Fanthropological

Why do people care so much about whether or not wrestling is fake? And what is it about pro wrestling that reels fans in? All this and more on this week's episode with our own resident expert, G!

## Episode Outline

## Fandom Facts

### [Last Episode's](https://fanthropological.com/earthbound) Famous Last Words

What did we have to say before doing the preparation for this week's episode?

**G:** < Abstained >

**T:** Why do people enjoy watching bad wrestling?

[// Seems partially nostalgia: period where it was cool. lack of competition or desire to find other sources.]: #

**Z:** Wrestlers are pretty great show people, performing for the back of the room... have there been wrestlers that were not fans before they got into it (or ever during)? Is every pro-wrestler a fan?

**Guest(s):** Statement

### Main Discussion

**Topics covered in this episode:** TBD

### Famous Last Words

Our chance (and yours, if you're watching on [twitch.tv/thenickscast](https://twitch.tv/thenickscast)) to have some (in)famous last words about next week's topic before we've done any prep work! Next week, we'll be talking about the fans and fandom of _M.A.S.H._!

**T:** Is this another fandom that is going to die out? Is the fandom still alive?

**G:** Would fans like to see M.A.S.H. rebooted?

**Z:** When the show was running, how did fans get together?

## Where can you find us?

Pretty much everything we do is `something/thenickscast`, but in specific...

- If you're looking for this podcast (Fanthropological), you can find it at [Fanthropological.com](https://fanthropological.com) or on different podcatchers including [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/2IVp8MBIUyCqlKyZn79iHn), [Apple Podcasts](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fanthropological/id1163621210?mt=2), [Google Podcasts](https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cDovL2ZlZWRzLnBvZGlhbnQuY28vZmFudGhyb3BvbG9naWNhbC9yc3MueG1s) and many others!

- You can join us for the live recording of the podcasts and participate (or catch us when we're playing some games) at [twitch.tv/thenickscast](https://twitch.tv/thenickscast)

- Keep up-to-date with our latest goings-on on [Facebook](https://facebook.com/thenickscast), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/thenickscast), or [Instagram](https://instagram.com/thenickscast), all `@thenickscast`

- We also occasionally create extra content about fandom including convention coverage and interviews on [YouTube.com/thenickscast](https://youtube.com/thenickscast)

- We have some fine merchandise available at [shop.thenickscast.com](https://shop.thenickscast.com) (and we'd love your support!)

- If all else fails, you can email us: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

## What is "Fanthropological"?

Every week, Fanthropological delivers over an hour of fandom-related "fanalysis" covering a different fandom every week and giving you hard data, history, special guests, and, of course, speculation!

We cover topics spanning the gamut of anime, manga, comics, video games, comics, movies, books, television, and, in general, geek culture.

## Credits

- All other music and sound for this week's episode were provided by Nick Green!

How does such a small franchise maintain a strong fanbase almost thirty* years later? And just what is it about fuzzy pickles and odometers that reel people into the games in the first place?

## Episode Outline

### Fandom Facts

**History and Origins:**

> The Mother series ... consists of three role-playing video games: the 1989 Mother for the Famicom, the 1994 Mother 2, known as EarthBound outside of Japan, for the Super NES, and the 2006 Mother 3 for the Game Boy Advance. Written by Shigesato Itoi and published by Nintendo, and featuring game mechanics modeled on the Dragon Quest series, the Mother series is known for its sense of humor, originality, and parody. The player uses weapons and psychic powers to fight hostile, everyday objects, aliens and brainwashed people. Signature elements of the series include the lighthearted plots, the battle sequences with psychedelic backgrounds, and the "rolling HP meter": as player health ticks down like an odometer (damage doesn't instantly subtract HP), players can outrun the meter to heal before dying. While the franchise is popular in Japan, in the United States, it is best associated with the cult following behind EarthBound.

> — [Wikipedia - EarthBound](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_(video_game_series))

**Names**

Sometimes fandoms have a definitive name (e.g. "Whovians") other fandoms... struggle. Here are some of the names that [the community has come up with](https://earthboundcentral.com/2012/03/what-are-earthbound-fans/):

- Starmen

- Motherheads

- Momma's Boys

- Mother Lovers

- EarthBounders

- Boundies

- Eagleandians

**Search Data:**

In a surprise twist, unlike most of the fandoms that we have covered on the show, [EarthBound fandom has been almost constant](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F01282w,%2Fm%2F01s7_9) (it's only decreased a little bit since 2004). The most notable spike in interest occured in October 2008, which likely coincides with the release of the unofficial English fan translation by the StarMen.net community.

The top ten countries for _EarthBound_, by search volume, are as follows: Japan, United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Chile, Jordan, Australia, Mexico, Philippines, and Sweden.

The top ten countries for the _Mother_ series, by search volume, are as follows: Indonesia, United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Philippines, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Singapore, Pakistan, and Australia.

### [Last Episode's](https://fanthropological.com/thesimpsons) Famous Last Words

What did we have to say before doing the preparation for this week's episode?

**T:** I want to know more about starmen.net

**G:** Is anyone drawn to EarthBound because of it's contemporary, American-ness?

**Z:** Itoi has gone on record to say that there will be no more Mother games... are fans making continuations of the series since there will be more more official releases?

### Main Discussion

**Topics covered in this episode:** TBD

### Spotlight? [The Minch Foundation](http://www.minchfoundation.org/)

> A Charity for People Like Us

>

>You are a successful businessman. People owe you a hundred thousand dollars or more. But when have you ever taken time out to give back to your community?

>

>— [The Minch Foundation](http://www.minchfoundation.org/#our-story-1-alex)

A division of Golden Aloysius Heavy Industries, you might know them for the EarthBound Bash or their Strategic Partnerships Enabling Network Dynamics (S.P.E.N.D.) awards presented at Camp Fangamer most recently awarded in 201X to Bill Gate, Elong Musk, and Mr. Uber.

### Spotlight?! Camp Fangamer / EarthBound Baaaash!!

There _was_ (is?) a cool event related to EarthBound, but it may be defunct? It's hard to find permanent information. In 2014, there was an event called EarthBound Baaaash!! which raised over $20k for [Speak your Silence](https://speakyoursilence.org/#), a charity "to inspire people to prevent sexual abuse and assault by sharing their voice for those affected". That event _may_ have evolved into [Camp Fangamer](https://www.fangamer.com/blogs/newsletter/tbd), which is a more general celebration of the Fangamer community while also being heavily Earthbound influenced.

### Spotlight: [Mother 4 Game](http://www.mother4game.com/)

> Mother 4 follows the journey of three kids and the leader of a biker gang. With dark rumors of "Modern Men" running wild, these unassuming heroes set out to uncover the truth, no matter how dangerous. From bustling urban streets to secret volcano bases, all kinds of oddball thugs and impossible monsters stand in their way... but everything should be okay if they don't forget to write home!

> ...

> This game is built from the ground up by a group of volunteers to be released completely free for Windows, Mac and Linux. It features original artwork, music, story and even a custom engine. This project has been in development for five years, with serious work beginning 2 years ago.

>

> — [Mother 4](http://www.mother4game.com/about.html)

### SPOTLIGHT: [EarthBound Anthology](http://anthology.starmen.net/index.html)

> In spite of a seemingly endless stream of disappointments and letdowns, the EarthBound fanbase remains as strong and optimistic as ever. This online version of the Anthology was posted as the final bonus for the 2009 EBFGP, a yearly event in which the community plays through EarthBound together over the course of a month. The 2009 event drew thousands of visitors, hundreds of whom would tune in daily to watch the live broadcasts by various community members.

>

> There never was a greater illustration of the EarthBound community's spirit, and its in that same spirit that we (finally!) commit this book to the public. Stay classy, EarthBound fans!

