Emmy & the Blog

Blogs help auds talk back

Television used to travel a one-way street, from the producer through the network to the consumer. But in an increasingly interactive world, television writers, producers and performers have recognized the power of blogs and podcasts to interact with their audiences, bringing them into the creative process and expanding the fictional worlds the characters inhabit.


With poll questions drawing as many as 40,000 responses, even casual fans are checking out the show's site. "We take into account what people say," Wilder says. "We're mindful what the fans feel. It lets us know if we're on the right track or not."

This is a bit oversimplified; people who felt strongly about a show always had the power to write letters, and many did. One need only look at the original Star Trek's third season for a startlingly powerful example. Many didn't, though, because it takes time, energy, and money to send a letter, and the majority of TV watchers would (and in some cases still do) simply change the channel or turn off the TV when a show becomes too offensive or too banal to bear. The interactivity of the web makes it considerably easier and cheaper for the viewers to get their message to the producers, which does give the series a chance to rectify problems before they lose the whole audience. Of course, then there's the problem of certain sub-groups in the show's audience getting an inflated view of their own importance and insisting on dictating everything to the producers - there has to be balance in all things.

Nevertheless, increased audience input is a good thing.

For example, Wilder says he blogged about the medical use of leeches in an episode he wrote, only to find out that "what they're really interested in is the Meredith and Derek of it all."

I can't help it. I have to say it. DUH!? Did you ever take any literature classes? Drama is about people. Leeches in medical practice can be interesting in a trivia-question kind of way, but the connection that makes people love a story - ANY story - is people. We must identify with someone; feel what they feel, share their distress and happiness and dilemmas and lessons learned. Besides, how many times have we been told that Romance is the single-largest category of books sold in the US? Everyone wants to imagine being in happy relationships, and women especially like to read or watch stories in which the male lead is smart/knowledgeable enough to provide the romance that the average woman craves. (If you're smart, you'll read Fall in Love, Stay in Love and The Five Love Languages for ideas on relationships)

Ronald Moore had barely heard of blogs or podcasts when an exec at the Sci Fi Channel first suggested doing one for "Battlestar Galactica." Now Moore directly answers fan questions via a blog and records commentary for each new episode that can be downloaded as a podcast. Moore's partner, exec producer David Eick, hosts a video blog that features behind-the-scenes tours and cast and crew pranks.

Scifi, fantasy, and horror are the most popular genres among geeks, and to be blunt, geeks dominate the web. There are a lot of casual surfers, and even non-geek teens are increasingly active online, but the geeks are still a definite majority when it comes to the cutting-edge web developments. There is a reason that the P2P download networks are populated extensively with scifi shows. It's also worth noting that geeks tend to be completists about the things they do enjoy; while there are plenty of non-geeks who memorize win-loss records and final scores of their favorite football/baseball/basketball teams, the geeks tend to memorize the details of the show: the history of that universe, the personalities of the characters, the technical details of the equipment, and more. Geeks like to know the hows and whys of things, which is part of the reason commentaries are so popular among the geek audience. Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings DVD releases caused quite a stir, with so many different commentaries on each installment.

Whether that translates in any way into support with Emmy voters is hard to say, but it is possible. "I think word of mouth helps, and word of mouth in the TV community especially helps," he says.

That depends on who the Emmy voters are. Frankly, I don't know anyone who cares about the Emmy awards (or other awards, either, for that matter) unless a favorite actor/show gets nominated, and then the only concern is that "Our favorite should win!" I know a lot of people (including myself, actually) who only watched the Oscars a few years ago because Lord of the Rings was in the running. A lot of viewers have concluded that the voters on all of these awards are completely out of touch with the public; maybe it's more important to get the Emmy voters blogging!