Well, the satellite installer just left and I'm taking my new computer connection for a spin- first stop the Moonlight forums. After weeks of being constantly disconnected, whenever I tried to use the old dial-up, it seems like I'm back online. Although part of me feels like hooking this old system up to a satellite is rather like putting pearls on a pig, I have to admit it's nice not to have to go do some chores while I wait for a page to load. It may still be very slow compared to a friend's newer system on broadband, but at least it's not glacial and littered with error/timed-out/redial messages. I feel like I'm now part of the 20th century- the 21st will have to wait until the computer itself is updated. While I'm sure it's going to take some time to explore all my new options I am curious to discover some of the stuff I've been missing. YouTube, here I come!
Given the number of "how Moonlight has changed my life for the better" posts I keep running across I find it ironic that anyone could question our willingness to try and save the show (or for that matter how CBS could cancel it in the first place). Some of the following is a rough draft excerpt from yet another letter I'm composing for the various networks in the hope that Moonlight will continue to shine on.
Why do we do it? With all the headline grabbing disasters happening why do fans continue to fight for a show that some label violent and offensive? Aren't there larger issues that should concern us? May be that's the point. With out trying to minimize the near unimaginable pain and suffering experienced by so many, it seems as if there is always a 'disaster du jour' that should be occupying our resources. Yet by their very scope, one of the main emotions engendered by such events is one of extreme hopelessness. Can one person make a difference? Will a check to an aid agency make an immediate effect? Can a letter change a regime's mind? Will expressing one's sympathy really aid those whose lives have been destroyed? All worthwhile activities, and all part of the larger generosity I've noticed among Moonlight fans, but still far removed from most of our everyday lives. Perhaps by also fighting for a show that brings a bit of hope and happiness into our normal lives we can cause a 'ripple effect' to help the world as a whole. Too much to ask you say? Well, last I heard the pints of blood that were donated in Moonlight's name were no less effective in alleviating suffering and saving lives than those that did not go to save a vampire. Our checks to charities were not returned because our generosity was occult inspired.
In an age of instant news, but not instant recovery, it is nice to be able to feel that one person can make a difference. Moonlight has helped many of us through some tough times, inspired poetry and writing, infused our lives with possibilities and opened us up to a range of 'what ifs'. What if love really could overcome all? What if a hero could be the most unlikely of people? What if labels do not define you? What if the passion aroused by one TV show could infuse our everyday lives? Can you truly expect the gifts Moonlight has given us to fade away? Moonlight fans do not just channel their resources and emotions into just one show. It is our ability to feel and identify so strongly with fictional characters that allow us to face each day knowing that one person can indeed make a difference. That our fights, for whatever we believe in, will only enrich the world around us.
So use your passion, your anger, your hope that you can improve the world to do so. Start with saving a show, planting a tree, donating time and money to charity, recycling what you'd normally throw out, adopting an animal, mentoring/feeding/aiding those who need help. Make a difference one small step at a time. External validation or not, instant gratification or not, you are making a difference!
Read to the tune of "The Piano Man" (This is a slightly different version from what I already posted.)
It's nine o'clock on a Moon-Friday / As vampire fans settle in/ They're young and they're old and happy to see/ The merest glimpse of Mick's grin./ I'll say "Mick do you love your mortality?"/ "Do you think it will last for a while?"/ "Or will you revert, before further hurt"/ "Since human just isn't your style?"
[post "Fated To Pretend" replace the previous 4 lines with: I'll say "Mick, I will miss your mortality"/ "I wish it had lasted for longer"/ "But you had to revert, before Beth was hurt"/ "Since your vampire form is far stronger."]
Rah rah rah, di rah rah/ rah rah di rah rah rah dum
Give us a song for more Moonlight/ Give us a song tonight/ We're all in the mood for new Moonlight/ For it's got us feeling alright.
Now Mick and his Beth feel like friends of mine/ While Josef is full of great glee/ For he's quick with a quip, some advice or a tip/ And he knows what he wants to be./ So I say "give us more Moonlight to see"/ As a smile lights up on my face/ At the happy thought of new Moonlight/ Beamed into my living room space.
Oh, Rah rah rah, di rah rah/ rah rah di rah rah rah dum
Now Mick is a vampire-human/ Who's trying to make it with Beth/ But he has his great doubt, that they can work it out/ Since his natural state is un-death.
A vampire is practicing humanity/ As the fans quite quickly are turned/ Yes, we're sharing a show that's called Moonlight/ May it give us for what we have yearned.
Give us a song for more Moonlight/ Give us a song tonight/ We're all in the mood for new Moonlight/ For it's got us feeling alright.
[post cancellation substitute the following four lines for the beginning of the next stanza: It's a lot to ask for this series/ Since it's future's not looking real rosy/ But it isn't just me, who is hoping to see/ Mick and his Beth getting cozy.]
Now this show is a giant thrill ride/ And it's villains are beings to fear/ So it isn't just me, who is eager to see/ Their demise by those we hold dear./For the fans will still clamor for more/ As Moonlight lights up on our screens/ So we'll stare at the TV, and hope to soon see/ Mick and the ones we adore.
Oh, Rah rah rah, di rah rah/ rah rah di rah rah rah dum
Give us a song for more Moonlight/ Give us a song tonight/ We're all in the mood for new Moonlight/ For it's got us feeling alright.
