Heroes is a show that seems like it would/should be very mediafannish (and I agree with how you're defining it, pretty much), but in general isn't, at least in my fannish wanderings. Mediafen in my experience seem to mostly like Heroes, but without going the extra step and being fannish about it.

Interesting. Do you think that's because it actually is a hugely popular show, so doesn't carry the added currency of being a semi-secret/cultish/overlooked show? Or that the fannish aspects of the show are in the text rather than the subtext?

Or that the fannish aspects of the show are in the text rather than the subtext?

I think this is a big part of it. A lot of what fans would latch onto and bring out is already in the show, which has such strong comic overtones. Also, there's no real leading romantic pairing, het or otherwise, which would provide another impetus for a lot of fic.

The thing with the mediafannishness thing, though, is I get that way about House. But I don't think House would work in Boxed Set.

Interesting. Do you think that's because it actually is a hugely popular show, so doesn't carry the added currency of being a semi-secret/cultish/overlooked show? Or that the fannish aspects of the show are in the text rather than the subtext?

I think it's more that the fannish aspects of it aren't the same kind of fannish aspects that generally draw mediafen to a show, as far as I can tell. Dana's got a good point about lack of pairings, but, then... that hasn't exactly stopped SPN, you know?

I actually think that it's that Heroes is a broader ensemble, where it's story/plot-driven rather than character driven. If that makes sense.

House is a common mediafannish text, though. It's just like Spooks -- in some ways, culturally appropriate for Boxed Set, but technically inappropriate.

I can't say why Heroes pings so many of us as not-really-mediafannish, but it does me as well. I think that popular shows can be mediafannish -- during its heyday XF was very popular, and it's like the ur-text of online mediafandom -- but Heroes is... just... not like that, for me. And although I see people squeeing about it and going into depth about it, I don't see the same kind of mediafannish practices happening around it that I do other texts.

I actually think that it's that Heroes is a broader ensemble, where it's story/plot-driven rather than character driven. If that makes sense.

Yeap, this. The lack of central pairing is another aspect of it. But then, Firefly was an ensemble without one main pairing that took the fandom by storm, and I'd totally call it a mediafannish show (despite the fact that I know almost as many male fans of the show as I do the females.) FF was more character than plot-driven show though.

I'm 1700 posts behind in Box Set because I'm trying to avoid the Heroes and SPN talk. I'm woefully behind on the first and I'm waiting for hiatus on the second. Otherwise, I'm up to date with BSG and DF and I'd love to discuss them on Sundays, but I am utterly incapable of skipping over what I don't want to read at the time. So I haven't ventured into BS since the beginning of January, and that makes me sad. By the time I catch up, there will be no point in responding.

Again, I have to point and nod at this statement. The thing is, I can be mediafannish about a number of shows, but if I can't go into a thread without being spolied for a show I really want to get into later, then it becomes an all or nothing situation. I would really like to share the squee and flail, but I can't unless I'm able to keep current with every single show--which just isn't tenable for me.

Vonnie, do you think The Office is media fannish, or does it fail to be, because there's no world building at all?

I would've said I had no opinion on whether Heroes should have its own thread, but reading this discussion is (a) helping me to form an opinion (b) is one of the more interesting discussions we've had in a while and (c) is (I think) a really useful articulation of Where Do We Go From Here as a community.

b.org definitely has one foot in mediafandom, and has two or three other feet in places which are not. (We have a lot of feet.)

I concur with Laura that VM and Lost threads should be allowed to dwindle down rather than trade them out for a Heroes thread. There's always been a tradition of respecting the communities that form within a thread, and that's something we should keep in mind if we do form a Heroes thread. We don't generally close threads out when they still have activity. (LoTR was a very active thread while the movies were coming out, but didn't have a ton of steam after it was all done. It made sense to close that.)

Even forming Boxed Set out of Smallville, Farscape and Due South was a little traumatic.

But I do think the Premium Channel thread has served its purpose. Both as a place to discuss those shows, and also to cross-pollinate. You walk in a Deadwood fan, and you walk out with a Wire box set.

So, just thinking about the way VM and Lost have died down and that some clumping of shows is probably valuable to maintain thread vitality, I probably lean towards finding some useful bucket threads rather than single thread shows.

I'm not sure what buckets to use though.

Just so long as you don't take away my bucket, please.