This letter was written by a Canadian fan, Mary Ann, to request that the Canadian Station "SPACE: The Imagination Station" air PREY re-runs.  Notice how she includes information on how our favorite show would compliment their line-up.  You can adopt these tactics to any channel in any country with a little research.

Thank you Mary Ann!

Dear SPACE:

I am writing to ask you to show the most fascinating, intriguing and original science fiction series ever: PREY. Thirteen episodes of PREY were shown on ABC in 1998, and captured the love and loyalty of the viewers in Canada and the United States who were fortunate enough to see it.

Unfortunately, PREY was scheduled on Thursday nights at 8:00 p.m. EST, opposite Friends, was often pre-empted, and received very little publicity from the network. When the show was "pulled" in March after the eighth episode, an explosion of fan support pressured ABC to show the last five episodes in June and July. Sadly, despite the love and commitment of fans, PREY-called "one of the most promising new shows of the mid-season" and "more than just another sci-fi drama" (Dennis Mahoney, Ultimate TV)-was canceled, depriving North Americans of this quality program.

Here is my "top 10" list of reasons why PREY should be shown on SPACE:

1. PREY, which is about what would happen if another species of genus homo evolved, fits perfectly into SPACE's identity as "an ongoing report on what lies ahead; a systematic, speculative look into the future that helps us understand the present."

2. PREY fits perfectly into two of SPACE's areas of programming: Science Fiction and Speculation. Unlike many other "science fiction" shows, PREY relies on a scientific premise-the ongoing evolution of the human species-and speculates on the scientific, social and ethical implications of the appearance of a new human species.

3. PREY, unlike many of the shows labeled "science fiction," is actually about SCIENCE that is currently in the news: evolution, cloning, nanotechnology, genetic engineering, the Spanish Flu. And PREY manages to be absorbing and intriguing without aliens, UFOs, vampires, the supernatural-and relies on strong writing and acting rather than special effects. Three of the main characters are actually scientists!

4. PREY has now been shown all over the world, in Argentina, Austria, Bahrain, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Korea, Norway, Poland, Scotland, Sweden, the U.S. and Wales, gathering devotees along the way. It is already being rerun in some countries (Israel, Denmark)-but not in Canada or the U.S., where the largest number of Prey addicts live!

5. PREY has a ready-made audience in Canada, who would watch the show faithfully and publicize it to all their friends, relative and acquaintances!

6. PREY has generated eleven fan fiction websites, a PREY Poetry site, a PREY art site, and at least fourteen fan-generated sites dedicated to PREY (including German and Hungarian language sites). For links to some of these great sites, see http://members.aol.com/gevers3/preyforus/page5.htm. PREY also has two well-established and frequently-visited message boards (Prey for Us MB and Warner Bros. MB). Be assured that if SPACE shows PREY, the internet will be abuzz with the news!

7. Due to the poor scheduling of PREY by ABC, many viewers missed episodes because they simply didn't know when it was going to be on! Showing PREY on SPACE would give these fans the opportunity to see all 13 episodes, and introduce a whole new audience to one of the best S-F dramas ever conceived.

8. The wonderful acting. Again, I quote the Ultimate TV review: "the performances are uniformly good. [Frankie] Faison has always been a wonderful actor to watch, and here he makes a solid hero. [Vincent] Ventresca was hilarious in last year's hit "Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion," and here displays a charming sense of self-deprecation, a difficult feat when you look like him. But the heart of the show belongs to [Debra] Messing and [Adam] Storke, who both do excellent work here. I found Messing to be fairly grating on the otherwise hilarious 'Ned & Stacey.' But she makes a fine heroine here, completely believable as a highly intelligent woman whose drive masks her loneliness. And Storke is touching as the tragic Daniels, torn because he is both more and less than human."

9. Speaking personally, I can testify that PREY is a show that engages the intellect and the emotions in a completely unique way, with a truly captivating alchemy of suspense, speculation, shock and romance. Words that I think of when I try to express the effect of PREY on me are obsession, enchantment, delight, mystery, awe, fascination, euphoria. I know from more than a year of talking to other fans that the show has had a similar effect on people around the world.

10. PREY has been represented at many science fiction conventions in North America, including three in Canada: Keycon in Winnipeg (May 1998), Primedia in Toronto (November 1998) and Toronto Trek (July 9-11, 1999). For some photos from past cons, go to http://members.aol.com/quicktack/burbank.html. SPACE is cordially invited to visit our PREY table at Toronto Trek at the Regal Constellation Hotel!

I look forward to seeing PREY on SPACE.

Sincerely,

Mary Ann Beavis