>

> — [EarthBound Anthology](http://anthology.starmen.net/index.html)

**Honorable Mentions**

- [Mother's Cookbook](https://twitter.com/motherscookbook): A cookbook inspired by the wacky foods in the Mother series of games. Unclear if you can buy this or not, but you can find out more by following them on twitter and DMing them.

### Famous Last Words

Our chance (and yours, if you're watching on [twitch.tv/thenickscast](https://twitch.tv/thenickscast)) to have some (in)famous last words about next week's topic before we've done any prep work! Next week, we'll be talking about the fans and fandom of _Pro Wrestling_!

**G:** < Abstained >

**T:** Why do people enjoy watching bad wrestling?

**Z:** Wrestlers are pretty great show people, performing for the back of the room... have there been wrestlers that were not fans before they got into it (or ever during)? Is every pro-wrestler a fan?

## Where can you find us?

Pretty much everything we do is `something/thenickscast`, but in specific...

- If you're looking for this podcast (Fanthropological), you can find it at [Fanthropological.com](https://fanthropological.com) or on different podcatchers including [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/2IVp8MBIUyCqlKyZn79iHn), [Apple Podcasts](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fanthropological/id1163621210?mt=2), [Google Podcasts](https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cDovL2ZlZWRzLnBvZGlhbnQuY28vZmFudGhyb3BvbG9naWNhbC9yc3MueG1s) and many others!

- You can join us for the live recording of the podcasts and participate (or catch us when we're playing some games) at [twitch.tv/thenickscast](https://twitch.tv/thenickscast)

- Keep up-to-date with our latest goings-on on [Facebook](https://facebook.com/thenickscast), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/thenickscast), or [Instagram](https://instagram.com/thenickscast), all `@thenickscast`

- We also occasionally create extra content about fandom including convention coverage and interviews on [YouTube.com/thenickscast](https://youtube.com/thenickscast)

- We have some fine merchandise available at [shop.thenickscast.com](https://shop.thenickscast.com) (and we'd love your support!)

- If all else fails, you can email us: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

## What is "Fanthropological"?

Every week, Fanthropological delivers over an hour of fandom-related "fanalysis" covering a different fandom every week and giving you hard data, history, special guests, and, of course, speculation!

We cover topics spanning the gamut of anime, manga, comics, video games, comics, movies, books, television, and, in general, geek culture.

## Credits

- Logo: ["EarthBound icon.png"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EarthBound_icon.png) by [Arkhandar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Arkhandar) used under [CC BY-SA 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)

- _Ending_: ["Pollyanna (I Believe in You)"](https://soundcloud.com/jamieirl/pollyanna-i-believe-in-you) by [Jamie Paige](https://soundcloud.com/jamieirl) used under [CC BY-NC-SA 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/)

- All other music and sound for this week's episode were provided by Nick Green!

How does such a small franchise maintain a strong fanbase almost thirty* years later? And just what is it about fuzzy pickles and odometers that reel people into the games in the first place?

## Episode Outline

### Fandom Facts

**History and Origins:**

> The Mother series ... consists of three role-playing video games: the 1989 Mother for the Famicom, the 1994 Mother 2, known as EarthBound outside of Japan, for the Super NES, and the 2006 Mother 3 for the Game Boy Advance. Written by Shigesato Itoi and published by Nintendo, and featuring game mechanics modeled on the Dragon Quest series, the Mother series is known for its sense of humor, originality, and parody. The player uses weapons and psychic powers to fight hostile, everyday objects, aliens and brainwashed people. Signature elements of the series include the lighthearted plots, the battle sequences with psychedelic backgrounds, and the "rolling HP meter": as player health ticks down like an odometer (damage doesn't instantly subtract HP), players can outrun the meter to heal before dying. While the franchise is popular in Japan, in the United States, it is best associated with the cult following behind EarthBound.

> — [Wikipedia - EarthBound](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_(video_game_series))

**Names**

Sometimes fandoms have a definitive name (e.g. "Whovians") other fandoms... struggle. Here are some of the names that [the community has come up with](https://earthboundcentral.com/2012/03/what-are-earthbound-fans/):

- Starmen

- Motherheads

- Momma's Boys

- Mother Lovers

- EarthBounders

- Boundies

- Eagleandians

**Search Data:**

In a surprise twist, unlike most of the fandoms that we have covered on the show, [EarthBound fandom has been almost constant](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F01282w,%2Fm%2F01s7_9) (it's only decreased a little bit since 2004). The most notable spike in interest occured in October 2008, which likely coincides with the release of the unofficial English fan translation by the StarMen.net community.

The top ten countries for _EarthBound_, by search volume, are as follows: Japan, United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Chile, Jordan, Australia, Mexico, Philippines, and Sweden.

The top ten countries for the _Mother_ series, by search volume, are as follows: Indonesia, United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Philippines, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Singapore, Pakistan, and Australia.

### [Last Episode's](https://fanthropological.com/thesimpsons) Famous Last Words

What did we have to say before doing the preparation for this week's episode?

**T:** I want to know more about starmen.net

**G:** Is anyone drawn to EarthBound because of it's contemporary, American-ness?

**Z:** Itoi has gone on record to say that there will be no more Mother games... are fans making continuations of the series since there will be more more official releases?

### Main Discussion

**Topics covered in this episode:** TBD

### Spotlight? [The Minch Foundation](http://www.minchfoundation.org/)

> A Charity for People Like Us

>

>You are a successful businessman. People owe you a hundred thousand dollars or more. But when have you ever taken time out to give back to your community?

>

>— [The Minch Foundation](http://www.minchfoundation.org/#our-story-1-alex)

A division of Golden Aloysius Heavy Industries, you might know them for the EarthBound Bash or their Strategic Partnerships Enabling Network Dynamics (S.P.E.N.D.) awards presented at Camp Fangamer most recently awarded in 201X to Bill Gate, Elong Musk, and Mr. Uber.

### Spotlight?! Camp Fangamer / EarthBound Baaaash!!

There _was_ (is?) a cool event related to EarthBound, but it may be defunct? It's hard to find permanent information. In 2014, there was an event called EarthBound Baaaash!! which raised over $20k for [Speak your Silence](https://speakyoursilence.org/#), a charity "to inspire people to prevent sexual abuse

The Nicks dive deep into personal nostalgia (that's good), the divide between fans (that's bad), the different shows that the Simpsons has been (that's good), and more for this long running (that's bad) media franchise! Can I go now?

## Episode Outline

### Fandom Facts

**History and Origins:**

> The Simpsons is a long running animated TV show, spanning 27 seasons over as many years, and counting (As of Dec 2016). It revolves around the lives of a supposedly average American middle class household; Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie.

>

> Over the years, The Simpsons' cast grew from the original five family members into over a hundred unique characters, along with numerous cameos.

> — [Fanlore - The Simpsons](https://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Simpsons)

Created by Matt Groening, _The Simpsons_ debuted as a series of shorts on the _Tracy Ullman Show_ in 1987 and since then has become a worldwide cultural phenomenon spanning hundreds of episodes and many comics, video games, and so much more. It is the longest running TV show in history and airs in over 180 countries. "The series is a satirical depiction of working-class life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The show is set in the fictional town of Springfield and parodies American culture and society, television, and the human condition" (Wikipedia).

**Search Data:**

Using Google Trends data, there is about as much search data available as there is missing, since it starts back in 2004. That being said, search interest in the show [has been on a slow decline](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F07c72) since approximately May 2010 (despite being relatively stable from 2004 - 2010). The show has had a particular spike in interest in July 2007 (_The Simpsons_ movie), but otherwise, no major peaks in interest.

