Posted by PS on June 05, 2004 at 03:44:52:
In Reply to: Cultivating a response: posted by kat on June 05, 2004 at 03:05:14:
: In this weeks issue of TVGuide there was a list of the 25 top cult shows ever! Of course at the top was Star Trek (yea!) my personal fav. Other personal choices on the list; The X-Files, Buffy, The Twilight Zone, Pee Wee's Playhouse, Mystery Science Theatre 3000, Beauty and the Beast, Quantum Leap, Twin Peaks, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, H.R. Puffnstuff, and Forever Knight. Missing from this list is Red Dwarf. There are many shows I didn't mention either because I never watched them or I don't consider them a cult show. The one that jumped out at me was the Simpson's. This show (in my opinion) is way too popular to be a cult show, it's more of a phenomenon. They also had two shows listed as cults in waiting, one was Alias, the other (that's right) Stargate SG-1. So welcome to the cult Steve!
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TV Guide's definition of cult is obviously not constrained by the degree of popularity, major network, or broadcast time, or they wouldn't have included Star Trek and X-Files, both hugely popular, both network prime-time, both lasting for many years. About Stargate... TV Guide itself listed Stargate as THE most popular Sci-Fi series to date in an issue a few months ago. Now if Stargate is "in waiting" after seven years, apparently the show needs to get MORE popular still or gain more longevity to be an official "cult". So it seems popularity certainly cannot be a restriction, rather, it must be a requirement. What is more confusing is how a recent favorite prime-time show like Alias can be "in waiting" to be a "cult" show. I don't get it. Did TV Guide explain their criteria for being a "top cult show"?
Love,
The ANALytical guy that has to figure out everything