Good break down. Yes, I'd agree with your definitions and you've managed to clarify for me why I don't think Star Trek really qualifies as cult any longer, nor for that matter Due South - which was popular in the Us for several seasons and in the Neilsons. Same deal with Northern Exposure which don't really fit that category.
Shows with a certain quirkiness about them that virtually guarantees they'll be limited to a small audience.
Main criteria - I think. Has to have that certain quirkiness. Shows like Wonderfalls, Firefly, Buffy, Angel, Arrested Development, Mystery Science Theater, Red Dwarf, Farscape, and Doctor Who all had it.
2. Shows before their time - tough one since some of these shows are actually mainstream or would be if it weren't for a)market saturation or b)people aren't in the mood. Judd Apatow is a good example.
3.Shows killed by network bungling. Wonderfalls. Firefly. Shows that desperately needed some nurturing, but received the axe. I'm looking forward to/dreading Bryan Fuller's Pushing Daisies, because I can see another quick and bloody death ahead.
Bryan Fuller is the same guy, I think, that did Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls. Not positive. So yep, me too on Pushing Daisies. It feels quirky and quirky tends to turn off mainstream audiences. (I'm the opposite - the quirkier it is, the more likely I'll watch it. More mainstream? More likely I won't...LOL!)
Most cult shows fall under this category, I think. The hard to find, short-lived, picked up by cable, foreign imports.
Forever Knight was a great example - a Canadian import and riff off of a Rick Springsteen made for tv movie/pilot.
Completely agree about Star Trek - much like Star Wars and X-Files = it has become thoroughly mainstream. BattleStar Galatica is still cult, although it sits on the cusp. As is the Gates. But of the sci-fi series - I'd say the best example of a cult series is Farscape. It's too quirky for mainstream, was cancelled before its time, jumped time slots, brought back by fans, and hard to get a hold of - the DVD's are outrageously expensive. And it has a small but loyal following.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2007-07-02 03:40 pm (UTC)Shows with a certain quirkiness about them that virtually guarantees they'll be limited to a small audience.
Main criteria - I think. Has to have that certain quirkiness. Shows like Wonderfalls, Firefly, Buffy, Angel, Arrested Development, Mystery Science Theater, Red Dwarf, Farscape, and Doctor Who all had it.
2. Shows before their time - tough one since some of these shows are actually mainstream or would be if it weren't for a)market saturation or b)people aren't in the mood. Judd Apatow is a good example.
3.Shows killed by network bungling. Wonderfalls. Firefly. Shows that desperately needed some nurturing, but received the axe. I'm looking forward to/dreading Bryan Fuller's Pushing Daisies, because I can see another quick and bloody death ahead.
Bryan Fuller is the same guy, I think, that did Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls. Not positive. So yep, me too on Pushing Daisies.
It feels quirky and quirky tends to turn off mainstream audiences. (I'm the opposite - the quirkier it is, the more likely I'll watch it. More mainstream? More likely I won't...LOL!)
Most cult shows fall under this category, I think. The hard to find, short-lived, picked up by cable, foreign imports.
Forever Knight was a great example - a Canadian import and riff off of a Rick Springsteen made for tv movie/pilot.
Completely agree about Star Trek - much like Star Wars and X-Files = it has become thoroughly mainstream. BattleStar Galatica is still cult, although it sits on the cusp. As is the Gates. But of the sci-fi series - I'd say the best example of a cult series is Farscape. It's too quirky for mainstream, was cancelled before its time, jumped time slots, brought back by fans, and hard to get a hold of - the DVD's are outrageously expensive.
And it has a small but loyal following.
In some ways it's more cult than even Doctor Who.