There's a theory, one that's admittedly hard to disprove, that says you can draw conclusions about branding. For example, cult shows had better not try to swim on FOX.
...well that's not the point I was trying to make. Fortunately, that theory can be disproved by such notable shows as...
...dammit.
Well, anyway:
People think something is worth their time and money because they know that that something is good. Is it a CD with the words AC/DC on it? No? Okay, AC(lightning-slash)DC? Okay, there we go. Yeah, that CD is probably full of overdriven guitars playing three chords while the singer praises rock and roll. Or women. Well, "praise" might not be the right word, but you get the point.
That film starts with the words "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away?" I guarantee you that at some point someone will whip out a glowing laser-sword. Also someone will say "I have a bad feeling about this."
A television show that starts with a syncopated bass line and a "oo-ee-oo" theme tune? Well, it's probably about a man with 13 lives gallivanting around space and time, probably with a young woman along to get captured and tied up every twenty minutes. If the credits don't include a phone box tumbling through a vortex, chances are the effects are going to be pretty shoddy, too.
Well, yes, nobody can disagree with me on these points, because everything I've said thus far is objective. I didn't say "AC/DC is the greatest band evar!!!" and I didn't say "Star Wars is stupid, overrated, and only for the drooling morons who want space adventures but can't get past Doctor Who's bad effects." (No, of course not. Star Wars is stupid, overrated, and only for the drooling morons who want space adventures but can't get past Star Trek's bad effects, while Nu Who is stupid, overrated, and only for the drooling morons who want space adventures but can't get past Classic Who's bad effects.)
That stuff in parentheses was a joke. But here's the thing! People think that. They may or may not have a good reason to think that. Certainly, nobody whose only experience with Doctor Who was, say Seasons 22-24, or whose only exposure to Star Wars is Attack of the Clones is going to think that either thing was ever very good.
Then there are the people who will stick with something that's obviously bad and defend it to the death simply because it's got the name of something they like on it. Let It Be isn't a bad album, they'll say. That's impossible! The Beatles didn't make bad albums.
There are probably people out there who will sit through repeated showings of The Godfather Part III just because it's got The Godfather in its title. I just want you to think about that. There are people like that out there.
...and they're allowed to vote.
The title of this post comes from the attitude taken towards Doctor Who by its own producer in the late 70s. People love this show. They eat it up. It's not for any specific reason; it just is. And that is precisely the point, Brigadier. That is precisely the point.
If you love something, be it a TV show or a band or a film series or a book, for the love of all that is holy cast a critical eye over it every once and again (unless this something you love is your significant other, for They Can Do No Harm). If the quality declines, say so! Don't eagerly lap it up just because it's got the same title as your favorite film, just a different roman numeral at the end!
There's a reason fanboys have a bad name, aside from the fact that they have no lives outside the object of their worship. They cannot look at something and acknowledge that it's bad. Even Doctor Who is only a partial subversion these days, because everyone "knows" that Seasons 22-24 were horrible, but still nobody wants to look that closely at the flaws of, say The Caves of Androzani! Are we honestly unable to look at our favorite things through the eyes of someone else?
Yes, as fans we are allowed to forgive certain things more easily (say, Doctor Who and the Silurians). But for the love of all that's holy, never, ever ever ever ever ever ever tell a non-fan that they just don't "get" it. Nothing will turn them off a cult thing faster than obnoxious and willfully blind fan-worship.
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