When Do You Know You Are Falling Out of a Fandom?

You are tuned in to Steve Megatron on Altered

Geek Hello and welcome to Altered Geek I'm your

host Steve Megatron Phillips and in this episode

I am solo That's right. I'm by myself no co -host

Yet again, so we'll see who decides to show up

in the near future. I am well I've been kind

of struggling with what to talk about. I wanted

to do an episode of All Things Transformers,

Future Imperfect, and the Internet Pathfinder.

However, I've been struggling with an issue.

And I'm not sure if it's because of recent things

or just being overloaded or what, but I wanted

to pose the question... When do you know that

you're falling out of fandom? And I say that

very apprehensively because I'm at this weird

point in my life where I still am into some of

the things I was into when I started my podcasting

journey. But I'm also at this point where things

just don't seem to matter anymore. I honestly

don't find the joy and the enthusiasm that I

used to in a lot of the topics that I used to

converse about, namely superhero shows or comic

books. Honestly, I want to like some of the comic

books because I remember enjoying them as a child

and throughout my adulthood and teenage years.

However, I just don't... Nothing really clicks

with me anymore. I don't know if it's because

I'm kind of at this point where I'm a dad, I'm

busy, I work. When I get off work, I don't really

want to be watching or reading or really even

talking about half the stuff that I watch or

read. I just want to veg. And I think that's

part of it. The other part of it is I want to

game. So it's an ability to just shut off my

mind and just stop thinking, honestly, because

I feel like I'm overloaded most of the time.

And I know other people feel like that. I know

that some of you that listen to the show feel

that way. So it's one of those things where I

really don't want to dislike or not care about

these things. It's just that I've kind of hit

this point where... I'm in this brick wall, none

of this matters. And so, name and point, I'm

going to name a few things, but like I dropped

Legends of the Dark Knight or Legends of the

Brave and the Bold mostly because I just, I honestly

didn't want to talk about the shows. I watched

them, yes, but I really don't want to sit down

and have to analyze them. It got to be a chore

and I didn't want to have to do it like all things

transformers. The only reason I haven't recorded

that is because Really? There hasn't been any

news and I I'm kind of waiting to reconnect with

TFG when Mike to record it Other than that, I

really don't I'll probably get back to it either

this week or next week, but it's it's one of

those things I've been just kind of collecting

things that I want to talk about and just waiting

until there's a big enough topic -based for me

to converse. The Internet Pathfinder, kind of

the same thing, just finding out what I want

to discuss. That's why there hasn't been an episode

in three weeks, despite it just launching. And

then Future Imperfect hasn't gone without, but

I haven't recorded an episode in two weeks. They've

just been backlogged. So... It really has only

been this show and I don't know what it is I'm

just I'm in this kind of weird geeky funk where

things just don't resonate with me and I don't

know if it's because certain Shows have been

on hiatus is randomly. I don't know if it's because

Certain shows are getting renovated or revamped

and it restored for today and I just know I'm

not happy with the journey that it's taking point

in case the new reboot show I've heard rumors

that of varying degrees on either side of the

fence and their marketing department hasn't really

done much for it to alleviate any of the fandom's

fears or really anything. There's no information

on it other than what they have released in the

last 10 days or 8 days or whatever and it's not

been good. It yeah, it's it's a major ripoff

of like a bunch of other properties just slapped

with the reboot Name and given a fan service

episode in episode 10 it's not even like a reboot

in the sense of Redesigning everything and keeping

the same basic plotline You know like Ninja Turtles

or Transformers, so it's it's one of those elements

So that's been one thing that's been kind of

irking me lately is because I've just been seeing

a lot of that. There's been a lot of negativity

online. I'm honestly kind of just sick of it.

There's just been so much that has been just

floating around between social media. I mean,

you've got the data breach of Facebook. You've

got... The new Han Solo movie has apparently

a ton of issues from what you read online Just

about any storyline or trailer spoils Future

thoughts on on films or characters to come so

you know that Whatever happens in this film like

said character is not going to die because they're

gonna be in this next one or you know they're

gonna die because they're not in this next one

and It's There's just been so much of that lately.

