View source for Cult TV fans plug into club alliances, souvenirs

{{article
| publication = Scripps-Howard News Service
| file = 1992-09-09 Commercial Appeal.jpg
| px = 450
| height = 
| width = 
| date = 1992-09-09
| author = Mitchell Diggs
| pages = 
| language = English 
| type = 
| description = 
| categories = fan clubs
| moreTitles = Cult TV fans plug into club alliances<nowiki>,</nowiki> souvenirs
| morePublications = The Commercial Appeal
| moreDates = 1992-09-09
| text = 
Isaac Turner pops a Star Trek
tape into his VCR several times
each week.

"I'll pull out a tape and watch a
couple of episodes, basically because there's not that much else
on TV that I'm interested in,"
says Turner.

Turner, an Alabama accountant and commander of a fan
club chapter called Shuttle Yamato, is among thousands of Star
Trek fans who belong to organized chapters around the
world. Shuttle Alacrity is the
name of the local chapter 

But Star Trek is not the only
television series that has attracted unwavering fans' adoration.

Dozens of TV shows have
spawned groups of loyal fans
who watch, discuss and collect
memorabilia long after the pro-
grams leave the airwaves.

Organized fan clubs exist for
Many of these so-called cult
shows, including the gothic soap
Dark Shadows, the campy sci-fi
drama Lost in Space and the Korean War comedy M*A*S*H.

Perry Mason also has a fan
club. So does The Bionic Woman,
Quantum Leap and The Honeymooners. The latter is called the
Royal Association for the Longevity and Preservation of the
Honeymooners (RALPH).

"There are a lot of them out
there," says Blanche Trinajstick,
president of the National Association of Fan Clubs in Pueblo,
Colo. "There are fan clubs for
The Andy Griffith Show and Gilligan's Island and Mr. Ed. Many
of these shows are older ones,
and the nostalgia interest is outstanding nowadays. Some of
these cults and clubs have been
going for a long time, but there
are a few starting up around
more recent shows."

One recent example is COOP,
the Twin Peaks fan club.

Although that moody series
was canceled last season by ABC,
fans welcomed the release of
Twin Peaks: Fire, Walk With Me
in theaters this summer.
Trinajstick publishes an annual directory of fan clubs, and the
Current issue includes more
Than 1,500 clubs, including
groups for rock stars and actors
as well as television programs.
Star Trek has one of the largest fan club networks, but other
shows with larger-than-average
followings include The Andy
Griffith Show and Dr. Who.

"In the last year, Mayberry is
going crazier than ever with
people from all over wanting to
join," says Jim Clark, presiding
Goober of The Andy Griffith
Show Rerun Watchers Club
Headquartered in Nashville,
Tenn. "The show has always
been popular, but it seems like
people from all over are finding
out about our club and want to
know more."

The club's members include
More than 5,000 dues-paying
households and some 700 chapters around the world.

Many fans of The Andy Griffith Show have watched the
show since it started, but new
fans — young and old — discover the show all the time, Clark
says. "I was born in 1960, the
same year the show started, so I
can't remember not watching it.
I'm sure I didn't watch it that
first year, but I've watched it virtually all my life.

"I get letters from people who
say the same thing—that
they've always been fans of the
show."

The reasons some shows attract cult followings while others simply fade away are too diverse to categorize, says Jeremy
Butler, an associate professor of
film communications at the University of Alabama.

"It's a strange phenomenon of
the subcultural that has to do
with people's ability to define
themselves within a group that
exists on the margins of society.

Nobody really knows why some things have a cult attached to them and others don't. But I think perhaps one thing is the idea of identifying oneself with a group that is outside the mainstream."

Science fiction shows attract a large percentage of fan clubs, but any show can spawn a cult-like following.

Many die-hard fans keep going back to their favorite shows because they believe the programs represent quality scriptwriting or particularly good entertainment. Dr. Who fans, for example, often cite intelligent scripts, solid characterizations and a creative concept as reasons they enjoy the British science fiction/ fantasy series.

The main character, Dr. Who, travels through space and time in a vehicle called a T.A.R.D.I.S., righting wrongs. He generally employs a nonviolent approach to solving problems.

Fans of The Andy Griffith Show point to the show's enduring comedy, emphasis on good morals and easygoing philosophy. "Families can watch the show together," says Clark. "It's a wholesome show.

"Kids might like it for different reasons; maybe they can relate to Opie because he's a kid, too. And when they become parents, they like it for the father-son relationships and that kind of thing."

For information on fan clubs for your favorite program, write the National Association of Fan Clubs, P.O. Box 4559, Pueblo, Colo. 81003. For a copy of the Fan Club Directory, send $8 to the same address.


Caption: The Andy Griffith Show Rerun Watchers Club, based in Nashville, revels in a mixup of Sheriff Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith, center) and Deputy Barney Fife (Don Knotts, left) in convict's trap.

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