The top ten countries for _the Simpsons_, by search volume, are as follows: Argentina, Lithuania, Czechia, Bolivia, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Ecuador, Colombia, and Slovakia (Canada is 27th; United States is 42nd).

**Fan Demographics:**

There is lots of data available about viewing habits and ratings... but not so much about the fans themselves. An article from the L.A. Times in 1990 has [some interesting tidbits though](http://articles.latimes.com/1990-10-16/entertainment/ca-2464_1_bart-simpson):

> Fifty-six percent of kids 2-11 and more than 50% of youngsters 12-17 tuned in "The Simpsons." What's more, 50% of men 18-34 and 42% of men 18-49 also watched Bart Simpson and his animated family.

>

> The figures for women fans of "The Simpsons" were slightly lower but still impressive--41% of females 18-34 and 36% of those 18-49 watched the show's fall premiere.

>

> Among folks 50 and older, there was almost no "Simpsons" audience: 8% of the men and 6% of the women.

As well, we know that folks see the show mostly positively even after its long run, even against other contemporaries like [The Big Bang Theory and Family Guy](https://www.statista.com/statistics/917969/us-audience-tv-show-attitudes/) with 56% positive opinion (compared to 23% negative opinion). We also know that there have been [less viewers, less awards, less top ten episodes](https://www.shortlist.com/entertainment/tv/a-scientific-search-to-find-out-when-the-simpsons-became-shit/71477), and not a lot of representation (by the numbers)... but none of that is about the fan demographics, unfortunately.

[//Archive Of Our Own has approximately 300 fan works... but like, the simpsons has done it everywhere. THERE'S EVEN A SUBREDDIT FOR IT.]: #

### [Last Episode's](https://fanthropological.com/alien) Famous Last Words

What did we have to say before doing the preparation for this week's episode?

**T:** What is the fandom like now compared to the beginning? Or in the mid 90s?

[// Didn't really find anything on this; moreso found things about watching the show then, or how the show changed]: #

**G:** Do Simpsons shitposters tend to be fans of those first few seasons? Have they gone through all iterations?

**Z:** At this point in the Simpsons, what kind of interaction is there between "Simpsons HQ" and the fandom?

**Jaime:** Do you choo-choo-choose me?

### Main Discussion

**Topics covered in this episode:** TBD

### Spotlight: [Frinkiac](https://frinkiac.com/)

> Frinkiac is a search engine for Simpsons quotes. It contains nearly 3 million screenshots (every episode from season 1 through 151) indexed by the quote they are associated with and has a variety of features to help you find the exact screenshot you’re looking for. Once you’ve found it you can share it with your friends or make a quick meme. Never again find yourself wishing you could pinpoint the second his heart rips in half. You’ll feel like god must feel when he’s holding a gun.

>

> — [Frinkiac - The Simpsons Screenshot Search Engine](https://langui.sh/2016/02/02/frinkiac-the-simpsons-screenshot-search-engine/)

### Spotlight: [Dark Simpsons](http://www.darksimpsons.com/)

> Welcome to Dark Simpsons Comics! If you are reading this, you have probably already taken a look at the comics we make here and have a sense of what we do. But I am here to explain a bit more about our approach to making these comics. Our goal here is to make the most ridiculous, dark, outrageous and offensive comics/memes/GIFs that we can out of screenshots from The Simpsons. We mix and match screenshots from many episodes, trying our best to maintain a solid storyline that does not require any dialogue to understand.

>

> — [Dark Simpsons](http://www.darksimpsons.com/about-us/)

### Famous Last Words

Our chance (and yours, if you're watching on [twitch.tv/thenickscast](https://twitch.tv/thenickscast)) to have some (in)famous last words about next week's topic before we've done any prep work! Next week, we'll be talking about the fans and fandom of _Earthbound / Mother_!

**T:** I want to know more about starmen.net

**G:** Is anyone drawn to Earthbound because of it's contemporary, American-ness?

**Z:** Itoi has gone on record to say that there will be no more Mother games... are fans making continuations of the series since there will be more more official releases?

## Where can you find us?

Pretty much everything we do is `something/thenickscast`, but in specific...

- If you're looking for this podcast (Fanthropological), you can find it at [Fanthropological.com](https://fanthropological.com) or on different podcatchers including [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/2IVp8MBIUyCqlKyZn79iHn), [Apple Podcasts](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fanthropological/id1163621210?mt=2), [Google Podcasts](https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cDovL2ZlZWRzLnBvZGlhbnQuY28vZmFudGhyb3BvbG9naWNhbC9yc3MueG1s) and many others!

- You can join us for the live recording of the podcasts and participate (or catch us when we're playing some games) at [twitch.tv/thenickscast](https://twitch.tv/thenickscast)

- Keep up-to-date with our latest goings-on on [Facebook](https://facebook.com/thenickscast), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/thenickscast), or [Instagram](https://instagram.com/thenickscast), all `@thenickscast`

- We also occasionally create extra content about fandom including convention coverage and interviews on [YouTube.com/thenickscast](https://youtube.com/thenickscast)

- We have some fine merchandise available at [shop.thenickscast.com](https://shop.thenickscast.com) (and we'd love your support!)

- If all else fails, you can email us: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

## What is "Fanthropological"?

Every week, Fanthropological delivers over an hour of fandom-related "fanalysis" covering a different fandom every week and giving you hard data, history, special guests, and, of course, speculation!

We cover topics spanning the gamut of anime, manga, comics, video games, comics, movies, books, television, and, in general, geek culture.

## Credits

- All other music and sound for this week's episode were provided by Nick Green!

How does the Alien cinematic universe fit together (and do fans care... about Predator)? How important is Ripley to the series? Is feminism an important part of the series? All this and more as Jaime of [Perfect Organism](https://www.perfectorganism.com/), an Alien Podcast, helps us to better understand the fandom around the Alien films!

## Episode Outline

### Fandom Facts

**History and Origins:**

> Alien is a science-fiction horror media franchise centered on the film series depicting Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley (played by Sigourney Weaver) and her battles with an extraterrestrial lifeform, commonly referred to as "the Alien".

>

> Produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox, the series began with Alien (1979), directed by Ridley Scott. It was followed by three sequels, Aliens (1986), Alien³ (1992), and Alien Resurrection (1997), directed by James Cameron, David Fincher, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, respectively. Scott also directed a prequel series, composed of Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017).

>

> The series has led to numerous books, comics, and video game spin-offs. The Alien vs. Predator franchise combines the continuities of the Alien franchise with the Predator franchise, and consists of two films as well as varying series of comics, books and video games. A video game called Alien: Isolation was released in 2014 to generally positive reviews.

> — [Wikipedia - Alien](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_(franchise))

**Search Data:**

Interest in the Alien franchise is down a little bit since 2004, [but is relatively stable and oddly periodic](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F095d5f). There have been outsized spikes in search volume starting August 2004 (_Alien vs. Predator_), December 2007 (_Alien vs. Predator: Requiem_), February 2010, February 2013 (_Aliens: Colonial Marines_), October 2014 (_Alien: Isolation_), and May 2017 (_Alien: Covenant_).

The top ten countries, by search volume, are as follows: Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Spain, Peru, Mexico, El Salvador, Paraguay, Germany, Ecuador (Canada is 31st, United States is 34th).

**Fan Demographics:**

[One source, BrandWatch, has some data specifically around online audiences interested in _Alien: Covenant_](https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/audience-insights-alien-covenant/).

