| Canon (fiction) |
Article Index for Canon |
Website Links For Canon |
Information About ™Canon (fiction) |
|
Fan Fiction ''was'' never considered canon, until the precendent shattering advent of the 1632 Universe in February 2000 by Eric Flint , wherein fans and other established authors were invited on the internet forum Baen's Bar to shape the Multiverse and the fan-fic once vetted is itself published in the various '' Grantville Gazettes '', themselves under the direct editorial control of Flint and an 1632 Editorial Board . This is an ongoing processes that apparently will continue indefinitely as the series continues to burgeon in popularity. Sometimes, however, events or characterizations portrayed in fan-fiction can become so influential that they are respected in fiction written by many different authors, and may be mistaken for canonical facts by fans. This is referred to as " Fanon ". The use of fan-fiction to fill gaps or continuity errors in canon is derisively called "fanwanking," or "fanwank". (The terms fanon and fanwank can apply to officially licensed works as well.) There is no unanimous opinion on whether having a definitive canon in a fictional setting is useful, desirable or even possible. Canonicity of fiction is a distinctly modern idea, since earlier ages, before the current ideas of Intellectual Property came about, did not distinguish between "official" and "unofficial" sources of stories. A great deal of the interest and controversy over canonicity comes from the Star Wars franchise, because of the unique-for-its-time goal of derivative works such as Star Wars books to be completely in continuity with each other and with the Star Wars movies. EXAMPLES OF FICTIONAL CANONS Babylon 5 The canon consists of the television series '' Babylon 5 '' and its later TV movies, the TV series '' Crusade '', novels published by Dell and Del Rey/Ballantine , various short stories, and the ''Babylon 5'' comic book published by DC Comics . This was decided by J. Michael Straczynski , who maintained a tight control on the expanded universe to ensure that nearly everything was canonical; going so far as to pen elaborate story-outlines hundreds of pages long for the novels' authors based upon his personal historical notes for the B5 universe, and in general seeking to safeguard the spinoff works' reputations for being every bit as legitimate and sophisticated as the television series. The ''Babylon 5'' novels have a number of major elements that are considered canon by series creator Straczynski. However, the later ones published by Del Rey are generally regarded as being more canonical than some of the early Dell books, which were published with less storyline oversight by Straczynski than he would later exercise. The seventh and ninth Dell novels — '' The Shadow Within '' by Jeanne Cavelos and '' To Dream In The City Of Sorrows '' by Kathryn M. Drennan — are the only two books from this run which are considered to be canonical in their entirety, whereas all of the Del Rey novels are fully endorsed by the series' creator, along with the DC comic books and short fiction. In addition to all this, J. Michael Straczynski is himself (as of early 2006) putting the finishing touches on the manuscript for a 100-page ''Babylon 5'' graphic novel to be published by Wildstorm Productions sometime in the middle to late period of the year. The premise, characters, and plotline of the book are as yet unknown. Beauty And The Beast Most fans of the CBS television series consider all episodes of the first season, and at least all Season 2 episodes through "The Hollow Men," to be canonical. Opinions diverge at this point, as the writing of the series took a much darker turn, in an attempt to increase the series' Nielsen Ratings beyond its narrow fan niche; and the final three Season 2 episodes, focusing on Vincent's madness, do not appeal to many fans, who focus on the romantic or literary aspects of the characters. The sharpest divergence of opinion comes when Season 3 is considered. Fan groups divide into two camps, between those who accept or reject the death of Catherine Chandler and the introduction of Diana Bennett . It has been noted by some that those who accept Season 3 as canonical usually refer to the series as ''B&B'', while the opposite side uses ''BATB''. The opinion divided the fan community enough that an audience roundtable discussion on "Healing the Rift in Fandom" was organized at the 1991 ''South of Oz'' fan convention in Orlando , Florida . Buffyverse See Also: Buffyverse canonical issues The '' Buffyverse '' canon consists of the television series '' Buffy The Vampire Slayer '' and '' Angel '' as well as the comics, '' Fray '', '' Tales Of The Vampires '', and '' Tales Of The Slayers ''. All of the