Sometimes it seems we can only witness what we cannot defend against, like watching the last roses of summer wither after an early frost...
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| Title: | Sometimes it seems we can only witness what we cannot defend against, like watching the last roses of summer wither after an early frost... (the title used here on Fanlore, rather than "From the Editor") |
| Creator: | Stephanie Wiltse |
| Date(s): | October 1989 |
| Medium: | |
| Fandom: | Beauty and the Beast (TV) |
| Topic: | |
| External Links: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Sometimes it seems we can only witness what we cannot defend against, like watching the last roses of summer wither after an early frost... is a 1989 Beauty and the Beast (TV) essay by Stephanie Wiltse.
It was printed in Pipeline v.2 n.10.
Some Topics Discussed
- the uselessness of previous efforts (letters and phone calls to CBS and sponsors) to save and/or influence the show, that perhaps a different tactic is needed, as fans can't keep "blindly shooting themselves in the foot"
- the network's indifference to fans
- "gnawing on CBS' pant legs", "spitting tweed"
- the futility of making "anonymous suits' life miserable"
- fans have little effect on the Neilsen ratings
- embracing the third season may be the only way to survive
From the Essay
I think most or Pipeline's readers have sensed this true magic, the reality that there are over 250 people who 'inhabit' the tunnels - their livelihood to enliven "Beauty and the Beast." These people as a whole saw set a precedent of caring and accessibility that has won them almost as many hearts as the show itself has. Indeed if our good will could but bless the place; not one candle would melt down, no pen run dry, nor camera run out of film. Muses would be on call 24 hours. And, days would be as long as they need to be ...though no one would home late or weary.
But, unfortunately, we're not possessed of such magic. Our reality has not been blessed with ratings bliss and beneficent circumstance. It has been instead a vigil, guard duty. We link arms against things as they are in hopes that somehow, in some small way, we can make them more as they should be.
Sometimes it seems we can only witness what we cannot defend against, like watching the last roses of summer wither after an early frost... Vincent did appear to descend into bestiality at the end of "Rest Is Silence." The Romance may appear doomed at the beginning of this season's arc.
Remember that these are but shadows of what remains to be seen. For how it's impossible to discern what will be, or not be, to personal tastes from amongst the opinion-shrouded facts and rumours. The danger of taking up arms and shooting blindly into such an unenlightened dark is that instead of deflecting an enemy you may wind up shooting yourself in the foot.
What is clear is that rather than be stymied by circumstances they cannot change, rather than quit and let the series die then and there, the producers — and CBS— have elected a new course and are already boldly following it. For us to assume that this is automatically disastrous is not only premature but self-defeating. It is not only right that the series be allowed to evolve, it it is necessary for its survival.
We can pre-judge -- the "if they do that or 'don't do this' I won't watch it anymore" response. Or, we can look back at our favorite episodes and realize that the people who put these shows together are the same people working on the new season now. They haw already demonstrated an uncanny knack for painting themselves in situational corners, invariably escaping from them with satisfying ingenuity. It's often been said that the writers on B&B have "read the minds of fans" and given them what they wanted in ways that they could have never possibly imagined. What other TV show uses a "Bartlett's Book of Quotation" for a decoder ring?
But it's hard to stay content with what one can not imagine ...and the guard duty drags on. Like this editor, my readers are getting tired of gnawing on CBS' pant-leg. Nevertheless, we will continue to 'spit tweed' for as long as it takes.
This newsletter will certainly not reach the number of people it takes to generate 3,000 + letters a week, but it does I think serve some of the loyalist of the loyal. To you, I propose yet another reality: We, in and of ourselves, can have little effect on the Neilsen ratings, and we've been unsuccessful for the most part in displacing numbers as the networks' predominant criterion. Yet we have not been ignored by either the network or the sponsors, their responses to viewer letters (form or not) took time and money to send. It goes without saying that that outlay was not spent out of altruism.
But it is time to start putting our clout to better use than making some anonymous 'suit's' life miserable. Our loyalty is not being taken for granted - it is being depended upon. How do we undo the damage of 2 years of network indifference? How do we bring a new audience to B&B, new Helpers to our networks? Who would have thought that the very PR that has caused so many anxiety attacks could actually be working in our favour? That even press coverage of dissension within our ranks is grist for the emotional mill? Our bottom line is this: If we can ever hope to retire to our armchairs in peace, we will have to infect the rest of the population with our own virulent curiosity about the new season - then make sure they know when and where to find it.
If we can succeed at this, the results may indeed be magical.