I mean you have you have your saving graces and

things like you know KB toys coming back to Essentially

fill the void that Toys R Us is is leaving us

And things like that. I mean, it's There's ups

and downs and geek dumps, but when when is that

point that you hit in your life where? You just

kind of fall out of certain geek dumps. I as

a child or like preteen, teenager, whatever,

I fell out of Star Trek for the longest time.

I fell out of Transformers. I fell out of Batman.

And then I've kind of rediscovered them all towards

the, before the creation of Geekcast Radio and

during the creation of, and then through many

of the years of Geekcast Radio. I mean, we're

hitting year nine, June 1st of the network and

we've done well over, I would say we've probably

done about 2 ,000 episodes or there about network

wide. And I mean, I could be wrong. It could

be closer to like the 1800 mark, 1900 mark, something

in there. But regardless, we've had a lot of

shows and a lot of episodes. So when I'm sitting

here thinking about it and thinking about how

some of my fandom thoughts and everything have

kind of come and gone over the years, how I've

cared about some things more than others during

a certain set time or during a movie era. Like,

I honestly don't care for any of the superhero

films at this point. Like, I'll watch them. They're

not a big deal to me, though. Like, as they were

five years ago, or even three years ago. Like,

I just don't have the same enthusiasm for them.

Just like comics. I don't have the same enthusiasm

I did three years ago for comics. And... I think

that that's kind of either showing a growth on

my behalf or discontent with the current state

of fandoms. And then you've got the rabid hate

on either side of shows like, just like I said,

Reboot, The Guardian Code, Star Trek Discovery.

I have my pet peeves of both. I have my likes

of both. I'm kind of on the fence, I like it

and I hate it at the same time, so it's not one

of those things that I'm really going to be overtly

negative about, but it's not something I'm going

to be enthusiastic about either. A lot of the

state of just, I don't know, entertainment, I

don't find it as fascinating as I used to. Now,

in the technology realm, I've found a lot more

to be enthusiastic about, whether it be... medical

innovations, whether it be certain things that

they're doing with our phones or vehicles, not

the autonomous stuff because it scares the heck

out of me, especially with the person they get

killed, unfortunately, a week or two ago by an

Uber. Just no thank you. I mean, we've got the

acceleration of the 5G rollouts coming. We've

got Just there's a lot of stuff, you know, I

mean space travel for crying out loud We've got

all kinds of stuff coming down the pipe for space

travel You know carbon nanotubes that can make

replicators real they've got these new Plots

of how they think that they could do warp drive

or transportation, you know teleportation transporters

So I mean there's there's all these different

things going on that that are kind of upbeat

and And interesting that are influenced by pop

culture, which is awesome But I don't know how

much of it I actually Am totally into at this

point like I have my things that I want or I

like like I love Star Trek I love Transformers.

I you know specifically Beast Wars I love the

A lot of the shows I grew up as as a kid with

However, I just don't have the same Need to discuss

them all the time or rehash the old stuff and

I think that's kind of Why it's it's nice in

the sense that Mike Booth ninja powers doesn't

really rely on nostalgia and kind of just lives

in the now as far as the entertainment spectrum

because when you're sitting there constantly

comparing everything to the past or You know,

yes things may have been better in some instances,

you know the DC animated universe and things

like that back then but You you kind of have

to Let it stay where it was and yeah, everything

is gonna change everything is different. I mean

I've changed since I started this network I was

crotchety Just post teenager age and and swearing

up a storm had a show named headshot specifically

to complain and this It was where I was a lot

more energetic and more far stretched between

all my different shows and content that I had

to be on Because the enthusiasm level was in

an all -time high and energy level. I'm at this

point now where I I'm like, do I want to sleep

or do I want to record? Do I want to play a game?

Do I want to record? Do I want to watch a movie?