tie-in novels and video-games, along with most of the comics are largely considered either non-canon or Apocrypha . Some of the comics and novels are written by members of Mutant Enemy writing staff. The canonical status of these materials is unclear. DC Universe DC Universe (comics) Most, but not all, '' and the '' Action Comics Weekly'' strip featuring Captain Marvel ). The events may not have occurred exactly as shown, however, owing to the Floating Timeline . Appearances of the DC Comics characters in other media are not considered canon, however, the appearance of a Marvel Comics character, Jigsaw, during a Marvel/DC comics publishing Crossover , is apparently considered a piece of canon for the adventures of Jean-Paul Valley, aka Azrael , who at one point took up the role of The Batman . Jigsaw was an enemy of Frank Castle, a Marvel Comics character called The Punisher . Some discrepancies in the DC Universe's canon may be accounted for by the concept of Hypertime . Others may be addressed in an anticipated continuity revision stemming from the current Crossover series '' Infinite Crisis ''. DC Animated Universe Many of the DC ''. As is typical with all secondary information sources, fans are divided upon whether to consider the various comic books based on the animated series part of the official canon. The '' Teen Titans '' animated series, although based on DC comics, is its own continuity with no real ties to the main "DCAU", but there is a reference to it in Static Shock. Doctor Who There has never been an "official" statement on what is canonical '' Doctor Who ''. ''Doctor Who'' has never had a single author or authority and it is apparent that the BBC , which owns the series, has generally not cared about the matter. The many creators of ''Doctor Who'' have always treated the concept of continuity loosely. Fans run a spectrum between those who consider only the television series canonical and those who consider all ''Doctor Who'' canonical. Within that spectrum many view the licensed Novel s and Audio Plays as at least near-canonical, and some of those would also include the '' Doctor Who Magazine '' comic strips. It is generally assumed that all televised ''Doctor Who'' episodes from 1963 to 1989, the 1981 spin-off '' K-9 And Company '', the 1996 Telemovie and the new series, which started in 2005, are canonical, including a 1965 episode in which the First Doctor breaks the Fourth Wall to wish viewers a Merry Christmas ("The Feast of Steven", episode 7 of '' The Daleks' Master Plan ''). Generally, the canonical status of all ''Doctor Who'' Spin-off media outside of what has been presented on screen (bar obvious spoofs) is debatable, including the BBC Radio dramas and Webcast s based upon the show. The two theatrical films based upon the series in the 1960s, starring Peter Cushing , are not generally considered canonical, nor is the considerable background information contained in the Role-playing Game produced by FASA in the 1980s . Many of the short stories in the BBC anthology ''Short Trips and Side Steps'' have settings generally considered non-canonical; for instance, one story features the Cushing Doctor , while another is set between the Children In Need '' EastEnders '' crossover '' Dimensions In Time '' and the Doctor's appearance in the schools' programme '' Search Out Science ''. The comic strips (''Ground Zero'', DWM #238-242), Eighth Doctor Adventures (''Sometime Never...'' by Justin Richards ) and the Big Finish Productions audio plays ('' Zagreus '') have all attempted to provide an in-continuity explanation for discrepancies by suggesting that their respective continuities take place in separate Parallel Universe s. A new series of novels based upon the current ''Doctor Who'' series is under way. The television series has referred to these (most notably in '' Boom Town '', in which Rose Tyler mentioned a trip to the planet Justicia, depicted in the Ninth Doctor Adventures novel ''The Monsters Inside''). Other episodes also made oblique references to the ''Doctor Who Magazine'' comic strip ("kronkburgers" in '' The Long Game '') and the Virgin New Adventures (the planet Lucifer, mentioned in '' Bad Wolf '', and the Doctor's title "The Oncoming Storm", mentioned in '' The Long Game ''), but these are most likely playful tributes rather than deliberate attempts to dictate a ''Doctor Who'' canon. Still, these references are innovations peculiar to the 2005 series; the original 1963–1989 series never referred to adventures published in other media. Dungeons & Dragons The concept of canon plays an important role in the fantasy Role-playing Game '' Dungeons & Dragons '' (D&D). Over the years, a number of Campaign Setting s have been published for ''D&D'', each detailing a world or worlds