- _Gender_: 80% male (49% more likely to be male than the general twitter audience), compared to 20% female (57% _less_ than the general twitter audience)

- _Interests_: 25% Interested in movies (553% more likely than general audience), 21% interested in books (150% more likely than general audience), 19% interested in games (134% more likely than general audience)

**Fanac Fast Facts:**

- Archive Of Our Own has [over 1000 fan works related to the Alien series](https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Alien%20Series/works):

- Top 3 Categories: F/M (35%), Gen (31%), M/M (25%)

- Top 3 Characters: David 8 (34%), Ellen Ripley (19%), Walter (Alien: Covenant) (13%)

- Top 3 Relationships: David 8/Walter (Alien: Covenant) (8%), Daniels/Walter (Alien Movies) (7%), Daniels (Alien: Covenant)/Walter (Alien: Covenant) (6%)

- ...Most of which are only involved with the existing Alien properties

### [Last Episode's](https://fanthropological.com/pinball) Famous Last Words

What did we have to say before doing the preparation for this week's episode?

**T:** What do fans think about Prometheus? Which do they dislike more, _Alien: Resurrection_ or _Prometheus_?

[// Literally asked on reddit. After listening to your episode on fandom toxicity, I don't really want to bring it up (Also, forgot about / haven't seen Alien: Covenant)]: #

**G:** Alien Quadrilogy... What's the deal with that? Is there a sense of which is more beloved, Alien or Aliens?

**Z:** Within the fandom ... is there an enduring love of Metroid?

**Jessica:** If Jonesy had his own spin-off movie what would it be about?

### Main Discussion

**Topics covered in this episode:** TBD

### Spotlight: [Aliens: The Musical](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Noe95IxpsiQ)

You should also check out some of legolambs other works, which includes mini-musicals of other movies.

### Famous Last Words

Our chance (and yours, if you're watching on [twitch.tv/thenickscast](https://twitch.tv/thenickscast)) to have some (in)famous last words about next week's topic before we've done any prep work! Next week, we'll be talking about the fans and fandom of _The Simpsons_!

**T:** What is the fandom like now compared to the beginning? Or in the mid 90s?

**G:** Do Simpsons shitposters tend to be fans of those first few seasons? Have they gone through all iterations?

**Z:** At this point in the Simpsons, what kind of interaction is there between "Simpsons HQ" and the fandom?

**Jaime:** Do you choo-choo-choose me?

## Where can you find us?

Pretty much everything we do is `something/thenickscast`, but in specific...

- If you're looking for this podcast (Fanthropological), you can find it at [Fanthropological.com](https://fanthropological.com) or on different podcatchers including [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/2IVp8MBIUyCqlKyZn79iHn), [Apple Podcasts](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fanthropological/id1163621210?mt=2), [Google Podcasts](https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cDovL2ZlZWRzLnBvZGlhbnQuY28vZmFudGhyb3BvbG9naWNhbC9yc3MueG1s) and many others!

- You can join us for the live recording of the podcasts and participate (or catch us when we're playing some games) at [twitch.tv/thenickscast](https://twitch.tv/thenickscast)

- Keep up-to-date with our latest goings-on on [Facebook](https://facebook.com/thenickscast), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/thenickscast), or [Instagram](https://instagram.com/thenickscast), all `@thenickscast`

- We also occasionally create extra content about fandom including convention coverage and interviews on [YouTube.com/thenickscast](https://youtube.com/thenickscast)

- We have some fine merchandise available at [shop.thenickscast.com](https://shop.thenickscast.com) (and we'd love your support!)

- If all else fails, you can email us: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

## What is "Fanthropological"?

Every week, Fanthropological delivers over an hour of fandom-related "fanalysis" covering a different fandom every week and giving you hard data, history, special guests, and, of course, speculation!

We cover topics spanning the gamut of anime, manga, comics, video games, comics, movies, books, television, and, in general, geek culture.

## Credits

- ["Alien logo b"](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alien_logo_b.png) by [IllaZilla](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:IllaZilla) used under [CC BY SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

- _Ending_: [ReMix: Contra III: The Alien Wars "Dystopian Future"](https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02132) by [dannyshock](https://ocremix.org/artist/9511/dannyshock)from [http://ocremix.org](http://ocremix.org/) used under [ocremix.org content policy](http://ocremix.org/info/Content_Policy#If_you.27re_using_our_content_elsewhere_.28.22Terms_of_Use.22.29...)

- All other music and sound for this week's episode were provided by Nick Green!

Does Pinball really go back to the 1700s? Why the resurgence recently? And is it more about playing, collecting, or building? We've got special guest, Jessica, from the Pinball Podcast to help us out!

## Episode Outline

### Fandom Facts

**History and Origins:**

> Pinball is a type of arcade game, in which points are scored by a player manipulating one or more steel balls on a play field inside a glass-covered cabinet called a pinball table (or "pinball machine"). The primary objective of the game is to score as many points as possible. Many modern pinball machines include a story line where the player must complete certain objectives in a certain fashion to complete the story, usually earning high scores for different methods of completing the game. Points are earned when the ball strikes different targets on the play field. A drain is situated at the bottom of the play field, partially protected by player-controlled plastic bats called flippers. A game ends after all the balls fall into the drain a certain number of times. Secondary objectives are to maximize the time spent playing (by earning "extra balls" and keeping the ball in play as long as possible) and to earn bonus games (known as "replays").

> — [Wikipedia - Pinball](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinball)

**Search Data:**

Interest in Pinball has been [on the decline since 2004](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F0gfk5), but has been stable since around 2015. However, since pinball has existed in some form since arguable the 1700s or 1800s... this isn't a lot of data to work with.

The top ten countries for pinball, by search volume, are as follows: Hungary, France, Chile, Belgium, Croatia, Netherlands, Australia, Serbia, Germany, Uruguay (Canada is 13th, United States is 16th).

### [Last Episode's](https://fanthropological.com/vampirechronicles) Famous Last Words

**T:** Why has there been a revival of pinball in the last decade?

[//You see, pinball spent the latter half of the ’00s in a state of living death. Stern Pinball, then the only pinball company left, had put out some solid machines before 2005 (Spider-Man, The Lord of the Rings, The Simpsons Pinball Party), but it soon found itself having to cut costs to survive. The company eventually had to compromise on the quality of the games it was shipping and wound up axing significant top talent to make ends meet. This was a time where every Stern Pinball release felt like it could’ve been the pinball world’s last. Then Jersey Jack announced that he was getting out of the coin-op distribution and operating business, and was going to pursue pinball manufacturing. And the pinball industry exploded.]: #

**G:** Is there another pop culture touchstone apart from Tommy? Was there a Fonz of pinball?

**Z:** How do these pinball fans feel about digital pinball?

**Vrai:** How did the connection between pinball places and bars happen?

### Main Discussion

**Topics covered in this episode:** TBD

### Spotlight: [Project Pinball](http://projectpinball.org/)

> Headquartered in Bonita Springs, Florida, Project Pinball Charity is a registered 501(c)(3) organization that places pinball machines in children’s hospitals to provide recreational relief to patients, family members, and hospital staff. We have been donating and maintaining pinball machines since 2011, and have since become a nationwide organization with pinball machines in hospitals across the United States. We provide all the equipment, parts, supplies and the regular maintenance at no cost to the hospital.

> ...

> We have donated 39 pinball machines to 35 different hospitals in 18 different states.

>

> — [Project Pinball - About](http://projectpinball.org/about)

### Spotlight: [Belles and Chimes Pinball](http://bellesandchimespinball.com/)

> Belles & Chimes is an international network of inclusive women's pinball leagues run by women, for women. The organization was founded in 2013 in Oakland, California.

>

> Our mission is to provide a fun, social environment for women to play pinball together.

> — [Belles and Chimes Pinball](http://bellesandchimespinball.com/)

### Spotlight: [Pinball Map](http://pinballmap.com/)

> Pinball Map is a crowdsourced pinball locator for public pinball machines. And we have a mobile app!