Do I want to record? So like I've been tempting

with this idea of I may just take a sabbatical

as it were from the internet and just take a

break. I'm so To this point now with between

the fandoms and and I think social media is a

lot to blame for this Because you're constantly

having this flood of information attacking you

24 -7 Whether it's people that I mean, I love

the interaction with everybody. That's that's

my favorite part. I love the interaction. I think

it's the A lot of the news aspects, a lot of

the commentary, a lot of the constant bickering,

I see so much of it of politics, it drives me

nuts. Whatever side of the spectrum you're on

on that, there's just so much that we're so far

distant from this vision that Gene Roddenberry

had in Star Trek of the future. It's so mind

-boggling that we've come up with most of the

technology from it, but yet we as a people are

so toxic as a whole. It's just ridiculous. But

I do love this quote from him that says, it isn't

all over. Everything has not been invented. The

human adventure is just beginning, which I think

is true. It's a great quote and He truly was

a visionary even back in the 60s as far as you

know what he hoped that society would become

and I just hope that we actually get to that

point instead of we were all at but I don't know

like I Really wonder what you guys have to think

about where? certain phantoms drop off for you

like comics were uninteresting to me because

of the storylines and It's just a constant money

grab And then buying DVDs. I quit buying those

majorly because I got tired of them taking up

space. It wasn't that I wasn't gonna watch it,

but the other thing was I hardly ever pulled

the DVDs out. I pulled out my Star Trek DVDs

Sunday night to watch Star Trek for the Voyage

Home because I wanted to see the... You know,

the film, I wanted something that was fun, feel

good, entertaining, and then get to see the Enterprise

A at the end. And I skipped Star Trek V, went

straight to Star Trek VI, which is kind of a

downer, but it's very visually, aesthetically,

writing, acting, everything is just on point.

And it's my favorite Trek film of probably all

time, having rewatched it a multitude of times

on VHS. And so I have this deep... love of that

film that just as a whole, like that's part of

what cemented my love of the Enterprise A, that's

part of what cemented my love of Trek, that specific

uniform, the original series crew, because it

felt very original series -esque in that film,

while at the same time kind of reinventing a

little bit more. And it showed two... powers

of different governments basically overcoming

and You know two differing even if you look aside

from the government aspect or two different cultures

or races or whatever if you look at it as Two

differing opinions two different thoughts coming

together for a mutual purpose Then everything

has I don't know. It has a lot better chance

of survival into the future. It's just, it's

that better thought process that I enjoy of the

end of the film where everyone learns to just,

you know, kind of accept the differences and

move on and work together. And that's the great

part about that film. And I, you know, I mean,

you have your people that are always going to

complain. But the... That's kind of why I wonder,

you know, what things for fandoms have dropped

off for you. Like, I no longer care about Transformers

movies. Honestly, I'll just stick with the animation

stuff and just live there. And talk about some

of the news there, and I'm good. You know, there's

a lot of rebooted stuff I really don't care anymore

to see. I don't really go out and see movies

anymore, honestly. I don't. I... The Star Wars

movie? I didn't even go see that in theater.

I saw that from some link that somebody gave

me. And so I... Not that I didn't want to go

see it. One, I don't have time. Two, everything

I'd already read about it, it didn't enthuse

me as entirely as what I was hoping for. So...

I'm essentially speaking with my wallet in a

sense of not just like reboot the guardian code.

I want to see that I Tried to get screeners.

They aren't doing screeners for it. I would have

loved to have reviewed it but Or at least known

whether it was worth putting effort into prior

but I think that One between the marketing for

it into the the way that they're handling it

They don't have very much hope on their end either.

Otherwise, I think that they would have had these

things. I saw the new Lost in Space, which there's

an NDA for, so I can't really disclose certain

things. I love what they've done with the robot

with a different interpretation. I love what

they've done with Dr. Smith's interpretation.

