Hercules and Xena |
Fandom speaks out | Hercules and Xena essays |
|
|
Hercules and Xena |
Fandom speaks out | Hercules and Xena essays |
|
|
|
| Xenite.Org News | Hercules and Xena | Fandom Speaks Out |
|
Site Map 2 SciFi Links
Special thanks to: 
for designing Xenite.org's graphics Contact Us! |
Fandom speaks out
Well, fandom is always speaking out, I suppose. But lately I've noticed a greater discontent than usual with the directions taken by the shows. No one seems to be happy that H:TLJ is ending. But a lot of Xenites are still disaffected with X:WP. A current thread on The Chakram Mailing List (with about 1800 subscribers) is "I haven't given up on X:WP". Another is titled "Fourth Season". Although I've been travelling due to a family death, I've managed to set up some polls at Xenite.org and have put four on the Xena Online Resources Message Board. I've asked online fans for input into these polls to get an indication of where fandom is looking with respect to the next season. One of the polls I created is devoted to the topic of Xena's baby. Much like Lucille Ball's televised pregnancy more than forty years ago, Lucy Lawless' pregnancy is being worked into the show. What would fans like to see happen with this baby? Most of the respondents so far have indicated they'd either like to see it turn out to be a dream sequence (shades of Bobby Ewing!) or have Ares kidnap the child and hide it. With respect to the soon-to-be-defunct H:TLJ, I asked which secondary characters fans would most like to see cross over to X:WP. Iolaus is the most popular choice, followed by Salmoneus. ALL OF THEM was in third place last time I checked the results. As a Sal fan myself I'm pleased to see that Robert Trebor is still popular with fans of the show. Maybe the Powers that Be should sit up and take notice. Trebor had people standing in the hallway at DragonCon's Hercules and Xena track. I also asked the fans which seasons of both shows they prefer. The 1995-6 season (Xena's first, Hercules' second, not counting the movies) is the most beloved, followed closely by the 1996-7 season. These were the two strongest seasons in terms of Nielsen ratings, as well. I'm not sure of what that says, given that virtually all the syndicated SF shows have experienced a decline in audiences since 1996. Maybe it means the writers and producers had really good biorhythms that year. These polls will stay online for at least a few more weeks. People don't seem to be as passionate about them as they do about the Tolkien movie polls we set up at Xenite.Org (more than 1200 people have responded to these so far -- nearly a third of those on the first day). I suspect that as the number of respondents rise for each poll, however, the general trends we see with these early results won't change much. But then again, maybe they will. Polls and surveys run by fannish Web sites aren't going to have much of an impact on the creative decisions made for both shows. H:TLJ is ending pretty much because Kevin Sorbo was tired of working in New Zealand, so far from home, and he may have felt his show wasn't getting as much attention as it deserved after all the hard work he had put in. If it hadn't been for H:TLJ, there would be no X:WP, but people sometimes don't seem to realize that -- or maybe they just don't appreciate it as much as I and some other fans do. On the other hand, if fans want to make a point with the producers and writers (whether it be via mailing list, news group, or at conventions), then these polls may help drive home some points. Ultimately the shows must proceed along whatever paths the producers set down -- our generation doesn't respond well to shows which cave into fannish demands. Maybe that kind of interactive entertainment will be developed in the next generation or two, but right now we still (as a viewing audience) tend to prefer to be told the story so we can find out what comes next. It's a healthy sign of audience interest when an outspoken fandom develops, but it's also part of the risk that a creative team takes when they find their fans aren't responding positively to the changes made in the fictional world. I'm not sure of what to expect with Xena's baby myself. I'd sort of like to see Ares kidnap it. The conflict in emotions that could be raised between Xena and Gabrielle over a quest to save the child (when contrasted with Xena's determination to destroy Hope) could produce some interesting epsisodes. On the other hand, that would be revisiting old ground, and what we've seen so far with X:WP and H:TLJ is that these guys don't like to dwell on the past too much. Each season is new and different from the previous ones, which I feel is good, but though that dynamic approach may have drawn many fans to the series in the first place, complacency still seems to be what holds an audience's rapt attention. When all is said and done, the vocal fandom that survives to the end of X:WP will probably be smaller than today's vocal fandom. |
This page is copyright © 1997-2007 by Michael L. Martinez. All rights reserved. |