"Who Are You" and who are we? - Page 2
© Ellen Ross
When “Angel” was spun off from “Buffy,” to air an hour later, it was said that the new show would be somewhat darker in tone, and was designed to appeal to a broader audience than just the teens. Of course, BtVS has had some older fans from the beginning, even if the twentysomethings and thirtysomethings among us hesitated to let our weakness for the high school vampire-slayer and her friends be known.
http://www.crosswinds.net/~xoe/AE/index....
As it becomes more socially acceptable to admit one’s Buffy/Angel addiction, more of the older fans are coming out of the fandom closet, in groups like the "Angel Elders," viewers who are willing to let the world know that they are non-teen fans and proud of it.
A demographic survey (no, not a demon-graphic survey, naughty fingers!) of Doyle fans showed the following distribution among the 1105 people who responded. Doyle fans have suspected for some time that the character’s appeal was not only to teens, but to a somewhat older audience as well, primarily women in their twenties. The preliminary results:
Gender: 85% female, 15% male
Age: Under 18 27%
18-25 37%
26-34 24%
35-54 12%
54+ less than 1%
Since this was a Doyle survey, it’s not surprising that 93% of those who responded wanted Doyle to return immediately as a full-time member of the “Angel” cast. What is noticeable, however, is that of those who responded to this survey, assuming the truthfulness of the responses, only about one-quarter were under eighteen. The solid majority are between 18 and 34, one of the most desirable demographics.
The respondents to this survey are, of course, a self-selected group: the active fans of Doyle. It may, however, say something about the nature of this particular fandom that some of us have been around long enough to know a wonderful character when we see one, however briefly.
Fans are bidding goodbye this month to three fine “Angel” websites, Melissa’s “Atonement is Everything,” DoyleWorshipper's "Angel: Soul and Wings," and Jill’s “The Doyle and Cordelia Brigade,” whose webmasters have decided to close them down.
However, new sites and mailing lists, including many devoted to Doyle, are still being created. It’s rather like a passing of the torch. Many fan sites created before the premiere of “Angel” or in the first few weeks of airing are being abandoned or not updated, but a new wave is coming in to replace them, such as "More Than Meets the Eye" and "A Demon's Heart."
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