Mocking the Fanbase
anonymous
February 8 2005, 19:29:45 UTC
I don't understand how mocking the fanbase manages to slide past the bean counters who are responsible for marketing the show. Normally the interference of bean counters annoys me because they're usually responsible for cutting colorful swear words and racy bits. But where were these people when the writers decided to unleash their scorn for the people who create their employment.
I probably wouldn't be so irritated if I hadn't seen this on a number of shows. I remember an episode of Sliders where opinionated fans were meta-told to "get a life." There was an article in Variety last year about letter campaigns and the "geek lobby": the final paragraph was yet another condescending "get a life." When I seen fanbase mocking occur in a variety of places, I start to get the sneaking suspicion that TPTB is two-faced: they tell the fans they are loved and appreciated for their financial and moral support, and then all the TPTB go out for a beer and laugh about how pathetic their fans must be.
Re: Mocking the FanbasewisdomeagleFebruary 8 2005, 19:37:22 UTC
Exactly.
People have been consistantly peeved with the 'Gate writers for their treatment of geeks -- ooh, I totally forgot about "The Other Guys" till just now, even though "Avenger 2.0" was mentioned in the other thread -- even though geeks are their target audience.
This is why I think shows are best when the writers themselves are invested in the show -- if not as heavily as the fans, at least heavily enough so that humor at the expense of the fans doesn't come across as incredibly mean-spirited. I think the Trio on Buffy is a good example of them getting it right.
There's a bit in the commentary on the S3 Angel ep "Waiting in the Wings" about how it's about crazy batshit fans who stalk people, and how the line, "If you're a fan, get a website" is sort of barb at the fanbase, but a) it's subtle and went right over my head the first time and b) is an entirely different thing from saying "get a life." It's saying "express your fannishness in an appropriate manner and don't stalk the actors
( ... )
We can certainly discuss why SG-1 sucks at meta. Most certainly.
(Are you around? Shall I call?)
Shall I copy my episode notes? Hm? Yes, I think I shall. *nods*
...
Yet another clip show, but they are squeeish clips.
"You can't just end a story in the middle."
Okay, they were squeeish, but I've seen it. I really don't need an overview.
...And thus begins the Jack/Asgard arc. *nods solomly*
At least they did mostly pick their better episodes. (Well, until the end bits)
Why are we supposed to care about this guy?
Jack's a terrible ping-pong player?
*yawns* Bored now. *sighs*
National security? What national security?
And Willow and Oz are really fucking squee. (I believe I was making icons at the time. It was far, far more interesting than the episode.)
...
Anyway, to sum up: the most interesting part of the episode is the fact that Jack may, or may not be, a horrible ping-pong player. That's really pathetic.
Comments 4
I probably wouldn't be so irritated if I hadn't seen this on a number of shows. I remember an episode of Sliders where opinionated fans were meta-told to "get a life." There was an article in Variety last year about letter campaigns and the "geek lobby": the final paragraph was yet another condescending "get a life." When I seen fanbase mocking occur in a variety of places, I start to get the sneaking suspicion that TPTB is two-faced: they tell the fans they are loved and appreciated for their financial and moral support, and then all the TPTB go out for a beer and laugh about how pathetic their fans must be.
I am a tad peeved. :-(
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People have been consistantly peeved with the 'Gate writers for their treatment of geeks -- ooh, I totally forgot about "The Other Guys" till just now, even though "Avenger 2.0" was mentioned in the other thread -- even though geeks are their target audience.
This is why I think shows are best when the writers themselves are invested in the show -- if not as heavily as the fans, at least heavily enough so that humor at the expense of the fans doesn't come across as incredibly mean-spirited. I think the Trio on Buffy is a good example of them getting it right.
There's a bit in the commentary on the S3 Angel ep "Waiting in the Wings" about how it's about crazy batshit fans who stalk people, and how the line, "If you're a fan, get a website" is sort of barb at the fanbase, but a) it's subtle and went right over my head the first time and b) is an entirely different thing from saying "get a life." It's saying "express your fannishness in an appropriate manner and don't stalk the actors ( ... )
Reply
(Are you around? Shall I call?)
Shall I copy my episode notes? Hm? Yes, I think I shall. *nods*
...
Yet another clip show, but they are squeeish clips.
"You can't just end a story in the middle."
Okay, they were squeeish, but I've seen it. I really don't need an overview.
...And thus begins the Jack/Asgard arc. *nods solomly*
At least they did mostly pick their better episodes. (Well, until the end bits)
Why are we supposed to care about this guy?
Jack's a terrible ping-pong player?
*yawns* Bored now. *sighs*
National security? What national security?
And Willow and Oz are really fucking squee. (I believe I was making icons at the time. It was far, far more interesting than the episode.)
...
Anyway, to sum up: the most interesting part of the episode is the fact that Jack may, or may not be, a horrible ping-pong player. That's really pathetic.
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