Band Wagoneers

 Ever been into something for a long time, then that thing goes away for a year or more, then returns and everybody loves it, but it's very different?  There are many such examples, such as Dr.Who, Star Trek, Star Wars, Spiderman, Captain America, The Avengers, X-Men, I could go on and on.  This is the same issue as "band wagon-ers" of sports.  There are diehard fans of a team, then when the team suddenly seems to be winning, everybody's onboard and has little flags on their cars and what-not, especially if they're going to make it to a major, final event.  Band Wagoneers.

  It's frustrating to see sometimes, especially when you've been a fan since what seems to be day-1.  In my example of Dr.Who, there are folks that just got into it a few years ago when it was brought back to life in 2005, but there's 60 years worth of material.  When I ask most folks, because I'm pleased there are Dr.Who fans all around now, they've only seen the last few years' worth and aren't even aware of anything else.  Same with Star Trek.  I've been watching it since syndication in 1969.  Most "fans" now-a-days only know of the recent 2 movies that were pulp fiction junk with pseudo-science and little to no character development.  Still, original fans were pleased there was anything Star Trek since there's been a lull over the last decade so they're thankful with anything.  As Ming the Merciless would say, "..let's just say they'll be satisfied with.. less."  The original series and subsequent movies and spinoffs (such as Star Trek: The Next Generation) dealt with serious current social and political issues and the science in most of them were relatively sound.  The current 2 movies were more checkers than chess, more Buck Rogers than .. well, Star Trek.

  Now I understand age is a factor, more so now than ever before.  When I was a kid, I had about 40 years to catch-up with media-wise, and a lot of it was.. meh.  Now kids are overblown with tons of media non-stop.  Sure, I don't blame them for being overwhelmed.  There's a lot of media out there that's bite-sized such as 1-minute YouTube videos and extremist "reality" TV shows (all scripted to the uninformed, such as American Idol).  Still, there's things to sink one's teeth on.

Too much electronic media!!!



Original Joker in 1940's Batman series (not a b*tch)

 I can't expect everyone to just start-out with 1940's Batman TV serials (1943 and 1949, which are surprisingly quite good btw, making him seem more like just some guy trying to get the job done).  I myself am guilty with starting on Adam West's appearance (as it was the only think available in the early '70s for kids except for the DC comic).  Still, I expect fans of a show jumping-in mid-stride to consider the origins.  Kids aren't exposed to the original stuff, the new stuff is the "hook", and it's usually readily available.  Fine.  So after they decide they like said-show and it's the summer and there's no more episodes, consider going back to the origin and watching it through.


Above entries from Max Fleisher's Superman (1941) film noir.

 I myself got into the band Rush a bit late in 1984 with The Body Electric because it was just the right amount of keyboards and guitar with a nice story-video similar to THX-1138 (featuring Donald Pleasance) with android police and edgy, Blade Runner coolness.  I was 14 when it came out, and cool was IT.  Still, after enjoying the recent release, I went back.  I started randomly at first on a few "tapes" for a taste then started at the beginning.  I then went through to present-day as a journey of sorts.  It made it all worthwhile.  I did the same with Star Trek and Dr.Who (from what was still available, episodes of the second Doctor, Peter Trougton was incredibly difficult to obtain in the late '70s and early '80s, presumed lost).  I actually had a favorite, Jon Pertwee from 1970-1974.  It was cool as school.

  I don't expect fans to have always been, but I do expect fans to eventually come-around and start at the beginning in any way possible.  Music these days lacks stories for the most part, but back in the '70s and earlier, it was the norm.  If you neglect the origins, you don't get the full picture, the depth, and the imagination.

Ooo, now there's a novel idea!  Actually be a real fan?  Abracadabra! (sarcastically emotes  Jon Pertwee, 3rd Dr.Who).

  So, you like Spiderman or X-Men or Star Trek?  Go to your local comic shop and request rather inexpensive "Essential Guides" that are thousands of pages long or go use online resources such as Netflix or Hulu to get the earliest material.  Don't just shrug it off because it's "old".  There's a LOT of quality material over the years.  It's what society was BASED on for Chris' sake!  Don't just randomize an entire band's downloaded content, start.. at the beginning.. and take the journey.  I did, and it was worth the while.