> — [Pinball Map](http://pinballmap.com/)

### Famous Last Words

Our chance (and yours, if you're watching on [twitch.tv/thenickscast](https://twitch.tv/thenickscast)) to have some (in)famous last words about next week's topic before we've done any prep work! Next week, we'll be talking about the fans and fandom of the _Alien_ franchise!

**T:** What do fans think about Prometheus? Which do they dislike more, Alien Resurrection or Prometheus?

**G:** Alien Quadrilogy... What's the deal with that? Is there a sense of which is more beloved, Alien or Aliens?

**Z:** Within the fandom ... is there an enduring love of Metroid?

**Jessica:** If Jonesy had his own spinoff movie what would it be about?

## Where can you find us?

Pretty much everything we do is `something/thenickscast`, but in specific...

- If you're looking for this podcast (Fanthropological), you can find it at [Fanthropological.com](https://fanthropological.com) or on different podcatchers including [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/2IVp8MBIUyCqlKyZn79iHn), [Apple Podcasts](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fanthropological/id1163621210?mt=2), [Google Podcasts](https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cDovL2ZlZWRzLnBvZGlhbnQuY28vZmFudGhyb3BvbG9naWNhbC9yc3MueG1s) and many others!

- You can join us for the live recording of the podcasts and participate (or catch us when we're playing some games) at [twitch.tv/thenickscast](https://twitch.tv/thenickscast)

- Keep up-to-date with our latest goings-on on [Facebook](https://facebook.com/thenickscast), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/thenickscast), or [Instagram](https://instagram.com/thenickscast), all `@thenickscast`

- We also occasionally create extra content about fandom including convention coverage and interviews on [YouTube.com/thenickscast](https://youtube.com/thenickscast)

- We have some fine merchandise available at [shop.thenickscast.com](https://shop.thenickscast.com) (and we'd love your support!)

- If all else fails, you can email us: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

## What is "Fanthropological"?

Every week, Fanthropological delivers over an hour of fandom-related "fanalysis" covering a different fandom every week and giving you hard data, history, special guests, and, of course, speculation!

We cover topics spanning the gamut of anime, manga, comics, video games, comics, movies, books, television, and, in general, geek culture.

## Credits

- All other music and sound for this week's episode were provided by Nick Green!

What happens when you take strong subtext, immortal beings, and over forty years of writing? It's not fanfic, but it is a fascinating history of the Vampire Chronicles fandom!

**History and Origins:**

> The Vampire Chronicles is a series of novels by American writer Anne Rice that revolves around the fictional character Lestat de Lioncourt, a French nobleman turned into a vampire in the 18th century.

>

> — [Wikipedia - The Vampire Chronicles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vampire_Chronicles)

The book series encompasses 16 separate novels (including crossovers) from 1976 to 2018, and has been adapted into films—Interview with the Vampire in 1994, starring Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas, Christian Slater, and Kirsten Dunst; and The Queen of the Damned in 2002—and as of July 2018, it was announced that a TV series adaptation of the novels is in development by Hulu.

**Search Data:**

Interest in _The Vampire Chronicles_ [has been on a slow decline since 2004](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F02f5gv,%2Fm%2F02p76f9,%2Fm%2F0mb0). The series enjoyed a small lift in interest around November 2009 which buoyed interest in the series for several years afterwards until July 2018 where interest spiked again (most likely due to the Hulu's announcement).

The top ten countries differ slightly depending on whether or not you're looking at the entire series, or _Interview with the Vampire_:

- _The Vampire Chronicles_: Spain, Romania, Hungary, Mexico, Chile, Philippines, Uruguay, United States, Poland, Venezuela (Canada is 13th).

- _Interview with the Vampire_: Mexico, Russia, Moldova, Belarus, Ukraine, Hungary, Poland, Chile, China, Latvia (United States is 20th, Canada is 23rd).

[//2005 Anne Rice Spike - Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt]: #

**Fanac Fast Facts:**

- Archive of our own has [almost 1000 works related to the Vampire Chronicles](https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Vampire%20Chronicles%20-%20All%20Media%20Types/works)

- Top 3 Categories: M/M (657), Gen (215), F/M (103)

- Top 3 Characters: Lestat de Lioncourt (566), Louis de Pointe du Lac (485), Armand (Vampire Chronicles) (243)

- Top 3 Relationships: Lestat de Lioncourt/Louis de Pointe du Lac (429), Armand/Daniel Molloy (119), Armand/Louis de Pointe du Lac (56)

[// Small number of fics should be apparent]: #

### [Last Episode's](https://fanthropological.com/halo) Famous Last Words

What did we have to say before doing the preparation for this week's episode?

**T:** How much is Vampire Chronicles responsible for the vampire trend in movies, tv, etc.?

[//A better question might be, why vampires ever? Looking back, it’s hard to think of a period when we weren’t in the middle of a vampire craze. In the late 1970s, Anne Rice started raking in the money with Interview With the Vampire, and movies like Werner Herzog’s Nosferatu the Vampyre and the comedy Love at First Bite were critical hits. Then came The Lost Boys, Near Dark, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Innocent Blood, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the movie), four more Anne Rice books, and Interview With the Vampire (the movie)—which could all be lumped into a rage for vampires that lasted clear through from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. Vampires were back again in the mid-1990s, with Buffy (the TV show), the Blade movies, Southern Vampire Mysteries (the book series), and From Dusk Till Dawn. And now we’ve arrived at the highly touted mid- to late-2000s vogue of Underworld, Twilight (books and movies), True Blood (based on Southern Vampire Mysteries), and The Vampire Diaries.]: #

[// and compiled a list of the most important vampire-related books, films, and TV shows of the last half-century. In total, we included 169 movies, 106 books, and 62 seasons’ worth of TV.]: #

[//1960-65; 1975-76; 1980-84: 1997]: #

**G:** How much actual history is threaded through the Vampire Chronicles?

**Z:** The fandom seems fairly curative... is there any fanfic? Is fanfic forbidden? What is the attitude?

**Krysta:** How did the interview go?

**Greg:** Is Anne Rice a Christian again, or isn't she?

### Main Discussion

**Topics covered in this episode:** TBD

### Spotlight: [Organization for Transformative Works](http://www.transformativeworks.org/)

> The OTW believes that fanworks are creative and transformative, core fair uses, and will therefore be proactive in protecting and defending fanworks from commercial exploitation and legal challenge. This help will not be limited to those fans or projects directly connected with OTW.

>

> — [Organization for Transformative Works](http://www.transformativeworks.org/legal/)

Of course, that's _just_ the legal advocacy that they do. They also run Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, run a peer-reviewed academic journal (_Transformative Works and Cultures_) and do a bunch more! You can help them out by visiting https://transformativeworks.org/donate

### Famous Last Words

Our chance (and yours, if you're watching on [twitch.tv/thenickscast](https://twitch.tv/thenickscast)) to have some (in)famous last words about next week's topic before we've done any prep work! Next week, we'll be talking about the fans and fandom of _Pinball_!

**T:** Why has there been a revival of pinball in the last decade?

**G:** Is there another pop culture touchstone apart from Tommy? Was there a Fonz of pinball?

**Z:** How do these pinball fans feel about digital pinball?

**Vrai:** How did the connection between pinball places and bars happen?

## Where can you find us?

Pretty much everything we do is `something/thenickscast`, but in specific...

- If you're looking for this podcast (Fanthropological), you can find it at [Fanthropological.com](https://fanthropological.com) or on different podcatchers including [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/2IVp8MBIUyCqlKyZn79iHn), [Apple Podcasts](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fanthropological/id1163621210?mt=2), [Google Podcasts](https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cDovL2ZlZWRzLnBvZGlhbnQuY28vZmFudGhyb3BvbG9naWNhbC9yc3MueG1s) and many others!

