SHANKS SAYS NO SEASON SIX?
Well, poor Michael Shanks earned some experience in online fanaticism this week. With just over a month to go before he returns to begin work on Season Five of Stargate SG-1, the Daniel Jackson actor hopped over to the message board on his Official Online Fans Web site.
Shanks caught up his most loyal fans on what he's been doing during the shooting break (including a guest appearance on Gene Roddenberry's Andromeda, set to air this spring). He also mentioned that fans should prepare themselves for the possibility that Season Five will, most likely, be SG-1's last.
Fans across the Internet were aghast that our favorite show would be cancelled, and began discussing what needs to be wrapped up in Season Five, and speculating on why Shanks would make such an announcement.
More interesting than Shanks' statement was the fan reaction that came in its wake. (After all, with Season Six still unconfirmed by MGM and Showtime, he really didn't say much of anything that we didn't already know.) Could he be wrangling for more money? Does he need to free up his time for a movie career? How could he know more than the show's producers? Is he jerking our chains? WHO REALLY SHOT MR. BURNS?
Take a deap breath. What many readers failed to take into account was the context of Shanks' words. This was not an "announcement," nor was he at all certain about the show's future. It was (as he later clarified) a casual, off-the-cuff note to his close fans. Prepare yourself for the possibility.
Unfortunately, this is why most television stars and producers do not venture into the online world -- at least not publicly posting as themselves. Not only do they tend to be the victims of harassment, insult and e-mail-bombings, but each day they must face up to the fact that they aren't treated the same as everyone else. In the real world, actors are under a magnifying glass; online, it's a high-powered microscope.
Shanks is a golden child in the online world, and when he posts everyone takes notice. Everyone.
Will Shanks be back online? I hope so. This was quite a minor incident, and shouldn't scare him away from conversing openly with his fans.
But there's more to it than an actor's fear of fan reaction to the slightest comment. Why did we fans grab onto this tidbit of into and spread it like wildfire? Simple: we're desperately hungry for information. The writers, producers and cast have virtually no online presence (with the notable exception of Joseph Mallozzi). And MGM, Showtime and their public relations teams have virtually no presence.
As a result, almost no one related to Stargate SG-1 is using the fast and powerful medium of the Internet to share information or converse with viewers. There is a vacuum, so we rabid fans will naturally latch on to the smallest hope of insider info.
No, they don't owe us. They make shows, we watch 'em -- that's the transaction. The Powers That Be don't have a responsibility to come online and feed our fanaticism.
But they really should. It's in their best interest. What made "Star Trek" the largest and most successful T.V. franchise in the history of the universe? The fans -- they wrote letters and fan fiction, they submitted scripts and organized conventions, they fashioned personal props and costumes, circulated petitions, built web sites ... they immersed themselves in their favorite universe, and "Star Trek" grew from a campy, short-lived NBC series into a worldwide phenomenon.
Loyal fans are the bread and butter of ratings and of general franchise success -- and we want to be heard. We want to be respected.
MGM has the next "Star Trek" on their hands -- no doubt about it. And it's in their best interest to feed the fire, to do whatever it takes to support those men and women who are most excited about what they're doing.
Can it work, MGM? You bet. I'm just one ranting fan, and you're just one of a few hundred people who will read this page this week. And you didn't pay me a dime. You do the math.
Darren
LINK OF THE WEEK!
Michael Shanks Official Online Fans
The "Stargate SG-1" site that generate the most attention this week was MSOOF, hands-down. The leading Michael Shanks fan site is actually the official one, endorsed by the Daniel Jackson actor himself! Members can check the actor's biography and filmography, check out Shanks photos and interviews, read fan fiction, poems and songs, view fan art work, or post on the message board. You just might run into Mr. Shanks himself (if you do ... play nice)!
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