that provide a setting in which the game can be played. There are two types of canon issues that arise from this situation. The first issue is intra-setting canon, which deals with the backstory, locations and gameplay dynamics considered to be canon within a specific setting. Because ''D&D'' generally falls into the fantasy sub-genre of Sword And Sorcery , canon discrepancies can arise beyond just the typical issues in fiction of history, plot and character. For example, debates regarding canon within a given setting may include such arcana as the source of various magical powers and how they operate within the setting. Theological issues related to the various Deities that may exist within the setting occur, as do disagreements regarding the canon Cosmology of the setting's universe. The second type of canon problem that arises in ''D&D'' is inter-setting canon, concerned primarily with the relationships between different settings. Many ''D&D'' publications have discussed how the various settings are related to each other within the ''D&D'' Multiverse of various Planes Of Existence , although these relationships are debated or even denied by some fans of the game. There is no single "official" canon for ''D&D''. From the very beginnings of the game in the 1970s through to the present, the issue of canon has been left up to each individual Dungeon Master , who runs the game session for the other players. The Dungeon Master is free to determine which published materials ( Adventure Modules , novels, sourcebooks, video games, comic books, etc.) are canonical in his or her own campaign, and how the various ''D&D'' rules apply to that campaign. Nevertheless, ''D&D'' players often move between games managed by different Dungeon Masters, and many also congregate for gaming tournaments, play in shared Living Campaigns , or play the game on-line with different participants than in their normal gaming sessions. In order to achieve even a basic level of continuity among these various game instances, ''D&D'' fans must therefore confront the issue of canon. To achieve the desired level of continuity, various mechanisms are employed to manage ''D&D'' "canon." The organizers of gaming tournaments, for example, will often specify which sets of rules and conventions are "in force" for tournament gameplay. Living campaigns usually attempt to develop a more comprehensive set of canon materials and sourcebooks, such as the ''Living Greyhawk Gazetteer'' for the '' Living Greyhawk '' campaign. And for individually-run games, it is common for Dungeon Masters to briefly discuss their own vision of ''D&D'' canon with each new player who joins his or her campaign. Finally, following the emergence of the World Wide Web, a number of Web sites have arisen that enable players to discuss canon issues and work toward (or reject) canonical norms. These include the Web site of Wizards Of The Coast the intellectual property rightsholder and publisher for ''D&D'', as well as fan-run sites such as ''EN World''[http://www.enworld.org/ and ''Canonfire''[http://www.canonfire.com/]. Firefly/Serenity The canon of '' Firefly '' and its cinematic follow-up '' Serenity '' is the fourteen episodes of ''Firefly'', the film ''Serenity'', the R. Tam Sessions short videos, and the three-issue Dark Horse Comics series (also titled '' Serenity '') that bridges the television series and the film. The canonicity is based on the involvement of the series creator, Joss Whedon ; for example, the novelization of the film is not considered canon due to the fact that Whedon had very little to do with its content. Harry Potter While there is no official statement on what is considered to be '', a respected Harry Potter encyclopedia on the internet, proposes the following set of canon rules: {Link without Title} It can be said that the movies have their own canon, independent of but similar to that of the books. Highlander See Also: Highlander (film)#Series/Film separation Many fans of ''''. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy There were so many changes by Douglas Adams himself that the original story remains unknown. The publications were continuously improved; characters, locations, events introduced, removed, modified. Even the Title's Spelling may differ among editions. Finally, he declared in a preface to his 5-book "trilogy" to be the canon, but translations of apparently the same edition fail to match the number of chapters. The Movie also tells us a significantly modified story. However, the Main Character s ( Arthur Dent , Ford Prefect , Trillian , Zaphod and Marvin ) are static personalities; as well as other instances like Vogons , Towel s, 42 , the destruction of Earth and, of course, The Guide itself are unchangable. The author's goal