What All This Was For

So I started this blog as an assignment for a class. The information on this blog was supposed to culminate into a feature story at the end of a month. I had a lot of fun writing this blog and may decide to keep up with it (does anyone even actually read this blog?) Anyway, this is the feature story I wrote that pertains to the information in this blog, so I thought I'd post it here:

We live in a world where practically everyone is online. We watch videos, chat with friends, update statuses, post opinions, and share our thoughts with the world. Never before has it been this easy to connect with people from across the globe, and out there among the facebook pages, the youtube accounts, the boards on pinterest and reddit, and the tumblr dashboards thrives a network.  A community where there are battles being fought, alliances being formed, jokes being shared, and tears being shed. Hope is gained and lost and loyalties are tested. They have their own phrases, references, jokes, icons; essentially they have their own culture. This network, these people, are the internet fandoms.

Often categorized as nerds, these individuals tend to be members of fandoms belonging to a lot of science fiction or British television shows such as Firefly, Supernatural, Doctor Who, and Sherlock. Movies that follow books, like the Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings films, or comics, like Iron Man, Thor, and The Avengers, also have large followings on the internet. Now what separates a normal fan from a member of one of these internet fandoms? Typically it is the enthusiasm about the subject that differentiates the two. A normal fan might watch one of these shows or movies and come out of it saying that it was pretty good and they enjoyed it and then they would go on with their day. The members of the fandoms however become slightly more obsessed. Members of fandoms know and care about the lives of both the characters and the actors who portray them. They spend time analyzing and speculating about the plots of upcoming episodes of shows and they collaborate with others who share their enthusiasm.

While members of the different fandoms may occasionally argue amongst themselves or poke fun at one another, generally pointing out the sad death of a beloved character, they generally have pretty amiable relations. In fact, a lot of the time people will be members of more than one fandom; sometimes they are a member of all of them.

So, what do the members of these fandoms do when they are not posting GIF’s on tumblr, creating fan art, or dissecting the most recent episode of their favorite show on reddit? Waiting. Waiting seems to play a big part in the lives of those who belong to these fandoms. Waiting for another episode, waiting for another season, waiting for the next film, or waiting for things that will never come. No matter how long the wait though, the fandoms remain loyal. Fans of the British television show Sherlock have waited over a year for the third season of their beloved show to simply start filming after a heart-wrenching and intense season finale back in January of 2012. And those who follow Doctor Who are anxiously awaiting the shows 50^th anniversary episode that will debut in November later this year, which the show’s creators have promised them will be amazing and well worth the wait.

However, for some there is nothing left to wait for. The Browncoats, members of the Firefly fandom, are some of the most loyal fans out there. The space-cowboy sci-fi sensation was cancelled after its first season back in 2002 but over the years it has cultivated an almost cult like fan base. Earlier this year the Fox network, who owns the rights to firefly, sent out cease and desist notices to some members of the fandom who were selling homemade merchandise from the show online. This sparked a small rebellion amongst the fandom. While some of the merchants obeyed, others simply renamed their products and continued to sell them to fellow fans. These small acts of disobedience are not specific to the Browncoats however, members of the Sherlock fandom took to the streets after the season 2 finale of their show, graffiti-ing and stickering and painting on walls, signs, buildings, and streets, such phrases as “I believe in Sherlock Holmes” and “Moriarty is Real”.

Obviously the members of these fandoms truly love the shows and films they champion for, but how do the actors of these franchises view their fanbases? Honestly, most of them take it pretty well. In fact, some of them are members of the fandoms as well. Nathan Fillion is one such actor. Fillion played the part of Captain Malcolm Reynolds in the show Firefly and Captain Hammer in the film Doctor Horrible’s Sing Along Blog, which also has a grand following. Fillion interacts with his fans on a regular basis via his Twitter account where he is still referred to as Captain by many. In one interview at Comic con Fillion was asked if there was any way Fox could ever make it up to him for cancelling Firefly. His response, “I’m gonna need a well-appointed tropical island to which every year a cruise ship would arrive with Firefly fans. We would have a life size replica of the ship on which we can play out scenes from the show”. This man clearly loves his show just as much as his fans do.

