Interesting! A reader sent Matt Roush a question regarding Moonlight vs New Amsterdam and mentioned being "surprised by the fervor of the Moonlight fans on the Internet." In Matt's reply he says "I will spare you the Blood Ties-beats-the-pants-off-Moonlight letters I regularly get." Some interpret that to mean he receives tons more email from Blood Ties fans than from us. Others think Matt is simply saying that he is often told that Blood Ties is better than Moonlight. When I first read it in the wee hours of the morning, I wasn't sure which it was either. Who needs sleep?!?! ha! However, I think he is talking about the old "my show is better than your show" game. What do you think?
Question :
I think the recent letter comparing New Amsterdam unfavorably to Moonlight is a little unfair, considering the only episodes out at the time were the pilot and the second episode. The pilot of a new series is never the best episode and it usually takes a few episodes for me, at least, to really become a fan of a show. I watch Moonlight, and it wasn't until Coraline entered the picture that I thought the show was better than mediocre. I've now seen the first three episodes of New Amsterdam and think that it has definitely improved over the pilot and people should give it a shot (especially the fans of fellow immortal crime-fighter show Moonlight). I don't have high hopes that New Amsterdam will get renewed, given Fox's treatment of it so far, but any small smidgen of hope that it will indeed get more episodes? Also, do you think Moonlight fans are becoming the new Supernatural fan girls? I absolutely love Supernatural, but even I am scared of its fandom (and a friend of mine is so scared of the fandom that she is wary of getting into the show). I'm really surprised by the fervor of the Moonlight fans on the Internet; to me, they seem to be approaching Supernatural-level obsession. — Bonnie C.
Matt Roush :
Seriously, you want me to go there?!?! I am not stirring those cult waters. Suffice it to say that nearly every cult show has its ferocious online following, and they're often very unforgiving to any newbie that dares to step on their turf. (I will spare you the Blood Ties-beats-the-pants-off-Moonlight letters I regularly get.) I've said before that it's too early to know one way or the other about New Amsterdam's future. You're probably right not to get too attached, but you never know. Fox can't be expecting miracles now that Dancing with the Stars and Two and a Half Men have rejoined the time period.
askmatt@tvguide.com
6 comments:
Frankly, I'm glad that in comparison, Blood Ties fans seem to come across as more rabid than Moonlight fans.
Personally, I wouldn't be comfortable to be called "rabid". I'm passionate about Moonlight and deeply in love with the show, but there's a line, y'know? I don't wanna be mistaken for an irrational, rabid fan.
IMHO, it's great to be passionate about a show, but some fandoms scare me and I'd hate Moonlight to become one of them.
I like Supernatural, for example, but I don't want become too involved with that fandom because there's a level of hostility towards different opinions out there that I don't want to be part of.
Hopefully, Moonlight fans will come across as more respectful towards other shows and other people's opinions that might be different from their own.
I've never understood why people say "My show is better than yours." Sure, there are always objective and subjective criteria to be considered, but in the end, it all comes down to taste. Decrying Moonlight won't make Blood Ties the superior show or vice versa.
By the way, thank you for sharing your thoughts via this blog! :)
I think you interpreted Matt's comment incorrectly. I believe that he meant that he receives email wherein the "Blood Ties" fans state that their show is better than ours ("Beats the pants off"). I'm pretty sure that he meant quality rather than quantity.
I don't get that he gets more Bloodties emails than Moonlight. I do read into it that he gets a lot of comparison emails for shoes and that Bloodties vs. Moonlight are a lot of those.
Shannon
"I absolutely love Supernatural, but even I am scared of its fandom (and a friend of mine is so scared of the fandom that she is wary of getting into the show). I'm really surprised by the fervor of the Moonlight fans..."
Kandye: I pulled above sentence from your blog and the question posed to Matt Rousch....my question is the: what does the questioneer mean by "scared of it's FANDOM", and her friend afraid of getting into the show because of it????
I'm completely at a loss as to the meaning, interpretation of those sentences.
WHAT ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT???
anonymous #1 - I think the fans of Moonlight, of which I am apart, and gladly don't mind being "rabid" about it....are rabid because of all the NEGATIVE response to it immediately out of the gate, especially, the Blood Ties, Forever Knight and Angel fans. I think WE were sick and tired of the bashing which only made us MORE RABID.
@Cobby: I'm sick and tired of all the bashing and negativity, too. Still, I don't think it's such a great thing to be called "rabid". I want to be taken seriously, y'know?
Regarding "Supernatural": There are a lot of great people in that fandom, but the fandom can be very opinionated and negative about certain characters or story arcs, and all that negativity gets to you. It's beyond criticism, some of those fans are overprotective of their favorite characters in a rather irrational way. It's scary.
For some people, it's not just important to watch a show they like, they want to be involved in its fandom as well, and some fandoms are scarier than others.
What Matt Roush is saying is that in comparison, he's received more irrational fan letters from Blood Ties fans than from Moonlight fans... which is a relief. There are always a bunch of crazies in every fandom, but apparently, Moonlight fans aren't all that scary.
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