TV fandom - taking it too far

[WhiteCrow]

I was wondering today about Sci Fi TV fans. When do they take it too far? Are Doctor Who fans on the whole worse than Star Trek ones?

Surely everyone has tales of people they knew who took it too far. Some of you might well have done so at some point, but "calmed down a bit".

I think on the whole, Doctor Who fans are a lot more obsessed with their program. Star Trek fans are a bit disturbing in the way they try to integrate the program and its ideals into their daily life.

Lord help me, but I was at a Star Trek club meeting in Cologne and actually attended a Star Trek wedding, and yes I was in costume. The man in charge of the service was of course a Jean Luc look-a-like - what else.

I once took an important exam wearing a Star Trek uniform, hoping to fall back on the Rimmer-esque excuse that I was quite, quite mad at the time, so should be allowed to resit, as the stress had obviously caused me to crack. [Note to Ant, it didn't work in case you try it].

[cullsoft]

I'm the one with a bookcase full of Phillip's Doctor Who DVDs and another in front of me full of his Doctor who books! Though in that argument, there's a bookcase outside my room that's twice as big as said Who video bookcase that's full of his Star Trek, Buffy, Stargate and other Sci Fi videos! Where oh where do I put my few elements of either sort of collection?

On a related note to the "taking fandom too far" thing, for similar reasons I've never felt any real inclination to go to any sort of Furry convention or such, despite being "proud" to declare myself as being a Furry; there are some frankly disturbing aspects of Furdom that I don't want to go anywhere near (and sadly, the episode of CSI that focuses on Furdom does a good job of suggesting these aspects as what you should think Furries are like).

[WhiteCrow]

Some more of the crazies I've met ... alas they mainly seem Star Trek ones ...

A girl called Martinez from the Cologne Star Trek group. She was mad on Brent Spiner (DATA). In fact she'd been to America that year (1995) and spent a week of her fortnight visit camped outside his house taking photos of shadows which "might me him".

Very, very scarey lady. Quite attractive but oh so very nuts. My penpal told me she ended up with a restraining order - no really!

At a Star Trek convention in London 1995, there was this rather annoying woman who'd flown in from America. During Q&A sessions with Jonathon Frakes (Will Riker), she said how she spent hundreds of dollars getting the Next Generation crew decorated onto her nails.

"Which one am I?" , asked Mr Frakes. The annoying American lady rose her middle finger. "Figures", responded a dead-pan Frakes.

The obsessed fan who thought I'd be interested to know he had an ORIGINAL Thunderbirds ice lolly which he kept in his freezer and had paid £60 for at auction. He objected when I said "that's crazy".

Bet it's never been opened though.

[WhiteCrow]

On a related note to the "taking fandom too far" thing, for similar reasons I've never felt any real inclination to go to any sort of Furry convention or such, despite being "proud" to declare myself as being a Furry; there are some frankly disturbing aspects of Furdom that I don't want to go anywhere near

I was going to pull your leg about sending you to a Furry Pride March, but it appears there are such things ...

[Alex]

The infamous guy who decorated his flat to make it look like a set from ST: TNG went a bit far, especially as he ended up bankrupt because of it: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/02...rior_designer/

That said, it does look cool!

[Phillip Culley]

Didn't he eventually sell the flat though?

(following a quick search) It appears he did - news story here

Looks like the guy did quite well out of it in the end....

[Captain Tancredi]

The infamous guy who decorated his flat to make it look like a set from ST: TNG went a bit far, especially as he ended up bankrupt because of it: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/02...rior_designer/

That said, it does look cool!

Looks as if it was his business that dragged him down rather than the flat- you don't end up going bankrupt to the tune of over £100,000 because you spent £12,000 doing your flat up, Star Trek or not.

[Si Hunt]

It's funny, I was thinking about a friend of mine the other day who doesn't REALLY have any big interests. He likes a lot of things a bit, watches the odd "Friends", buys Oasis albums (but only the popular ones), once liked "Doctor Who" but then got bored on it... he's the total opposite to me. If I get involved in something, I go up to my neck and have to start plotting to get the Complete Thing of it, every album, the back catalogue, the old DVD's...

