At 06:02 PM 5/14/99 PDT, you wrote:
Then Star Trek DS9 has a problem, or David Weber or Elizabeth Moon.
You only just realized that? :P
No, I still watch it, and apparantly the audience for it has declined
significantly. I think you know as well as I that Paramount caters
to a general audience, not the specific fandom.
Then shut up and do it. If the general audience is what you aim for, then
do it.
But, shouldn't we ask the AUTHOR what his aim was?
I don't have to. This discussion has nothing to do with the author or
the fanfic that was criticized. It has to due with a sweeping statement
that assume a statistical fact about general audiences and series
consistency.
If we wanted your 'logic boat' we would've asked. But, since you're
throwing it into the ring (consistent), I'll have to ask for your evidence
(you never did before, so do it now).
Once again, the burden of proof doesn't lie on my shoulders. However,
since you asked...
Since OOC in this argument falls into the realm of series
consistency, I will generalize my argument accordingly.
I use as my benchmark example Star Trek Voyager, which we can all agree
has a number of series consistency problems. Here's the site:
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Vault/7784/index.html
You'll notice a consistency trend of high ratings during the
season premieres (with the greatest viewership during the first
season pilot). The falloff we see is consistent with other
series that attract similar audiences (Hercules, Xena, etc.)
during the actual season, with the highest ratings around the
season premieres (as well as the best net gains in ratings).
Season 4, for example, showed a net addition of rating points
(ranging from 0.6 to 0.1) over the seven top episodes
as compared to Season 3. Overall, Season 4 showed a 3.9%
ratings increase over Season 3. What this suggests is that
the following for the show flucuates, but does not fall off
unpredictably despite inconsistencies within the series.
Without going into detail, I'd point out that the Robotech
source material is fraught with inconsistencies as you move
from one medium to the other. Nevertheless, the television
series enjoyed moderate TV success for its timeslot, and
the books fell off at a predictable rate over a period of
eight years from a readership of 100,000 to 50,000 by the
close of the series. You can attribute the fall off to
the lengthy pauses between book releases following the
End of the Circle.
Your personal experience isn't evidence, remember? Where's your proof of
the 'trends of the entertainment industry?'
See above. That's one example of many. If we were to go by
my personal experience, it would mirror the conclusions reached
by Entertainment's market research. As far as my knowledge
goes, I have yet to here of a survey that questions the audience
about series consistency.
If you're going to demand such of the list members, then you're going to
have to play the game, too.
Actually, *I* demanded proof. I wasn't required to present it.
And likewise the other side.
(I'd ask you to look at Beast Wars (a commercial derivative work), but
then, you wouldn't know.)
I personally think Transformers is a piece of tripe animation and
a pathetic story, but that's my personal opinion.
Very well, then, a show of hands is in order.
But then, your opinion isn't evidence, either. Back to square one.
No, and unlike yourself and most everyone who's arguing against
me, I haven't claimed as much.
Yes he can. He's a reader.
He's one reader, and from my personal experience and knowledge
of entertainment's target audience research he's inconsequential
if he can't bring up an issue my mainstream readership keys in on
as well.
-The Reverend Prez
* * *
+-----------------+-<The Badass Reverend of Funk Prez>---+
| Presley H. | Political Science / Computer Science |
| Cannady II | and Electrical Engineering Undergrad |
|<revprez@mit.edu>| at the Mass. Institute of Technology |
+-----------------+-<Anime Manga Development Group>------+
+ Author of Liars and Dreamers, a Robotech fanfic +
+-------<http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/1731/index.html>-+
| MIDN 4/c A-2-2 SQD, MIT-Harvard-Tufts NROTC Battalion |
|_|"The art of war is of vital importance to the state"|_|