Depending on who you ask, Logo's Noah's Arc has either sunk to the bottom of the ocean or is about to sail into a movie theater near you. The groundbreaking drama about four black gay men was Logo's flagship series when it launched in 2005, and last month they announced plans to turn Noah's Arc into a feature film for theatrical release.

In statement to the media, Logo president Brian Graden said: "Noah's Arc has one of the most intensely loyal fan bases in television and we're thrilled to harness the power of film to let [series creator] Patrik-Ian Polk continue the story he has so skillfully woven. Noah's Arc has so many dimensions and possibilities, so advancing to the feature film format is an exciting way to motivate our loyal fans and engage an even wider audience."

Which sounds like good news for fans, except for one catch: The series is not on the Logo schedule for a third season, and to a lot of people, that means it's been canceled. Has it?

No, said Logo publicist Steven Fisher. "We're making the movie; that's the next place we're going to tell the story," he told AfterElton.com, which is owned by Logo. "We're continuing the story in the movies, and then I think after the movie, we see. We leave the options open. We may do a third season; we may do more movies; we may do specials; so we'll see."

We were unable to reach creator Patrik-Ian Polk for this article, but in a press release he stated: "I began this series as a straight-to-DVD project, and Logo gave us a home as its flagship scripted series. And now we're taking it to the big screen! Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined this little independent show in movie theaters! Hats off to MTV Networks and Logo for believing in us enough to take Noah to that next level."

Nonetheless, some of that "loyal fan base" isn't really feeling the love right now, and hasn't hesitated to say so.

Rod McCullom has worked as a producer at NBC and ABC News, including three years at World News, World News Now and Good Morning America. He's also been covering Noah's Arc extensively on his black gay culture and media blog, Rod 2.0. McCullom is skeptical of Logo's claim that the show isn't canceled.

"My impression just as a television producer, from what I know of the industry, is the show is canceled," he told AfterElton.com. "A show is either canceled or it's not canceled. It's either on the schedule for next season, or it's not on the schedule next season."

Whether the film happens or not, one of Noah's Arc's Season 1 producers, journalist Jasmyne Cannick, told us that she is doubtful about the value of taking Noah's Arc to the big screen. "How does that compare with being on the network?" she asked. "How does that compare with going into the homes of millions of viewers and being on On Demand so people can watch whenever they want to? That, to me, doesn't compare.

"If I … had a choice between an eight-episode season and an indie film, I'm going with the season. I want to be on television. I want to be able to be in these homes at 2, 3, 4 in the morning, 2 in the afternoon, whenever people want to watch me. And if you look at Logo … the reruns are a big part of their programming."

Cannick continued: "I don't know any series that have gone from being on television for two seasons, going into the theaters, and going back to television. Let me put it to you like this: If I'm an executive at NBC five years ago, five or 10 years ago, I'm going to cancel Friends, and it's my most popular show, and put it in theaters?"

While a few TV series — Star Trek, The Simpsons, South Park — have crossed over to the big screen, the course Logo is proposing to take is an unusual one, even for a show with a much larger audience than Noah's Arc. But Fisher was upbeat about the movie's possibilities. "We can report we're already moving at full throttle to get the movie behind cameras in summer 2007 and ready for release in early 2008," he said. "Pre-production is well underway, including creative meetings, full and active discussions with producers and the cast as well as working to secure production and distribution partners."

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