If you have ever spoken to a fan of Lost then you have experienced the passion and intensity that comes with following this show. These fans are not your typical passive TV watcher. They are advocates, determined to fight for their story line no matter how firm or flimsy it may be. They argue, nit-pick, and over analyze every minute detail in hopes of believing that J.J. Abrams has not failed them and he did plan that wink from Jack for a really good reason, which we will find out eventually... Fans of Lost are tried and true and they will see the Oceanic Six to the end of their journey, as they've spent the same amount of time, suffered the same angst, and cried the same tears--they will not leave them stranded.
Being a fan of a television show of this caliber is not an easy task. Simply tuning-in haphazardly will not do. Speaking with other fans to get varied opinions, theories, or to just gush over is the only way to truly show your love and devotion. These days, a little something we like to call "the internet" has made it much easier to show your TV pride. The internet has changed the state of "fandemonium" in so many ways, making the possibilities all that much more exciting, interesting and sometimes mind-bogglingly nerdy.
Last night a panel discussion titled "Click Critics: The Power of Fan Websites" was held at what used to be known as The Museum of Television and Radio but is now known as The Paley Center For Media. Included on the panel were the original creators of some of the biggest fan sites to-date: Office Tally (The Office--American Version), Lostpedia (Lost), Ugly Is In (Ugly Betty), Whedonesque (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and Galactica Sitrep (Battlestar Galactica). Also included as the professional opinions ( the only two on the panel who actually made careers out of TV recapping) were Site Director for Television Without Pity and former editor at TV Guide.com Daniel Manu, and host Alan Sepinwall, TV Critic for The Star-Ledger.
The focus of the discussion was of course about the panel's favorite shows and why they chose to recap the episodes week to week, devoting hours of their lives to fictional characters. Most said they had chosen their shows based out of pure obsession of the narrative. They each felt a strong connection to their individual series and a need to write about, sharing their feelings with others who enjoy the show as much as they do. The websites seemed to grow organically from there, drawing-in others to read their opinions and thoughts and forming communities of commentators which brought an air of familial obligation to keep up with the shows week to week.
What is most fascinating about this phenomenon are the "life imitates art" aspects that can result based around the communities built through these portals. One example of this was brought up by Daniel Manu of Television Without Pity. He referenced an episode of The West Wing where the Josh Lyman character was being criticized for his political tactics on a "website"--probably one of the earliest forms of fan forums that had evolved in those days. The clip that was shown kept referring to the character slams that were coming from "An Internet Website", one of those new fangled things. Josh was upset and going crazy over the comments that were being made, and in defense he trashed the writers of this forum calling the ring leader a "fat, chain smoking woman who probably wears a moo moo." It turned out that as The West Wing's ratings and story line had started to fizzle creator Aaron Sorkin's usually pleasant relationship with his own fans had suddenly turned toward the wayside as well. Coincidence?
Fan sites can also play an integral role in keeping a show alive. Often an amazing show will air for one season and before anyone has had the time to discover it networks are forced to can it due to low ratings. On occasion a fan site has been known to save a show by banning together and forcing the networks to recognize their devotion to the series, such was the case with CBS's Jericho. According to IMDB TV, "When CBS canceled Jericho in May 2007, fans began sending nuts to CBS in reference to the shows final episode, in which the main character referenced the Battle of the Bulge when he answered "NUTS" to a request to surrender. Three weeks later, over 8 million nuts had been shipped to CBS NY and CBS LA offices totaling over 40,000 pounds. Nina Tassler, president of CBS, sent out a memo on 6 June 2007 saying they have ordered seven more episodes to air within the year. They also asked the fans to stop sending nuts..."
Producers and marketers have also begun to utilize the power of the fan site with the ability that they offer to instantly track fan's reactions to their programming. "In addition to the entertainment these portals provide readers, they have become the ultimate focus group, making passionate, informed, unfiltered audience responses to new material a simple click away."
But running a fan site isn't all fun and games. Some of the biggest challenges to running a fan site can be keeping the community interested during the off seasons, avoiding "spoilers", and keeping the conversation civil and friendly. Most of these sites try to keep the fans interested by hosting contests, posting any news regarding the series itself or the creators and the actors. This keeps the community coming back even when new episodes may not necessarily be airing for a few months. Another tactic that the Lostpedia fans take is scheduling re-watches of old episodes. For a show such as Lost you can watch episodes repeatedly and still find new elements that you hadn't noticed the first time around. This gives the viewers constant theories to hypothesize and scrutinize for days, week, even months on end!
But there is also always the issue of "what happens when a series ends?" It seems that a thriving and active site/community can suddenly disappear once a series is canceled or ends. According to Erica Blitz, creator of Galactica Sitrep, often a site can be kept alive and active by focusing on additional ventures the series may bring to the table, such as DVD releases, film versions, or spin-off series. The domain name may need to be changed but the community will follow and continue to thrive with it.
In the end all of the panelists agreed that the key to running a successful fan site is giving the fans what the need not necessarily always what they want. As long as the show has a narrative that keeps viewers coming back the fans will want to know more and they will give you something to think about in return--whether you like it or not!
Also of note, a group called "Previously on Lost" performed at the panel. They do their recaps of Lost in song form and they're really funny, for those of you who are "in the know" ;) http://www.myspace.com/previouslyonlostmusic
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