a little bit different. I was a little leery

of the two, but I can't really go into too much

details on it until after it's aired. There's,

like I said, the NDA, so not allowed to talk

about it or mention specifics. But the series

as a whole, the original Will Robinson is in

it, to what capacity, doesn't say, but he's gonna

be in it and... The new dynamic of the cast,

the new way that it plays through, I find it

very entertaining for a modern era. And honestly,

it's written a lot better, a lot smarter. It

looks a lot more visually appealing than even

Star Trek Discovery does. It makes Discovery

look like a cheap knockoff of Star Trek, whereas

Lost in Space looks like a true re -envisioning

of the original. And that's tough. To say like

because I wasn't a huge lost in space fan but

I remember watching it as a kid with my mom just

She watched the old black and white reruns and

and I watched him too. And that was just it was

fun to watch I even had a figure of the the original

robot, which was cool But yeah, I mean there's

I wanted to like the the new reboot and I was

trying to get a feel for it, but I'm not gonna

pay for Netflix to get the Guardian Code. Just

the same way I won't pay for CBS All Access to

see Star Trek Discovery. I'll find another method

of seeing it. And it's not entirely right, but

I'm not saying that I personally download or

bootleg any of it, because I don't. Because I

don't do that. But I also don't... pay for any

of these services, because I don't find the quality

or the product worth paying for just one show

that I'm gonna watch. But, and I think that's

part of the fandom thing too, because I honestly,

I don't watch TV all that much anymore. I watch

my select shows during the week, and that's about

it, and I kind of even then, I kind of fast forward

through them. I really don't, I don't watch anything

live, I have it all, I record it all, it's...

That's about it. And I don't... I really don't

watch a lot of these shows because I don't find

them as entertaining as I used to. So I skip

all the wasteful time pieces and then I watch

what I want to watch out of the episode and then

I'm done. Or sometimes I watch maybe 10 minutes

out of an hour -long episode and just wait for

the next episode depending on how entertaining

it is. So... I don't know, there's been a lot

that's kind of come through my mind in the last

year. Part of it is I think that, and this is

kind of funny coming from me who's been heavy

into media since I was a kid because it honestly

was a tool to get me through my... my family

difficulties when I was a teenager because my

parents separated and divorced and everything

else. So I looked up to these characters like

Batman, like Captain Kirk, like the majority

of these characters in the shows that I watched.

And it kind of got me through that time period.

And then I started building websites and I started

doing graphics and I started doing all that stuff

as a kind of a byproduct of being into those

fandoms. And now I've come to this conclusion,

and this is kind of funny because my wife actually

wrote a paper about this in high school as part

of her graduating essay thing that she had to,

they had to put portfolios together. when they

would graduate high school from my wife's class,

graduating class of 06. And I graduated in 2004.

And we didn't have to write anything like that.

We had to do like a report on like a book or

something that won an award of some kind. And

I had already read the book, so I was able to

do my report without having to really read it.

But... because she had to pick one that hadn't

been made into a movie, and at that time Ender's

Game hadn't been made into a movie, and so I

was able to use that, but yeah. So anyways, she

did this media and the damage on people. And

it's kind of funny because when you look at the

bullying episode we did in 2012, or 2010, 2012,

somewhere in there, and then look at this that

she wrote even prior to that, it's... it's kind

of entertaining because she even states like

how does the television we watch the music we

listen to affect our lives and It says you know

our lives are affected every day by what the

media shows us whether we realize it or not For

one we can choose to watch good programs or bad

programs more violence and sex is shown on TV

than anything else also TV can be very powerful

on a person's behavior you know and then So like

It and it's true like you you look at at Twitter

you look at at Facebook look at all the the Venom

and all the the irritation look at all the the

anxiety that's caused from people just arguing

over fictional characters Like I get it. It's

funny to debate but when it starts as like personal

attacks and people get so like worked up about

it and I've kind of noticed that as I've been

involved with variety of fandoms in the last

six months and it it's kind of put things into

perspective for me so like I've kind of taken

a step back without even really thinking about

it of of my my love of fandoms and and kind of

falling out of them and it's it's kind of sad

but it's kind of I don't know, relieving that

I don't have to be kind of constantly chained

to a certain thing. That's why I really don't

like doing review shows anymore on the GCRN as

far as entire TV series. I will say this though,

as far as kids are concerned and having them

watch certain shows, I honestly think that a

lot of the stuff that's on TV now is very unintelligent.

as far as children's shows. Because we don't

have our Mr. Rogers, we don't have old school

Sesame Street, we don't have a lot of the stuff

that we kind of grew up with in the 90s. I mean,

yeah, that's part of where the brain rot started,

but we started getting a lot of just poorly written

stuff coming into the 2000s, a lot of lowest

common denominator humor and comedy pieces. a

lot of crap writing for kids, treating them like

they're unintelligent. I find that with a lot

of the shows I've tried with my kids. And honestly,

we don't even let our kids watch TV. It's gotten

to this point, I was so addicted to it, and I'm

still kind of addicted to it, but not nearly

as much as I was a year or two ago. I don't even

let them watch TV. My kids, they get in front

of the TV, they zone out, and they just become

irritable, obnoxious, mean when I shut it off.

