This weekend, I moseyed my way to the theatre to watch the hyper-anticipated Serenity. Based on Firefly, a failed series by elite TV- scribe Joss Whedon, Serenity soared (okay, with a little turbulence) its way on to the big screen, largely because of its fervent fandom.
When the show was cancelled prematurely by FOX, the few fans that had witnessed the brilliance of Firefly banded together and took action. Naming themselves the Browncoats (after their favourite television counterparts), they launched Save Firefly campaigns and eventually received retribution when Universal greenlit the show for a feature adaptation.
Fans, you see, have enormous power. They decide ratings, the hot-nots and give voice to the oft-omitted and mistreated of television and movies. It’s a wonder then that they get such little respect.
I read a column this past week on CHUD.com that referred to fans, particularly genre fans, as “marginalized fruitcakes” who make certain movies (or in our case, TV shows) distasteful to the mainstream genre. I suppose that can be skewed as the truth. I’ve often felt intimidated by shows like Alias or Lost because of the daunting task of having to catch up on all the underlying mythology that lines the shows’ plotlines. The fact that the fans are so passionate and that I haven’t necessarily seen all of the episodes, almost makes me turn away from wanting to watch them in the first place.
I said, almost.
I don’t know about anyone else, but claiming that hardcore fanbases are the reason why people resist watching certain genre-works (or any works) seems almost paradoxical to me. These are the people who put up the websites, discuss and fuss over every last detail about their favourite mediums. How many times have you been at school, work or even the loo and overheard someone talking about the latest developments on shows like Desperate Housewives, The O.C. or American Idol. If it hasn’t happened to you yet, brace yourself, because it will. Just the other day I was in a quad at school trying to study when I overheard a girl and boy talking about the latter’s resemblance to Angel (and now Bones) star David Boreanaz. I wanted to jump in and discuss the show with them, despite the fact that they may have never watched in their life and had no idea who I was. If talk in hallways is any indication, I’d say that fanbase buzz is what keeps shows alive and draws others into its thrall in the first place.
If that means that fans can help evolve forgotten Fireflys into silver-screen Serenity, then all power to them. Yes, you may encounter the fan-freaky that speak Klingon fluently, can recite entire TV scripts or delve into random bouts of paranoid “truth is out there” catatonia, but they’re just passionate. It’s no different then Trump devoting his life to making himself a multi-kazillionaire. Have you seen his hair? I’d say it defines “marginalized from the mainstream” all on its own, but no one calls him distasteful. Instead, they give him ratings.
