MaxTheVool:
I guess maybe one difference is that it’s easier for a Whedon fan to assume that someone who is not a Whedon fan has never been given the chance? I mean, at this point, if someone doesn’t like Star Trek, they probably at least know what Star Trek is, have been exposed to it, etc, and the same for Some Sports Team or Renn Faires. Whereas someone who isn’t a Whedon fan might well never have seen an episode of Firefly, or might make a variety of incorrect assumptions about a show called “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. So it makes a bit of sense for Whedon fans to be a bit more Evangelistic than fans of, say, the Yankees.
This is true to a point, but Buffy and Angel have been on TV for what, 10 years now? You’d assume that people HAVE heard of the show, and if they’re not fans, it’s because they don’t like it… much like, say, The Simpsons.
But still, there’s still a big difference between someone who says “you HAVE to try Firefly, OMG OMG OMG, you will SO LOVE IT OMG OMG OMG”, which is a tad annoying, and someone who, if you have tried Firefly and honestly didn’t like it, assumes that you’re (a) lying, or (b) stupid, or (c) unworthy and soulless, or (d) part of a conspiracy.
No arguments here…