In Defense of Fandom Sadie Witkowski

I’m taking a short break to get caught up on writing the scripts for the second half of the season. But, I didn’t want to leave your podcast playlist empty, so I decided to share this conversation I had back in early May with writer, cartoonist, and TV director Ben Edlund!

 
Support the show on Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/in_defense_of_fandom
 

Editorial Support by Dr. Anna Funk: @DrAnnaFunk
Music written & performed by Chris Scott: @Chrispscott
Cover art by Liz Hand: @__ellie
 
Additional Links of Interest:

Vonnegut's lecture on the shapes of stories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP3c1h8v2ZQThe Tick (on Amazon Prime): https://www.amazon.com/The-Tick-Season-1/dp/B0875MW6FNPsychological research on familiarity and belief of "truthiness": https://www.propwatch.org/article.php?id=265Fan reactions to Firefly & Serenity: https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/when-fox-canceled-firefly-it-ignited-an-2628890.php



 

TV creators face the unique challenge of not knowing how long a particular show will last. Knowing if you’ll have 13 episodes or 13 seasons can radically alter how they’re able to approach the end, but it's a rarity to know when a show has reached the end of the road.
 
*NOTE: Steph Dizon is no longer employed with Creation Entertainment*
 
Spoiler Warnings! Want to avoid all spoilers? Use these timestamps to skip them completely:
 
ALF: 6:07-7:07
The Flash: 17:33-20:52
The Avengers: 23:05-23:44
Agents of Shield: 23:05-26:26
 
Support the show on Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/in_defense_of_fandom

Thanks to the voices you heard in this episode (in order of appearance):
 
Mike Fisher: @fishstandsup
 
Steph Dizon, Creation Entertainment: @CreationEnt
 
Rob Benedict: @RobBenedict
 
Jeff Hersh: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3354593/ 
 
Craig Titley: @CraigTitley741 
 
Jeffery Bell: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0068272/ 

Editorial Support by Dr. Anna Funk: @DrAnnaFunk
Music written & performed by Chris Scott: @Chrispscott
Cover art by Liz Hand: @__ellie
Additional Links of Interest:
Video of Jared, Jensen, & Misha announcing the end: https://youtu.be/YVVFZQymnq4?si=8iReLZpIGEZqZnek 
 
The ending of ALF, explained: https://www.syfy.com/syfy-wire/alf-nbc-alien-comedy-ending-explained
 
Threshold TV show’s premature end: http://www.bullz-eye.com/television/interviews/2009/david_goyer.htm
 
Why Firefly was canceled: https://www.cinemablend.com/television/why-did-firefly-get-cancelled-what-happened-to-the-sci-fi-series
 
How to watch the Arrowverse crossover events: https://www.themarysue.com/heres-a-detailed-guide-to-watching-the-arrowverse-crossovers-in-order/

Does it matter if the show is more episodic vs narrative for how the ending is perceived by the fandom? How much does a show have to set up in earlier seasons to earn its payoff at the end? Let’s talk about TJLC, or The JohnLock Conspiracy in BBC’s Sherlock fandom, and the Chekov’s gun that was the premise for How I Met Your Mother.
 
Spoiler Warnings! Want to avoid all spoilers? Use these timestamps to skip them completely:
 
How I met your mother: 8:51-11:50
 
Sherlock: 17:25-19:07
 
**CLARIFICATION**
First, in the previous episode I said that Banana Fish has the highest percentage of works tagged fix it. Although Toast did their best to pull a representative sample, we still can’t say Banana Fish is definitively the top show in this metric. There could well be other fandoms with even higher percentage, but that weren’t captured in that review.
Second, I misspoke and implied that tag wranglers on AO3 add tags to works. That’s not accurate. Wranglers organize tags and sometimes create metatags that can be used to search or filter for subtags, but it’s only authors who can add tags to their own works.
Sorry for the confusion!
***
 
Support the show on Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/in_defense_of_fandom
Have thoughts on TV endings? I want to hear them! 
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeuaL485NpQ3iqinVjq7GUAoId0gPqKU26LpQCntngiGhVHgQ/viewform
 
Thanks to the voices you heard in this episode (in order of appearance):
Mike Fisher: @fishstandsup
Casey Mendoza: @CaseyMdoza
Matt Kelly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saintmort/
Elizabeth Minkel: @elizabethminkel
Georgia Carroll: @fansumption
Rob Benedict: @RobBenedict
Richard Speight Jr: @dicksp8jr

Editorial Support by Dr. Anna Funk: @DrAnnaFunk
Music written & performed by Chris Scott: @Chrispscott
Cover art by Liz Hand: @__ellie
Additional Links of Interest:
The Guardian, on the end of Sherlock: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/jan/16/sherlock-finale-smallest-audience-bbc-benedict-cumberbatch-martin-freeman
Vox, on the end of Sherlock: https://www.vox.com/2017/1/16/14279588/sherlock-finale-final-problem-review
Screenrant, on the end of Sherlock: https://screenrant.com/sherlock-season-finale-cliffhanger-ending-problem/
Fanlore’s entry on TJLC: https://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Johnlock_Conspiracy
Rob’s line read of “Welcome to the end” (S14E23)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0q4atKVpNOg

**CLARIFICATION**
First, in this episode I said that Banana Fish has the highest percentage of works tagged fix it. Although Toast did their best to pull a representative sample, we still can’t say Banana Fish is definitively the top show in this metric. There could well be other fandoms with even higher percentage, but that weren’t captured in that review.
Second, I misspoke and implied that tag wranglers on AO3 add tags to works. That’s not accurate. Wranglers organize tags and sometimes create metatags that can be used to search or filter for subtags, but it’s only authors who can add tags to their own works.
Sorry for the confusion!
 
