex aired. Ger provided them with a
catchy slogan ("If we could get that thing kickstarted that
would be great")...and the positive enthusiasm expressed by
Ger, Nigel and Jim Parriott provided them with inspiration. Soon,
they were off and running with "Kickstart the Knight" as
their battle call.
The original KtK group soon expanded to include Gail Hassell and
Jackie Wilson, and together they made plans to launch "Kickstart
the Knight" at Syndicon in Baltimore. Jackie and Jules
created the KtK flyer, June agreed to produce and sell the KtK
t-shirts, and Bobbie and Gail got together with Ronni Katz to plan
a KtK party! The party was a huge success...fans were introduced
to the cause; Nigel, John and Natsuko got to take home their very
own KtK t-shirts.
Again, timing played a big role in stimulating fan involvement, as
at this time Jeri Friedman posted to the list that discussion
concerning a new FK movie was taking place and that NOW was the
time to start writing letters to get back our beloved show!
The enthusiasm for KtK spilled over to FORKNI-L and together we
have begun to develop plans that will secure our cause and promote
Forever Knight!
WHO IS KtK?
Kickstart the Knight is currently made up of Susan Ellen Field,
April Hackett, Becky Jones, Janet Lombardo, Kristin Harris, Rae
Plachecki, and Libby Singleton. A great deal of strategy planning and work is done
by this core group.
WHAT DOES KtK HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH?
KtK exists to bring back "Forever Knight" either as a
two hour movie or (keeping our fingers crossed) a renewed series.
In addition, we are striving to get more officially licensed FK
merchandise as well as to return the original series to Sci Fi
Channel's programming.
Our primary focus is the letter writing campaign. "The Powers
That Be" will neither know nor care that we're out here
unless we let them know! The KtK campaign, although organized by a
handful of individuals, is a campaign for ALL FK FANS! This is
your fight! It is only through individual efforts that we can, as
a group, accomplish what we have set out to do--BRING BACK
"FOREVER KNIGHT"! One loud voice can be lost in the
din...but a thousand voices in harmony, can not be ignored!
In addition to writing letters, we also conduct one or more
online auctions each year. These fund additional advertisements
for "Forever Knight". We have placed large ads in
such publications as "The Hollywood Reporter",
"Daily Variety", "Weekly Variety", "Sci
Fi Entertainment", "Sci Fi Universe", and "TV
Guide", and have more ads planned.
Our secondary focus is organizing/coordinating/publicizing events
that will promote our efforts to renew "Forever Knight".
Science fiction conventions are our primary targets as that is
where we can reach many fans in a short amount of time. We
encourage fans to organize FK tables and/or FK panels at cons--the
organizers are usually very happy to accommodate people who are
willing to fill time slots!! Make up flyers (or use the KtK flyer)
and distribute them at these conventions. There is always a
"freebie" table where you can proudly display your
information. Some of the fans who attend these cons may not be
online--or they may not even know FK has been canceled. This is
the BEST way to spread the news!!!
WHAT ARE THE PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?
KtK plans on continuing the letter writing campaign, continuing to
publish ads in trade publications and sci fi publications, and
continuing to conduct auctions and pledge drives to raise the
funds to pay for the ads. Special projects will continue
along with email blitzes to TPTB. And of course we always
encourage new ideas from FK fans.
HOW IS THIS FINANCED?
Aside from the funds used to pay for the magazine ads (which must
be made payable to the magazines themselves) and the postage
stamps people send in, the KtK staff pays for everything out of
their own pockets. We cannot accept any monetary donations
other than those for ads. However, we happily accept as many
postage stamps as you care to send to help us with mailing costs!
WHAT SHOULD I WRITE IN MY LETTERS?
The main idea is to be honest. Tell them your age, where you live,
how long you've been watching "Forever Knight" and how
much you'd like to see it back on TV. Do not, however, put
anything on the envelope that might indicate you are a FK fan or
are writing about the show. These letters are often considered
"fannish" and you run the risk of being ignored.
Be business-like...explain why you're writing and why you think it
will be profitable to have the show back in production. Tell them
what kind of "Forever Knight" merchandise you have
bought, and what you would like to buy. BUT TELL THEM YOU WANT
MORE "FOREVER KNIGHT"!
And don't forget to let Kristin know how many letters you've written
to each address, and which (if any) faction you would like to
credit your letters to - let's see which affiliation is the most
dedicated! E-mail Kristin at kris1228@swbell.net.
CAN I USE THE KTK FLYER?
That's what it's there for!!! Please--feel free to download, print
and distribute the KtK flyer. It can be found here.
If you don't like our flyer--design one of your own! Be
creative--but be accurate!
WHO CAN WE CONTACT WITH QUESTIONS?
Any questions, suggestions or ideas about KtK or about how you can
help to further the campaign can be sent to SField8067@aol.com.
WHO CAN WE CONTACT ABOUT THE CRUSADER?
We also have an official Kickstart the Knight newsletter called
"The Crusader". We try to make this the most up to
date, complete guide to new and old FK fans. It contains
website urls, star updates, ways for the FK fan to help make more
happen, and lots and lots of other goodies! To subscribe
online for free, contact: Knightwave@aol.com.
To receive offline hard copies by mail, all that is needed are
enough stamps for as many issues as you would like. Contact
Becky at BJDFKfan@aol.com
for more details, or if you want to send stamps to receive the
printed version, write to:
Kickstart The Knight
P.O. Box 1914
Racine,WI 53401-1914
A FEW FINAL WORDS:
We have had three "Forever Knight" paperbacks, and
two CDs! The fight goes on! We will not stop until we
get more of everything!!!
There have been many people involved, in one way or the other,
with the campaign since its inception. They have been there to
guide us, to help us, to listen to our rants and provide shoulders
to cry on. We'd like to thank Karen Tobin, Tina Moreschi, Ronni
Katz (aka Ron the Enforcer), Robert Sellers (for the SOSFK loop),
Sandee Buskey, and the many, many, others who have lent their
minds to new ideas, and have given their time to help with this
campaign.
This FAQ was last updated November 13, 2001.