- You can join us for the live recording of the podcasts and participate (or catch us when we're playing some games) at [twitch.tv/thenickscast](https://twitch.tv/thenickscast)

- Keep up-to-date with our latest goings-on on [Facebook](https://facebook.com/thenickscast), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/thenickscast), or [Instagram](https://instagram.com/thenickscast), all `@thenickscast`

- We also occasionally create extra content about fandom including convention coverage and interviews on [YouTube.com/thenickscast](https://youtube.com/thenickscast)

- We have some fine merchandise available at [shop.thenickscast.com](https://shop.thenickscast.com) (and we'd love your support!)

- If all else fails, you can email us: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

## What is "Fanthropological"?

Every week, Fanthropological delivers over an hour of fandom-related "fanalysis" covering a different fandom every week and giving you hard data, history, special guests, and, of course, speculation!

We cover topics spanning the gamut of anime, manga, comics, video games, comics, movies, books, television, and, in general, geek culture.

## Credits

- _Ending_: [ReMix: Akumajo Dracula X: Nocturne in the Moonlight "Where's the Wall Chicken At?"](https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03178) by [Tetrimino](https://ocremix.org/artist/14134/tetrimino) from [http://ocremix.org](http://ocremix.org/) used under [ocremix.org content policy](http://ocremix.org/info/Content_Policy#If_you.27re_using_our_content_elsewhere_.28.22Terms_of_Use.22.29...)

- All other music and sound for this week's episode were provided by Nick Green!

Are you ready to give up your mundane life and explore a world of unimaginable possibilities, all while learning the values of friendship and becoming a pirate (possibly with some wacky abilities but definitely a quirky crew)? We're not _quite_ there, yet, but we _are_ talking about the fans and fandom of this beloved show, _One Piece_.

Plus, we have special guest, Greg Werner (from the [One Piece Podcast](http://www.onepiecepodcast.com/)) to navigate us all the way to the Grand Line, and beyond!

## Episode Outline

### Fandom Facts

**History and Origins:**

> One Piece is a long-running shounen manga series created by Oda Eiichiro (Odacchi to his fans) that is serialized in Weekly Shounen Jump. The story chronicles the adventures of Monkey D. Luffy, a boy who gained a rubber-like body after eating a cursed fruit as a young child, and his quest to find the One Piece and become the Pirate King. Along his journey, he fights many villains, makes new friends, and finds his nakama, most of whom join his crew, the Strawhat Pirates.

>

> — [Fanlore - One Piece](https://fanlore.org/wiki/One_Piece)

Since the first volume was released in 1997 (the same year as the Fifth Element, StarFox 64, and Final Fantasy 7, for reference), an additional 89 volumes have been released, over 850 episodes of the anime, 13 movies, 45 games (including GameSpy's "GBA Platformer of the Year" in 1995)... like, a lot of stuff. Lots.

**Search Data:**

One Piece has been increasing in popularity [up until around January 2016](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F01_f03). After that, it starts to decrease in popularity but is still more popular than in 2004. Another interesting occurrence is a spike (and drop in) in interest around October 2010.

The top ten countries for _One Piece_, by search volume, are as follows: Thailand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Phillipines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Morocco (Canada is 43rd, United States is 49th).

[// Interestingly, trend correlates with increase in interest in MHA]: #

**Fan Demographics:**

We managed to grab demographics from a few different sources.

...One of which comes from the [One Piece Podcast itself](http://www.onepiecepodcast.com/2016/05/23/winter-2016-survey-results/) (circa 2016). In a survey with almost 700 respondents, this is what the data looks like:

- *Age*: The largest group is folks 21-25 (42%); 15-20 (32%); 26-30 (16%)...

- *Gender*: 76% male; 23.6% female; 0.4% other

Not demographic data, but some interesting data nonetheless:

- Only 4% of participants do not read the manga. 13% do not watch the anime.

- 25% of participants do not participate in the fan community

In 2011, NHK (a Japanese TV channel) had also conducted a survey of readers of the manga, which gives a slightly different set of age data... which doesn't exactly line up:

- < 18 (12%), 19-29 (43%), 30-49 (32%), 50+ (13%)

**Fanac Fast Facts**

- Archive Of Our Own has [over 12000 works for One Piece](https://archiveofourown.org/tags/One%20Piece/works).

- Top 3 Categories: M/M (6149), Gen (3624), F/M (2809)

- Top 3 Categories: Monkey D. Luffy (5149), Roronoa Zoro (4694), Vinsmoke Sanji (4318)

- Top 3 Relationships: Roronoa Zoro/Vinsmoke Sanji (2038), Monkey D. Luffy/Trafalgar D. Water Law (917), Roronoa Zoro/Sanji (882)

### [Last Episode's](https://fanthropological.com/halo) Famous Last Words

Due to a scheduling conflict, there are no famous last words for this episode. Sorry!

### Main Discussion

**Topics covered in this episode:** TBD

### Spotlight: [One Pace](https://onepace.net/)

> One Pace is a project aiming to match the One Piece manga more accurately than Toei's anime adaptation. We cut out filler scenes, reaction shots, padded sequences, and re-order scenes to stay truer to Goda's manga.

>

> — [One Pace - About](https://onepace.net/about)

### Famous Last Words

Our chance (and yours, if you're watching on [twitch.tv/thenickscast](https://twitch.tv/thenickscast)) to have some (in)famous last words about next week's topic before we've done any prep work! Next week, we'll be talking about the fans and fandom of _Vampire Chronicles_!

**Greg:** Is Anne Rice a Christian again, or isn't she?

## Where can you find us?

Pretty much everything we do is `something/thenickscast`, but in specific...

- If you're looking for this podcast (Fanthropological), you can find it at [Fanthropological.com](https://fanthropological.com) or on different podcatchers including [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/2IVp8MBIUyCqlKyZn79iHn), [Apple Podcasts](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fanthropological/id1163621210?mt=2), [Google Podcasts](https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cDovL2ZlZWRzLnBvZGlhbnQuY28vZmFudGhyb3BvbG9naWNhbC9yc3MueG1s) and many others!

- You can join us for the live recording of the podcasts and participate (or catch us when we're playing some games) at [twitch.tv/thenickscast](https://twitch.tv/thenickscast)

- Keep up-to-date with our latest goings-on on [Facebook](https://facebook.com/thenickscast), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/thenickscast), or [Instagram](https://instagram.com/thenickscast), all `@thenickscast`

- We also occasionally create extra content about fandom including convention coverage and interviews on [YouTube.com/thenickscast](https://youtube.com/thenickscast)

- We have some fine merchandise available at [shop.thenickscast.com](https://shop.thenickscast.com) (and we'd love your support!)

- If all else fails, you can email us: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

## What is "Fanthropological"?

Every week, Fanthropological delivers over an hour of fandom-related "fanalysis" covering a different fandom every week and giving you hard data, history, special guests, and, of course, speculation!

We cover topics spanning the gamut of anime, manga, comics, video games, comics, movies, books, television, and, in general, geek culture.

## Credits

- All other music and sound for this week's episode were provided by Nick Green!

When you find yourself in a universe (or franchise) that's constantly expanding, filled with horrifying zombie aliens, a religious war, and ancient alien technology (and even more ancient-er aliens)... it's time to sit back, read a million books, and learn about the lore, universe, and fandom of Halo!

...And we couldn't be in better hands as Krysta of [Halo: Podcast Evolved](https://www.halopodcastevolved.com/) guides us through the vast lore that is in store!

