TPTB's Involvement with Fandom/Specific Fandoms

Anne Rice

Main article: Anne Rice § Attitude to Fanfiction

See also Professional Author Fanfic Policies.

See also Where Has Anne Rice Fanfiction Gone?

The fan fiction authors responded to Rice's stalking and harassment tactics by going underground.

Apparently Rice does not see her novels about the life of Jesus as fan fiction (specifically, RPF).

One fan's comment in 2012: "I did live through Ricegate, though; it was really bizarre, seeing the fandom batten down the hatches and hide from the creator of the canon, especially since the canon wasn't all that great."

Avatar: The Last Airbender/Legend of Korra

Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko were known to tease their fans, mainly the Zuko/Katara shippers. Most of the teasing was lighthearted, but shippers took it very personally and would strike back by slinging mud about the duo behind their backs. Making matters worse was that the duo shipped Aang/Katara from day one, leading to accusations of them rubbing their OTP in everyone's face while purposely being mean to other shippers.

Recently, rumors have been flying that everyone else on the staff, mainly head writer Aaron Ehasz and Zuko's voice actor Dante Basco, shipped Zutara and that Bryan and Mike's love for Kataang were the only thing stopping it from being canon.

When Legend of Korra ended with Korra and Asami joining hands and walking into the Spirit World for a vacation, Bryan announced that yes, Korrasami was canon.

Babylon 5

By some accounts, Babylon 5 fandom has had an accessible, though often fractious, relationship with series creator, J. Michael Straczynski, as he was a regular contributor to the newsgroups alt.tv.babylon-5, rec.arts.tv.sf.babylon5 and later, rec.arts.tv.sf.babylon5.moderated. JMS (as he was commonly known) would frequently answer fan questions about the show, not only about production or technical issues but about the backgrounds of the characters and the worlds he created. His posts, which are archived at jmsnews.com, are an early example of internet creator/fan based interactions, such as those currently ongoing between John Rogers, co-creator of Leverage, and fans on his blog.

Fan interaction with JMS also helped to shape details in several episodes of the show. In the late first-season episode The Quality of Mercy, for example, there is a discussion of the rights of due process in a society where there are functional telepaths. JMS acknowledged on the newsgroup and in discussions that he fleshed out the on-screen discussion rather than glossing it over because there had been a high level of interest on the newsgroup.

Straczynski's interactions with fans online covered so much territory that in 2009, he and a team of fans released a five-part compilation of every question JMS had ever answered on Usenet, AOL bulletin boards, GEnie, and in online chats, sorted by category. The books total approximately 2,000 pages and cover 5,296 questions.

Straczynski continues to post to rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated, and also answers fan emails.

Other members of the production team do not have as visible an internet presence, but have been seen at conventions or contributing to fan-run projects such as the Babylon Podcast.

But by other fan accounts, this interaction was not as welcome.

Regarding fanfiction:

I've been informed that J.M.S., as the creator of Babylon Five prefers to be called, requests that no one write B-5 stories until the series is officially and irrevocably cancelled, some five years hence. This doesn't exclude artwork or filk..."

At least one zine, Third Age, was dead in the water before it even began.

Several months ago I wrote to J. Michael Straczynski to inform him of my plans to publish a fan publication based on Babylon 5. I finally received a reply a couple of weeks ago from Joanne Higgins (assistant to Straczynski) of Babylonian Productions. Even though my letter emphasized the fact that this fanzine was not for profit, Ms. Higgins has expressly forbidden me to publish Third Age, stating that "all publications using the Babylon 5 name must be licensed through Warner Brothers as they own the rights." Apparently Warner Bros does not share Paramount's view that fan publications increase fan awareness and commercial success of a series (Paramount has no problem with Star Trek fanzines as long as they are non-profit). Warner must also be unaware of the other B5 fan publications that are out there. As a result, I will not be publishing Third Age as planned. I've written back expressing my disappointment in this apparent "ban" on B5 fandom.

Another view: Straczynski requested that fans not post fanfiction to the newsgroup as he didn't want his copyright compromised by the possibility of being seen to have stolen a fan's idea. In one case he went so far as to delay an episode's production, pushing it off for a season, until he could get a release from the fan who had suggested a similar idea on the newsgroup.. While JMS has always formally had a no fan fiction policy--or, more accurately, a policy of "I can never say that I am in favor of fan fiction"--fans of the show have taken this as a request to keep the fanfiction where he could not see it. For a few years there was little Babylon 5 fanfiction openly published on the internet, with only a few archives and no discussion on the major fan boards. Gen fans found themselves in the unusual position, formerly the place of slash fans, of needing to be introduced to invite only fiction mailing lists.

Beauty and the Beast

From much more, see Beauty and the Beast Fans and TPTB.

...U.S. copyright law says that if they do not vigorously defend their copyrights (i.e., crack down on what they know about), they can lose them. What most companies do is pretend they don't =know= about fanfic, etc. That works right up until someone flaunts their violation so much that the true copyright holder can't even pretend not to see it any more. Which is why it's a good idea not to send free copies of your fanzine to Republic, and why George Martin pretends the only kinds of fanzines are newsletters and letterzines and if he thinks we're about to talk about the other kind on GEnie, he reminds us to take it to Email. :)

At the convention in L.A., I had the questionable privilege of hearing Robert Sigman, president of Republic, say, "you people are trampling all over our copyrights..." And from his tone of voice, he wasn't sure he should be doing anything about it or not! (Apparently he decided not to, since nobody I know of has gotten a "cease and desist" order except Nan Dibble, and that only applies to her copying episodes for people... and didn't happen until all of first season was available on tape... which means what they really didn't want was her cutting into their profits!)

Blake's 7

Many cast members were frequent con guests.

The overlap between fans and the celebrities and producers is one thing that led to the Blake's 7 Wars.