While the members of these fandoms may seem crazy to the outside world, they are perfectly content with how they spend their time. In a world where we can connect with people on the other side of the planet with a few clicks of a mouse their ideas, creations, and speculations will continue to flood the social media sites and spread across the internet, while they continue to argue, discuss and wait. 

Lessons To Be Found

One of the great things about some of the nerdiest shows and movies is that they aren't just empty entertainment. Written into the plots and inter-weaved throughout the stories are truths and lessons about life and the real world despite the shows or movies being based in fiction. So I've laid out just a few of the lessons that I have noticed shine through in some of my favorite shows and movies.

1. There Are Two Sides To Every Story - People seldom take the time to follow the old cliche of walking a mile in another's shoes. We jump and draw lines and separate people into piles of good and bad based on our own perceptions and beliefs. The series that I believe has demonstrates this most vividly, would be The Harry Potter Series. Whether it is through the books or the movies the audience experiences the events from

Harry's side of things. We follow his journey and therefore sympathize with him. For so long in the series we see the character of Draco Malfoy as a sort of villain. He picks on Harry and his friends,causing them pain and trouble, he comes from a family of Death Eaters and on occasion shows support for their cause. However in the 6th installment of the series we get a glimpse into the true nature of his character.
While all along we have followed Harry's fight, we have not seen Draco's struggle within himself. Draco and Harry are the same age, they both have friends and people who care about them, and both are tasked with burdens far beyond what is fair to bestow upon them.
Harry must defeat Voldemort, but Draco must fight against what he believes in and what he feels is wrong in order to not only save his own life and the lives of his family, but to make those close to him proud. Draco does not want to kill Dumbledore, but he is ordered to do so. He does not want to join with the Death Eaters but feels loyalty to his family. We only get to see Harry's side of things, but this glimpse into Draco's character shows us that there is a whole other side to this war and it is not right to jump to conclusions about people and events or to assume we know them.


2. Tolerance And Equality- While a great many "nerdy" shows and movies toy with the idea of tolerance and equality, there are a few of my favorites in which it is a common theme. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy for one deals with this theme most obviously through Gimli and Legolas' friendship. Dwarves harbor ill-will towards Elves and it comes out in Gimli's behavior and attitude towards his Elvish companion, but as the

trilogy progresses the two form an amiable bond fighting along side one another. Their friendship shows that even though a prejudice can be cultural and deeply embedded within us, with time and patience we can come to find that we are not all so different in the end.
The harry Potter series is a testament to the ideas of tolerance and equality. Within the story we have muggle-borns, half-bloods, and pure-bloods. While some in the series regard anyone less than a pure-blood wizard to be less than worthy of the title there are those who fight against that belief. In fact the events in the 7th book almost mirror those of the holocaust; an evil tyrant bent on purifying the wizarding world, ruling with fear and causing those who do not fit the bill or who oppose him to hide and fear for their lives.  The house elves in the story also play a big part in these lessons.  House elves are essentially slaves. Hermione starts S.P.E.W, a society for the promotion of elfish welfare. She champions their cause and rallies for their freedom even when everyone around her tells her it is an idiotic cause. She believes in what she is doing and makes progress in making their lives better in the end. The idea that everyone is equal permeates through the Harry Potter series and hopefully will span many more generations preaching these ideas.
One of my absolute favorite references to the idea of tolerance of other people's ways of life is from the show Firefly. When the characters are confronted with the situation of conflicting cultural beliefs and customs, Captain Mal finds himself with a wife who he claims he is not technically married to, however, the customs of the woman's people claim that she is. While the other characters speak their minds on the matter the humorous and kind Wash spouts his words of wisdom: "some people juggle geese". He tells about a planet he visited where the main form of recreation was geese juggling, and while we may find that strange to the it was normal.
Each of these shows or films relay to us that things would be a lot better if we all just realized that we are all equal and though we may be different we need to simply accept that some people juggle geese and that is okay.


