Fight to Save Show Spreading Like ‘Wildfire’

By Reel N.M. DAN MAYFIELD Of the Journal

Mr. Ed would be proud. For the past five TV seasons, “Wildfire” – - which was filmed in Rio Rancho, Algodones and Albuquerque — has had an almost-rabid fan base.

Now that the show has been canceled, those fans are stepping up their efforts to save it.

First, it was online petitions. Then, it was Web sites like SaveWildfire.com.

Now? A stunt to get ABC Family network executives’ attention.

“It was one of those things that we want to send something symbolic, and there’s no show like it on TV,” said “Wildfire” superfan J.D. Lamb of Maryland.

So what’s he sending? Well, a couple truckloads of hay makes sense for a show that’s based on a young girl coming of age on a horse farm.

“Sometimes you have to fight for what you believe in,” Lamb said.

He, and the 1,200 others who signed the Save Wildfire petition at petitiononline.com/WILDFIRE/ petition.html, are hoping that the ABC Family network decides to continue the story of Kris Furillo, a juvenile delinquent who’s been given a second chance on a horse farm. Hay, they’re betting, will get the point across.

“Ultimately, it’s about her finding her family, and we want to see her rebuild her status as a jockey, and there’s a wedding in the future,” Lamb said.

On the SaveWildfire. com site, fans are taking donations toward $6.50 bales via Pay Pal to deliver two flatbed trucks full of hay to the parking lot of ABC Family in Burbank, Calif. Fans will spray paint “Save ‘Wildfire” on the side of the hay.

So far, the group has raised enough dough for one truckload and hopes to have money for a second load in the next two weeks. Some fans have donated up to $60, Lamb said.

More power to ‘em. Rarely do TV shows inspire such a rabid fan base — well, “Hannah Montana” aside. But sitcoms like “Montana” don’t have the richness of characters and storylines that keep people hooked for years like “Wildfire.”

There’s not much time. The show’s final episode will air May 26, said Amy Maloney, manager of media relations at ABC Family.

Lamb said he’s watched the show since he was 16 — he’s now 21 — and grew older with the characters.

“TV, in some cases, feels like reading a book. This show, it’s not like pretty preppy kids. They care about life and survival,” Lamb said. “Sometimes you have to fight for what you believe in. … For us it’s a story and the characters.”

Lamb also has a connection to New Mexico. His sister attended the College of Santa Fe. He visited, fell in love with the state and sees it in “Wildfire.”

But Lamb said there are stories to be told with the characters, with Kris Furillo (Genevieve Cortese) re-earning her jockey license, or the love story between Jean Ritter (Nana Visitor) and Pablo Betart (Greg Serano) maturing, or seeing Matt Ritter (Micah Alberti) come into his own as an adult on the horse farm.

ABC Family is aware of the petition and the plan. However, Maloney said, she’s unsure if anything like this would make a difference.

“It is par for the course, in a sense that we’ve always known there is a strong fan base for the show,” she said. “It’s flattering. It’s exciting.”

But that’s as far as she would go. The show would likely come back to New Mexico if it were renewed.

“Wildfire” producer Lester Berman is prepared, if that happens. “We’re saving a lot of the set dressing and the uniforms. We’re putting it in storage just in case there’s a miracle that it comes back.”

It’s rare, but this isn’t the first time fans have rallied to save a show.

When CBS canceled “Designing Women” in the late 1980s, a letter- writing campaign brought the show back.

Recently fans saved the show “Jericho” by sending 40,000 pounds of nuts to CBS, playing off a character saying “nuts” in one episode.

With a little luck, hay may save the show.

TERMINATOR WHAT? The monster, big-budget film “Terminator Salvation: The Future Begins” is the fourth installment of the “Terminator” series and will shoot here this summer. But apparently that’s not going to be its name.

Several trade Web sites are reporting that Warner Bros. has dropped everything from “Salvation” reading right. Officially, it’s called the “Untitled Terminator Project.”

Trade pubs from CinemaBlend.com to rottentomatoes.com report that the new film is officially nameless.

Film.com , however, reports that the film will have the imaginative title of “Terminator: Return of the Terminator.” It’s good the writers are off strike. Maybe they can come up with something that has the word “Terminator” in it a few more times.

The Terminator robot — Arnold Schwarzenegger — is not returning. He’s still playing the role of a lifetime as California’s governor.

What does Warner Bros. say? Nothing. The company is eerily quiet on releasing any news about the film.

We do know that Christian Bale will play humanity’s savior — John Connor — and there will be robots. Beyond that? Well, director McG (“Charlie’s Angels” films) hasn’t said much. We’ll have to wait for the summer of 2009 to see what this latest “Terminator” film will really be about.

IN A FUGUE: A fugue state isn’t a college in Fugue.

It’s a state of mind, a type of amnesia in which you forget who you are, who your friends are and what you do. People in a fugue state still remember how to function but cannot remember the name of the 39th president.

In “Fugue State,” the chaos is caused by a virus. People are living feral, animalistic lives.

The film will open for a limited run, its debut release, this weekend at the Guild Cinema. Shows are today and Saturday at 10 p.m. and midnight. Tickets are $7 at the door.

“Basically, in the movie, there’s an outbreak of an amnesia plague. That’s the official story anyway,” Albuquerque filmmaker Tim McClelland said. “(The people) have no memories and no ability to create new memories.”

McClelland has tried to stay true to the horror movie genre with “Fugue State.”"I cut a lot of humor out of it,” he said. “If you want a scary movie, you have to keep an unrelenting tension throughout. It doesn’t end very well, which is what a horror movie should be about.”

McClelland filmed the movie in and around Albuquerque throughout most of 2005. He also scored the film.

“Fugue State” is McClelland’s second film. Several years ago he filmed the movie “A Girl and a Gun” in Albuquerque and also showed it at the Guild.

Visit myspace.com/Fugue_ state to see the trailer.

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If you’re know of a film, or are curious about one filming in the state, e-mail film@ abqjournal.com.

(c) 2008 Albuquerque Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.