Sci-Fi Storm

The short-lived but critically acclaimed TV series “American Gothic”, (created by Shaun Cassidy, executive produced by Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, and starring Gary Cole, Lucas Black, Brenda Bakke, Paige Turco, Jake Weber, Sarah Paulson, Nick Searcy, and John Mese) was cancelled by CBS after only 22 episodes. CBS aired 18 of these episodes during the original run, shuffling around both episode order and timeslot. Sci Fi Channel took up the series in 1998, and has aired it several times since on its US and international feeds. The show still has a solid fan base worldwide, and through reruns and premiering in ever more countries, the number of fans continue to grow. Most fans–who call themselves “Gothniks”–have worn out the video tapes they recorded off TV and have been eagerly awaiting its release on VHS or DVD.

In early 2000, Gothniks were given new hope when the now defunct DVD Nightmare website reported that, according to their contact at Universal which holds the rights to American Gothic, the series was scheduled for release on DVD in early 2001. A few months later, they got news that the DVDs had been pushed back to autumn 2001. Just before closing down in Spring 2001, dvdnightmare.com reported that American Gothic had been taken off the 2001 release schedule because AG Executive Producer Sam Raimi, who’s reportedly eager to do the commentary, is unavailable to do so this year, as his commitment to filming Spiderman is keeping him occupied.

After several months of no news, and backed by vivid interest in the international Gothnik community, the American Gothic DVD Petition was brought to life and went online on August 2nd 2001. Over 100 signatures were collected in the first 10 days, and more are being added daily. Many web sites devoted to the series, its creators, actors, or crew are promoting the Petition among their fans.

The Petition’s goal–true to one of the show’s taglines–is to show Universal, Shaun Cassidy, and Sam Raimi that Gothniks still “take care of their own”, to show them that the demand for a release of “American Gothic” on DVD is very high, and ultimately, to get high quality DVDs, including extra features, released as soon as possible.

The American Gothic DVD Petition can be found at http://www.ourdramaquee n.com/ag/dvdpetition/dvdpetition.htm
For more information, please contact Chris Berni: callista@bluewin.ch