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View Full Version : Fanon, things which fans believe are canon!


KJ
August 24th, 2006, 12:05 PM
Not just for Battlestar Galactica in general but for all kinds of; Television shows, Movies, animated series etc!

Take a look

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Fanon_(by_series)#Battlestar_Galactica_.281978_ABC_TV_series.29

Several examples:

* Battlestar Galactica The Battlestar Pegasus definitely survived the battle against Baltar's basestars and is now assisting the Galactica by continuing its campaign against the Cylons. This diverts Cylon resources that could otherwise have been deployed to hunt the refugee fleet.

* Dr Who Prior to the start of the 2005 series, the Doctor was involved in a Time War that featured his people, the Time Lords, fighting against the Daleks. He was the only survivor of the conflict (aside from at least two time-displaced Daleks), and it is assumed by fans that his regeneration from the Eighth Doctor to the Ninth Doctor occurred at this time.

* Star Trek Ensign Pavel Chekov served on the USS Enterprise in the period depicted in the first season of Star Trek before being promoted to the bridge crew in the second season and encountered Khan Noonien Singh during that time. (How else could Khan, who claims never to forget a face, remember him in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan?) This is also stated in the novelization of the movie, with the mention that the young Chekov had known and been attracted to the female officer who had accompanied Khan to the new colony planet.

Willard Decker of Star Trek: The Motion Picture is the son of Commodore Matthew Decker of the TOS episode "The Doomsday Machine." Although widely accepted by fans, this relationship has never been established in on-screen canon. This plot line was used in the second New Voyages film (In Harms Way); when the crew travel back in time and learn Matt Decker's fate, he has asked for his uniform to be returned to his son (clearly labeled "Will"). This is of course not part of continuity.

Lt. Saavik is half-Vulcan and half-Romulan and stays behind on Vulcan at the start of Star Trek IV because she is pregnant with Spock's child as a result of helping him through the pon farr mating drive in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Both these major plot points were included in the early scripts of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek IV, respectively, but were dropped from the final versions and thus are not considered canonical. A scene in which Spock and Kirk discuss Saavik's mixed heritage was actually filmed for Star Trek II but was cut from the film.

Trelane, a powerful being encountered in the TOS episode "The Squire of Gothos" is a member of the Q Continuum. This speculation has been widespread since The Q was introduced in 1987, however it has never been confirmed in canon. An officially licenced novel, Q-Squared by Peter David suggests Trelane is a Q, however novels are not considered canon.

* Star Wars Jar Jar Binks was killed on Alderaan when it was destroyed by the Death Star. Lucas has said, however, that Jar Jar was not on Alderaan when it was destroyed, but instead went back to Coruscant, following his final film appearance in Revenge of the Sith. Lucas goes on to explain that Binks went on to serve in the Imperial Senate, and eventually settled down with a family and presumably died of old age. Lucas' word is considered official canon on this issue. He can be heard at the end of the 2004 edition of Return of the Jedi DVD, in the added Naboo celebration scene.

Obi-Wan Kenobi gave Anakin Skywalker Qui-Gon Jinn's lightsaber when he began his Jedi training. Anakin used it for several years until he constructed the one he used in Attack of the Clones. A related theory is that Obi-Wan had Qui-Gon's lightsaber when he was in exile on Tatooine. This is where Luke got the green crystal for his lightsaber. (The novelization of Return of the Jedi, states that Luke built his lightsaber in Obi-Wan's hut, using materials he found there. However, the Shadows of the Empire novel states that the crystal was artificially created.)


* X-Men Evolution Professor X is actually just as evil as Magneto, on the basis that he's, apparently, too idealistic NOT to be evil. (This notion has been carried out in the actual X-Men comics, most notably the "Danger" arc of Astonishing X-Men and his mindwipe of Magneto that led to Onslaught.)
Jean Grey, despite several displays of kindess and concern for her teammates, is a selfish, conniving, untrustworthy snob. Such fanon perception stems from the idea that she is "too perfect," and she is often the victim of some very unfair characterization in fanfiction.

* The Man From U.N.C.L.E. James Bond appears in the TV-movie The Return of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (The 15 Years Later Affair) (referred to as "JB"), where he is played by George Lazenby. However, this appearance is generally not considered part of the James Bond canon, due to the nature of the show.

* Harry Potter Remus Lupin and Sirius Black were involved in a long term homosexual relationship. To date, no characters have been explicitly stated as homosexual in the books, and despite the extreme popularity of this pairing in the fandom, all evidence as to a relationship seems to be circumstantial: they hug when reunited after Black's escape from Azkaban, are together in the kitchen at 12 Grimmauld Place when Harry comes to talk to them via the fire, and Lupin seems very close to tears at the scene of Sirius's death. By the end of the sixth book, however, Lupin had become romantically involved with Nymphadora Tonks, seemingly proving that he is at least bisexual.

Neville Longbottom is forgetful because he witnessed his parents being tortured into insanity and his memory was then magically wiped. This is an increasingly popular theory among fans of the series, but there is no evidence to support it either in the books or from J. K. Rowling.

