lirazel | (no subject)

Sudden thought:

Is it possible that with television getting better and more prestige-like, it's draining the format of the very things that made TV fandom so fun???

Like I think about the best (by best I mean most active and interesting) TV fandoms I know of and they're like BtVS obviously and classic Trek and the X-Files and Doctor Who and those shows are all really great and iconic but also really, really messy? And sprawling and hence fun to explore? And they have monster of the week episodes and plotlines that get dropped or not fully developed and maybe that's why they inspired good fandoms?

I love The Expanse. I love Black Sails. They are so very, very good. But I have never felt the need to look for fic for either one of them. Is it because they're so tightly written?

Is it possible that the TV is so good now that I don't need fanfic? And if so...where can I find some good-but-also-messy TV again? It seems like that only exists in comedies (like, idk, Schitt's Creek or something), but I am not really super into comedies? I enjoy watching some of them, but they have never made me feel fannish. I need something speculative (or at least far away from the my real life like The West Wing or something) with an interesting world and enough loose ends to run wild.

I think I may be on to something with this. I need to think about it further...

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I completely agree with your remark about manner of release: I think so much of what made TV fandoms so big is not just the sprawl or imperfections, but the (previously) inherently serialized nature of the storytelling. Even in shows that have miniseries stylings but still release in "seasons" (Sherlock is the one that I remember this most clearly in) seem to have similar upwellings of content during those breaks. One sees this across the biggest book fandoms as well -- was not a heyday of the Harry Potter fandom in the enormous gap between OOTP and the last two? Did not Twilight in part thrive because of its nature as a series?

It provides a built-in timeline, gaps between installments that foster speculation and curiosity, and of course, the gap-filler!

I think there may also be something to be said about the choking press of the adaptation/remake -- it's hard to get as excited about something you were excited about when they did it better the first time ten years ago. (Good Omens may be the exception that proves the rule).

I think y'all are dead on about this, and it makes me miss the days of waiting between episodes.

I think there may also be something to be said about the choking press of the adaptation/remake -- it's hard to get as excited about something you were excited about when they did it better the first time ten years ago

Also very true.

Maybe one day people will start serializing again! I mean, I know webseries still do, sometimes. And in the meantime people still don’t drop a four-book series all at once, so maybe... *holds out hope*

Yeah, I actually wouldn't be shocked if it happened? Serialization seems like such a fundamental part of television that I can see it shifting back to that.

On the other hand: most early novels were initially published serially, and that seems to have fallen completely by the wayside, so...maybe not.

But I really miss that anticipation of waiting for a week to find out what was going to happen next, and the more I think about it, the more important I think that was for the creation of fandom communities and conversation.