Poll About Fandom Size

[nighthawkms]

I've been thinking about the types of fandoms I'm into lately. My main fandoms as of now consist of Scrubs, Psych, House MD, and The Office, and they're mostly all contrastingly different in terms of how much source material we have to work with

Comments

[anoel]

I don't really care too much. I love when there's more content because I have more to watch and enjoy and don't have to worry so much about the show being cancelled before it's time. But I like when there's less content and I can enjoy the fandom as it happens rather than always feeling behind the times. It is nice also when there are more possibilities for what to show in fic but I don't think "creative control" is that big of a factor for me personally.

[randomslasher]

On that first one--I don't think canon size limits creative control. Most of the stuff Thuri and I have written for Scrubs starts at or around a particular season and branches in a different direction from there. I think with something like fandom, you're taking so many liberties in the first place that attempting to fit your ideas into the existing canon would not only be limiting, it'd be almost impossible. Particularly with television shows where the fans are paying more attention to continuity details than the producers, the canon itself isn't always consistent, and assuming it to be gospel is not only counter-productive, it's a little silly. I was in LotR fandom for a very long time, and there are people who are downright obsessive about canon details, like whether or not hobbits would've had outhouses or some sort of indoor plumbing, and frankly, I think those people are missing the point. Fandom by its very nature deviates from canon, and more canon material just means you have more options to build from, in my humble opinion

[nighthawkms]

Interesting thoughts. I still think that with larger fandoms, because there is just so much that has been revealed about the characters (their personalities, background stories, lives during canon), that it has been limited, whether consciously or subconsciously, by that huge amount of material. Even if you choose a point around S1 of a TV fandom, for instance, the things revealed in S6 and S7 about their background and personality still seem to be important to keep in mind, because it is still part of their S1 character, even though during S1 we didn't know it yet. Yes, you can still pick and choose some things, but as you begin to write s4 or s5 or upper season fics about characters, it becomes more definite that people will get more anal about what canon you keep.

[argyletheme]

I'm in bandom, which I think is actually relatively small, but it has a motherfucking shitload of material to work with, especially seeing as the bands have been together for a long time. But of course, I think it having to do with RPS plays a factor in that, too.

[bellehiver]

usually the fandoms I get into don't have much to go on, but that's not what pulls me to them. If it were, I'd have buckled under Scrubs and not bothered, I think. And also, I don't think there being more or less cannon content in a fandom dictates what the people in it will shy away from/be all over. I mean, the fact that Perry is very obviously committed to Jordan doesn't keep anyone from pairing him with JD, just to name one example. Fandom is funny like that.

I kind of like it when pairings go a little crazy, though, which generally happens in fandoms with less content, because not many deep relationships can be established cannonly. You see a lot more people branching off into their own groups of specific pairings that way, I think. Of course, if a show only lasted one season, or if its for a movie/book, and there isn't anything more being fed into the fandom, its really hard to keep interest in it.

I had more to say, but then I got distracted and I forgot it x_x;

[propernice]

I have really wanted to get involved in the LOST fandom, but playing catchup is so effing hard. I just gave up. On the flip side, Battlestar Galactica had two current seasons, a movie AND the third season had already started by the time I started watching. And I got caught up in about 2 weeks with the DVDs and late (very late) night viewing.

[propernice]

Oh, and on control...whenever I RP with someone (always BSG it seems here lately) we take an episode, use the ending and go from there. We just to post episode stuff and if it changes what's happened canonly, well then so be it. I think we tend to stay pretty close to canon with our character's thoughts and actions though as far as what 'could' happen.

[nighthawkms]

This is why I can never let you turn me onto BSG. I'm already having enough trouble trying to catch up on CSI and Scrubs episodes; another show with that length would be the death of me.

[propernice]

Well, I suppose the 'good' thing is is that BSG ends after next year. So then you'll have plenty of time to catch up!