to communicate the canon idea behind the flow of events makes the order or presence of actions superfluous. James Bond Fans of Ian Fleming 's superspy are divided over what is considered official canon. There is little argument that all of Fleming's original short stories and novels are canon, and some include the Kingsley Amis Bond novel, '' Colonel Sun '' in this canon as well. The status of the John Gardner and Raymond Benson Bond novels in canon is less certain, since both book series have been updated and feature elements and characters created for the movie series. Benson's novels are particularly controversial as they appear to be based upon the Bond movie universe, rather than the literary Bond. The various Bond film novelizations are generally considered Apocrypha l, as is a 1970s "authorized biography" of Bond by John Pearson . A new series of novels featuring a Teenage Bond written by Charlie Higson was released in the beginning of 2005 . It remains to be seen if this series will be considered official canon. The TV series '' James Bond Jr. '', while officially licensed, is not considered canonical. The Bond movies, meanwhile, appear to exist somewhat outside of any canon. Although there is some between-films continuity (e.g. references to the death of Bond's wife), the ever-changing cast has rendered any sort of canon determination virtually impossible. However, as some of the films take place over such a short space of time (the film '' GoldenEye '' only covers 2 days), some aspects, such as Bond's apparent inability to age, can be accepted without too many questions. Major changes in a character's age and appearance are taken in stride by comic book fans; a similar approach could create one continuity for the movies, though still independent of the books. This appears to be the approach taken by the book ''James Bond: The Secret World of 007''. It presents a Bond who looks like Pierce Brosnan (except in an appendix giving production information on the movies, all other actors playing Bond are only shown from the back) who remembers the events of '' Dr. No ''. The year each story takes place in is not given, based on the " Rolling Timeline " concept. Macross The '''' (the only animated ''Macross'' project without Studio Nue's direct involvement) in a "parallel world" from the other animated projects. Marvel Universe Most, but not all, comic books published by Marvel Comics are set in a shared world known as the Marvel Universe . The canon for this world comprises all the comics not stated to be set in an Alternate Universe , except those specifically contradicted by later stories. The events may not have occurred exactly as shown, however, owing to the Floating Timeline (For instance, during the 1960s, Ben Grimm said he had fought in the World War II alongisde Nick Fury; during the 2000s, Grimm himself considered that the idea of him fighting in the World War II was ridiculous, as he would be much older). Alternate universes in Marvel Comics include, for example, the "Ultimate" line of Marvel comics, which have their own canon independent of the core Marvel universe. Appearances of the Marvel Comics characters in other media are not considered canon. Mega Man The '' Mega Man '' or ''Rockman'' canon is a source of much debate, due to confusing information that may have resulted from plotholes in the games. According to official sources from Capcom (such as the ''Rockman Perfect Memories'' book), the series' continuity starts with the original " Classic " series and proceeds to (in order) '' Mega Man X '', '' Mega Man Zero '' and '' Mega Man Legends ''. The '' Mega Man Battle Network '' is set in an alternative universe from the other series and is not part of the franchise's main canon. '' versions of ''Mega Man I'' through ''V''. has not been officially established. The ''Rockman & Forte'' game for Wonderswan is non-canonical, due to the fact that it was only a licensed product made by Bandai and not developed internally by Capcom. Metal Gear The '''', contains a series of side-stories titled "Snake Tales" (set in environments recycled from the main game), which are considered uncanonical due to various contradicting details and overall recycled nature of them. The original '''', which continues after ''Metal Gear Solid 2''. Middle-earth See Also: Middle-earth canon Defining the Middle-earth canon is difficult, because many key writings were not published by J. R. R. Tolkien before his death. A considerable number of Tolkien Fans do not believe that a canon can be defined at all, preferring to observe the evolution of Tolkien's stories in the many versions and drafts published posthumously in The History Of Middle-earth series. Most, however, agree that '' The Hobbit '' and '' The Lord Of The Rings '' are canon, and also include a substantial amount of material published in '' The Silmarillion '', '' Unfinished Tales '', and other posthumous books, as well as information from Tolkien's Letters . Works outside of canon include art books (except for the collections of Tolkien's own art) and video games; the ''Lord of the Rings'' movies by Ralph Bakshi and Peter Jackson are generally considered non-canonical as well. Mortal Kombat The ''''). Fans tend to speculate about which endings are canon from whatever game has most recently been released, however the "true" endings are never officially known until the plot of the next game is revealed. Because not every ending from a game can be true, the majority of the endings from each game are non-canon. Additionally, portions of some endings may be considered canon while the rest of the ending is ignored. An interesting trend associated with this line of canon plot is that nearly every game assumes the "good guys" (typically, the Earthrealm kombatants) prevailed over the "bad guys." In fact, this trend has only recently been broken, with the release of 2004's '''', which assumes that Earthrealm's warriors lost and died at the hands of the Deadly Alliance . The ''Mortal Kombat'' canon concerns itself solely with the videogames, and the three comic books created by John Tobias . Ventures such as the television shows, movies, and Malibu Comics ' series, as well as Jeff Rovin's novel, are not considered part of the storyline. Nightmare On Elm Street Canon for the Nightmare On Elm Street series only includes what was/is approved by New Line Cinema . Confusion began with this series when licensing deals were given to various Comic Book and Book Publishers in the 1980’s. New Line Cinema did not take an active role in the approval process until 1990. Considered canon would be the following releases:
The short lived television series 'Freddy’s Nightmares: A Nightmare On Elm Street - The Series' is loosely considered canon. Some episodes present altered backstories/dates from that of the given films. Though most episodes do not interfere with the film events and can fit nicely in the given timeline, the backstories/dates presented in the TV series should not be favored over the films. {Link without Title} Works that are not canon would include: Freddy Krueger’s: A Nightmare on Elm Street by Marvel Comics , novel: Freddy Krueger’s Seven Sweetest Dreams, and the short story: “The Life & Death of Freddy Krueger”. The Prisoner The official canon of the 1960s TV series '' The Prisoner '', at present, consists of only the 17 broadcast episodes. The alternate versions of the episodes "Arrival" and "Chimes of Big Ben" which include additional scenes (including one sequence in "Chimes" that reveals The Prisoner is capable of determining the location of The Village , rendering one ongoing subplot of the series moot) is not considered canon. The argument over whether Number Six is John Drake has led to debate over whether the '' Danger Man '' TV series should be considered part of ''The Prisoner'' canon; officially, it is not. Three original novels based on the series written during the 1960s (two of which identify No. 6 as John Drake) are not considered canon; the canon status of a new series of novels launched in 2005 is unclear. Resident Evil In the '''') in the beginning of '' Resident Evil 0 ''. The only game that is generally seen as uncanonical is '' Resident Evil Gaiden '', due to an unexplored cliffhanger ending. The films and novelizations (as well as other sanctioned adaptations) are not canonical due to several discrepancies between them and the games. There has also been debate as to how the events of the earlier games actually transpired due to multiple endings and alternate scenarios of the same storyline. This is best exemplified with the original '' Resident Evil ''. In the games that followed, it is stated that S.T.A.R.S. members Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine survived the mansion incident (the events of the original game) along with their respective supporting characters, Rebecca Chambers and Barry Burton . However, this is impossible to do in the game itself, due to the fact that the best possible ending for each character only features three of the four surviving S.T.A.R.S. members (Barry and Rebecca are never in the same game together). Sherlock Holmes The Sherlock Holmes canon consists of the stories and novels written by Arthur Conan Doyle . This was decided by The Baker Street Irregulars , a group of Holmes enthusiasts, to distinguish the original stories from the Pastiche s that followed Holmes' retirement, and is probably the first use of the word in this context. The Simpsons In '' The Simpsons '', most episodes are considered