There's just not a point in having it. And so

I just, I don't let them watch it. We play with

toys, we have books, play with Legos. I don't

have, they don't play with Transformers, superheroes,

nothing. Because honestly, kids have enough anxiety

and... Frustration nowadays like with everything

that's you know the the screens and I don't let

them play tablets the only time they see any

of that stuff's when they go to their grandparents

house I'll occasionally show them some like YouTube

videos or something of like funny animals or

Like old Jack Hanna type stuff, but as a whole

I just I don't show them a lot Back when my wife

wrote this, it said that children's Saturday

morning cartoons have averaged about showing

young people spending more time watching television

than they spend in the classroom, which was true.

We had a lot of decent programming in the 90s.

You're just picking up whatever they're writing

in it. And I feel like some of that happened

with me and then some of it didn't. My love for

science and science fiction came from Star Trek.

My love of superheroes came from Batman. My love

of the things that turn into things is Transformers

and, you know, mutants from Ninja Turtles. So

I mean, I don't necessarily say anything is wrong

with it or the people that are into any of it.

I'm still into some of it. It's just I don't...

A lot of what they're... pushing in media now

whether it's in writing or in other areas I just

don't I don't find it as intelligent or as fun

as it used to be and so I just I just kind of

shy away from it at this point so all that being

said I'm not into certain fandoms I used to be

into anymore and that's kind of why sold I Would

say probably about 85 % of all my collectible

stuff I've had over the years that I've I have

actually one transformer left I have Three Batman

figures left, which I'm still trying to sell

the beast the the Beast Wars figure. I'm not

getting rid of but I'm waiting for that Beast

Wars Megatron. I have the communicators that

I like from Star Trek. I'm gonna get a uniform

Other than that, I really don't... I'm gonna

sell the remaining comics I have. I really don't

care about any of that anymore. I mean, they're

Transformers related. I have a custom Batman

Beyond Return of the Joker figure that I made.

I'm gonna get rid of that too. Probably gonna

give it away as a... I honestly might start just

giving some of this stuff away if I can't sell

it. So if anybody's interested, maybe I'll do

this as a... possible giveaway in the future

for something on the show. Not entirely sure

yet, but maybe when we hit 275 I'll do a giveaway

with some of the action figures that are left.

But yeah, I mean, I'm not saying I'm gonna quit

doing Geekcast Radio or any of the podcasts on

it. I'm just saying that some of it I probably

won't partake in anymore. More so just because

I'm gonna let the past stay in the past and just

kind of leave it. it's just I honestly need a

purge and I feel like this is the best way of

doing it is dropping certain fandoms and kind

of just alleviating the extra anxiety and irritation

of when I read a bad news report on it or or

whatever then I'm not sitting there going oh

I gotta talk about this so anyways what are some

some fandoms that you you're falling out of that

you no longer have interest in or Once you've

traded up or traded down for over the years.

I like I said, I'm back into track That's probably

gonna be the last of the old guard between that

the Beast Wars masterpiece figures. I'm pretty

much I Still watch some of the shows and some

of the TV shows or whatnot, but I really don't

I Watch a lot of the old stuff But I really don't

care to rehash and talk about it anymore so I'll

talk about some of the new stuff that comes out

occasionally if it's something that just kind

of strikes me as entertaining, but If you guys

have any suggestions of something you want to

talk about on the Friday show let me know in

the comments I'm gonna be going over some of

the feedback. We've gotten over the last week

and Possibly some other some other interesting

news reports that have kind of come out of various

movies or TV shows and who knows what else. So,

until next time, get altered, get hee -hee with

the Altered Bees.