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| Department for Creative Fandom |
| Collaborative Fandom: VIRTUAL SEASONS by Rizwaana Husaini |
Related Links: HOME MAIL PINK KHAKI |
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| Online (Internet) fans are some of the most gifted people I've encountered. They take a television show and create a community based on its very existence. They create websites, produce artwork, music videos, write fiction and share thoughts and experiences with other people who share their interest. If you've participated in such a community, you know the great joy that can be gained, the friends you can make and the escapism it can bring. You've probably also discovered the trouble and the heartache that goes with it too. No fandom is free from its struggles one hundred percent of the time, and that's from my own experience. The Stargate fandom is no exception. It probably has one of the most diverse cross-section of personalities participating in its domain. This diverse population keeps arguments passionate and alive if, on occasions, heated. They spark collaborated efforts between fans sharing a common goal, either for the good of the fandom, creative expression or reward - possibly all three. The loss of Michael Shanks' character, Daniel Jackson, from season six meant that fans came up with yet another creative collaborative effort. This time, it is a "Virtual Season". The "Virtual Season" is no stranger to television series fandom. Frequently, dedicated fans get together to continue the series after cancellation and/or campaign for its return to screen. The approach taken by fans in the Stargate fandom is slightly unusual from the norm in that the show hasn't actually been cancelled or dropped from schedule. Yet, for many, the loss of one of the main characters symbolised an end to their vision. There are currently two Stargate “Virtual Season Six”s being “aired” on the Internet: VS6 (headed by Danvers) and Stargate Virtual Season (headed by DawnC). Both projects consist of a team of writers and other artists with varying viewpoints on the televised Season Six. I talked to both Danvers and DawnC on the establishment of their Season, their goals and its future. |
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| What made you decide to go ahead and organise a Virtual Season of Stargate and how did you go about it? Myself and Nel (one of the VS producers and one half of Spacemonkey's Gate) were in a chat and complaining about the news that Daniel would be leaving the show at the end of the season. We were also experiencing Jonas hate of the pre-judgemental kind ;-) I may have made the suggestion that Spacemonkey's Gate have their own virtual season, but Nel says I suggested 'we' put one together. I think we're both lying. Nel, Jean and I went into this thing because we hated the idea of losing the old team. After five years you do get attached, it's normal. Though I really love season six and Jonas does not bug me in the slightest (so what if he smiles all the time, it's funny). I know I'm off on a tangent, but I really think season six was good for doing something with Sam and Teal'c and I'm still watching and enjoying it. What totally thrills me is that season seven will have both Jonas and Daniel in it, two characters I happen to like a lot. Back to VS6, we set up a website that explained we would be writing a season that included Daniel, though it would concentrate on the team as a whole. We also put up the announcement that we were looking for writers and betas and miscellaneous (as well as going after some writers). A lot of nice people put up links on their sites forwarding readers to VS6. From there on it was a matter of putting together some ideas for the eps, writing them and then praying they would be finished on time. Who would you say your viewership was? Are you aiming at any specific audience? No. We're hoping people of all textual preference will read it. We didn't want to aim this project at anyone, because that would possibly mean catering to a specific taste. VS6 is composed of shippers and slashers. My hope has always been that we could make a season without slash or ship, leaving the subtext to the readers. We wanted to follow canon with our storylines and characterisation, giving readers something they could identify as familiar. What sort of feedback have you been receiving and what sort of attention does it receive by you? How does feedback affect production? We've had positive feedback from many people (slasher and shipper I'm happy to say). I think feedback is cool, not everyone will make the time consuming effort of writing an e-mail, or filling a guestbook, or making a post on list, but readers have done this and it's appreciated. We would like people to send feedback if they do have something to say (good or bad), but as ever feedback is great but not obligatory. In terms of affecting production, it makes the people involved feel good that their work was enjoyed. The