to be canon, though some may not be able to match others exactly. There is one episode that parodies this: Ned Flanders gives Homer a football ticket and they become friends by the end of the episode. {Link without Title} Lisa: ''Don't worry, Bart. It seems like every week something odd happens to the Simpsons. My advice is to ride it out, make the occasional smart-aleck quip, and by next week we'll be back to where we started from, ready for another wacky adventure.'' Bart: ''Ay, caramba!'' Lisa: ''That's the spirit.'' In the last scene of the episode, it is like none of it ever happened. There is a similar episode involving the past of Principal Skinner which ends in the same fashion, where the Springfield Judge rules that the events of the episode should not be spoken of again. Some episodes contain references to others, such as mentions of the Simpson family having travelled to all of the continents in the world, save Antarctica. One issue of continuity that is unlikely to be definitively decided is the question of where the Simpsons' home town of Springfield is. Most clues about Springfield's location are contradictory, which is completely intentional. In one episode, Springfield is shown on a map as being in north-west Tennessee, but other episodes contradict this. Some special episodes, such as the Treehouse Of Horror specials, clip shows, and " Behind The Laughter ", are not considered to be canon. ''Simpsons'' cartoons, books, video games and the original ''Shorts'', which appeared as filler material in '' The Tracey Ullman Show '' and featured what could be considered prototypes of the ''Simpsons'' characters are not considered canonical. Sonic the Hedgehog The Sonic game plots are often basic, but have become increasingly complex with each subsequent game. ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', ''Sonic the Hedgehog 2'', ''Sonic the Hedgehog 3'', ''Sonic and Knuckles'', ''Sonic Adventure'', ''Sonic Adventure 2'', ''Sonic Heroes'' and ''Shadow the Hedgehog'' are absolute canon games, since they were all directly created by Sonic Team. ''Sonic CD'' is also absolute canon, since it has been referred to in ''Sonic Adventure'' and ''Sonic Heroes''.
Whether some characters have been retconned, and which ones, is a source of debate. Soul Calibur In the ''Soul'' series of Fighting Game s, it can be difficult to determine which storyline is canon, as each character has his or her own storyline, usually ending with that character possesing Soul Edge or Soul Calibur . Since this cannot logically be the case, the actual story of the ''Soul Calibur'' series must be pieced together by obtaining various profiles available within the games. It is also notable that usually only one or so endings involving the magical swords ends up being canon, as it is referenced in later volumes. Stargate See Also: Stargate The ''Stargate'' fictional universe canon consists of:
Some fans consider ''Stargate SG-1'' to be incompatible with the movie due to a few minor changes in small details of the film's plot when carried into the television series. However, most fans and even the producers pass over these details as insignificant. Also, the writers have made comments that could be interpreted as making the ''SG-1'' episode " Hathor " non-canonical. Star Trek See Also: Star Trek canon The '''', and the ten Star Trek movies. Originally, there was little official policy on canon, and ''''" from canon, and made no references to the events of that episode after it was made. The canonicity of the various reference books such as '' The Star Trek Encyclopedia '' and various companions accompanying the series is still debated. Many consider such reference works to be canon, while others do not; there is currently no clear answer solving this problem. It should be noted that most of the information from the ''The Star Trek Encyclopedia'' and ''The Star Trek Chronology'' comes directly from the television series and movies, which themselves are canon, and the books were written by people who worked on the production staff, and sometimes used as internal references. A similar problem exists with Trading Card s cataloging information from the series. Star Wars See Also: Star Wars canon The '' Star Wars '' canon is a complex issue, and Lucas Licensing has devised a four-level system called the " Holocron continuity database" to keep track of the ''Star Wars'' canon. The purpose of this database is to chronicle all ''Star Wars'' stories, and settle any disputes that may arise within the various productions. The basic rule, however, is that the ''Star Wars'' canon comprises the six ''Star Wars'' films, along with all officially licensed ''Star Wars'' stories not contradicting the films. South Park Another notable animation series