3. You Are Important- While I'm sure there are many other examples of this lesson in the realm of nerdy shows and movies, the best example I can think of is Doctor Who. The Doctor is a Time Lord, he travels

through time and space and he saves our world and other worlds time and time again, and always by his side are his companions. His companions are just people, ordinary people like you and me. They work in shops,

in hospitals, they are secretaries, they are normal everyday people. The Doctor takes them away and shows them the universe and in doing so he shows them how amazing they really are. They help him fight aliens and save planets billions of light years away thousands of years in the future, and he really does need them there. They are not just being towed along for fun, they really do help him. The Doctor is a thousand year old Time Lord equipped with advanced technology and knowledge and he needs the help of ordinary shop workers and nurses. Doctor Who shows us that no matter who you are or what you do, you are capable of greatness and you are fantastic and strong and you matter. The Doctor says it over and over in each regeneration; he has never met an unimportant person in his entire life. And he would know, seeing as he has been all over the universe from the dawn of creation to the end of time itself. Doctor Who sends the message that we are all far greater than the external conditions of our lives, we are so much more than we appear to be, and we are all important.


4. Friends Protect People- The words spoken by John Watson in BBC's Sherlock resonate strong

throughout the series, as well as many other shows with similar audiences. In Sherlock the friendship between John and Sherlock is the true star of the show. The two would die for each other without thinking about it and would kill for one another without hesitation. They are so true, close, and real of friends that many people think they have a romantic sort of relationship. Those people however, have obviously never witnessed a true friendship. The kind that instant and eternal. John and Sherlock have risked their lives time and time again and have gone to the ultimate extremes to keep the other safe; killing, jumping off buildings, having guns pointed at their heads.
Strong friendships like this are everywhere in the more "nerdy" forms of entertainment. Harry Potter has Ron

and Hermione, who even in the face of mortal danger stick by each other, fight for each other, and protect each other. They save each other in more than just the physical sense, they keep each other sane in the crazy world  that they live in and must fight for.
 In Doctor Who The Doctor has his companions. We have seen glimpses of what happens when The Doctor

Travels alone for too long and it is never pretty. He becomes merciless and violent. He is careless and angry.He becomes Time Lord Victorious and thinks he is all powerful. The Doctor needs his companions to help him keep his humanity. Even though he is not human he is the most human of them all; he feels so much pain and loss and has to live with everything he has done and seen in his thousand years of life, and he needs his friends to protect him from himself.
BBC's The Adventures of Merlin also show us how friends literally can protect people in every episode. Merlin's destiny is to protect Arthur; keep him safe until he can become king and bring about change in Camelot. Merlin is constantly having to save Arthur's life, whether it is from sorcery, or bandits, or war, Merlin always saves him. Arthur has saved Merlin's life too a few times, but mostly it's Merlin doing the saving. Even though Arthur is royalty and Merlin is just his servant the two have a strong and real friendship. They would follow each other anywhere to fight along side them and do what they can to keep the other from harm.
All of these fictional friendships portray the message that people need friends. We need people we can trust and rely on to catch us when we fall, to champion our causes, and too keep us sane and believing in ourselves when all seems lost. We can't go it alone.

Some epic friendships:

Impossible Astronaut Day

Well for all the whovians out there I hope you were sporting tally marks today in celebration of Impossible Astronaut Day. April 23 2013 marks the 2 year anniversary of the Doctor Who episode The Impossible Astronaut. In this episode we are introduced to the Silence, an alien race that as soon as they leave your field of vision you forget you ever saw them.

Based off Edvard Munch's painting, The Scream, the Silence are somewhat scary to behold. Obviously however the true fear is the power held by a race whose numbers can never be known and location never found because they are never remembered and therefor are completely unknown about.

Thankfully our beloved characters found a way to know when they were in the presence of the Silence; they would mark themselves with a tally mark every time they were looking at one and then, even when they could no longer remember the encounter they would know that they had seen one. Soon the characters were covered in tally marks.

