Updates from Elm Street

Unlicensed Promotions Cause Negative Effects

"Everything we do creates a cause, which has an effect, for better or worse."  These words from Simon McKay in The Wizard episode Twist of Fate are just as relevant now as they were 23 years ago.  When fans and the general public create, copy and/or sell unauthorized and unlicensed video copies and other materials - even under the guise of "promotion" - this action creates a very negative effect for The Wizard.

Contrary to popular belief, being a fan does not entitle one to licensing rights, nor do property rights disappear when material in any form is uploaded to the internet.  All material for The Wizard is the Intellectual Property Right of the series' cast and crew, and the Copyright Property of 20th Century Fox Studios.  By that same token, all material on David Rappaport's official and tribute websites are the Intellectual Property of David Rappaport's family, and Copyright Property of the individuals and companies listed therein.  Creating and selling/trading video copies, episode guides, etc., without a license is stealing, pure and simple. Removing pictures and information from The Wizard's official website and David Rappaport's websites without authorization is also stealing, pure and simple.

There are positive ways to promote The Wizard and the Rescue The Wizard campaign.  Sending The Wizard's cast and crew, and 20th Century Fox Studios the message that fans only wish to show uncaring, disrespectful selfishness towards The Wizard is not it.

Currently, no one has the licensing rights to sell or trade any material from The Wizard, and no one has complete information on the series.  Anyone selling/trading materials from The Wizard does not care about the series, only their own pocketbooks.

Think before you act.  Maturity is not measured by chronological age, but rather by one's choice of actions and reactions.

Rescue The Wizard Update

Over the years a definite problem among Wizard fans worldwide has not gone unnoticed - Pessimism. Those fans who refer to the series as "short-lived" or leave messages like "RIP" are thinking very pessimisticly about a programme they love and wish to see released. And, just like creativity and optimism, pessimism is contangious. This attitude is affecting how others view both the series and campaign whether they have watched The Wizard before or not. Why should anyone else care about saving a programme pronounced dead by its own fans?

Luckily for The Wizard there are, indeed, brand new fans of all ages who will gladly contest any delusional rumors that The Wizard is dead. So, in future you will probably notice a lot of the following posted about the Internet:

The Wizard Is Not Dead!
Le Magicien N'Est Pas Mort!
El Hechicero No Esta Muerto!
Passé De Magica Nao Esta Morto!
Czarnoksieznik Z Ulicy Wiazow Nie Zyje!

If you are thinking positively about The Wizard, we invite you to post the above messages, too.

Coming soon is an important reminder post explaining who really owns The Wizard. The answer may surprise you.

For now, we leave you with some current tallies:

Rescue The Wizard Petition: 471 Names

TVshowsonDVD.com: 285 Votes

Simon McKay isn't dead, but he is currently trapped in the vaults of 20th Century Fox Studios. This is why the campaign is called a 'Rescue' or 'Save' rather than 'Salvage' or 'Recover'.

As Simon says, "THINK POSITIVE!!!!" and "POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE!!!!"

That is how to Rescue The Wizard.

Thank you!!!!

Homepage Twitter Feed

Some visitors may have already noticed the addition of Twitter to The Wizard website's homepage.

What is Twitter?
Much like this blog's host, TypePad, Twitter is a website which allows users to set up a free blogging (web log) account. The difference being that Twitter posts only allow a maximum of 140 characters per post. Hence, a single post is referred to as a "Tweet". Some people use these tweets as a way to quickly keep in touch with family &/or friends who are far away. Some people use this as a part of Internet networking. Some people have found this useful for keeping track of their day to day business affairs, including surgeons. Profiles can be private or public.

The MGT. decided this might be a great way to keep everyone informed as to any additions/updates to The Wizard website & campaign. The great news is that Twitter also provides a way to add a profile post feed to several networking sites, as well as individual websites. So that is exactly what The MGT. did. This feed is in HTML format, so no downloading of additional freeware is required.

Will every single Tweet be about The Wizard?
No, but it will be worth perusing to find out what has been added or updated recently. All Tweets, no matter their subject, will be suitable reading for general audiences. Fear not! The Tweets will not outline every second of The MGT.'s life. You will, however, find quotes & references & announcements, etc. which The MGT. is free to share with the general public. If you find your interest & curiosity peaked enough to check out something or someone new, then it will all be worth it.

Anyone interested is welcome to subscribe to the feed, but Twitter does require you to create an account.

Share & Enjoy!!!!!

The Wizard Is All A-Twitter / jessica_theMGT

In order to continue bridging the chasms between The Wizard & everyone else, we will be joining as many online communities as possible. If you already belong to an online community which does not yet have authorized entries foe either David Rappaport or The Wizard, please write to The MGT so we can help you get one established. Stealing from this or any other website to start your own is just not cool, & very un-Wizardly.

For our latest trick, The Wizard has officially appeared on Twitter via The MGT. Everyone is welcome to subscribe to that RSS Feed as well as this one, but it is not required.

News on Twitter will include an eclectic assortment of news, links, & updates from The MGT.

https://twitter.com/jessica_theMGT

Stopping The Ignorance of Discrimination

The Wizard broke new ground & dispelled many stereotypes. Most notably, the stereotype that an actor with dwarfism - or anyone with dwarfism, or anyone who is disabled/differently-able, or very different in appearance - could not possibly be a "real" person, "real" actor, hero or superhero. That such individuals were only suitable for pity, scorn, ridicule, sight gags, verbal gags, tossing, or roles calling for elves, pixies, leprechauns, villians, monsters, or "special" pity/sympathy/pluck appearances due to celebrity status obtained before becoming disabled &/or disfigured, etc.. Relegated to the roles of secondary & usually mythical characters, their characters only being able to help the "real" hero" to "find their way" to victory &/or true love.

