‘Donnellys’ fans: assault by saltines

First everyone was nuts. Now they’re crackers.

A small number of die-hard fans of NBC’s recently canceled drama “The Black Donnellys” plan to ship nearly 300 pounds of Zesta crackers (that’s about 45,000 crackers) to HBO executives beginning next week in hopes of persuading the premium cable outlet to pick up the moribund show.

Fans of “The Black Donnellys,” a serialized drama about four Irish brothers and their involvement in organized crime in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, were inspired by the recent success of “Jericho” fans and vow to keep sending crackers to HBO as long as donations hold out. In June, “Jericho” fans inundated CBS with tons of nuts, eventually persuading the network to exhume the post-apocalypse drama after it was dropped from its fall schedule.

“Donnellys” fans, whose website can be found at www.savetheblackdonnellys.net, said they chose HBO because the cable outlet is a better fit for the “Donnellys’ ” grittier themes. Also, they selected Zesta crackers because they are featured in a lounge sign belonging to one of the show’s main characters.

HBO offices were closed Thursday for the holidays and officials were unavailable for comment.