thoughts?

[majorshipper]

re: scripts/deleted scenes and what is the word-of-God-canon material. If it was in the original draft, is it canon? What about later drafts? What about deleted scenes? Are the only things canon those we see onscreen as a part of the episode/movie itself? What about retconning; does it count if it's subtle and sensible, and not when it's whacky and odd? Or how about things stated during interviews/cons? Is it more canon if a writer says it vs. a producer vs. and actor(in this case, talking about a character)? What if the writers make a mistake early on and then fix it later in canon and interviews; is the original true, or is what they fixed it as the canon?

I've always been pretty liberal with what I consider canon, including deleted scenes and scenes that were in the filming drafts but got dropped for time or whatever, as well as stuff explicitly stated by writers/producers during interviews. Heck, I even consider most tie-ins canon. And I have no problem with tasteful retconning, most of the time. But I've noticed that a lot of fandom is very, very, very picky about what is canon and what isn't, to the point of discrediting and ignoring retcons and even things the writers themselves say was supposed to happen(I remember the crazy that went down when Joe Mallozzi stated that the writers had planned on a John and Teyla relationship, but hadn't gotten the chance to play it out).

So does most of this stem from fanatical fans who want to believe what they think is right, or are people too burned off trusting the people who create their shows?
IDK. Offer your thoughts. Is defining canon more of a show-by-show, fandom-by-fandom kinda thing?


*This post is brought to you by my wandering brain, How long Sam spent at Standford, and the script for Merlin 4x03. You're welcome.

Comments

[majorshipper]

IDK why I'm so...all I can think of is liberal, lol, with how I define canon. I guess I'm greedy for source material? I'm usually on board with deleted scenes if the only reason they were cut is for time or relevance, but if the writers/producers cut them for a plot-related reason, then I'm less likely to count it canon.
You bring up an interesting point, though, in regards to books and written material; I'm usually a lot more strict about what I accept as canon when it comes to the written word as in books (though I've never been interested or involved in HP, so I can't speak to that particular series).


With the whole Stanford thing, basically, it was them messing up when they made Sam 22 instead of 20; they forgot to account for the extra two years in the first couple of scripts, and so some stuff reads as Sam and Dean having been separated for 2 years, while others later said Sam had been at school for 4 years. In the end, I think most of fandom's just accepted that he was in his third year, so a Junior, but Dean and Sam rounded it up or down, depending on how they felt.
Though, that's kinda an interesting take; I don't think any of TPTB have officially given that as canon, and it certainly hasn't been explicitly mentioned in the show itself, so by that definition it's not canon, and yet most of fandom considers it as such.

[ohmiya-sg.livejournal.com]

If they cut it for time, then it just didn't happen on camera, I guess. Like Dean drinking beer and watching soaps and fighting with his crutch while he was recovering. I'm not much of a stickler about this whole canon/fanon thing, though. I just realize how much everything changes before it makes it on the air, and how easily things could end up entirely different.

I remember Kripke talking about it at Paley and saying they just messed up when they counted.

[majorshipper]

Yeah, I think you're right. I think one reason people tend to like clearly defined "If it aired, then it's canon" way of thinking is because you never know if the writers might take things one direction from a specific scene that wasn't in early drafts but did make the shooting script, or, in another direction, you never know how story lines might change depending on how fans react to a specific scene in a show. So I recognize why canon can be a big deal when it comes down to it.

That might not make much sense...I've got a raging headache and I should probably sleep XD