The ABC series Lost is, quite possibly, the most broadly successful science fiction television show yet. While ratings have been on a decline in this, the fourth season, the season’s premiere pulled in 16.07 million viewers. Now, these are Nielsen numbers, which I consider suspect at best, but it shows that the show is very popular, and almost certainly not just with traditional SF fans (those numbers cannot be accounted for purely by fans). Current episodes have dealt openly with science fiction tropes (which I will not name exactly to avoid spoilers). You could argue about the true classification of the show, but it most certainly falls into science fiction, as well as maybe a couple of other genres.
When the show first started, fans knew something was unusual, but that was a bit subtle. Dozens of people had survived a horrific plane crash, landing on a strange island. Compasses don’t work. There’s a weird radio transmission. And there’s a monster in the jungle that nobody can see.
Still, I suppose, many audience members disinclined to like SF could make the case for the show being in the thriller/mystery genre. And it did have a heavy human, more dramatic element in the form of each episode’s character-centric back story arcs. It wasn’t until late season 2 that things really began to take a turn for the speculative. And even then, it was subtle, just a few elements. But as the show has progressed, it’s become clear that the entire foundation of what the show is about is science fiction (or at least science fantasy).
But as each season has gone on, it has been increasingly impossible for even the most determined to deny that Lost is, at its roots, a science fiction show. You could call the techniques they used to grab their audience bait-and-switch, because the show creators introduced the heavy speculative elements slowly. I’d also call it the frog in a pot of boiling water acclimation method.
My coworker, the Lost fan
An anecdote: I have a coworker who hates science fiction. In his words, he likes “real things.” He despises superhero movies, and pretty much everything a SF fan loves. Early on, the show creators of Lost said in an interview that everything presented on the show had a grounding in real science (something that at this point is highly debatable). Still- my coworker clung to this statement like it was a life preserver. It allowed him to keep watching the show no matter how fantastic things got, because it was still somehow “real.” At this point in the fourth season, he’s pissed off, because he realizes that statement was total bullshit. But he’s still watching, and still hooked.
The reason? A good mystery is compelling no matter what other genre tropes you add to the stew of your story. The characters, after 3 complete seasons, are sympathetic and well-known. All the foundations of a good story are there, to the point that, despite my coworker hating everything there is to hate about science fiction, he is still a huge fan of the show.
This is a good example of how genre is becoming the mainstream. For those fans who would like to see the genre remain distinct and separate, I think this turn of events is going to be a massive disappointment. Reviewing the past events of the show, it almost looks as if the show creators deliberately plotted out their introduction of SF tropes to create the frog in a pot of boiling water effect.
What’s especially fantastic in my mind is that Lost hasn’t given us SF-lite. It slowly introduced the elements, yes, but they are not watered down to be more palatable. We have full-fledged weirdness here. This is a show that Charles Fort would watch and clap his hands with glee.
The potential for new fans
By the time Lost completes its arc, there is going to be a whole new audience primed to accept our stranger ideas. New TV shows will come along to take advantage of this, but maybe, just maybe, SF publishers can lure some of them in too. Frankly, you could do worse than adding even 1% of Lost’s fanbase to your readership. You could do a hell of a lot worse.
I’m sure there are downsides to the mainstreaming of SF tropes. It makes us feel less special and unique, maybe. But as a working creative, I will just have to swallow my pride on that one. With this kind of potential for fans out there, it gives me hope that we could actually make a good living telling genre stories, and not just the ones marketed to an aging, increasingly conservative SF fanbase.
But then, maybe I’m all wrong
But then, the decline in ratings that Lost is suffering right now might be an indicator that the broader audience of Lost has been alienated by the speculative aspects of the show. For the week of May 4, the show didn’t even break the top 20. There may be many reasons why this show is falling in the ratings. And even if it is popular by genre show standards, it pales in comparison to reality shows involving dancing and singing.
Reprinted by permission of the author, from jeremiahtolbert.com
In the words of Battlestar Galactica – all this has happened before, and will happen again.
X-Files? Twilight Zone? Quantum Leap? Star Trek? Star Wars? Any video game you happen to pick up? The problem for SF is not one of needing to familiarise the public with our weirdness, or even win them over to it. Pretty much everyone has an idea what SF is about, lots of people like it, some don’t.
No, our problem is getting people who do to turn off the TV and read a book instead. And if they do, to read a book other than a mass media tie-in. I’m not sure Lost or any TV skiffy is helping with that. In my expereince people are much more likely to come from other types of books into SF than from TV shows. Much more benefit would come to the genre from seeing some of our best writers crossing over into mainstream literature IMHO.
Ditto Damien. Sci-fi shows are not new, nor is their popularity. But that popularity does not necessarily indicate an interest in sci-fi per se, and certainly not that the viewers will move on to a more serious sci-fi support or interest.
When it comes to the success of sci-fi shows, there are also factors such as:
Network support (promotions, timeslot, producer interference, not bouncing it to a new time every other week opposite a rival channel’s hit show, etcetera – the “Firefly” effect);
The quality of the show (Cleopatra 2525, or Homeboys in Space anyone?);
And what the show is other than sci-fi. Stargate SG-1 and BSG, two hugely popular sci-fi shows, both have plenty of action and military settings. Lost hooks its audience with suspense/mystery and soap opera drama. But people who like the military action drama might find Lost a little slow and boring. They might even find a show like Firefly too slow and talky. But they’ll eat up The Unit. The sci-fi element isn’t as important as what it is surrounded by.
Whether a SciFi show is mainstream depends on the context. I’ll use the 40+ years old tv programme Doctor Who.
Doctor Who is an institution in Britain.
Thus the series 4 finale shown two weeks ago, pulled in 10.27 million viewers, about 40% of the terrestial tv audience. And thats in one, not that large country.Many of the people watching would say they do not like science fiction. They dont watch scifi shows, and dont read scifi books.But they would have watched it as children and therefore now watch it with their children, because ostensibly, its a children’s science fiction show.
Any science fiction programme with good writing, that addresses the big topics in contemporary society,and with talented actors, will attract an audience.If its properly scheduled, promoted, supported, it will attract a BIG audience.
Ultimately, strip away the aliens, or spaceships, or timetravel etc,and its the adressing of contemporary issues and problems that grips. That’s why some eventually enter the culture long after, and words, phrases, characters, concepts from them remain uunderstood by people who have never seen it(e.g Star Trek).
When the BBC decided to relaunch Dr Who, they put in the hands of one of the most talented tv writers outside of scfi.He’d loved it as a child. His team recruited top writers and some heavyweight actors, both the main two stars and many of the guest stars. The current star had been- you guessed it- a childhood fan of the show. People were willing to appear, because it was a national institution.
The BBC then promoted it so much one forgot that they are a state broadcasting channel, publicly funded, which doesnt have adverts on it. They put it on their massive website, featured episodes on the front of their widely read tv+film listings magazine, put it in their BBC America cable channel, sent the writers and producers and some of the actors to big Cons,wangled interviews from time to time in mainstream press, sold it abroad..etc etc.
So, those finale viewing figures may double or possibly treble eventually.
And, it is, I repeat, a CHILDREN’S scifi programme, (now watched predominantly by adults),which is thus scheduled early evening at the weekend.
The moral of this story? Deal with the big, timeless ideas. Use top writers and actors – not necessarily from the scifi field.And grab your audience young and keep them!