The zine ed of The Right Question admits she is sometimes hobbled by what should be printed in her letterzine: "TRQ is not a letterzine, but I do try to provoke responses from my readers. I also have to exercise judgement because the newsletter is sent to Paul Darrow and his wife. Is it censorship to print remarks about the attractiveness of the fictional character, Avon, while removing similar remarks about the actor Paul Darrow? I prefer to think of it as preventing potential embarrassment."

For a zine with a similar concern, see Rallying Call.

Close intermingling between fans and celebrities also had a chilling effect. In 1988-89, the Blake’s 7 fandom was seriously damaged when some of the actors in the show, who had become friends with a good number of the fans, were shown samples of slash stories. Taking offense to the portrayal of their characters as homosexual, and seeing this type of writing as a betrayal of their friendship with the fans, the actors sought to ban the slash authors they knew from fandom and to rid the fandom of slash. As with all of the other forms of 'official' sanctions against slash, the furor eventually eased, and slash fiction continued to be written." Sandy Herrold says: "I was by no means a BNF at the time, but that isn't my memory. I thought the mess in 1988-89, was about the idea of some actors getting together with some BNFs and putting on for-profit cons. This led to misunderstandings between the 'never make a profit' ethos of some fans, and jealousy between fans who weren't as 'connected' with the actors as other fans. I know that as things got ugly, slash was implicated, but I don't think it was a major issue in the mess." For more perspectives on these events, including a timeline see The Blake's 7 Wars.

Darkover (Marion Zimmer Bradley)

Also see Professional Author Fanfic Policies.

from Darkover Newsletter #5, artist: Diana Paxson, from an invitation sent out inviting various local fans/writers etc. to celebrate Marion's Silver Jubilee as writer in 1977.

Out of all canon creators, Marion Zimmer Bradley was, by far, the most heavily involved in her fandom. She was actively aware of and participated in the fandom arising from her Darkover stories and novels, giving specific approval to several zines (including Moon Phases) and implicit acceptance to others. She edited the Darkover fanzine Bitter Honeymoon & Other stories and Starstone, and was intensely involved in Darkover Newsletter. Besides her involvement in fannish writing, MZB was so heavily involved in her fan base that she often invited fans to her home for the weekend.

Around 1992, this closeness to her fanbase led to a well-known, and much referenced, conflict. See: Marion Zimmer Bradley Fanfiction Controversy.

Dragonriders of Pern

Anne McCaffrey was aware of fan fiction written in her source text, and dictated a number of rules about its creation. See McCaffrey's Fanwork Policies.

Also see Professional Author Fanfic Policies.

Forever Knight

The editor of a Forever Knight fan club newsletter, GWD Round Table (August 1995) warns its members: "Rumors about FK and USA, Ger's future with the show, the stars' coming and going, and the changes, have been rampant the past few weeks. Even some remarks Ger made at the Weekend seem to have been taken out of context and changed to fit the story. Ger felt at the Weekend that he could speak freely and openly about anything. Do you want him to become guarded with his answers? Or worse, shy away altogether from doing another Weekend?? I have always thought our club had the best fans, and I must say some of the things on the net that we have seen are not from our members, but we can still help squelch rumors before they can take how and spread... simply IGNORE THEM!!!"

Harry Potter

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.

J.K. Rowling praised fan Steve Vander Ark regarding The Harry Potter Lexicon, a winner of J. K. Rowling's Fan Site Award, before bringing the legal hammer down. Rowling said: "This is such a great site that I have been known to sneak into an internet café while out writing and check a fact rather than go into a bookshop and buy a copy of Harry Potter (which is embarrassing). A website for the dangerously obsessive; my natural home."

See: Harry Potter Lexicon Trial

Jossverse (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel the Series, Firefly)

As one of the first fandoms to grow up completely online, the Buffyverse saw increased levels of interaction between fans and TPTB. The Bronze Posting Board was a message board at the official Buffy website, and provided a space for creators and writers to interact with fans of the show. Even after the Bronze was shut down, certain writers were known to put in appearances on certain other message boards.

In this context, writers became well known figures in fandom, alongside series creator Joss Whedon, with their comments during interviews often dissected and criticized. This inevitably led to some conflicts, as fans did not always agree with the narrative choices made by TPTB and writers were sometimes put out when their stories were not interpreted in the way they'd expected.

[Extract from Shipperx's meta You Might Have Post-Traumatic Joss Syndrome]:

If you were personally insulted (as in an intentional insult posted in direct response to you) by one of the show's writers because you thought there could possibly be a path to redemption for a fictional character, you have a high statistical probability of having developed symptoms of PTJS

Joss Whedon said of fanfiction, "That’s why I made these shows. I didn’t make them so that people would enjoy them and forget them; I made them so they would never be able to shake them. It’s the way I am as a fan. I create the shows that would make me do that."

Invisible Man

The fans had a rocky relationship with some of TPTB, especially the head of SciFi's programming department (and later president), Bonnie Hammer. She gave every appearance of disliking the show and its fans (and strong rumor had it that she disliked the fact that the fanbase was skewed heavily toward women -- she was trying to program for the golden 18-35-year-old male demographic). The actors were a different matter; they kept in touch with the fans through chats, and used fan feedback after an episode aired to help shape the show (P = Paul ben Victor, who played Bobby; V = Vincent Ventresca, who played Darien):

P- What happened was, the show would play Friday night, and Friday night late we could log on and get some feedback from the fans. And the fans became an integral part of the show. They were like our critics, our altar ego, our voice, our...help me with this...you know...

V- *not sure where you're going with this, pal*

P-They were just a strong element, like a third voice to the show. And Monday morning, we'd show up and we'd want to know what the ratings were, of course, but almost more important was what was the feedback from the fans.

V- Cause they were smart. They were really smart.

P- Really smart. Thank you. That's what...

V- And they loved the show. It was weird...we created...like we were in the show…

P- *to the audience* And you've become a part of that, which we appreciate.

V- But it's people's love of the show that made us more committed to try and make the show as good as it could be.

