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Here's the letter I sent in hopes of keeping the Middleverse alive.
Posted Tue, 09/02/2008 - 21:16 — packysmithFollowing suit from a post I saw earlier, I have decided to post my letter that I sent to Paul Lee last week (complete with a pack of Peanut M&Ms...a little bribe never hurts). My hoope is that this will inspire more to chime in for their love of the series, and ultimately for all of us to reap the reward of a new season of the Middleman. Enjoy.
Mr. Lee,
I come to you as a loyal fan of The Middleman in an effort to persuade you to keep the show on the air for a second season. I came to the show reluctantly, after the third episode, not having much (if any) interest in watching the show at all. However, it was recommended to me by one of my closest friends and so thusly I took the Nestea Plunge and gave the show a shot…and wow!
I was blown away by how incredibly intelligent this show is. Underneath all of the camp, pop culture references and starving artist themes beats the heart of a show that is capable of so much more than what we’ve seen so far. The characters show more depth each week as a new episode airs, and that is an extremely rare quality amongst most scripted TV these days. The plot is always unique, and shuns the normal/conventional method of solving the problem for something that is beautifully imaginative and wholly original.
I couldn’t even begin to say enough good things about this show. Good news: I don’t have to. Here are some links to some amazingly glowing reviews of The Middleman from various news sources, including the New York and Los Angeles Times
John Rood, Senior Vice President of Marketing for ABC Family, stated at Comic-Con International 2008, “We're going to take all that into account, and so far so good and everyone is watching the show...We make more money on network views, but it's all 'good' views." Later Rood added "This is the most critically acclaimed show on ABC Family, and we take all that into account.”
The Middleman, to me, seems a lot like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They both started off as campy half-season fantasy/sci-fi shows with supremely endearing characters. Buffy didn’t really come into it’s own until the second season, which is also where it started locking down the good ratings that kept on air though 8 seasons. I believe that this is exactly the trend that the Middleman is following, and the huge cult following online would seem to support this thought as well.
I hope this letter has persuaded you to green light another season of the Middleman, and just in case you’re still on the bubble…enclosed are pack of M & M’s for your bribery like enjoyment. Thanks for your time, and keep the Middleman on the air!
Regards,
Packy #####
I hope the letter works. The only reason why I started watching ABC family is because of Middleman. I used to think that ABC Family was television for idiots, but the Middleman rocked. Also, so many people started watching this network because of Middleman, so if it doesn't come back, the viewers will go bye-bye.
That program [filtered word]! 
There's a reason why it's on so late...
Does the 700 Club seriously have more viewers?
Good letter, hopefully it works!
old name = theBEST
MEMBER OF FOSS, JOSH, KYLANDA, NATE, MIGRATION CLUBS!
SAVE KYLE XY AND THE MIDDLEMAN!
GET BOY MEETS WORLD BACK ON ABC FAMILY!
Nice letter. Hope it helps bring more episodes for Middleman.
I survived the forum migration.
I'm not normally an ABC, much less ABCfamily viewer (in fact I mostly just watch Law & Order or Daily Show w/ Jon Stewart ) - but a friend of mine convinced me to watch this show. It's a good draw for getting people outside their teen/college demographic.
It is intelligent, amusing, full of random allusions to pop-culture, scifi, science, music and all sorts of things.
It's just ironic and amusing enough that it's not TOO cheesy, and not too serious. That is a fine line to tread, and I salute them for doing so.
Having strong female characters who don't annoy me or are there only for T&A, always a plus as well.
Plus a leading Latina character who is not stereotypical, a shocker for most network shows.
Why would you cancel this show?
If ABC family doesn't think it suits them - maybe they can sell it to scifi or someone else who can keep this going, please dont' take away one of the few interesting shows on tv these days!
I mean are you seriously telling me the "700 club" has more viewers?
Great letter. It's very well written and I hadn't seen either those reviews or the quotation from John Rood. Thanks!
Excellent letter. I started a similar thread in the other forum. We have a bunch of people who sent in letters via email or the feedback section of the site. We even had someone send a physical letter and include personalised M&Ms. They put "Save Mddlmn" and a picture of MM and WW on them. Quite clever. In addition to the feedback email I already sent I've been thinking of writing a physical letter and also including M&Ms. I just hope they are getting the point that this show is so loved. I also have a feeling that more people than they know are watching this show. I mean seriously, have you ever met anyone who has a nielsen box? I know I haven't. What if the people who do are the ones not watching Middleman? I'm not sure how the whole thing works. I hope everyone goes and picks up the DVD box set when it gets released. I've already downloaded episodes 1-11 on iTunes and will get episode 12 when it's available. I may even get a t-shirt if it'll help.
No more monologuing, or I'll Swiss-cheese you on principle.
Unfortunately, the M&M folks declined to print my order with pics of Natalie and Matt, which I can understand. We can't exactly have people getting bootleg Middleman M&Ms made, just so they can try to unload them on unsuspecting eBayers. Anyway, I've resubmitted my order so that it's a little less guerrilla art, with just my "Save the Mddlman!" and "Art Crawl!" messages, plus an ironic, personalized Get Well Soon greeting card. Sigh...
Some people dream in black-and-white,
And others dream in color.
But when I see you in my sleep,
My dreams are sweet-and-sour.
I had wondered if that would be an issue, but I hadnt heard anything so I just assumed your order went through as planned. At least you're submitting a new version of them and not giving up.
No more monologuing, or I'll Swiss-cheese you on principle.
Thanks for reading it over. I try to support my favorite causes implicitly. Following up the snail mailed letter (with M&Ms in tow), I did post comments in the feedback portion of the ABC Family website and I intend to follow up with a few pleasant post cards showing the love for the Middleman.
On another plus side, I did convince a handful of people to watch the season finale of the show and they too are hooked. I've been buttering them up to send some letters of love and respect for MM & WW this week.
I hope that we can show enough love to keep it going...
Thank you for such a well-written letter. I hope it helps!