That said, I'm glad that I have lots of these things and tend to switch from one to the other. I couldn't spend my life devoted to one thing, be it Doctor Who or Bob Dylan or whatever. I'll go back to Bob Dylan and start getting obsessed with it all over again, and I'll check the Expecting Rain forums and find there are people that have just been discussing him for the last three years (without new product) while I've been having a break enjoying something else, and I just think how dull!

But I guess the three scenarios I've outlined are just different levels of the scale. I think a lot of it has to do with if you have a "obsessional"/completist personality, the same as how some people have an addictive personality. Sometimes I envy my friend who just enjoys, as Jon Pertwee would say, "the best of everything". But then I love having things that are "mine", collecting things and knowing all there is to know about Who, or Dolly Parton or whatever. It must be a very superficial life, just liking everything casually. And of course the wonderful friends, trivia and thrills I've gathered through being a Doctor Who fan makes me very glad I'm mad about it!

Si.

[cullsoft]

I was going to pull your leg about sending you to a Furry Pride March, but it appears there are such things ...

Indeed. I'd probably have to be in a life or death situation to be driven to putting on some overly goofy costume (especially as that's not what Furdom's about to me), and in that circumstance Death would probably seem to be a rather appealing fellow...

[Captain Tancredi]

Sometimes I envy my friend who just enjoys, as Jon Pertwee would say, "the best of everything".

That comment of his always haunted me- it's essentially a lazy (or cautious- think Cancerian) way of exploring the world where you rely on somebody else's judgement rather than your own. The example I think he gave was that he didn't support a football team but watched the Cup Final- which is a totally different way of experiencing football from following your team week in week out and going to places like Barnsley and Swindon in the depths of winter.

The most contented person I know is my colleague Bryan, who has a handful of interests in life- music, real ale, rugby league- which are his priorities in life. It's a stage of self-acceptance I've never reached- I go through phases where my interest wavers and then a few years later I pick it up again. All comes down to this pesky "who am I and what do I want" thing, which I'm no nearer answering than I ever was.

[WhiteCrow]

Indeed. I'd probably have to be in a life or death situation to be driven to putting on some overly goofy costume (especially as that's not what Furdom's about to me), and in that circumstance Death would probably seem to be a rather appealing fellow...

I have a sexual fetish for women clowns, but I'll tell you about it one Bracknell meeting ...

[Alex]

I have a sexual fear of women clowns. But, er, it's probably best left unspoken about.

[Wayne]

That said, I'm glad that I have lots of these things and tend to switch from one to the other. I couldn't spend my life devoted to one thing, be it Doctor Who or Bob Dylan or whatever. I'll go back to Bob Dylan and start getting obsessed with it all over again, and I'll check the Expecting Rain forums and find there are people that have just been discussing him for the last three years (without new product) while I've been having a break enjoying something else, and I just think how dull!

I think Si's hit upon something that kinda reflects how i feel about the whole thing.
I too have several passions in life, & Dr.Who is only one of them. (Has anyone noticed by sig & banners - There's a clue!) I suppose the whole thing verges on previous discussions we've had on what constitutes being a 'geek'. I've been jokingly called a geek because i'll sometimes wear a Dr.Who/Dalek T-Shirt (I've got a massive 2 of them!) out in public. *gasp! But why not? I like Dr.Who & i'm not afraid of it! I know some people are afraid of what other people think, but i'm not. It just reflects the fact that Dr.Who is one of the things i like. By my perception: If i only ever wore Dr.Who T-Shirts then yes, i'd be more worried. But on any given day i could be seen out in a Hawkwind, or Led Zeppelin, or Django Reinhardt, or Bjork T-Shirt, or a Star Trek, or Sweeney, or Dracula, or League of Gentlemen one. Hell, i'd wear a 'Prisoner Cell Block H' T-Shirt if i could get one!
I suppose i do like to advertise what i'm into, but you'd be surprised how many times i've ended up talking to folk i've never met because one of my T-Shirts happened to co-incide with what they're into.
Anyway as i say, To me it just reflects some of things i'm passionate about it in life, which i'm pleased to say is more than just one thing. It's a reflection of who i am, & so it's a reflection of the truth, & i'd rather be upfront about it that treat it like something i should be embarrassed about. If you're into something, then run it up the flagpole & see who salutes it!