In celebration of this great episode(seriously it's awesome and a two-parter!) whovians across the globe have covered hands, arms, and faces in tally marks. Sure it is a fun way to recognize other whovians in your area and at work or school, but let's not pretend we don't just find it so fun to mess with all the "normal people" out there. I sported a few sets of tally marks today and when asked what they were for I put on my best confused expression and stated that I couldn't remember. This got a few wary glances and one suspicious retreat, but mostly I got to see just how many people on my campus are fans of Doctor Who. A few people even had tally marks on their hands and arms as well. All in all it was a fun day to be a whovian. 

The Wait Is So Close To Over

Can I just express how happy I am at the progress that has been made on season 3 of BBC's Sherlock? The Reichenbach Fall aired last January and fans of the show have been on the edge of our seats, waiting way more patiently than should ever be expected, for the return of the show. We truly are the fandom that waited.

With filming of season 3 episode 1 done and episode 2 underway, we eagerly await the projected September air date of The Empty Hearse; the first episode of the season.

During the show's hiatus the fans have grown desperate and have, according to the fine people who live in the internet, begun to lose their sanity. And really, we all know it's true. We are Sherlockians. We are The Fandom That Waited. We are the Holmesless Network. We are all slightly insane. How else do you explain fan images like Sherlock and the Eggplant?

In fact, it has been widely circulated that "The Sherlock fandom is like this crazy drunk that wakes up for a while, raises hell, screaming the entire time, and then collapses into a coma and mumbles nonsense in its sleep for months". We are clearly the nuts of the internet fandoms. If this offends any members of the fandom, you must be new. Let me provide you with a bit more insight into the fandom you have chosen to join.

Obviously we are a bit crazy. We turn our characters into mammals, puppets, small girls, fluffy unicorns, gay cowboys, and late 90's boy bands. We hijack tumblr posts and make them about Sherlock on a more-than-regular basis, and we tend to vandalize public property. 

But hey, it's not our fault. Idle hands and what not. If we had more to focus on than the mind bending questions that we were left with at the end of season 2, and a measly (yet wonderful) total of 6 episodes to watch and re-watch again and again, then perhaps things would not have gone this way. For too long we have been left to fend for ourselves with nothing but theories and questions and various image editing programs. 

With all the different theories that are out there explaining the ending of season 2 (can you tell I'm trying to avoid spoilers?) I have begun not to care. Yes I want to hear Sherlock's explanation, but I mostly want to see John's reaction to his homecoming. Will he faint? Will he shout? Will he cuss? Will he hit him? Or will he cry? Will he be angry or relieved? I have to believe he will be very angry with Sherlock, but after the heart-wrenching words said at the end of The Reichenbach Fall there is no way he could stay mad for too long. 

Aside from Sherlock's homecoming, I want to see Irene Adler again in season 3. I know it probably won't happen but I loved her and Sherlock's....whatever it was. I also want to see Moriarty again. We all know that he can't just not come back. He is far too clever and maniacal for that. Molly Hooper is also a face I wish to see more of. We know she is incredibly essential to the twists and turns that have boggled our minds for the past year, but she is also apparently important to Sherlock. I love her and want to see more of her and Sherlock's awkward conversations. 

Either way, don't worry Sherlockians, we do not have too much longer to wait. Our favorite (and only) Consulting Detective and his faithful blogger will be back soon. Although I'm not sure how much that will do to mend our emotional wounds, seeing as the show's creators, Moffat and Gatiss, have promised that season 3 will leave us just as wounded as season 2. And with both of the shows stars appearing in The Hobbit franchise, among other things, who knows how long we will have to wait next time. Still, even knowing the eventual heartbreak we will feel at its end, it is good to know that we won't have to wait too much longer to get our fix.

Hide

Tonight's episode of Doctor Who had me wondering when the British learned to be creepy. Usually we see their attempt at being scary or creepy, but they never actually get there. Mostly they just end up with ridiculous episodes that obviously failed at being scary. Tonight's episode, Hide, wasn't quite as much of a failure.