[...]

V- [...]I think you were sort of alluding to it earlier that we were sort of doing the show and the fans really sort of took to it, and then all of a sudden there was someone to make the show for. And that was cool. You're right, it was sort of in between doing a play and a big TV show, sort of a niche, sort of cult following that really their encouragement, and their love for it was sort of contagious and it filtered down to us and all of a sudden we were invested in it more.

More here: The Invisible Man.

Mercedes Lackey

Also see Professional Author Fanfic Policies.

In the late 1980s and early '90s, Mercedes Lackey exercised active oversight over much of the fanfiction written in her literary worlds, developing guidelines for fanwriters who were part of the Queen's Own fan community. She created a release form for writers to sign acknowledging her ownership of the parent material, and (together with husband Larry Dixon) moderated a GEnie online discussion area devoted in part to creation of interactive fan stories.

Later in the 1990s, on the advice of her literary agent, she stepped back from this role and altered her public stance on fanfiction to discourage its creation. While she has subsequently revised her views again, she no longer actively supervises fanwriters -- although she edits anthologies of Valdemar stories by professional writers, similar to the Darkover anthologies once edited by Marion Zimmer Bradley.

Orlando Jones (Sleepy Hollow, Supernatural)

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.

• “Orlando Jones needs to GTFO of our fandom”: Supernatural conventions and gate-keeping; WebCite (2015)

Robin of Sherwood

The show's creator, Richard "Kip" Carpenter was an occasional (though lengthy!) contributor to the letterzine Cousins, something that had to have to been on the minds of fans as they read and wrote the letters. At least one reader backtracked on a previously stated opinon after learning Kip read and responded, writing, "I never thought that my flaky meanderings would be read by the Source Himself! I'm so embarrassed!" There was much mention of "what Kip requests" and that carried over to what kind of fanfic could be written, specifically slash, the big Robin of Sherwood no-no. More than one letter mentioned that the universe of Robin of Sherwood belonged to its creator and that its fans needed to always keep that in mind; many, many letters discussed how to write the characters, in relation to its creator's desires.

Another fan makes a separation of actor and character she feels her fellow fans have not: "I would never use the actors' names unless I'm discussing their performance. Calling the characters by the names of the actors could lead to confusion. Perhaps I feel that it's so important to clearly separate the characters from the actors because I write slash. Yet whether or not we are writing slash, we really should remember that neither Michael Praed nor Jason Connery are really Robin Hood. Robin Hood is a fictional character. Whatever we say in our discussions here, or whatever we write in our stories about either Robin or Robert, none of it has anything to do with the actual men who played these roles. We all know that intellectually, of course, but fans sometimes get swept away emotionally in the illusion of the actor's performance and forget the distinction between the characters and the actors. Apparently, some of the RoS actors also have difficulty making this separation, since they think slash fiction reflects on them. I am sorry, but slash has no more to do with them than any other idea that we might have about their characters."

"These characters were created by Kip and should remain within the bounds he created. True, he does not have ownership of the legendary characters, but as they are represented in RoS, yes he does. Generously, he has given his permission for us to play in his universe as long as we remain true to what he created (he told us this at Son of Herne's Con). Therefore, a writer must tread very carefully when attributing to a character abilities that were never manifested in the show."

"...slash as a generality... is a red herring in the context of RoS. Richard Carpenter has requested tht the fans not have the characters exhibiting sexual inclinations they didn't display on the series, the fans have obliged; no mainstream RoS editor will print slash and, apart from one short story in a long-out-of-print publication no one seems to be aware of any RoS slash, period. Slash aside, Richard Carpenter has publicly expressed his approval of fanfic."

Sailor Moon

Mangaka Naoko Takeuchi not only enjoys fanfic and fanart, she has encouraged fans to send her their work. The Infinity Artbook features drawings by fanartists and doujinshi creators and was publicly distributed at a 1997 convention.

Simon and Simon

In 1985, some fans discussed in the letterzine Simon and Simon Investigations on whether they wanted to send copies of the publication to the show's actor's, producers, and crew. Since this publication openly discussed slash, the editor proposed sending a "censored" version of it. It is unknown if this was eventually carried through and, if it was, what the repercussions were.

Some of the debate from issue #7:

• "Yes. I heartily approve of a cleaned-up, "generic" issue of SSI going to the Simon offices. Especially with our insightful topics. I'd like them to know what we think! Definitely!" Another fan remarks: "I don't think SSI is all that slashy. I really don't think we need to make two versions. That could end up being too expensive. Especially if we all want it read it. too And I don't I see why anyone would or should be emharassed about what gets printed in SSI. It doesn't bother me that the boys, J P and Mackie and the production staff read it. What we write is just opinion. IF they don't like it, then let them join in with us and send in their locs. Most of us would like to know how they feel about things anyway. Just as long as they don't get terribly upset with us, I don't see what difference it makes."
• "About 2 copies of SSI? I don't mind as long as we don't have to pay more for our copy. Do the offices or stars care about what we have to say? JP says zines make him nervous, and Mackie never did respond to a questionnaire in another Zine. What do you think. Dariene?" The editor responds: "Well, speaking from what little experience I have. I've yet to go to either Universal or Cannel (when [C S] and I were doing Now Yer Cookin') and not regret not having more copies of the letterzines with me. Not only are the producers, writers and stars interested but so are the crew folks. JP said they make him nervous but he still enjoys reading them, and Mackie failed to respond to the questionnaire (this from Pat) because after a couple very serious run-ins with some maladjusted fans. Mackie doesn't respond to any fan mail."
• "I like the idea of two versions of SSI. It might be difficult though. Sometimes ideas become so mixed together that separating them might change thoughts. But if you can do it, great. I would love Mackie and JP and everyone connected with the show to read our Iocs and to know that we care and take their work seriously. But I don't really want them to read the slashy parts because I'm afraid Mackie and JP will say that they'd better not touch one another even in friendship or look at one another longingly like they do. etc. Just be sure to send me the slashy version, please!"
• The editor made a decision about the second version of the letterzine: "Seems pretty unanimous that most of you would like to see two issues of SSI, one for us and one for the offices. Ann is willing to put the second issue together after I do the deleting. Yes. I would delete out all slashy material, as it is my policy not to send slash to anyone who does not specifically ask for it and this is no different. However, other adult material will remain in--such as I think JP has a beautiful heiney. Sorry, for those who asked, this revised issue will NOT be available to subbers as it would get too difficult to keep subscriptions straight. if some people wanted version 1 and others wanted version 2. Again I reiterate: if the S/S aspect of the Ietterzine bothers you, perhaps you should reconsider whether this is the zine for you. Also, version 2 would come out long after the first version. No. this will not be cause for an increase in sub rates--I'll lake care of the cost of these myself, as I think SSI is a great zine and that we've covered some important material that I would like the powers that be to read."

