When The Fandom Takes Over: I'm Obsessed With Speculative TV Scripts And I'm Not Alone

It’s easy to obsess over television shows.

Complex characters, an interesting premise and quality acting are the only requirements needed for me to add another show to my watch list.

However, there are times when the show has drawn me in so much that I analyse every. single. detail regarding plot points and character development. I know I’m not alone – and that’s where the fandom community comes in. It’s almost a whole new world (mostly online) where many individuals band together to discuss the show and create new ideas of how the story should continue to be told.

There are times when shows are so addictive, you need to become a part of the fandom community so you can discuss the show in greater detail, or even write fanfiction, wherein you can develop the world further to give the characters an ending the writers won’t, or develop ‘head-canons’, where you create your own version of the character that airs on your television screen.

Fanfiction isn’t always about ‘righting the wrongs’ or ‘fixing plot holes’. Often, the show has clearly done something extraordinary to make people want to add to the ‘canon’ (meaning, the official story according to the episodes that have aired). The fandom community is a platform to express different understandings of a show and its characters; to ignite discussion and start friendships through mutual interests.

Recently, I’ve discovered a new kind of ‘fanfiction’, led to it by my love of Orphan Black.

See, four individuals in the Orphan Black community worked together to produce ‘speculative scripts’ (these being, in this instance, a form of fanfiction where an entire hypothetical season of the show is written, in script format, by fans prior to the official season starting).

Orphan Black is a Canadian series which begins when one woman, played by Tatiana Maslany, sees her doppelgänger commit suicide. This sets off a chain of events where the main character becomes caught up in a clone conspiracy and enters a world she couldn’t have even imagined existed.

OBSpec is a prime example of the potential of a fandom community; so committed to providing fans with a dose of Orphan Black during its nine month hiatus, utilising canon Orphan Black characters to develop their own storylines of where the story could possibly go.

Speculative scripts are uncommon, but it is representative of the potential of a fandom community wildly invested in a television show. Like fanfiction and television analysis, it indicates the impact television shows can have on individuals, inspiring us to convert our interest in a show into a new creative opportunity; to learn and to think critically about the messages the show is intent on exploring. I’m deep in it now.

Emily Lam is one of Student Edge’s student contributors. Learn more about the contributors program.