In my time in special-interest forums, I’ve come to learn that a “fan” of something is someone who doesn’t like it very much. This seems to crop up frequently in relation to long-running science fiction entertainment franchises, leading me to the theory that a “fan” is someone who enjoyed a kid’s show as a kid and is angry at the creators because they don’t enjoy a kid’s show as an adult.
To be a Doctor Who “fan”, you apparently have to know all the ways in which the people who make Doctor Who don’t understand what Doctor Who is and shouldn’t be allowed near it. For example, the Timeless Child arc—in which the Doctor is revealed to have powers beyond regular Time Lords and to be significant in their creation—is absolute piffle to “fans”, who lament the show’s cancellation before the realization of the Cartmel Master Plan—in which the Doctor is revealed to have powers beyond regular Time Lords and to be significant in their creation.
To be a Star Wars “fan”, you apparently have to know that the 1977-1983 trilogy of films (the retroactively-subtitled Episode IV through Episode VI) are the only valid Star Wars, and that everything else is Not Star Wars. Particularly 1999-2005 trilogy, who were made by someone who doesn’t truly understand Star Wars; a certain *checks notes* George Lucas.
To be a Star Trek “fan”, you apparently have to know what’s wrong with every episode, why they should never have made any series after (or including) Enterprise, but also why there should always be new Star Trek on the TV.
I also see this with music, where “fans” explain who the worst bands in a genre are; what the worst albums, and tracks, by bands are; why the top ten most-streamed songs are bad; and why the tools that musicians use to make music make musicians make bad music.
Hi, I’m Graham. I like long-running science fiction entertainment franchises, I like music, I like books, I like many things.
