Rubicon crosses back over
Nov. 11th, 2010 08:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dorindaI've been pleasantly mulling a potential post about my new TV love, AMC's Rubicon. I was bubbling over with things to talk about--the sense of style, the way it looks and sounds, the narrative, the atmosphere. And the characters, of course, especially Kale Ingram, mysterious-emotionally-detached-openly-gay-former-Marine-CIA-guy-who-can-get-a-body-disposed-of-with-one-phone-call. I've been feeling so fannish about it!
And thennnnnn they cancelled it.
Not that I don't have other one-season-wonders close to my heart, but it can get so tiring to fall in love with something and then be forcibly reminded that I'm not the audience they want. I hate having such an intense pleasure disrupted simply because it didn't catch on widely enough or with the right people.
I can still be fannish about it, of course...hell, I am with the others. But first I guess I gotta brood.
*broods*
And thennnnnn they cancelled it.
Not that I don't have other one-season-wonders close to my heart, but it can get so tiring to fall in love with something and then be forcibly reminded that I'm not the audience they want. I hate having such an intense pleasure disrupted simply because it didn't catch on widely enough or with the right people.
I can still be fannish about it, of course...hell, I am with the others. But first I guess I gotta brood.
*broods*
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Date: 2010-11-12 04:23 am (UTC)Gah, one heaping of bad news on top of another, all day. I need a basket of kittens. Or a drink.
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Date: 2010-11-12 03:49 pm (UTC)Or maybe take a look at a link
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Date: 2010-11-13 04:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-12 05:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-11-12 04:34 pm (UTC)It is hard to maintain deep fannish love and involvement for such short-lived shows. In terms of short runs, where do you think the fannish tipping point lies between "too short" and "just long enough" to gain support a sustainable fannish base?
Rubicon ran for 13 episodes (right?). Too early to tell if it will have a post series fannish life, though Firefly with only 11 originally aired episodes (out of a total of 14 produced) has done pretty well for itself. The you have a show like Now and Again which got a run of 22 episodes, but has only a modest fannish afterlife. Maybe the number of episodes really has nothing to do with it?
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Date: 2010-11-13 01:26 am (UTC)Heh. Yeah, me too. I tend to creep up to new shows sideways, trying not to jinx them. But I couldn't help myself with Rubicon--a couple of friends I trust recommended it, and I'd heard something good about its deliberate pacing, and then I just fell. I BLAME MYSELF. *g*
In terms of short runs, where do you think the fannish tipping point lies between "too short" and "just long enough" to gain support a sustainable fannish base?
That's an interesting question. But I've never quite been able to pin down why something becomes a widespread fannish darling and something else doesn't. I mean, I sometimes look backward and hypothesize about possible reasons (e.g., why Man from UNCLE ended up huge in fandom while I Spy didn't), but of course, looking backward I can always connect possible dots without knowing whether they were really the cause.
Now and Again is a great example of my lack of predictive power--I don't really know why it never took off. Interesting and flexible premise, very handsome leads, solid potential for slash and for het...and yet, fannish production is extremely scarce. I didn't see that one coming! Very likely, as you say, that the number of episodes is not necessarily a strong factor at all compared to other factors in play (consider something like the BBC's Sherlock, with only three installments to start with...although, granted, they're longer than the typical TV episode).
Rubicon, I suppose, will just have to settle in with the rest of my beloved-single-seasons (e.g. Peacemakers, sigh). I guess I don't see it belatedly taking off among many other people to keep us few company--but I can't help but love it and feel fannish about it, no matter how lonely a position that is. Alas.
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Date: 2010-11-13 04:03 am (UTC)Good point about number of episodes not being a good predictor of fannish longevity. Sadly, I don't see Rubicon luring a bunch of people to it after the fact. I had envisioned it ensnaring fans next season with its irresistible stealth pacing and the wonderfulness that is Kale Ingram, dammit! And then (thanks to *little elves*) I would be ready with season 1 to sit down and say, "Have some candy, little girl." Woe.
I thought Now and Again would take off, too. That being said, I felt fannish about it but never produced any fanworks for it. So, hmmm.
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Date: 2010-11-16 02:02 am (UTC)That's very true. It may be a small thing to be grateful for, but I am--on the broadcast networks, they've yanked things off after 2 episodes and then never aired the rest, or burned them off at random times/in other countries. Rubicon at least got to run its full season in peace.
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Date: 2010-11-13 04:16 pm (UTC)I will go to my grave still trying to puzzle that one out. I'm an MFU fan too, but OMG, I Spy. Why aren't there six or more flavors of print zines, and reams of other fic for that show? I pimped that show to lots of people (including tzikeh, who iirc passed that pimpage along to folks like you who could give the show and its fic a web presence. Thank you for your efforts there.
I really though that when the first series set of DVDs came out that we might get a real surge of fannish output, but. . .nope. Oh well, we I Spy fans may be few, but we're choice.
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Date: 2010-11-16 02:04 am (UTC)Oh, wow, that was you! I owe you bigtime for being such a successful fannish vector! :D Thanks for spreading the virus in my direction--it worked very well, as I guess you know.
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Date: 2010-11-23 09:33 pm (UTC)BTW, though my DW journal is new, I'm a long time lurker on True True (under a different name) so I've been following along. . .just haven't been good about making the time to join in the conversation.
Thanks again for all your efforts to give the I Spy enlightened a virtual home.