Sime~Gen

Also see Professional Author Fanfic Policies.

Jacqueline Lichtenberg's involvement with the Sime~Gen fandom, like Marion Zimmer Bradley's and Mercedes Lackey's, was complicated. While she was the creator of the universe, she was also a player and a fan.

In 1977, Lichtenberg encourages fans to submit Sime~Gen art:

I would like to invite some of the artists who like Kraith and who have found my Sime Series (HOUSE OF ZEOR, Doubleday, 1974) of equal intrest to try doing some Sime illos.

The Simes are one subject where one picture is worth 50,000 words. Although the cover of HOUSE OF ZEOR has won an artistic merit award, I, myself, am not satisfied with it. It is not accurate. It doesn't look real. It doesn't look like a photograph. I would like to submit artwork with future Sime stories -- such as UNTO ZEOR, FOREVER, the novel I'm working on now, December 1975 -- artwork which depicts real-looking Simes and Gens with anatomically correct tenticles [sic] that look like the descriptions I have labored over so hard.

I have no idea if publishing companies would even look at such they might. And it would be a good chance for a beginner semipro to show off a blt. There as of (September 1976) a paperback edition of HOUSE OF ZEOR in the the paperback lS a second chance to get a good cover drawing for the story, and sometlmes, after, a few years, they even do a new cover for a paperback. So I would like to have a few such, drawings, done to the hardcover or paperback specifications (the right number the rlght slze, etc.) to push at them when they intimate they want to put out a new edltlon of any Sime story.

If I can get them to use one that I like, of course the artist would get paid. But there's no guarantee, and I don't intend to return anything sent to me unless the return, packaging and postage is included. It could take years and years to get them to look at anything I want used. Authors traditionally have no say in the artwork or packaging, and in Kraith I have stayed out of that department as much as possible. If anyone wants a live, in-person description of the Simes, feel free to look me up at any convention. Likewise, if anyone wants to attend a Kraith gathering, send me your name and address well before the convention.

Stargate

A fan wrote of another fan asking Michael Shanks about slash at a con: "He screwed his nose up, thought deeply, and finally said 'whatever floats your boat or stirs your coffee, just don't ask me to be involved!' Good answer, but personally... not one I think he should have ever been asked."

In 2007, one of Stargate's writer/producers referred to fans as "shrill and ill-informed lemmings." See the lemming comment.

Starsky & Hutch

Starsky & Hutch was a fandom that had very, very little contact with the showrunners and other TPTB. In the very early days of this fandom, almost all of this interaction was in the form of fear of exposure due to fans' slash fanworks being discovered. See Code 7, Trace Elements, and many comments in 1981 an-82 issues of the Starsky & Hutch Letterzine.

In 1980, a fan complained about a 1980 essay, Starsky and Hutch Remembered in the zine, Casa Cabrillo, that brought the actors way too close to her private world of fandom:

I have a couple of pet prejudices and one of them is intrusive reality (or attempts at same) barging into my fantasy worlds. I was uneasy with Amanda Green's article in Casa Cabrillo -- I bought a Starsky and Hutch fanzine, not an issue of MODERN SCREEN. If I'd wanted to read excerpts from VARIETY et al., I would have taken out a subscription.

More comments:

And what the everlivin' hell does what DS [David Soul] or PMG [Paul Michael Glaser] or [producer Joseph] Naar or anybody else think matter to the writing of S&H? Spelling-Goldberg [Productions] gave up on us, baby. They are all the outsiders in this fandom. The characters are now ours, to do with as we see fit. Who cares what Soul stammered out on the subject of homosexuality on the show? (I've seen the interview tape; he stammers.) Does he write LoCs? Can he or PMG or anybody else involved with the production really be bothered about a show that went out of production over two years ago? Soul is not Hutch; Hutch is not Soul. Same thing goes for Starsky and Glaser. Let's be serious, folks: interested they might well be; panic-stricken, they ain't.

Strictly speaking, any fanzine is a private publication, in that it is not intended to make a profit or offered for public or commercial sale. Listings in the l/z are considered private advertising! Purchases directly from the editors/publishers are considered private sales. Granted, consent forms have their place. But no affidavit ever devised is going to prevent some malicious idiot from marching down Mainstreet, waving the "offensive" publication and shrieking, "Oh my God, what if people ever found out about this!" It happened with K/S. It will happen with S/H, too, unless fandom makes it plain that there are no rewards for such behavior. Going underground won't help — the only beneficiaries of that course of action would be the jerks. And maybe going underground isn't necessary in any case. Strictly speaking again — yes, all fanzines are in violation of the copyright statutes. At least, the first ones were. Y'see, "silence gives consent" is more than a maxim, it's an enforceable point of law. There have been S&H zines for —what, four years now? In that time, no copyright holder has objected to their publication. And we know that the Powers that Be know about their existence; the little busybody whose kept Amanda Green's and Joe Naar's offices supplied has seen to that. All unintentionally, she's done us a favor; a condition of de facto toleration has been established. The legal precedent of allowing the publication of S&H zines has already been set. By the same token, Forever Autumn and a couple other pieces embedded in genzines may have established the precedent for S/H.