Thanks to my background as a scientist, I’m always trying to answer questions with data. And wouldn’t you know it? Destination Toast was happy to answer the call! In this episode, we look into fanfiction on AO3 and see which tv fandoms are still trying to rewrite (or right?) the ending of their favorite shows.

Spoiler Warnings! Want to avoid all spoilers? Use these timestamps to skip them completely:
 
Banana Fish: 10:02-10:28
TV fandom fix-its analysis, by Destination Toast: archiveofourown.org/works/54262792
Support the show on Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/in_defense_of_fandom
Have thoughts on TV endings? I want to hear them! 
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeuaL485NpQ3iqinVjq7GUAoId0gPqKU26LpQCntngiGhVHgQ/viewform
 
 
 Toast’s Graphs: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1wZbzYs7XpizYHXCKWt4Ntz2RYfVi-wvZ9dkV7fOLvd0/edit#slide=id.g2cb2539deb7_0_214 
Toast’s deep dive into Supernatural: https://archiveofourown.org/works/54262792/chapters/140386390#main
where Toast blogs about fandom data and many other things: destinationtoast.tumblr.com 
Just fandom data: toastystats.tumblr.com
 
 
Thanks to the voices you heard in this episode (in order of appearance):
Destination Toast: https://toastystats.tumblr.com/
Anna Funk: @DrAnnaFunk

Editorial Support by Dr. Anna Funk: @DrAnnaFunk
Music written & performed by Chris Scott: @Chrispscott
Cover art by Liz Hand: @__ellie
 

I have a little theory about TV endings. Good endings are fondly remembered, bad endings kill fandoms, and divisive endings make them stick around forever (to argue!). So, am I actually right? Let’s find out… 

Spoiler Warnings! 
Want to avoid all spoilers? Use these timestamps to skip them completely:
Avatar the Last Airbender: 7:37-8:30
Dexter: 11:16-11:40

Support the show on Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/in_defense_of_fandom
Have thoughts on TV endings? I want to hear them! 
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeuaL485NpQ3iqinVjq7GUAoId0gPqKU26LpQCntngiGhVHgQ/viewform
 
Thanks to the voices you heard in this episode (in order of appearance):
Casey Mendoza: @CaseyMdoza
Elizabeth Minkel: @elizabethminkel
Rebecca Williams: @augustaquarius
Jeff Hersh: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3354593/
Rob Benedict: @RobBenedict
Paul Booth: @pbooth81
Richard Speight Jr: @dicksp8jr
 
And thanks to Cassie, Erin, Taylor, Kelsey, Francisco, and Marissa for voicing some of the comments from my survey!
 
Editorial Support by Dr. Anna Funk: @DrAnnaFunk
Music written & performed by Chris Scott: @Chrispscott
Cover art by Liz Hand: @__ellie
Additional Links of Interest:
My FMA fanfic (I’m both embarrassed and proud of middle school me): https://www.fanfiction.net/s/3627739/1/Escape-from-Auschwitz
 
Statistics on GoT: https://www.statista.com/statistics/993970/united-states-engagement-game-of-thrones-by-generation/
 
Fansplaining podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fansplaining/id1024216991
 
As always, transcripts of the episodes are available at my personal website: https://www.sadiewit.com/in-defense-of-fandom

New season, new topic!
This season, we’re talking about how television shows bring their stories to a close, and how that affects the fandom. We’ll talk about great endings and terrible endings. Shows that got to go out on their own terms and shows that were canceled, only to later be revived in a new format. 
And of course, there will be discussion about the ending of Supernatural. A LOT of discussion.
 
Support the show on Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/in_defense_of_fandom
Have thoughts on TV endings? I want to hear them! 
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeuaL485NpQ3iqinVjq7GUAoId0gPqKU26LpQCntngiGhVHgQ/viewform
 
Thanks to the voices you heard in this episode (in order of appearance):
Lynn Zubernis: @FangasmSPN
Richard Speight Jr: @dicksp8jr
Paul Booth: @pbooth81
Elizabeth Minkel: @elizabethminkel
 Editorial Support by Dr. Anna Funk: @DrAnnaFunk
Music written & performed by Chris Scott: @Chrispscott
Cover art by Liz Hand: @__ellie
Sound Effect from Pixabay
 
Additional Links of Interest:
Lynn’s article about fans grieving: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-science-fandom/202105/how-fans-cope-when-their-fan-favorites-come-end 
 
Sarah Z’s video on the end of Supernatural: https://youtu.be/M0QhgQ-g4C0?si=NfLR5hrStlzuJ0e0 
 
Fansplaining podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fansplaining/id1024216991