[Captain Tancredi]

I
I suppose i do like to advertise what i'm into, but you'd be surprised how many times i've ended up talking to folk i've never met because one of my T-Shirts happened to co-incide with what they're into.

Yesterday I was on a train wearing a Hard Rock Cafe Niagara Falls t-shirt and found myself in a conversation with a nutter of the first water, who had an LAPD officer's badge and proceeded to tell me about all the guns he had at home. He's probably still wandering around Chorley in his bulletproof vest (which he showed me) because "you can't take any chances these days".

[Wayne]

Yesterday I was on a train wearing a Hard Rock Cafe Niagara Falls t-shirt and found myself in a conversation with a nutter of the first water, who had an LAPD officer's badge and proceeded to tell me about all the guns he had at home. He's probably still wandering around Chorley in his bulletproof vest (which he showed me) because "you can't take any chances these days".

Bullet proof vest! That's meeting a stranger with the emphasis on strange, isn't it?!

[Dirk Gently]

It depends on where his neighbourhood is. He might be the most sensible person ever...if it wasn't for the badge & gun talk.

[Rob McCow]

Transformers Fans take it too far. They call themselves 'Transfans'.

[Si Hunt]

That's scarily close to...

Si.

[Si Hunt]

Just reading what Wayne put, I think Doctor Who may be a unique interest of mine in that it rarely seems to "sleep". What I mean is, other things I tend to forget about completely for months on end, but I seem to be able to get my Doctor Who fix while enjoying other things. It's sort of slipped into the permenant background of my life. Maybe it's because it's a TV show, so you can keep watching it even while going through a phase of not being that obsessed about it. In the same way as someone who watches "Neighbours" every day for ten years probably wouldn't agree that it's an obsession, or even an interest. Just something they enjoy doing for a very small about of time every day.

Si.

[Wayne]

Just reading what Wayne put, I think Doctor Who may be a unique interest of mine in that it rarely seems to "sleep". What I mean is, other things I tend to forget about completely for months on end, but I seem to be able to get my Doctor Who fix while enjoying other things. It's sort of slipped into the permenant background of my life. Maybe it's because it's a TV show, so you can keep watching it even while going through a phase of not being that obsessed about it. In the same way as someone who watches "Neighbours" every day for ten years probably wouldn't agree that it's an obsession, or even an interest. Just something they enjoy doing for a very small about of time every day.

Interesting.
I think for me, Who will maybe not actually sleep, but will go on the backburner for periods of time. I think the fact that PS is a DW forum keeps it running in the background, even whilst something else is at the forefront, like for the past few months my interest in Horror Movies is having a big resurgence.
I think perhaps for example if i'd 'met' all you guys & found my internet 'home' as it were, on a forum that was about say 'Star Trek' for instance, Perhaps my interest in Trek would be running in the background more. Because much as i will always enjoy it, my interest in Trek has definitely faded over the last 5yrs, whilst my interest in Who has definitely gone up big-style, whereas at one time it was pretty much even.

[Si Hunt]

The way they bring out four hundred DVD's every blooming month tends to keep it at least in the background for me!

Si.

[Wayne]

The way they bring out four hundred DVD's every blooming month tends to keep it at least in the background for me!

Si.

Quite!
And many of you guys are still loyal to BF, which means a new audio every month as well.

[Dirk Gently]

Yes, the monthly 'bill' for DVDs is a reminder along with DWM flopping through my slot.

[WhiteCrow]

I find it sad when I hear.

"Ooh - I got my Timelash DVD today."

"I thought you hated it? So bad it raped your childhood."

"Well yes. But I feel I ought to get it because I've got all the others."

"Are you gonna rewatch it?"

"Heck no!".

Fan(atic)s!!!