Star Trek

Gene Roddenberry reading the zine Galileo 7 at FunCon 1968, photo by Kathy Bushman

Also see Professional Author Fanfic Policies.

• In 1980, James Doohan was asked in an interview printed in A Companion in Zeor #6 about his reading habits: "CZ: Have you read any of the Science Fiction Fanzines, or the professional fiction of Jacqueline Lichtenberg, whose zine we represent? JD: I have not read any of Jacqueline Lichtenberg, but I have read zines. You have to realize there is a tremendous amount of material around. I am not always at home and I can not sit down and read them. However, I have read some of the stuff in "Alternate Universe" [possibly meaning Alternate Universe 4] and "Delta Triad" and I think its terrific stuff."

• Members of Star Trek Interstellar, the official Star Trek fan club founded while the show was still on the air, received a letter (see image) by Gene Roddenberry: "Welcome to STAR TREK Interstellar! This is the direct line to STAR TREK. We value you, not only as a fan, but as an active participant and contributor to our programs. We want your comments, your questions, your support -- and earnestly solicit you to write to INSIDE STAR TREK, our official fan newsletter. We also may be actively involved later this year in 'Twisting the Peacock's Tail.' More about that later. In the meantime, whatever your color, creed, or shape of ear, welcome aboard!"

• The Halkan Council reported on "Gene Roddenberry's phone call to the August Party convention, and it had a remarkably accurate summary of the plot of Star Trek: The Motion Picture." The August Party convention was held in Maryland in the 1970s. It always featured a long-distance call with Gene Roddenberry, and the information would then be passed along to the rest of fandom.

• From a fan's 1974 letter: "...this may shock you: Although I like Star Trek and wouldn't mind its return, I do not wish to actively participate in campaigning for its revival. There seems to be too much influence by Roddenberry to use Star Trek to further his own pocketbook. For example, when ST was cancelled after second season, and the fans wrote it back on the air, NBC accused Roddenberry of inciting the fans to do so. (Or so I've been told.) Roddenberry claimed to have nothing to do with the save ST campaign. However, Lincoln Enterprises, owned by his wife, was actively campaigning to save ST (as it is still doing today). And look how much Lincoln Enterprises is capitalizing off of ST... Don't get me wrong; I'm not anti-Gene Roddenberry. He is a fine man and great producer who created the best go between for science fiction fans and the rest of the world. But let him keep his hands clean."

• Susan Sackett, Gene Roddenberry's assistant, wrote in 1976: "Thank you for the copies of The Halkan Council. I have looked them over, and especially the letter that [name omitted] wrote, and enjoyed it very much. She said some nice things about me. I'm not sure where she got the impression that we don't receive fanzines in our office, but we've got quite a few. In fact, I have a whole filing cabinet full of them. Most of them Gene just has time to glance at since he is so busy. Good luck with your future issues. I'm sure they will be something to look forward to."

• Gene Roddenberry wrote: "...We were particularly amazed when thousands, then tens of thousands of people began creating their own personal Star Trek adventures. Stories, and paintings, and sculptures, and cookbooks. And songs, and poems, and fashions. And more. The list is still growing. It took some time for us to fully understand and appreciate what these people were saying. Eventually we realized that there is no more profound way in which people could express what Star Trek has meant to them than by creating their own very personal Star Trek things. Because I am a writer, it was their Star Trek stories that especially gratified me. I have seen these writings in dog-eared notebooks of fans who didn't look old enough to spell "cat." I have seen them in meticulously produced fanzines, complete with excellent artwork. Some of it has even been done by professional writers, and much of it has come from those clearly on their way to becoming professional writers. Best of all, all of it was plainly done with love."

letter from Gene Roddenberry addressed to the official fan club members, see Inside Star Trek

• From a memorial to M.L. Steve Barnes, a fan remembers: "It was just another of those dirty jokes that we all laughed about when [Steve] put together an x-rated tape using recorded bits of voices from all the tapes she had made of Star Trek episodes. It was so funny you laughed until your sides hurt, and it was hard to breathe... When Maureen Wilson, the president of Gene Roddenberry's fan club told the Great Bird of the Galaxy about it, he wanted to hear the tape. When Maureen asked Stevie if she would send the tape to her to pass on to GR, Stevie was torn between wanting him to hear the tape and afraid he might disapprove. She had stars in her eyes when she showed us the personal letter he wrote to her expressing to her his enjoyment of the tape, and his appreciation of the fact that she did it only with her tape recorder, having no access to any kind of sound equipment."

• In 1979, in an interview with Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath for the book Shatner: Where No Man, Roddenberry let slip a reference to "the straight magazines," wherein "they almost always destroy the woman who turns to Mr. Spock," indicating that he presumably knew about "gay" (slash) magazines. Later in the same interview Roddenberry gives a few speculative remarks that fans like to imagine are his confirmation of K/S as canon. The Roddenberry Footnote in the novelization of Star Trek: The Motion Picture was also a response to fans.

• "What do we think of fanzines in those underground jobs, McCoy stretched out on the beach wearing nothing but a smile? Well, I'll tell you, I saw one of Leonard Nimoy. And I have heard that someone was going to do one of me. [Audience: They did.] It better be as good as Leonard's. [Laughter and applause] And I must say I was pleasantly surprised, y'all."

a copy of issue #5's front cover, this one showing a note either from Gene Roddenberry or to Gene Roddenberry regarding the Vulcan linguistics article by Jacqueline Lichtenberg (This copy of issue #5 was sold in 2015 on eBay as part of Gene Roddenberry's personal collection and included a Certificate of Authenticity.) It is unknown what the "series ideas" were.