Crookshanks, Hermione's cat, is a human in Animagus form. J. K. Rowling has refuted this suggestion in interviews, but has confirmed that Crookshanks is a cross between a cat and a magical cat-like creature called a Kneazle.
Harry Potter is physically abused by the Dursleys. While there are mentions of forcing him to do chores, bullying by Dudley and threats, there is no actual evidence of physical abuse. In Chamber of Secrets, however, Petunia does attempt to hit him over the head with a frying pan.


Hmmmmm interesting?

KJ

Bijou88
August 24th, 2006, 07:05 PM
Fanon is what makes being a fan fun. Fanon helps fill in the gaps that make fictional universes "real." I think "Official Canon" from the studios is cold, corporarte group think. It is established to retain creative control of a property. When fans start to embroider on the fabric of what has been produced, the studios get nervous. They can't sell you something that you are making up yourself. I think that fanon is the lifeblood of fandom. Without it, fans start to lose interest.

Case in point. When Star trek was really a big thing, (I.E. 1974-1994) there were comics, paperbacks, the animated series and fanzines. Each brought something to the party. Then, the powers that be at Paramount decreed that the comics, novels and the animated series was not canon. Only the TV shows and Movies counted. Well, if that is the case, why read or watch them? If it doesn't count, what is the point?

I know that Roddenberry said that the animated series wasn't canon. But it is my understanding that it was really his lawyer who was speaking for him on this issue. Roddenberry was quite ill at the time.

Since this non canon status of the spin-off media, there has been a sharp decline on the sale of said products. The books have been cut back. Every comic series has been cancelled. The technical guides have been eliminated. I can't prove this but I think there can be a direct connection between the official death of fanon and the slow decline of the entire franchise.

As for me, I think that if a novel or comic does not violate continuity, it counts. And I don't care what Roddenberry's lawyer says, Star Trek The Animated Series counts!

rjandron
August 24th, 2006, 10:26 PM
I think this is on-topic.

Sort of... :D

http://www.userfriendly.org/cartoons/archives/05may/uf007937.gif

From userfriendly.org in May 2005.

Fanon is fans taking ownership of a property and extending the property in areas and directions that the original creators either did not contemplate, or did not address due to lack of time or resources. Fans who enjoy a show, book, or movie, often want the experience to continue after the story is over--and so they create additional stories.

For contemporary producers trying to bring about a loyal following for their particular project, fanon can be a very powerful tool to keep fans involved in the project--and promoting the project through their own energy and passion. For producers who choose to ignore fanon, the results can be dire.

Example: The release of Ghostbusters2 completely ignored the 6 seasons of the animated Real Ghostbusters series and restricted the Ghostbusters universe only to the movies. The merchandising and promotion of the Ghostbusters brand over the years following the original movie suddenly came crashing to an end, and the Ghostbusters franchise would have to wait for the DAVE School to release a student film (Ghostbusters in LA) before the franchise would have any new life breathed into it.

Another Example: Star Trek: Enterprise. 'nuff said.

Yet another example: Even though George Lucas has taken a lot of heat over his creative decisions in the Star Wars prequels, he has always taken steps to encourage the fan base. When Youtube removed some Starwars.com elements at Lucasfilm's request--and started taking down other Star Wars-related clips, Lucas told them to put all the fan clips back--every last one (http://blogs.starwars.com/lucasonline/54).

Fanon is crucial to any series--particularly science fiction series.

KJ
August 25th, 2006, 11:00 AM
Thanks for the input guys! :salute: :thumbsup:

Agreed. Think we all see that in many ways an expanded universe is vital to most if not all sci-fi productions on both the television and movie screens.

Fanfiction is the lifeblood of a franchise in many ways, Galactica itself have survived due to years of stories told by its fans even over here with the U.K.'s oldest Galactica fanclub the "Thirteenth Tribe" making BG story adventures in their membership packs etc. And of course with the advent of the internet websites play a major role in bringing us those fan produced fanfics and fan movies. Which has become "Fanon"!

Respectively....

http://www.galacticafanfic.com/bsg-page.html

http://www.battlestarfanfilms.com/fanfilms.htm

Nuff said!

Yet another example: Even though George Lucas has taken a lot of heat over his creative decisions in the Star Wars prequels, he has always taken steps to encourage the fan base.

Lucas' ego stopped the prequels from reaching its full potential and even greater hights, but true i credit the man for doing it his way regardless (hard to admit it, but it is indeed true) Even George knows there's little point in dumbing down the fans creativity when one day another great filmmaker is out there amounst the masses will emerge etc.

Although a tad too geekish nower days, Lucas realises his modern mythology of Star Wars needs its followers. Both Star Wars and Star Trek have made it this far as uber: science fiction franchises cos of their fans. "The powers to be" don't get it but people who enjoy adventurous extensions of their favorite sci-fi do.

Every decent fictional creation will probably create a 'fanon' of some kind! Even popular video games have fans trying to produce particular "offshoots" cos the original game inspired them so much.

KJ