The Really Really Ridiculously Good Looking Tour; FNL -- the squee and the lack of squee
It had completely failed to occur to me that, this being The Cab's first real tour, they would be doing it in a van. A VAN. A van. And it's winter. And of course they're all sick. *facepalm*
There are many reasons I have never wanted to be in a band. (Lack of musical talent would be reason #1! :D) But touring in a van would be one of them. A VAN.
That aside, I'm almost over my bitterness at not getting to see the RRRGLT (that would be Cobra Starship's club tour to you). I intend to enjoy it vicariously and revel in the fic possibilities. *wriggles* Thus, I neeeeeed show recaps. You may be wondering, who cares about the mundane details of my RRRGLT date? The answer is: Nicola cares! \o/
Finally, metafandom is discussing something other than the Organization for Transformative Works! *falls down in relief* Article in the NY Times about why Friday Night Lights' lack of fandom is "murdering" the show.
I think the author makes some good points, but they are hung rather uneasily over the example of FNL. Because FNL does has have a fandom. It's a small one, but it still exists. People read and write fanfic (including me! kthxdie).
The comparisons to Heroes and BSG don't sit well with me, because those are sci-fi shows and SF/fantasy will always garner bigger fandoms. That's a fact unrelated to the quality (or lack thereof) of a show. There are also plenty of shows that succeed without fandoms (think of how long it took for CSI's fandom to get going -- I remember looking for fic during s1 and there were none -- and it's still a relatively tiny fandom even now). I think Heffernan's point about fandom is less relevant than her point about branding. CSI may not have the fandom, but it has the games, the merchandising; it has cultural cachet. It lives beyond the 42-minute weekly show. It is eye-opening to realize how important that "off-the-page" quality is for TV now.
WRT fandom, Heffernan does hit the nail on head in one respect: people expected huge amounts of slash fic from FNL. And it never came (...hoho).
In the middle of s1, there was quite a perceptible shift from soapy teen drama into bonafide family show. They dropped the Tim/Lyla storyline (reintroducing it later as much more of a subsidiary plotline). The show didn't get any worse -- in fact, from an artistic point of view, it probably improved. It became more nuanced and subtle. But I cared a whole lot less. I stopped feeling the squee. I still watch the show (and I genuinely adore it), but I rarely post about it. There are maybe two people who regularly post about the show on my f'list, even though I know there are many more who watch it.
I am, indeed, one of Heffernan's passive fans. While I will squee and shout about Gossip Girl and encourage everyone I know to watch it (because I like Chuck's outfits and Blair's underwear and the city scapes and the contrived events -- not because the show's any good), I don't do the same for FNL.
Relatedly, gigantic wrote a great post recently about Affective Economics.
There are many reasons I have never wanted to be in a band. (Lack of musical talent would be reason #1! :D) But touring in a van would be one of them. A VAN.
That aside, I'm almost over my bitterness at not getting to see the RRRGLT (that would be Cobra Starship's club tour to you). I intend to enjoy it vicariously and revel in the fic possibilities. *wriggles* Thus, I neeeeeed show recaps. You may be wondering, who cares about the mundane details of my RRRGLT date? The answer is: Nicola cares! \o/
Finally, metafandom is discussing something other than the Organization for Transformative Works! *falls down in relief* Article in the NY Times about why Friday Night Lights' lack of fandom is "murdering" the show.
I think the author makes some good points, but they are hung rather uneasily over the example of FNL. Because FNL does has have a fandom. It's a small one, but it still exists. People read and write fanfic (including me! kthxdie).
The comparisons to Heroes and BSG don't sit well with me, because those are sci-fi shows and SF/fantasy will always garner bigger fandoms. That's a fact unrelated to the quality (or lack thereof) of a show. There are also plenty of shows that succeed without fandoms (think of how long it took for CSI's fandom to get going -- I remember looking for fic during s1 and there were none -- and it's still a relatively tiny fandom even now). I think Heffernan's point about fandom is less relevant than her point about branding. CSI may not have the fandom, but it has the games, the merchandising; it has cultural cachet. It lives beyond the 42-minute weekly show. It is eye-opening to realize how important that "off-the-page" quality is for TV now.
WRT fandom, Heffernan does hit the nail on head in one respect: people expected huge amounts of slash fic from FNL. And it never came (...hoho).
In the middle of s1, there was quite a perceptible shift from soapy teen drama into bonafide family show. They dropped the Tim/Lyla storyline (reintroducing it later as much more of a subsidiary plotline). The show didn't get any worse -- in fact, from an artistic point of view, it probably improved. It became more nuanced and subtle. But I cared a whole lot less. I stopped feeling the squee. I still watch the show (and I genuinely adore it), but I rarely post about it. There are maybe two people who regularly post about the show on my f'list, even though I know there are many more who watch it.
I am, indeed, one of Heffernan's passive fans. While I will squee and shout about Gossip Girl and encourage everyone I know to watch it (because I like Chuck's outfits and Blair's underwear and the city scapes and the contrived events -- not because the show's any good), I don't do the same for FNL.
Relatedly, gigantic wrote a great post recently about Affective Economics.