like cults, in a way

[hth]

TV Guide just revamped their list of top cult hits, which should be of interest to fandom, I think, since "cult hit" makes a giant overlapping Venn diagram with "fandom favorites."

I am sanguine about most of the list, except -- okay, come on. Obviously Jericho is riding high right now on its uncancellation, but -- ELEVENTH PLACE? More cult cred than MST3K, than Battlestar Galactica, than BABYLON 5 and DOCTOR WHO? Really, TV Guide? Really?? I find that...inexplicable.

Comments

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

I could see the rationale for including Simpsons and Lost -- they're probably, in a technical sense, too "big" to be "cult," but they draw to themselves that wonky cult-hit behavior, in-jokes and call-backs and rewarding obsessive stocking away of minute details. They're kind of like cult hits writ large.

SGA is, I think, more of a tiny blip on the cultural landscape than we like to think it is; I probably wouldn't have listed it, either. Roswell is probably worth considering. I think part of the mark of a cult hit is that even people who don't watch it go, "Oh, yeah, that show" when it's mentioned -- If I say Twin Peaks or Xena: Warrior Princess or The Avengers, it doesn't matter if you've never seen an episode, you probably have a certain image or impression of what it was, the premise and the style of it. I'm not sure Roswell means anything to a lot of people, much like Sentinel and Due South mean nothing to most people, much to my disappointment.

No Highlander, though? That I don't get.

[apetslife.livejournal.com]

Yeah, definitely, Highlander! I hear you on the Simpsons, too, I guess I hadn't really considered the injokiness, etc.

Roswell, though, if they're going to include Jericho for their write-in campaign, Roswell's kind of the one that started it all (with the sending of a jillion bottles of Tabasco sauce to the network and all), so that's why I threw that name out there...

Sigh. Due South. I wish it was on the list! It's my FAVORITE! *grin*

Agree

[lynnzo.livejournal.com]

I was equally surprised not to see Highlander on the list. And some of their listings, such as "Lost" may be currently culturally relevant, but will they be remembered 10 years from now? I think not.