Talk:Cult television

message: (re: the Emmy comment above)
If we're going to apply awards as the criterion of 'non-cultishness', then:
1) That'll open a whole can of worms as to what constitutes a "legitimate" award, for this purpose (There are award-winning shows in Japan, Canada, Australia, the UK, etc, that would be 'cult' in the US, and vice versa.)
and
 2) Then please don't reverse the deletion of the following items, all verified Emmy winners:
Get Smart (Best Comedy, 1968-9)
Arrested Development (Best Comedy, 2003-4) 
Northern Exposure (Best Drama, 1991-2)
Seinfeld (Best Comedy, 1991-2)
Lost (Best Drama, 2004-5) 
While I would take issue with the description of being a 'cult show fan' as being akin to low-grade mental illness or religious mania, that's just my personal opinion. The above deletions are based on facts. -Smoot.
:I disagree with the removal of Get Smart.  The above text about Buffy/Emmy awards was just one suggestion of how a show could be measured as cult - not the one and only definition.  Get Smart is going back in.  The others (I've not heard of Arrested Development or Northern Exposure - so some may disagree) probably don't count as cult anyway though. Howie ☎ 10:00, 23 February 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: If the Emmy doesn't do it, then the 30+ years of consistent syndication, several sequels/spinoffs and a theatrical movie, and an upcoming release in the form of DVD boxed sets should. This isn't even a show I'm all that interested in, but it's not in the same class, as say, The Prisoner (Less than 15 episodes, considered 'cult' in its country of origin, even at the time of release.) 4.156.69.173 16:30, 23 February 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: But The Avengers ran for ten years, was wildly popular, had a spin-off series and theatrical movie, plus several DVD releases, is currently/recently been repeated on BBC 4 and BBC America, and is still considered cult.  You are judging what is and isn't cult on the recognition it's had by the industry it was created in (awards, spin-off series and movies, DVD releases etc.) and not on the way it's perceived by it's own audience.  The audience make it cult - the media don't care if it's cult or not if they see money in a theatrical film/DVD release/merchandising etc.  The audience and fans make a show cult.  Not awards and DVD releases. Howie ☎ 00:16, 24 February 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: =Awards?

message: Can I add cult shows that never aired on USA or UK?
:I don't see why not. It would be nice to have things a bit less Amer- / Anglocentric. I'd just make sure the articles for those shows explained why they should be labeled as cult. --Tydaj 02:28, 16 May 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Foreign shows yo 

message: I'm not sure if I agree with the amount of anime on this list. While the likes of Cowboy Bebop, Sailor Moon and Neon Genesis Evangelion undeniably developed a cult following, I'm pretty sure that anime exists as a distinct subculture from what would generally be considered to be cult television. Feel free to shout me down on this... but I remain unsure. Kinitawowi 15:00, Aug 3, 2004 (UTC)
I'll downshout you if you like. What definition of "cult" are you using? Small group of people (in the West) really like them, most people don't know they exist or dislike them - they look like cult to me matturn 04:02, 31 May 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Anime as cult? 

message: The way this article is looking, would it perhaps be better served as a category from which each of these shows can be linked into? CaptainSpam actually remembered to sign it this time 01:49, 1 May 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Category? 

message: It disgusts me that someone would actually remove items in this list just because there is no Wikipedia article about them YET.  The point of Wikipedia is so that people can contribute to articles - to help create them, to add to stubs etc.  Just because a TV show listed on this page has no Wikipedia article, it doesn't make it any less of a cult show.  Anyone wishing to research the cult following of ITC productions, for example, would have an incomplete list if the person who removed Department S from the list had their way.  I've reverted the article to the version before 80.178.178.120's edit, and included the one show they contributed to the list.  HowardBerry 21:19, 22 July 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Removal of items in the list because they have no Wikipedia article - Ridiculous! 

message: Regarding User:Sanhedrin's constant removal of half of the list of shows, and re-writing of what Cult TV is actually is, this discussion aims to resolve the issue.  Personally I consider The A Team, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Trek, The X Files and all the other shows she/he keeps removing to be cult shows.  The BBC seems to agree with me too (The A Team are mentioned on this cult page: ), Buffy is listed as being Cult on the BBC site too .  The X Files is also listed as cult: [www.bbc.co.uk/cult/xfiles/], as does it count Star Trek as cult [www.bbc.co.uk/cult/st/]..... etc. etc.
Until agreed reasons can be stated for the removal of the content, then I would request that the page not be edited in such a way.  Please post your opinions below. HowardBerry 17:25, 7 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Sanhedrin, I am not aware that Wikipedia is solely for U.S. citizens.  These shows may not be cult in the U.S. but are considered so elsewhere; hence, they deserve to be on the list.  If the article was restricted to only those shows considered cult in the U.S., this would make the article factually inaccurate. Fortunately, the article applies to shows that may be considered cult period.  As to "while this page will continue to list shows with cult following in their original market" - why should it?  Stephenb (Talk) 18:46, 7 December 2005 (UTC)

