Fans rally to save 'Veronica Mars' from axe

Diehard Veronica Mars fans have launched an airborne campaign in an attempt to save the show from the axe.

The cult series, which stars Kristen Bell in the lead role, may not be renewed for a third season by The CW, a new US network being formed by a merger of The WB and UPN.

The campaign - held last Tuesday, the day of the Veronica Mars finale on UPN - saw the group hire a plane to fly over UPN offices in Los Angeles and the future site of the CW headquarters in Burbank for four hours. The plane sported a trailing banner with the message "RENEW VERONICA MARS! CW 2006!"

Care packages containing Veronica Mars-inspired gifts, information about the plane's flight plan, and binoculars were sent to CW executives, while more than a hundred first season DVD sets were purchased and sent to libraries around the US.

"Rather than passively wait for others to decide whether or not I would get another year of mind-blowing mysteries, I proposed something fun and splashy and out-there as a last ditch, grassroots effort to save something I love dearly," said the campaign organiser. "It's clearly absurd, but that's why it has the potential to be effective."

Fans will learn if their campaign has been successful when The CW confirms its new schedule on Thursday.