• "Gene Roddenberry was supportive of fanzines and fan newsletters, and the support went both ways. He and his assistants would give out information to fanzine editors and publishers and directly to fans at conventions (he had an annual call-in to the August Party convention for several years). In particular, the development of Star Trek: The Next Generation was thoroughly documented in fan newsletters through information from Gene Roddenberry and his assistants. (Fans did influence that development. For instance, initially there were no Klingons in ST:TNG; after fans wrote him about it, he added Worf.) After becoming connected with Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Harve Bennett regularly communicated with fans, through fan newsletters such as Interstat as well as through convention appearances. He did listen and respond to fan feedback on his productions, and he seemed to keep in mind fan preferences in making the Star Trek movies he produced, though for every movie, there were fans who were satisfied and dissatisfied with the results."

• "We managed to corner Roddenberry at a party in 1984. We asked him what he thought of fan zines. He said he approved. “All sorts of zines?” we asked with deep meaning. "All sorts of zines." He said he thought the characters were safer in the hands of the fans than those of the scriptwriters."

cover of Trekkin' #2, a fan's depiction of The Great Bird of the Galaxy

• "Among the many stories [in Odyssey] was a transcript of an interview with DeForest Kelley, recorded the previous year at a Space Trek convention in St. Louis. The editors asked the actor if he ever read any fan stories. DeForest Kelley replied, "Some of them I do. It's impossible to read them all.... There's some very good writing, you know. Some of the stories are better than the stories we did in the series."

• The editor of Interstat published a letter from Harve Bennett. Dated July 18, 1982, the letter said, "To you, to Interstat, and to all the incredible Star Trek fans who have been so generous in their praise of our work, my deepest thanks.... What a privilege for a filmmaker to have an audience that pays attention."

• Despite fan fears, stoked by people like David Gerrold, that Paramount, Roddenberry or some other higher-up would find out about slash and file civil action or send Cease and Desist letters, the only zine, Dreadnought Explorations (1976-1977), received such action, and it as because of its high-quality production values:

  The only zine that Paramount ever threatened to sue for copyright infringement was the genzine Dreadnought Explorations, which Paramount went after because of its similarity to commercially-licensed professional fiction. When I was a law student, I interviewed Bruce Hosmer, the attorney handling Star Trek products for Gulf & Western, about this issue and he told me that DE was ordered to cease and desist because the photograph of the Enterprise on the cover suggested to the reader that this was an "official" Star Trek product.

• The 1978 zine Thrust was sent to Paramount by a fan who wanted to stop slash publications and to get that zine's creators and contributors in trouble. See The Paramount Piece.

• And from Judith Gran's article "Censored": "I can vouch for the fact that Paramount knew about K/S by at least the early 1980s, if not earlier. In April, 1983, I interviewed the lawyer who was in charge of Star Trek copyright matters for Gulf & Western Corporation (which owned Paramount before Viacom) about fan fiction and fair use. He initiated the topic of K/S, and it was clear that he was well aware of its existence and that Paramount had no intention of doing anything about it. .

• In an interview with the National Fantasy Fan Foundation in 2010, Jacqueline Lichtenberg stated that "many years" after her initial contact with Roddenberry, pertaining to Star Trek Lives (this had to have been in 1973 or 1974), she was told that "there were copies of Kraith [presumably Kraith Collected] in Roddenberry's offices while they were working on the early movies (1980 and 1982), and he was asking people to read them." She claimed that elements of the films which are similar to events in Kraith stories were not copied, but were things "any trained writer" would realize were inevitable. Among these were that the Enterprise had to be destroyed, Spock had to die and be reborn -- "undergo a mystical death experience to remain valid" -- and that he had to have a sibling.

• "I also sent Mr. Roddenberry a copy of our last newsletter and it seems that both he and Susan loved Robin Hill's satire on the film."

Harve Bennett on the cover of Interstat #139

• Joan Verba remembers receiving a letter from Harve Bennett. "I found a very nice letter from Harve Bennett in my mailbox, dated September 16, 1983. Bennett wrote several Interstat contributors, commenting on something they said in those pages."

• The letterzine Power of Speech, published an open letter titled "Anatomy of a Letterzine" by a fan using the name Kristen Brady. It was a review of Bennett's Tenets -- also known as 'The Harve Bennett Fan Club Newsletter,' or, as it is more commonly called, Interstat. The review took the letterzine to task for two things: "gnashing of teeth, the raking of claws, and the lashing of tongues -- not to mention the backbiting, mudslinging..." And the reviewer's belief that Interstat was nothing but a censored rag devoted to apple-polishing TPTB: "Mr. Bennett's continued interest in the goings-on of the fannish community -- as evidenced by his occasional letters to Interstat -- is the proverbial monkey wrench in the works. The knowledge that 'HB' will be watching casts a entirely new light on the subject, and the subscriber's letters, which once might have started out as an attempt to reach out to new fans and perhaps talk a little Trek, suddenly take on a very personal and a very immediate importance as each tries to impart his or her own personal vision of the essence of True Trek to one in a position of power. It then becomes of paramount importance that these personal visions not be marred or sullied in any way, in the eyes of HB. In this context, any opinion contrary to the author's own personal conception of Trek is taken as a personal attack, and by the same token, if an author wants his/her own beliefs to stand, it often becomes necessary to tear down those of others. Gone is the forum type of atmosphere one would assume of something called a letterzine. Gone is any give-and-take if opinions, any exchange of ideas; the atmosphere of Interstat is quite unmistakably that of competition. The goal is, I think, for each participant to try to get his/her particular vision to be the one that HB selects and possibly incorporates into future Trek projects..."

Star Wars

inside art from Jundland Wastes #12

Other articles: Lucasfilm and George Lucas, and The Star Wars Letters.

