Unfriendly Rivalry

by Simon Plumbe

For years, television sci-fi shows have been competing against each other both in terms of trying to win the ratings war, and in building up strong fan bases to help in terms of viewing figures and, more importantly to the studios, merchandise sales. Many sci-fi fans halve an appreciation for more than one series, but in recent years, there has emerged a growing element of SF fandom that seems to be very restricted in terms of its viewing preferences...

I can't quite place my finger on what happened, but everything seems to have started in the early 90s. Prior to that, good quality television sci-fi shows were few and far between. When there were periods with several good shows on air, there were few transmission clashes and fans were able to see most shows that they wanted. Studios weren't too competitive and shows seemed to be more accessible.

The early 90s saw a major change. Hollywood started to take a renewed interest in the science fiction genre, and every TV studio wanted to be involved in the production of as many sci-fi shows as they could, realising that the spin-off merchandise deals alone would more than make enough profit from any programmes made. As more shows hit the screen, there was a greater number of scheduling clashes, and fans were forced to choose one series over another. Fans of shows soon became left behind with shows that they were interested in, while others were left with taping a vast amount just to keep up.

At the same time, a change in attitude began to develop amongst certain sections of SF fandom. During the early 90s, a lot of people started taking an interest in sci-fi, mainly through the increased publicity that sci-fi gained through the media, and those who were casual fans became more keen SF fans through increased availability of merchandise. It was no longer considered to be a strange hobby to be a sci-fi fan, and many made the transition from casual viewer to fan. In Star Trek's case, this was aided by the commercial conventions run by Stargazer that introduced a new audience to conventions, the never-ending broadcast of episodes on Sky, and the Star Trek Exhibition that toured the UK. Hundreds of thousands of people all over the UK suddenly felt able to come forward and to admit to being fans of Star Trek.

People were no longer concerned about coming forward and admitting to being fans of science fiction, but many felt that they didn't want to be labelled as geeks or nerds and openly kept quiet about their wide-ranging interests, instead saying that they were primarily fans of a single series.

However, along the line, this change in attitude for a number fans turned into hatred of other shows and rivalry soon got out of hand. Fans and some fan clubs (although only in the minority) seemed to take just as much pleasure out of criticising something they didn't like rather than getting on with enjoying their own favourite shows. Others even started to criticise shows because it seemed to be the "in thing" to do - this attitude even started to affect some sci-fi/fantasy magazines on the market.

Something that many sci-fi fans seem to have problems with who are devoted primarily to a single series is that of accepting that nothing is perfect. For a long time, many X-Files refused to accept that the series could ever produce a poor episode, and some Babylon 5 fans were blinkered into believing that everything that was written by J Michael Stracyznski was wonderful and without fault.

Fans should learn to accept that nothing is perfect and that every TV show, no matter how good, has it's bad day. All of this bickering isn't helping sci-fi fandom and when outsiders see this going on, it makes you wonder what people must think of us. Is it any wonder that sci-fi fans have such a bad reputation?

It's high time we fans forgot our differences, accept that not everyone likes the same thing, and try to just get along. For fan clubs, why not try to hold events and activities with other clubs to make fandom as strong as it used to be... With an active, vocal, unified sci-fi fandom, you'd be amazed at what the future may hold...