The Wizard also helped dispel the myth that such "abnormal" individuals could not become sex symbols in Hollywood or elsewhere. There are plenty of marriage proposals & love letters among David Rappaport's fan mail to dispel this. (rest easy, girls. The MGT. is not about to name names.) Yes, Simon McKay, thanks to the intelligence, understanding & principles of David Rappaport, turned Hollywood & the entire entertainment industry upside down by proving that anyone with dwarfism or anyone who is diabled/differently-able can be a star, a leading character, a sex symbol, & be completely accepted by audiences of all ages, abilities & backgrounds around the world as not only a hero, but also a superhero.

This dispelling of stereotypes was just taking hold when The Wizard was unceremoniously cancelled at the end of its first season. Because the truth behind this cancellation & the truth about The Wizard's success with audiences would not surface for over 20 years, one of the effects was the erroneous assumption that cancellation equals failure. Sadly, most people, especially in the entertainment industry, were all too eager to believe this assumption & go back to embracing all of those stereotypes & socially accepted discriminations.

David Rappaport would certainly not be happy that things have not changed in over 20 years.

One particular occurence, happening right now, is one that hits close to home for The Wizard, so The MGT. is taking this opportunity to say something about it loud & clear.

The BBC's family network, CBeebies. has suddenly started to receive random letters from "concerned" parents regarding the continued appearance of favorite CBeebies presenter Cerrie Burnell. Is it because Cerrie is dressing/acting too provacitively or filling the airwaves with messages of hate, violence, or encouraging kids to use drugs & alcohol? No. It's simply because Cerrie Burnell has only 1 hand.

Yes, really.

These so-called "concerned" parents are writing in because they are worried that Cerrie's continued appearance on CBeebies will "frighten" their children. This is not concern, but rather ignorance, which they are passing on to their children. What's worse is that it is possible the BBC is actually considering to, once again, bow to stereotypical ignorance & err on the side of discrimination by firing Cerrie rather than promoting intelligence & diversity on the one channel that needs it the most. The BBC has issued statements that they have no intention of firing Cerrie, but this discrimination has been acheived through the "loophole" method before.  Everyone with "The Wizard" would like to do our part to ensure that it doesn't happen again.

The MGT. had the pleasure of meeting Cerrie Burnell this past June in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England where she was appearing in Nabil Shaban's play "The First to Go". Cerrie is a wonderful, kind, lovely person both inside & out. She is someone The MGT. would most certainly want to to be an influence on the children in her life. Everyone with The Wizard would like to take this opportunity to show our very public support for Cerrie Burnell, & ask the BBC to take this very important opportunity to promote intelligence & diversity on their networks by refusing to give in to the ignorance of a few.

It is long past time to end discrimination in the entertainent & media industries,

To show support for Cerrie Burnell, please send a message to CBeebies at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/contact/forms/tv_form.shtml

To show support on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=51841632298

Attention: David Rappaport Fans & Fans of The Wizard

If you already belong to, or just joined, an internet community like Facebook, MySpace, Orkut, etc., & think a fan tribute page is in order, please make sure to ask for permission/authorization from the Rappaport family &/or Michael Berk & Douglas Schwartz before continuing.  On most of these sites, it is quite rightly against the rules to create such pages unless one is authorized by the person, estate or entity to do so.

When The Wizard website was created a main goal of The MGT. was to make certain that as many people from The Wizard, especially David Rappaport's family, would be involved.  Their approval sought.  It took a lot of hard work, but that goal was met nearly a year ago.  There is no longer an excuse for anyone to create such pages or sites without permission again.

Steps will be taken whenever possible to shut down any web pages or sites which are disrespectful & detrimental to David Rappaport, The Wizard, & the Rescue The Wizard campaign.  We are serious in this endeavor & expect Wizard fans to act in a Wizardly manner.

If you love David & The Wizard, then please join Nabil Shaban, The MGT. & everyone with The Wizard by always choosing to act with respect towards his memory, legacy & family.

Thank you!!!

Websites Updates (1/27/09)

* Whether or not you have read the Memories of The Wizard & Rescue The Wizard message pages recently or not, you might want to check them out again.  We've had some lovely messages sent to us.  We don't want to spoil the surprise, so we can't tell you any more than that.

But, THANK YOU to everyone who has written in!!!!

* There have also been 2 new questions added to the FAQ page. One to explain about the TVshowsonDVD website - what it can do for the Rescue The Wizard campaign & why they need your help to do it (also what they .  And, another to explain the goals of the campaign & why the Petitions & Messages are such an important part of it.

* Special Thanks to all 380 people who have added their names to the Petition & sent messages.

* The newest page on the website is the Networking & Fan Clubs page.  This page will list all of the clubs & internet networking hubs for The Wizard, including MySpace & Facebook (see "Networking" links in the right hand column of this blog).  Please email The MGT. if there are any clubs not listed.

Updating of the entire Wizard website continues.  We'll let you know about more updates in later posts.

The Starlight Foundation

In the premiere episode, 'El Dorado', Simon McKay was contacted by The Starlight Children's Foundation because it was the wish of a boy with leukemia to meet The Wizard.

Now, 22 years later, The Wizard has once again joined forces with The Starlight Foundation to bring fun and laughter to children in hospitals around the world.  Children who might otherwise not be able to have access to computers, toys, and games so many of us take for granted.

Please check out the original letter from Peter Samuelson, President of The Starlight Foundation, to Paul B. Radin, co-creator & co-Executive Producer of The Wizard, on the website.

The Starlight Foundation Letter

All money donated using the Tip Jar/Give To link on this page will be given directly to The Starlight Foundation.  New posts will be created when this money is moved from here to The Wizard's Starlight Fund page so you can watch the progress. 

Thank you in advance!!!