Oooooh, God. That's a really, really old wank that I dimly remember from my initial foray into online Buffy fandom.
I think I remember it because it was a truly WtF introduction.
Anyway, this started on "The Stakehouse," which once upon a time was THE Yahoo Group you joined if you wanted to discuss in-depth about episodes, foreshadowing, etc. You know...it was supposed to be a SRS DISCUSSION.
[In reality, it was a bunch of frippery and Spike worship, which was fine. However, if you were a fan of Angel or *shudder* Xander, you found your welcome less than welcome very quickly...]
Anyway, at some point during the early part Season 6, all of the characters started wearing these numbered T-shirts. Now, I remembered they had been a minor fashion trend something like the year before among the college hipster set, so I didn't think much about seeing them.
After two or three weeks of these numbered T-shirts showing up randomly on the characters, The Stakehouse explodes. Clearly there is Something Deep Going On Here. Whedon Has a Plan. The T-shirts are Important Foreshadowing. (Somehow, Xander's T-shirt numbers invariably meant that he was the one who was going to either go evil or be the Big Scooby Death in Season 6...funny how that works hunh?)
This speculation soon spreads out of The Stakehouse and hits the Bronze Beta, the Cross & Stake, TWoP and all the other big "Buffy Discussion Boards" of the day. Everyone is in agreement: The numbered T-shirts Mean Something Very Big.
Since I was new to online Buffy fandom, I was (to my deep embarrassment) willing to believe it was possible since I hadn't given much thought to Buffy beyond "fun, escapist show that's a deeper than a lot of other genre shows where I really, really enjoy the characters and the monsters." This was a whooooole new way of thinking about it, and it was a fun ride.
Then one of the costumers tries to break the bubble: The reason why so many of the characters were wearing number T-shirts in Season 6 was because the local thrift store (which you'll be shocked to know was used to costume the characters on a regular basis < /sarcasm >) was having a sale on them, so they bought the shirts in bulk.
This statement was backed up by Whedon and the rest of production.
So, in short the deeper meaning of the number T-shirts of Season 6 was that they were on sale and the costumers liked them so they bought them in bulk. And did we mention? SALE!
Speculation suddenly turns to wank. The news that the T-shirts have No Deeper Meaning is a LIE LIE LIE LIE! Production is lying to the fans to cover up the deeper meaning because they don't want the fanbase to figure out that big-bang-boom ending too soon (big-bang-boom ending including, of course, Xander going evil or being the Big Scooby Death), so they're LYING damn it! LYING I TELL YOU!
Meanwhile, I'm all, "Ummmmm, why the hell would anyone lie to their fanbase and say that there is no code when there is, in fact, a code?" (<----Note: I asked this before I found out that Mutant Enemy wasn't above lying to its own actors, let alone the fanbase.)
This was the reaction: SHUN THE UNBELIEVER! THERE IS A CODE IN THOSE T-SHIRTS! THEY'RE LYING TO KEEP IT SURPRISE!
Aaaaaaand that's about when I canceled my membership to The Stakehouse....
no subject
I think I remember it because it was a truly WtF introduction.
Anyway, this started on "The Stakehouse," which once upon a time was THE Yahoo Group you joined if you wanted to discuss in-depth about episodes, foreshadowing, etc. You know...it was supposed to be a SRS DISCUSSION.
[In reality, it was a bunch of frippery and Spike worship, which was fine. However, if you were a fan of Angel or *shudder* Xander, you found your welcome less than welcome very quickly...]
Anyway, at some point during the early part Season 6, all of the characters started wearing these numbered T-shirts. Now, I remembered they had been a minor fashion trend something like the year before among the college hipster set, so I didn't think much about seeing them.
After two or three weeks of these numbered T-shirts showing up randomly on the characters, The Stakehouse explodes. Clearly there is Something Deep Going On Here. Whedon Has a Plan. The T-shirts are Important Foreshadowing. (Somehow, Xander's T-shirt numbers invariably meant that he was the one who was going to either go evil or be the Big Scooby Death in Season 6...funny how that works hunh?)
This speculation soon spreads out of The Stakehouse and hits the Bronze Beta, the Cross & Stake, TWoP and all the other big "Buffy Discussion Boards" of the day. Everyone is in agreement: The numbered T-shirts Mean Something Very Big.
Since I was new to online Buffy fandom, I was (to my deep embarrassment) willing to believe it was possible since I hadn't given much thought to Buffy beyond "fun, escapist show that's a deeper than a lot of other genre shows where I really, really enjoy the characters and the monsters." This was a whooooole new way of thinking about it, and it was a fun ride.
Then one of the costumers tries to break the bubble: The reason why so many of the characters were wearing number T-shirts in Season 6 was because the local thrift store (which you'll be shocked to know was used to costume the characters on a regular basis < /sarcasm >) was having a sale on them, so they bought the shirts in bulk.
This statement was backed up by Whedon and the rest of production.
So, in short the deeper meaning of the number T-shirts of Season 6 was that they were on sale and the costumers liked them so they bought them in bulk. And did we mention? SALE!
Speculation suddenly turns to wank. The news that the T-shirts have No Deeper Meaning is a LIE LIE LIE LIE! Production is lying to the fans to cover up the deeper meaning because they don't want the fanbase to figure out that big-bang-boom ending too soon (big-bang-boom ending including, of course, Xander going evil or being the Big Scooby Death), so they're LYING damn it! LYING I TELL YOU!
Meanwhile, I'm all, "Ummmmm, why the hell would anyone lie to their fanbase and say that there is no code when there is, in fact, a code?" (<----Note: I asked this before I found out that Mutant Enemy wasn't above lying to its own actors, let alone the fanbase.)
This was the reaction: SHUN THE UNBELIEVER! THERE IS A CODE IN THOSE T-SHIRTS! THEY'RE LYING TO KEEP IT SURPRISE!
Aaaaaaand that's about when I canceled my membership to The Stakehouse....