## Episode Outline

### Fandom Facts

**History and Origins:**

> Halo is a military science fiction first-person shooter video game franchise created by Bungie and now managed and developed by 343 Industries, a subsidiary of Microsoft Studios. The series centers on an interstellar war between humanity and an alliance of aliens known as the Covenant. The Covenant, led by their religious leaders called the Prophets, worship an ancient civilization known as the Forerunners, who perished in combat with the parasitic Flood. The central focus of the franchise builds off the experiences of Master Chief John-117, one of a group of supersoldiers codenamed Spartans, and his artificial intelligence (AI) companion, Cortana. Other characters, such as Noble Six from Halo: Reach, are also introduced in the series. The term "Halo" refers to the Halo Array: a group of immense, habitable, ring-shaped superweapons that were created by the Forerunners to destroy the Flood. They are similar to the Orbitals in Iain M. Banks' Culture novels, and to a lesser degree to author Larry Niven's Ringworld concept.

>

> — [Wikipedia - Halo (franchise)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halo_(franchise))

The game franchise has been running since 2001, and in that time over 65 million copies of the 13 games have been sold, grossing almost $3.4 billion (not counting the books, comics, live action films and miniseries, and anime).

**Search Data:**

By search data, [interest in the Halo franchise has been on a slow decline](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F04h6hv,%2Fm%2F0128442n,%2Fm%2F026wy8d). Comparing to other first-person shooters, it's possible that this is in part due to more competition. Interest in the game mostly spikes around the release of new games.

The top countries for Halo, by search volume, are as follows: Mexico, Columbia, United States, Australia, Canada, Guatemala, New Zealand, Panama, Puerto Rico, United Kingdom.

**Fan Demographics:**

This week, we have an assortment of data from different sources. The most comprehensive we found was this survey from [r/halo](https://www.reddit.com/r/halo/comments/1wwgas/halo_a_demographic_survey/) with over 1300 results:

- _Gender_: Mostly male (96.2%; female 3.8%)

- _Age_: Mostly 18-24 (61.8%); 15-17 (22%); 25-34 (14%)

- _Employment_: Mostly students (51%); Employed full-time (22.1%); Employed part-time (13.7%)

- _Ethnicity_: Mostly white / caucasian (79%); Spanish / Hispanic / Latino (6.7%); Asian (4.6%)

- _Marital Status_: Mostly single, never married (86.7%); Living with partner (6.2%); Married (5.2%)

Regarding age data, there is this thread from the [Halo Waypoint forums](https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/forums/90a6869bcf944c54a17102ac9e31da1a/topics/average-age-of-halo-players/395d83dd-0491-4ea4-867c-ae4966e637d0/posts) (number of participants is not stated):

- 1% - Child (5-8)

- 3% - Young Teen (9-13)

- 41% - Teenager (14-19)

- 41% - Young Adult (20-29)

- 13% - Adult (30-64)

- 1% - Senior (65+)

And a different source, [T3CHNOCIDE's Demographic Survey Results](http://halo.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:T3CHNOCIDE/Demographic_Survey_Results) (over 250 respondents), which seems to corroborate age and gender data:

- _Age_: Mostly 14-17 (50%); 18-21 (25%); 22-30 (12.5%)

- _Gender_: Mostly male (90%); other / no answer (7.5%); female (2.5%)

**Fanac Fast Facts:**

- Archive Of Our Own has [over 600 works related to Halo](https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Halo%20(Video%20Games)%20*a*%20Related%20Fandoms/works):

- Top 3 Categories: Gen (46.6%), F/M (35.3%), M/M (10.1%)

- Top 3 Fandoms (non-Halo): Red vs. Blue (6.2%), Mass Effect Trilogy (4.4%), Star Wars (2.1%)

- Top 3 Characters: John-117 (40.6%), Cortana (23.5%), Kelly-087 (11.5%)

- Top 3 Relationships: Cortana / John-117 (10.3%), OC / OC (2.4%), Thomas Lasky / Sarah Palmer (2.4%)

### [Last Episode's](https://fanthropological.com/team-ico) Famous Last Words

**T:** How much of the fandom is non-competitive or curative?

[// Hard to say; Halo competitive subreddit has 6.2k subs, halo has 192k subs, halostory has 15.1k subs. Looks like a lot of curative]: #

[// Admitedly, dumb question: That's most fandom]: #

**G:** Did the Halo series draw any inspiration from Starship Troopers?

**Z:** Is the Halo franchise set up to keep going even though there are no new games on the horizon? Do fans move on after a certain age?

**Nick:** What's up with that talking plant?

### Main Discussion

**Topics covered in this episode:** TBD

### Spotlight: [Installation 01](https://installation01.org/)

> Installation 01 is a fan-made Halo game being made by Halo lovers working from around the world. We aim to build an artistic tribute to Halo that recreates the multiplayer experience of the Bungie-era games. The game will be free to play on all PC platforms, including: Windows, macOS, and Linux.

>

> We operate very carefully under Microsoft's Game Content Usage Rules. All of Installation 01's assets are either created from scratch or obtained through the Unity Asset Store. We currently maintain a level of contact with Microsoft Studios and 343 Industries, which you can read about here.

>

> — [Installation01 - About Us](https://installation01.org/about)

### Spotlight: [Queens of Gaming](https://www.queensofgaming.com/)

> Queens of Gaming is an all female casual gaming clan founded by xD Fantasy in 2010. The clan started off as a Halo based competitive team for Halo 3. We soon changed to a more casual group and expanded to Call of Duty for Modern Warfare 2 and the next installment for Halo, Reach. Throughout the years we have expanded to variety of games such as Destiny, Overwatch, Rainbow Six and more to come and now expanding to PC. With just over 90+ members we continue to expand to more games that everyone enjoys to play and make any necessary changes needed. This clan is not just run by one leader, it is run by everyone, meaning that everyone's opinions are heard and get a chance to let their ideas come into play. Our goal is to create a fun gaming environment for all female gamers no matter if you enjoy going straight into multiplayer, working as a team towards a common goal, or if you need help leveling up or obtaining achievements. We allow all female gamers to join regardless of skill or age. If you are looking for a clan that does not care whether we win or lose but prioritizes having fun, then join us!

>

> — [Queens of Gaming - About Us](https://www.queensofgaming.com/)

### Spotlight: [After Hours Gaming League](https://www.afterhoursgaming.tv/)

> The After Hours Gaming League is a modern twist on traditional corporate sports leagues like softball and basketball. We encourage fun, teamwork, and friendly competition on the battlefields of top esports titles. In Spring 2018 we donated $21,550 to charity on behalf of the winning teams and had over 1700 players. All skill levels are welcome and we do our best to keep matches evenly paired. Matches happen every Saturday and the first 5-9 weeks are non-elimination matches.

>

> — [After Hours Gaming League](https://www.afterhoursgaming.tv/about)

The league was started by popular gamer and professional StarCraft player Day[9], and has different esports games every season. Doesn't include Halo this season, but a cool semi-related cause!

### Famous Last Words

Our chance (and yours, if you're watching on [twitch.tv/thenickscast](https://twitch.tv/thenickscast)) to have some (in)famous last words about next week's topic before we've done any prep work! Next week, we'll be talking about the fans and fandom of Anne Rice's _Vampire Chronicles_!

**T:** How much is Vampire Chronicles responsible for the vampire trend in movies, tv, etc.?

**G:** How much actual history is threaded through the Vampire Chronicles?

**Z:** The fandom seems fairly curative... is there any fanfic? Is fanfic forbidden? What is the attitude?

**Krysta:** How did the interview go?

## Where can you find us?

Pretty much everything we do is `something/thenickscast`, but in specific...

- If you're looking for this podcast (Fanthropological), you can find it at [Fanthropological.com](https://fanthropological.com) or on different podcatchers including [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/2IVp8MBIUyCqlKyZn79iHn), [Apple Podcasts](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fanthropological/id1163621210?mt=2), [Google Podcasts](https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cDovL2ZlZWRzLnBvZGlhbnQuY28vZmFudGhyb3BvbG9naWNhbC9yc3MueG1s) and many others!