text: A show being successful doesn't make it ineligible to be classified as cult.  Star Trek is HUGELY popular, but it is most cetainly a cult show; some fans go through their normal lives dressed in Starfleet uniforms for goodness sake!!  If you continue to remove the content on the page, this shall be presented to the disputes page.  HowardBerry 18:53, 7 December 2005 (UTC)

text: You are exactly right. This is not just for the US. Hence the changes, to distinguish that which is cult in the original market to that which is cult outside of its original market. Without such distinctions, the page is open to any show ever made anywhere. “Friends” is a cult show in Holland, “Seinfeld” is a cult show in Mozambique, “The Office (UK)” is a cult show in one neighborhood or with these 5 friends, etc. An all-inclusive list does nothing. 
As an American, I am only qualified to remove shows from this market which are not cult in this market. There are several UK shows on the list which need attention. Sanhedrin 19:55, 7 December 2005 (UTC)
replies: text:  I utterly disagree.  This page is about all shows which are considered cult.  You are exaggerating this issue entirely.  You removed Star Trek from the list, as you refuse to believe it is a cult show.  As some of the previous discussions on this page already state - Star Trek should be on this page.  You are not answering why you removed the shows you did - you are just saying that you feel you are right and that we are wrong, without actually backing up your opinions (except for with your overexaggerated nonsense about something being cult in "one neighbourhood" etc.).  This page is not about the American market - it's about ALL markets.  This is not a listing of Cult television in America, it's a listing of all cult television; so you should not edit out shows which are considered to be cult in markets foreign from the US. HowardBerry 20:04, 7 December 2005 (UTC)

text: Sanhedrin, you are the one trying to restrict the list!  It is also not a list of Cult television only considered cult in the US, which would be Americentrism.  The page is currently not biased and does include shows from other markets - I have no problem with shows considered cult in France appearing on the list (indeed, I believe Buffy is) whether they are French or not.  I also have no problem with a show like Absolutely Fabulous being on the list which is (I understand) a cult show in the US but probably isn't considered such here (it's a pretty mainstream sitcom).  This list has obviously been built up by a number of users; Wikipedia works on consensus but you are the only person so far arguing to remove such shows as "Star Trek".  If there was a consensus arguing for your opinion, I wouldn't have any problem with your edits, but at the moment you're just imposing your own opinion on the article. Stephenb (Talk) 11:34, 8 December 2005 (UTC)

text: "Why you insist on restricting the list to Americentrism is beyond me."  I'm doing nothing of the sort!!!  I'm keep the list open to all countries.  You are the one who is trying to make it country specific.  HowardBerry 12:24, 8 December 2005 (UTC)

text: Nonsense.  I am only "championing" American shows because those are the ones you decided to delete entirely from the page.  The other shows are not the ones at risk from deletion at the moment.  You want to know where the shows are from my market?  Look through the page history - I've added about 20 shows from the UK.  You took this issue into mediation... perhaps you should actually follow that process instead from now on? After all, the process can not continue until you actually proceed with what has been requested of you.  HowardBerry 09:05, 9 December 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Dispute of removal of content 

message: Glad to see that some shows that don't belong have been removed.  I totally missed Friends being on there, or else I would have removed that one(!); but some of the others I'd not heard of.  Howie ☎ 20:13, 14 April 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Cleanup 

message: There are a few other shows that appeared on Nickelodeon that might qualify as cult shows, like Kenan & Kel, Space Cases, and The Secret World of Alex Mack, all three of which were very popular at one time or another but inevitably were cancelled as Nickelodeon began making more air time for shows that appeal to more mainstream audiences. Space Cases still seems to be fairly popular, at least, with the episodes hitting the internet, I've noticed an increase in the interest of it. JBladen 15:09, 22 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Old Nickelodeon Shows? 

message: Would someone explain to me why Charmed is considered a cult show? Its not an obscure show, it was aimed at a mainstream audience, it doesn't have a coherent mythology, it was produced by Aaron Spelling, it doesn't fall in the category of "it's so bad its cult", it didn't get support from critics, either mainstream or underground, and it doesn't have some sort of coherent ideology or philosophy.--Gonzalo84 18:32, 12 February 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Charmed? 

message: I can understand some of the anime here being cult, as .hack//sign had 2 runs through its one season and then completely stoped showing, but Inuyasha? How in gods name is that cult? Isn't every 14 year old who stays up past 11 a fan of it? That really isn't cult, and then Viva la bam? Mainstream punk isn't cult TV last time I looked. Grim adventures of Billy and Mandy is still a popular CN show, not in the least cult. Dragonball Z? An extremely popular childrens show? cult? no. I'm being a little blunt here, but not every show that didn't hit mainstream audiences is cult television, it's just unpopular, there's a difference. Higatron 16:28, 10 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Anime cult? 

message: No love for Joss Whedon's incredible TV show "Firefly"?  If that isn't a cult show then I don't know what is. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Urlacher rules (talk • contribs) 17:20, 10 March 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Firefly?