• in October 1977, an issue of A Piece of the Action had a prominent warning to fans who may be interested in writing Star Wars fiction. This warning didn't appear to have any basis in example, something the notice mentioned. It may have been an attempt to keep fans within the Star Trek fandom and an example of the early tensions between the fandoms. It may be a brag by ST fans, pointing out that Roddenberry had been a benign PTB. Or it may have been much more a friendly warning, one with no hidden motives. The text: "IMPORTANT! Please take note: If you are a zine editor, writer, etc., who is planning to publish/contribute to a fanzine based on STAR WARS...be advised 20th Century Fox may not be quite as understanding as Paramount has been for years about Star Trek. YOU ARE IN VIOLATION OF BOTH 20th CENTURY FOX'S & BALLANTINE BOOKS' EXCLUSIVE LITERARY RIGHTS IF YOU ARE PUBLISHING STAR WARS FICTION. BOTH of these prestigious corporations/companies have the legal right to SUE TO THE FULL EXTENT OF THE LAW anyone publishing SW-based fan fiction (or spin-off fiction). As APOTA has been informed., there have been no known cases of Ballantine taking such action, but do you want to be their test case?"

• In response to the "warning" in APOTA #55, this announcement was published: "As of February 14, 1978, this is the official status of Star Wars fanzines. The Star Wars Corp. wants to keep track of what SW zines are coming out. They are not out to hassle, sue, etc. anybody, they just want to convince 20th Century Fox legal department that there are more than five SW fans that are interested in publishing zines. Even if you are planning a zine, they would like to know about it. (For those of you who have already published zines, I was told in a telephone call from Craig Miller that he was 'certain nothing would happen.

• "I felt uneasy about their request that every fanzine send four copies to four different places. George could never admit to reading a fanzine, so why ask for a copy? Did Bantha Tracks ever explain what a fanzine was or recommend any to its members? (They did reprint an article out of Skywalker. Big deal, it never happened again.) Not that it would have done us much good, as the majority of the OSWFC [Official Star Wars Fan Club] members are still in kindergarten. Lucas film/OSWFC has nothing that I truly want. They give us nothing but trinkets..."

George Lucas, as illoed by a fan in Empire Review #3

• From a May 15, 1980 radio interview with Mark Hamill, some of his reactions to fan fiction: "unidentified fan caller: "I know you're a longtime science fiction fan. I was wondering if you had read any of the fan fiction that's been published about STAR WARS?" Hamill: Oh, everything that they send, even if it takes six months, gets to me, and I've read fiction that has been created by people that have been moved enough by the film to... you know. George has created this history, this populated environment... One of my favorite stories is the story where I got to go to bed with the Princess, 'cause it doesn't happen in the movie. It was a real sexy story — I was really excited by that. But there was another story about how Han Solo met Chewie in flight training school. The fans themselves have enriched George's storyline, populated it with their own ideas. But any of those fan magazines they do send, I read 'em. I'm sort of backlogged on sending out the thank you notes. Actually, I'm glad you asked that because it gives me an opportunity to thank everybody for that kind of stuff. We do read all our mail." unidentified fan caller: "Well, that's great because several of the authors are right here in this building." Hamill: "Really? Which ones do you write for?" unidentified fan caller: "Primarily for SKYWALKER, and GUARDIAN, and PEGASUS, etc..." Hamill: "Oh, Pegasus I got, definitely, in fact I took a page out of Pegasus, and it was up on my mirror in my dressing room for the entire filming of the picture. So a little piece of you was over there." unidentified fan caller: "Well, that's wonderful. I'll be sure to tell the editors."

• One writer recalls "an incident where a Lucasfilm rep informed an zine ed that in the SW universe, even the Imperials, were too "innocent" to be gay."

• From K.S. Boyd: "Lucasfilms openly allowed genzines based on Star Wars, but were up-front about telling fans that absolutely no pornography (gay or straight) would be allowed. In May 1981, L. Deneroff and C. Levine published the adult, heterosexual stories, 'Slow Boat to Bespin, 1 and 2' in the multimedia zine Guardian #3. In August of that same year, Maureen Garrett, Director of the Official Star Wars Fan Club, mailed an explanation to fanzine publishers of her earlier sent cease-and-desist letter." Some of that letter can be seen here: Open Letter to Star Wars Zine Publishers.

• Scoundrel is a Star Wars zine that was NEVER PUBLISHED. From an ad in Jundland Wastes #1 (June 1981): "Slated for '82 publication. Submissions should be Solo-oriented or oriented toward the Princess/Pirate relationship. We will consider adult material -- provided it compiles with Lucasfilms stated wishes and does not impinge on teh bounds of pornography. Any adult material provisionally accepted will be screened by Lucasfilm's representatives prior to printing. SASE to Jani Hicks."

Supernatural

There has been heavy fan lobbying for canon relationships between Dean and Sam Winchester, and especially for Dean and the angel Castiel (Misha Collins). Fans react very badly when any of the characters have romance with women. Chad Kennedy's Twitter account blew up after he said that the producers had not intended for either Dean or Castiel to be bisexual. He clarified that he did not write the show; that no one had pitched him an episode in which the male leads had romance with one another; but that he would not rule it out if such a script did come to him.

Meanwhile, Supernatural's writers engage in a certain amount of references, jokes and teasing about the characters' orientations and relationships. Some fans (and even some professional media critics) dislike this because they want their lobbying to be seen as serious activism supporting gay rights and visibility. To them, these jokes or hints appear as "Queer baiting" rather than as lighthearted recognition of a well-known fan obsession or kink.

While Misha Collins has done his part to fan the flames by making statements at conventions such as "Destiel is canon and the writers know it," he does not feel that the Ship tease seen on the show is homophobic. In a recent interview with members of the Organization for Transformative Works, he clarified

I don’t like the characterization of teasing around Destiel or around any kind of homoerotic subtext that might appear around the brothers or whatever as queer baiting. I think that that’s really unfair. Because I don’t think that – well, first of all that’s sort of a new and strange term to me, but I don’t think that’s what’s going on. I also don’t think that same kind of aspersion would be cast toward someone who is teasing a heterosexual relationship, like the tension that builds between two male and female series regular characters on any given show that’s never consummated. I understand where they’re coming from, but I don’t think it’s a fair characterization either.