in this context is '' South Park ''. It follows the misbehavings of a group of four friends. At the end of most early episodes, the character of Kenny dies, but at the start of each new episode, he's found to be alive again. Whilst this was originally "explained" when he inexplicably faded back into existence at the beginning of "Cartman's Mom Is Still A Dirty Slut", it was later revealed that Kenny's mother gives birth to a new 'Kenny' immediately after the passing of the old one. The 'Kenny' born when this explanation was made was the 52nd. However, this was primarily a joke lampooning the show's lack of continuity on the matter, and as such, isn't canon. Warhammer 40,000 The canon of are canonical until superseded, and no works produced without official blessing are considered canon at all (although increasingly in the last ten years since the Internet enabled fans to widely disseminate their own works such material has later been subsumed into official Games Workshop publications). However, the very far-reaching changes in game background and tone over the first three revisions of the core rulebook and background sourcebooks have invalidated very large parts of a history once considered canon (although the original Rogue Trader deliberately avoided establishing too many solid universal details for the sake of ensuring the game could be expanded by gamesmasters according to the prevailing logic in the science fiction gaming community at the late 1980s ). Almost all current consumers of Games Workshop material hold material to be canon only until superseded by more recent publications. Isolated communities of gamers who reject recent changes in game history and rules by the company exist, connected either locally by gaming groups or globally via Internet message boards ( {Link without Title} ); these groups commonly either reject the widespread changes made to the core rules and background in the third revision of the rulebook and supporting material or reject all material which contradicts the original 1987 Rogue Trader publication (as almost all work released after the original book introduced specific Timeline items which sought to direct the Gamesmaster in ways which seemingly contradicted the extremely open-ended Science Fantasy background of the original book). OTHER FACTORS The fact the majority of fans of a fictional setting view certain things as non-canonical, or even an official statement to that effect from its creators, does not oblige everyone to agree. In addition, a story can belong to two overlapping canons. The most obvious example of this is Philip José Farmer 's Wold Newton Family . Some (but not all) of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan , Doc Savage etc. are canonical in the Wold Newton setting. This does not mean that the events of Farmer's books are canonical from a Sherlockian perspective. Similarly, fans of Laurie R. King 's novels of Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell consider all the Holmes stories to be canonical in King's setting. The difference can be even less clear cut than this. Current ''Star Trek'' novels maintain a tight continuity with each other, and avoid contradicting the television series. When a ''Lost Era'' novel set between the movies and ''The Next Generation'' features a younger version of a character introduced in a ''Deep Space Nine'' novel, it's obvious there's some sort of "canonical" novel-setting, even if the TV series is not obliged to conform to it. This is where '' was announced, but was completely invalidated by the series; there are some ''Trek'' fans who prefer the ''Starfleet Year One'' version of events as canon, rejecting the TV series. Generally, though, in the case of televised fiction, only facts which appear in the as-originally-aired version of a program are considered canonical (including scenes cut from re-runs, but not including such things as deleted scenes and scenes from unaired pilots and other such material that 'leaks out' over the internet). Furthermore, the issue is also complicated when the definition of canon changes well after the fictional universe is established. As an example, in the 1970s and 1980s, there were a number of reference works published by '', would be considered non-canonical in 1995. In some fictional universes, interviews and other communications from authors are also considered canon - like The Letters Of J. R. R. Tolkien with relation to Middle Earth ; also items such as interviews, internet chat sessions, and Web sites (e.g., the Web site of J. K. Rowling in relation to Harry Potter ). This usually only happens in cases where all works in the universe have the same author. SEE ALSO Canonical terms in fiction Examples of canonical matters in fictional universes |
|
|