You Made A Fan Out of Me

It all began because of Criminal Minds: Suspect Behavior. See, this fall I sat down to watch it the same as usual and – it wasn’t there. Unbeknownst to me it had been quietly cancelled at the end of last year. This tiny, surprisingly unimportant event has changed how I watch television. Now I don’t just DVR and forget it. I have become obsessed with finding out just how each of my shows are doing and how in danger they are of being cancelled. No longer do I trust my Yahoo home page to thrust important information in my face first thing in the morning. Not when it comes to my “programs”. I cruise the web seeking it out.

That web cruising has led to me finding a site I would not have looked for prior to this fall. But I’ve found that if I want to know if Terra Nova is cancelled or renewed, the best place to go is not a fan website or my beloved Television Without Pity website. It’s here .

I’ve always been sort of passive about my celebrity fandom. I don’t track their every move through the media, don’t follow them on Twitter and don’t take the time to stalk them in person. I don’t subscribe to People magazine or any another tabloid. And I had no idea they had taken to the web to court my affection. I’m not sure how many celebs are doing this but I have to say I think it is ingenious. I’ve had a great time cruising Mr. O’Mara’s website. It helps that he is affable and funny, doesn’t behave “artsy” about his craft and is open, friendly and unpretentious. Suddenly, a guy who was just a source of information for me has become an object of admiration and affection. I want to know what other projects he is involved in because I like him. I put Life on Mars on my Roku so I could catch up with his previous work.

His site reminded me of the best romance author websites like that of Susan Elizabeth Phillips or Mary Balogh . Like Jason O’Mara they provide me with exactly the information I am looking for: what their current project is, what their next project is, what they’ve done in the past and a little bit of what they are doing in the present. They all do it in the warm, offhand manner used by the very best salespeople. They don’t make me feel like a best friend, don’t share a lot of personal info but they do make me feel like they want my business and are prepared to make my giving it to them as painless for me as possible. In a tough economy, where it is prosper or perish, I think that’s a wise move.

So I won’t be visiting on a daily basis but I will check in every once in a while and see what he is up to. I might not have been a fan before I found his site but I guess I am now. And at least I will have a place to go mourn when Terra Nova is cancelled (which the blogosphere assures me will be any day now.)

So what about you? Are there any celebrity websites you find wonderful and fun to visit? That of a favorite band, favorite actor or favorite author? What do you look for in a site?

-Maggie AAR