feedback on Redux left me very satisfied. As for the attention VS6 receives by us; for the last few months I've only been doing VS6 stuff (in between RL). All of my fics, but one, are on hold. Everyone in the crew similarly is putting more time into VS6 than their personal projects. It's more time consuming than we thought it would be. I think in hindsight, if all the crew knew this much work went into it, we'd rather be watching the telly or something ;-) How do you work the scheduling for the episodes? Very badly? We've decided to air the 'episodes' every two weeks as a lot of them are still in writing. In between episodes we have a cartoon that usually parodies one of the episodes from the show. The order of the episodes is always subject to change unless it screws up our timeline. The scheduling is not much of a problem. The biggest issue is agreeing on the storylines, writing them and finishing them. What are your priorities when producing an episode? What is your main goal e.g. creative satisfaction, punctuality... ? Punctuality's not a problem. I think we all agree that an episode be up to scratch when it airs, rather than it airing on time. Creative satisfaction is a big deal. It's impossible to air something when you feel it still resembles a box of shite. Do you consider your season 6 to be totally "alternate universe" with your own version of season 7 or will it be a one-off season ending with a lead-in to the canon Season 7 opener? It's completely AU as the real season six has Jonas and not Daniel. I'd like to consider VS6 as one very big AU 'what if' fic written by numerous writers. There won't be a VS7 after we finish the last episode and we're currently working on how we want to end this season. Do you have any personal comments you would like to add in promotion for your hard work? We have a put a lot of hard work into this and we hope people will give VS6 a shot. We're not offering it as an alternative to season seven. We're offering it as a very big AU fanfic, if you feel like reading something different. Feedback is great. Money is more welcome. GOLONDONKNIGHTSYEAH!!!! |
| INTERVIEW WITH DANVERS Producer VS6 |
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| INTERVIEW WITH DAWNC Producer VS6 |
| What made you decide to go ahead and organise a Virtual Season of Stargate and how did you go about it? Well, one day, when pondering the fate of Stargate and season six, the idea just sort of popped in to my head. I've done a Sentinel virtual season, so I thought, "Why not?" I started that same day by registering a domain name and enlisting the help of a good friend of mine. Who would you say your viewership was? Are you aiming at any specific audience? Internet-accessing fans of Stargate. Most probably, of course, those who prefer a classic team composed of Jack, Daniel, Sam, and Teal'c. What sort of feedback have you been receiving and what sort of attention does it receive by you? How does feedback affect production? We've received mostly good feedback. A few negatives, of course. One person got particularly upset because she didn't realize Prime Meridian was only Part 1 of the Premiere. We read all feedback, and if it gets sent to the general staff account, the whole staff often reads it. I'm not sure how feedback affects production. We've got our stories planned out until the season premiere, at least in rough format. Each story has to be approved in advance by the group. If 30 or so people think the idea is a good one, well, I have to assume most of the fans will also think it's a good idea <g> We're not aiming to please *everyone* because, well, you know what they say. We can't please everyone. We're just trying to offer what we believe is high quality Stargate "virtual" episodes, free of charge. How do you work the scheduling for the episodes? The schedule is worked out in advance. An episode is supposed to air every two weeks. Does that mean that'll happen? No. The staff is made up of volunteers, and of course, real life tragedies or problems may occur that affect the schedule. So far, though, things are looking good. What are your priorities when producing an episode? What is your main goal e.g. creative satisfaction, punctuality... ? The main goals, in order of priority: A good read with true characterizations Technical and grammatical accuracy Punctuality Do you consider your season 6 to be totally "alternate universe" with your own version of season 7 or will it be a one-off season ending with a lead-in to the canon Season 7 opener? We haven't decided that yet :-) Do you have any personal comments you would like to add in promotion for your hard work? Well, just to let people know that this IS a lot of work, and please keep that in mind when deciding whether to send feedback. The only compensation the artists, writers, and editors get for their hard work is self-satisfaction and the joy of knowing they've provided some entertainment to fellow Stargate fans. |
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