- You can join us for the live recording of the podcasts and participate (or catch us when we're playing some games) at [twitch.tv/thenickscast](https://twitch.tv/thenickscast)

- Keep up-to-date with our latest goings-on on [Facebook](https://facebook.com/thenickscast), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/thenickscast), or [Instagram](https://instagram.com/thenickscast), all `@thenickscast`

- We also occasionally create extra content about fandom including convention coverage and interviews on [YouTube.com/thenickscast](https://youtube.com/thenickscast)

- We have some fine merchandise available at [shop.thenickscast.com](https://shop.thenickscast.com) (and we'd love your support!)

- If all else fails, you can email us: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

## What is "Fanthropological"?

Every week, Fanthropological delivers over an hour of fandom-related "fanalysis" covering a different fandom every week and giving you hard data, history, special guests, and, of course, speculation!

We cover topics spanning the gamut of anime, manga, comics, video games, comics, movies, books, television, and, in general, geek culture.

## Credits

- _Ending_: [ReMix: Halo: Combat Evolved "Mahabharath Highlands"](https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01182) by [Freemind](https://ocremix.org/artist/4562/freemind), [GrayLightning](https://ocremix.org/artist/4516/graylightning) from [http://ocremix.org](http://ocremix.org/) used under [ocremix.org content policy](http://ocremix.org/info/Content_Policy#If_you.27re_using_our_content_elsewhere_.28.22Terms_of_Use.22.29...)

- All other music and sound for this week's episode were provided by Nick Green!

What happens when you find yourself in a beautiful world as a silent protagonist and a non-verbal story? You _might_ end up getting into a "games as art" discussion with a special guest Nick! We're talking about fans of the works of Team ICO (i.e. ICO, Shadow of the Colossus, The Last Guardian)!

Fortunately, we have [Nick Suttner](https://twitter.com/nsuttner), author of [the Boss Fight Books book on the subject](https://bossfightbooks.com/products/shadow-of-the-colossus-by-nick-suttner) to help us out!

## Episode Outline

### Fandom Facts

**History and Origins:**

> Team Ico was a Japanese video game development studio led by game designer Fumito Ueda. It was part of Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan Studio's Product Development Department #1, and had developed the games _Ico_ and _Shadow of the Colossus_, both for the PlayStation 2. The team was also initially responsible for _The Last Guardian_ before Ueda's departure in 2011 and the formation of a new company taking over development in 2014. Their games are usually characterized by minimalist storytelling and gameplay, an atmospheric use of bloom and high dynamic range rendering (HDR) lighting, and use of fictional languages. Their products are frequently cited as examples of video games as an art form.

>

> — [Wikipedia - Team Ico](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team_Ico)

**Search Data:**

Based on worldwide search data, it looks like [the biggest peaks of interest in the games has already passed](https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&geo=US&q=%2Fm%2F05zht0,%2Fm%2F0h53djf,%2Fm%2F06404g0). _Shadow of the Colossus_ is by far the most popular of the games and has had spikes in interest around October 2005 (its release date) and again in February 2018 (remake of the original). Interest in _The Last Guardian_ similarly spikes around its release date: December 2016.

The top ten countries, by search volume, are as follows for the different games:

- _Shadow of the Colossus_: Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Japan, Argentina, El Salvador, Canada, Uruguay, Mexico, Spain (United States is 11th)

- _The Last Guardian_: Chile, Brazil, Canada, United Kingdom, Spain, Norway, Puerto Rico, Portugal, United States, New Zealand

### Famous Last Words: [Last Episode](http://fanthropological.com/shrek)

**G:** Were fans thrilled to have the game featured in Adam Sandler's _Rain over me_?

**T:** What are the odds of any of the Team Ico characters showing up in the new Smash?

**Z:** Is there a fan-made concept album where each track represents one of the Colossi you fight in the game?

**Alicia:** Do you like games?

### Main Discussion

**Topics covered in this episode:** TBD

### Spotlight: [Nomad Colossus (Youtube)](https://www.youtube.com/user/Nomad0168/featured)

> _Shadow of the Colossus_ first came out in 2005. Since then, millions of people have played the beloved PS2 game, driven by its lonesome charm, moved by its mysterious ending. But one man never stopped playing, as a result, he's found stuff that the game's creators never intended anyone to see.

>

> The player in question is Michael Lambert, and he's been excavating Shadow of the Colossus for the last four years on his Nomad Colossus YouTube channel. He's used glitches, external software exploits, and excursions into the bowels of SOTC's game code to extensively map the hidden places, unused ideas and unheard music tucked away in the game's hidden corners. With the hours he's spent inside the game, it's entirely possible that Lambert—along with the secret hunters Dark0ssX, Pikol, WWWArea who mentored him—might know Shadow of the Colossus better than lead creator Fumito Ueda and the other men and women who created it.

> — [Kotaku - Meet the Hacker Who's Spent Six Years Inside Shadow Of The Colossus](https://kotaku.com/meet-the-hacker-whos-spent-four-years-inside-shadow-of-1685039483)

### Famous Last Words

Our chance (and yours, if you're watching on [twitch.tv/thenickscast](https://twitch.tv/thenickscast)) to have some (in)famous last words about next week's topic before we've done any prep work! Next week, we'll be talking about the fans and fandom of _Halo_!

**T:** How much of the fandom is non-competitive or curative?

**G:** Did the Halo series draw any inspiration from Starship Troopers?

**Z:** Is the Halo franchise set up to keep going even though there are no new games on the horizon? Do fans move on after a certain age?

**Nick:** What's up with that talking plant?

[// Interiewed creative direector, shooter controls on console, highwire, VR]: #

[// "What if we had the same david and goliath feeling, but with rocker launchers"]: #

## Where can you find us?

Pretty much everything we do is `something/thenickscast`, but in specific...

- If you're looking for this podcast (Fanthropological), you can find it at [Fanthropological.com](https://fanthropological.com) or on different podcatchers including [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/2IVp8MBIUyCqlKyZn79iHn), [Apple Podcasts](https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/fanthropological/id1163621210?mt=2), [Google Podcasts](https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cDovL2ZlZWRzLnBvZGlhbnQuY28vZmFudGhyb3BvbG9naWNhbC9yc3MueG1s) and many others!

- You can join us for the live recording of the podcasts and participate (or catch us when we're playing some games) at [twitch.tv/thenickscast](https://twitch.tv/thenickscast)

- Keep up-to-date with our latest goings-on on [Facebook](https://facebook.com/thenickscast), [Twitter](https://twitter.com/thenickscast), or [Instagram](https://instagram.com/thenickscast), all `@thenickscast`

- We also occasionally create extra content about fandom including convention coverage and interviews on [YouTube.com/thenickscast](https://youtube.com/thenickscast)

- We have some fine merchandise available at [shop.thenickscast.com](https://shop.thenickscast.com) (and we'd love your support!)

- If all else fails, you can email us: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

## What is "Fanthropological"?

Every week, Fanthropological delivers over an hour of fandom-related "fanalysis" covering a different fandom every week and giving you hard data, history, special guests, and, of course, speculation!

We cover topics spanning the gamut of anime, manga, comics, video games, comics, movies, books, television, and, in general, geek culture.

## Credits

- _Ending_: [ReMix: Shadow of the Colossus "Trico Flies"](https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR02832) by [Kevin Penkin](https://ocremix.org/artist/11490/kevin-penkin) from [http://ocremix.org](http://ocremix.org) used under [ocremix.org content policy](http://ocremix.org/info/Content_Policy#If_you.27re_using_our_content_elsewhere_.28.22Terms_of_Use.22.29...)

- All other music and sound for this week's episode were provided by Nick Green!