While the episode did get a little hoaky at times (especially the end) I think it is safe to say that it did a fair job of being some what creepy. There were ominous unidentifiable thumping noises, ghosts, weird clicking deformed monsters with crazy sinister laughs, and random unexpected viewings of the creepy creatures behind characters and down dark hallways. Not bad Britain, not bad.

The episode also did a good job of bringing back a few things from the older seasons. The mentioning of The Doctor's coat rack was a nice shout out back to the old series. A very practical piece of furniture that the more modern Doctor seems to have overlooked.

There was also another ghost busters reference, which brings back fond memories of 10 and Rose from back in the 2nd season (post 2005), The Doctor put on his orange space suit once again(reminiscent of 10- Water On Mars and the Satan Pit), and he once again reminded us all that he does not view humanity as small or insignificant, but rather as amazing and unsolvable and incredible. The cloister bell sounded, 11 said Geronimo, and The Doctor talked to the T.A.R.D.I.S like a beloved - yet somewhat misbehaved child. All of these things took what could have been a very out-there, strange episode and brought it a bit closer to home for the long time fans of the show.

The biggest shout out to the fans though, was the sighting of the T.A.R.D.I.S' swimming pool in the sneak peek for next weeks episode.

Clearly we are going to get to see more of the inside of the mysterious blue box, but nothing could have been more exciting than seeing the swimming pool (except perhaps the library?). I personally cannot wait. Even if the episode is lame and nothing else happens worthy of note, getting to see even a glimpse of the long mentioned but never seen pool will make the episode great.

Catching Fire Trailer

Does The Hunger Games trilogy count as a nerdy interest? I have no clue, but the way I nerd out about it makes me think so. I fell in love with The Hunger Games when I was a senior in high school and now that the trilogy is done it is one of my favorites. So, naturally I was apprehensive about it being adapted into films. I was wrong to doubt them. The Hunger Games film was a great adaptation and I am even more excited for Catching Fire to come out later this year. The teaser trailer debuted tonight and it took my breath away. It looks just as amazing as the book. I am so excited.

Cold War

Tonight's episode of Doctor Who entitled Cold War was very appropriately named both in accordance to the time period in which the episode took place, and the fact that the protagonist was a Martian Ice Warrior. Old fans of the show along with those who have jumped into the old series might remember the Ice Warriors from the early episodes of DW, dating all the way back to the first Doctor. The Martian natives got a serious revamp for their return to the screen as do most of the old faces Moffat and the other writers choose to dig up from the old series.

                               

Cold war was written by Mark Gatiss and was, atleast in some ways, remniscent of the days when Russel T. Davies used to write for DW. The episode began with The Doctor and his companion ending up in a place they did not intend to be in (a Cold War era submarine in the Northpole in this case) and then while there something bad occurs and they have to save the day(Ice Warrior wants to kill everyone on the sub). This used to be the way most episodes went in the RTD days, but lately with Moffat as head writer things have been more deliberate and purposeful it seems. Every episode has to be useful and play into the larger over all story of the season with no fun 'just cuz' episodes mixed in. I happen to rather enjoy the old style of The Doctor popping in and saving the day simply because he happened to be there at the time. 

Even though this episode followed that old style it wasn't enough to convince me that this was a very good episode. Sure it wasn't terrible, but it just wasn't awesome. I like when I finish watching an episode and I can't get the stupid grin off my face because it was just that good of a show. Tonight's episode just didn't do that for me. We didn't learn anything new about the great mystery that is Clara Oswald, we didn't get any epic speeches or stellar moments from The Doctor, and we didn't get any big "oh wow that will forever change the way I look at _____" type of events. The Ice Warrior came, a few people died, The Doctor and Clara come in and spout some words of wisdom, and the Ice Warrior leaves. Nothing really memorable. 

As much as I love new episodes of Doctor Who, I kind of wish Mark Gatiss would have spent more time trying to speed along the 3rd season of Sherlock instead of writing this episode.