Watching the "bonus" scene from the last ep of BSG, and reading the online graphic novel from Heroes, has me thinking about the value and intent of extending a tv show beyond television. I wasn't exactly dragged kicking & screaming into the 21st century, but there's an old-tech part of me that rather prefers confining tv stories to tv. In part, I know I'm fortunate to have the interweb available to me; it's pretty damn cool that I have access to this extra stuff that I couldn't see without my computer. But there's something about going to a show's website that gives me a greater feeling of being sold to than just spending an hour in front of the tv. Maybe it's a more potent reminder that the stories I so enjoy, the characters I like so much and the dramas I get so involved in, are merely products. As soon as those products aren't selling so well, they're pulled from the shelves and my investment in them is for naught.
Maybe I'm just bitter about the cancellation of shows like Farscape & Firefly, and ticked that crapfests like Lost* can generate so much hype.
That's getting a bit off track, though. So, do I appreciate what extra material on the 'net & other sources adds to a tv show? I know I've enjoyed such things, like reading some of the B5 books or watching deleted scenes from BSG on scifi.com, but I'm not sure I actually consider that stuff part of the greater story. And, as a component of marketing, I know I'm pretty turned off by it.
Perhaps I would benefit from just thinking about it less and taking my entertainment as it comes.
*Please don't take offense if you're a fan of Lost - my comments are entirely a matter of taste, and thankfully tastes vary widely. Besides, I watch that very crapfest myself, mostly because I like the idea of being stuck on an island with Terry O'Quinn.
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