In print | Published April 24, 2008

Perhaps I should explain. My friend Annie desperately wants me to write about Battlestar Galactica, the cult-favorite science-fiction series whose fourth season is currently airing on the SciFi channel. I do not watch Battlestar Galactica. I have never, in fact, seen a single episode. The only thing that I know about the show is that it is set in space and the characters say “frak” instead of “fuck.” Therefore, I will not be writing about the show, no matter how much Annie wants me to.

Or maybe I will. Annie’s wish for me to write about “a show that I’ve [meaning Annie] actually seen” got me thinking about the nature of cult TV. Why is it that some shows attract a rabid following (sometimes of just a few thousand people, sometimes of millions) who not only tune in every week but analyze every episode on message boards, pepper their everyday speech with references to their show of choice, attend conventions and write endless fan fiction, while other shows are only stopped at because there’s nothing else on or simply passed over altogether?

I’ve already shared my near-religious obsession with a certain complex, confusing show set on a tropical island in a previous column, and will now turn to the cult favorites who count amongst their followings some of my nearest and dearest. I’ve already mentioned Battlestar Galactica, a show that commands an impressive cult following, particularly considering that it’s on a channel that nobody watches and often has year-long breaks between seasons. Another of my friends (who shall remain nameless, because the nature of what I’m about to divulge is so shameful) refuses to answer his phone Monday nights because he’s watching Heroes, that inferior Lost knockoff whose second season was widely panned. Not that I’m judging people who watch Heroes; I’m just saying that they’re wasting their time and demonstrating poor taste in television.

Heroes-hating aside, the three aforementioned shows share some common elements. All three are immensely complex, with mythologies that are easy to get lost in, many different characters and unanswered questions constantly lurking at the borders of the screen. None of these shows could really be anything but cult; each requires much more time and energy than just the one hour per week it actually takes to keep up with the episodes, assuming of course that the viewer actually wants to get involved in the show and guess about what’s going on. Cult TV, then, is something that involves the viewers, sucking them into the mythology that underlies the plot and causing them to start creating complex theories involving philosophy, aliens and polar bears before they even realize what they’re doing.

Cult favorite shows, however, do not always contain complex mythological elements. Another of my friends owns the entire series of Judd Apatow’s series Freaks and Geeks on DVD. (I’m not disclosing her name, but you’ll be able to figure out who she is because she’ll start trying to get you to watch these DVDs the moment she meets you. In fact, I’m pretty sure that she carries them around with her wherever she goes on the off-chance that someone unwittingly agrees to view an episode or two.) The show speaks to her and the other loyal fans out there because, as I conjecture, it portrays the high school experience in a way that is awkward and painful enough to ring true to everyone who wasn’t homecoming queen or popular jock. (Of course, this is Swarthmore, so I assume that most of my readership was far from awkward during their teen years. Speaking of my readership, I would like to thank all the many, many people who I am sure look forward to reading my column every time it comes out; it appears that most of those people are boys who frequent pub nite and watch South Park, and I would like to thank all of them in particular for reading.)

Cult television, then, appeals to people for many different and highly variable reasons. Some of us like shows that challenge our intellects, puzzle us and leave us scratching our heads at the end of the season. Some of us like art to imitate life and therefore appreciate scripts that delve into the minutiae of everyday life. All of us, of course, like to be entertained, and a show doesn’t have a chance of developing a cult following unless it is well-written with interesting characters and compelling plots. Except, of course, in the case of Heroes.

Alexandra is a first-year. You can reach her at aisrael1@swarthmore.edu.

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