One incident had a particular fan leave a panel in tears after Jensen Ackles told her not to "ruin it" for the others by asking about the possibility of Dean being bisexual. It is possible he simply did not want to discuss shipping at all, but the incident fanned the accusations of queerbaiting and inspired many passionate, angry posts on social media from fans.

A few episodes addressed the slash fandom, with one even outright mocking the Wincest fans via the creation of an over-exaggerated caricature of a fangirl, plus the brothers themselves outright calling the trend "sick." This didn't go over so well with fandom, who felt the writers had taken it a step too far.

• the vid Kill A Man and fan anger
• the character, Becky

Teen Wolf

Many of the cast as well as the creator/executive producer Jeff Davis is on Twitter and answer questions from fans. Some, like Colton Haynes who plays Jackson on the show, like to have fun with fandom.

Last nights episode was gold for all you #sterek fans! What was your favorite part?

• Jeff Davis
• Colton Haynes
• Tyler Hoechlin
• Dylan O'Brien
• Tyler Posey

Voltron

Voltron: Legendary Defender has a history of ugly clashes between the fandom and its showrunners, with the nastiness being on the fandom's side. Lauren Montgomery and Joaquim Dos Santos, plus several of the voice cast, have been viciously attacked by fans for a variety of reasons, mainly shipping.

• 18 July 2018: Lauren Montgomery confirms that the "Heroic men and women and Lance..." line in Shiro's vlog was a joke at Lance's expense, not proof that Lance is nonbinary. In response, some Lance fans filled her Twitter mentions with rape threats, death threats and threats to break her hands at SDCC.
• 10 March 2018: Voice actor Josh Keaton posts on Tumblr re:Shipping, announces he is 'removing myself from ship talk completely'
• 11 March 2018: Some fans attack voice actor Josh Keaton online over an old interview and threaten his wife and kids.
• 29 May 2017: Voltron: Legendary Defender 'fan' blackmails studio to make a gay ship canon on the show on Syfy.com
• 10 June 2017: Voice actor Bex Taylor-Klaus makes a "Sheith confirmed" joke on Instagram. Anti-Sheith fans don't take it well.

However, it was recently discovered that former storyboard artist Barlee had said some inflammatory things towards Sheith shippers while supporting antis, leading to hurt feelings and some of the fans to turn their backs on her in anger.

Post-series interviews have confirmed that the divisive epilogue was written in response to fan outrage over the death of Adam, Shiro's ex-boyfriend. While most of the anger was performative and selfish, Montgomery and Dos Santos genuinely felt sorry for having hurt people and issued a public apology. Unfortunately, their attempts to smooth the issue over only led to more hatred and outrage, including nasty public callouts on social media, hateful comments on Instagram, and fans loudly making a point of "taking Voltron away from" the creators due to their disapproval the ending.

In June of 2021, Dos Santos issued a public apology to fans for the choices made in the show's final episode, owning his privilege and promising to be a better ally to minorities in the future. This did nothing to appease the fans, as the thread is full of people still angry about the finale two and a half years later and pinning the blame for their hurt feelings and even suicidal tendencies over it squarely on his shoulders.

War of the Worlds

The editor of The Blackwood Project sent copies of the fandom's letterzine to a number of industry people.

A fan asked her: "Elyse, are you going to keep sending TBP to Paramount even though they cancelled the show? If memory serves, I remember reading in one of the past issues that you send it to the studio?" The editor's response: "I did in the beginning but since I never received a response and had no idea if anybody was honestly paying attention, I stopped, but the cast members have been receiving issues, barring post office or black hole problems, and Jared told me that this zine was read on the set. At least this way the people who worked on the show (not just made the big decisions in California) knew how some of the fans felt."

Welcome To Night Vale

Details at Welcome to Night Vale#TPTB's Involvement and Influence

Welcome to Night Vale creators Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor watch fandom expressions very carefully, and have apparently written numerous elements into the show specifically to please fans. This doesn't sit too well with all listeners, who feel the show has become too fan-driven to the point of pandering.

Fink and Cranor are extremely active on Twitter, where they post enigmatic lines, hint at what's coming up on the show, and occasionally wax political, delighting SJW fans.

Screenshot of an email from the Welcome to Night Vale staff asking an amateur series creator to remove her podcasts from iTunes and Stitcher.

Main article: Welcome Back, Desert Bluffs

Fink and Cranor have always maintained a policy of allowing any and all fan-created works to exist provided they are not sold. However, in September 2015, Ren Connolly, the creator of amateur Night Vale-related podcast Welcome Back, Desert Bluffs, received a curt email signed "Welcome to Night Vale":

We notice that you put your fan fiction podcast on iTunes and other major podcast apps. This is not OK with us. Please remove it from iTunes/Stitcher/etc. right away.

Ms. Connolly posted this to the Welcome to Night Vale discussion on Reddit. Some who responded speculated that Fink and Cranor feared a kind of Marion Zimmer Bradley Fanfiction Controversy. The note was characterized as a "soft C&D": "With this email sent they could contact the folks who host my work and have it forcibly removed. The tone sounded off to me too but the lack of response for three days has me stressed out enough that I don't even want to do it any more." Reddit user CaptQ confirmed that the email was indeed from the show staff and that he'd received this explanation:

We don't trust you on sites that let you charge money for downloading your podcast. Anywhere else is fine.

Ms Connolly subsequently decided to discontinue her podcast and left the fandom. She was joined by several other members of an amateur podcast network, Blood Space Armed Forces Radio, who had devoted themselves to Night Vale-related audio creations.

Xenaverse

In an 1999 email exchange between Thamiris and Bruce Campbell, Campbell answers the question if he found the idea of women writing erotic fanfic about his character: "Heck no - as long as my exploits are properly embellished!"