The Worlds of Farscape (37 page)

Note to obsessive fan sites everywhere: you're being watched. That's what Warrick Brownlow, a fan of the 1980s series “Jim Henson's
Fraggle Rock,”
recently learned. In April 2002 Brownlow launched an online petition, pleading to have the series released on DVD. After garnering more than 30,000 e-signatures, HIT Entertainment, a licensing partner of the Jim Henson Co., announced that this month it would release selected episodes from the first season. “This is the direct result of fan support,” says Lauren McCabe, a HIT representative [10].

Brownlow, who learned of his influence from the magazine, was pleasantly surprised, calling the news “brilliant” and stating, “We knew they were watching us, but we didn't think they'd do anything about it” (qtd. in Soukup 10). Studios rarely do, according to another of Soukup's sources, Tom Adams, president of Adams Media Research. Specifically citing the success of Scapers' campaign, Soukup claims that the trend of networks doing nothing is changing, though. Gord Lacey, founder of www.tvshowsondvd.com, confirms, “Studios have started to realize that listening to fans of shows will result in better products and build pent-up purchasing excitement” (qtd. in Snider 6D).
Farscape
may have garnered “international critical recognition, as well as three Saturn Awards and an Emmy nomination,” but those accolades did not save the series (Prescott T02). Instead, it appears that the fans did, and their raised voices telling their story can still be heard around the world, says Jean Prescott of Sydney's
Daily Telegraph
(T02).

In the introduction, I claim that understanding the major role Scapers play in composing the myth of fan power says much about
who
we are as human beings and
why
we feel compelled to tell the stories we tell. As Leonard J. Biallas explains, “Myths are stories ... that help us become aware of our true selves” (
v
). In other words, discovering our identity is inextricably bound to our storytelling: we tell stories to find ourselves, and our stories reinforce what we've found.
⁵
Among contemporary fandoms, the narrative of Trekkers begins to define what it means to be a fan and a fandom. It is a sacred tale, one that continues to be remembered, told, and retold. As a result, it still holds rich and authoritative meaning (O'Flaherty 27). Yet the Trekker tale is but one of many. As with most myths, it is “a story that is part of a larger group of stories” (27). Every subsequent fan community in some way contributes its own narrative, some narratives more potent than others. Put another way, Scapers' journey has become one of those smaller yet potent stories in a larger group of stories. Together, these tales form a metanarrative of fan power. Among thousands of television series, a handful of remarkable examples actually provide too few instances to conclude that fan-driven, save-a-show initiatives have a real chance of succeeding. However, there are enough examples to compose a myth, and the heart of that myth seems to be this: Passion for beloved televisual texts united with tenacity, intelligence, and a little affluence empowers fans to influence executive decision-making and, ultimately, control their entertainment options and engagement. Of course, there is danger in telling and retelling this single story of fan power.
⁶
But that argument is a tale for another time. For now, it is sufficient to end at the beginning. “There are legendary tales,” writes reporter Peter Haran, “of shows that have been saved by grassroots campaigns waged by devoted fans” (T35). Perhaps none, though, are as legendary as the tale of Scapers, or
Farscape
fans.

1.
Note the gendering of the hero. In
The Female Hero in American and British Literature
, Carol Pearson and Katherine Pope posit that “our understanding of the basic spiritual and psychological archetype of human life has been limited ... by the assumption that the hero and central character of the myth is male” (4). This male hero is also often white, upper class, heterosexual, able-bodied, and politically, economically, or socially powerful in some way. Even when an effort is made to avoid this gendering, what Pearson and Pope call the “patriarchal habit” takes control. For example, though Campbell states that both men and women can be heroes, the pronoun
he
dominates his famous text.

2.
In a footnote to
The Hero with a Thousand Faces
, Campbell cites
Finnegans Wake
by James Joyce (1939) as the original source of the term
monomyth
(30).

3.
To avoid confusion, I am using the current name of the network: Syfy. From 1992 to 1999, though, the official name used was Sci-Fi Channel; from 1999 to 2009, the name was simply Sci-Fi.

4.
Again, the decisions of studio executives have become as predictable as the micro-cult response to cancellation. According to Justin Rude, “When the networks pulled the plug on
Firefly
and
Farscape
a few years back, sci-fi fans were up in arms. After all, with the airwaves clogged with tawdry reality fare, wasn't there room for one or two shows featuring character development and serial plot progression? ... Had fans taken a look at TV history, they may have realized the futility of their reasoning. Forward-thinking science fiction always has had a hard time on network television” (Y05). The predictable response of networks is to develop inexpensive, highly-watched options. Lately, that has meant a lot of “reality” series.

5.
If we find ourselves through stories and stories reinforce what we find, the quality of those stories surely matters. Unfortunately, space does not allow me to explore this particular claim. Readers who are interested in doing so, however, could begin with two short contrasting yet complementary pieces on the nature of “narrative impact,” pieces by Djikic et al. and Foy and Gerrig.

6.
I invite readers to pay particular attention to those stories—ancient or contemporary—that bend or shatter the Campbellian pattern and in doing so attempt to tell different or altogether new narratives. Also, I encourage those who have not already done so to view on
TED.com
“The Danger of a Single Story” presented by Chimamanda Adichie. Adichie posits that any type of monolithic tale can cause harm—to our thinking and, therefore, to our relationships with others. However, a plethora of stories allows us to “regain a kind of paradise,” she says.

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