Pseudocanon: Difference between revisions
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Pseudocanon ''usually'' fits in well with the actual canon (at least until a later writer invalidates it), as it is the writers' idea of "what is really going on" as they craft their stories. However, because it is not established in any official fiction, it can't be taken as a given or definitely "true". Fans are free to incorporate pseudocanon, or not, into their [[Personal canon|personal canons]] as they see fit. Knowledge of relevant pseudocanon may enhance one's enjoyment of a story, but can't be used to "prove" a point about that story because the pseudocanon itself is ''not in the story''. | Pseudocanon ''usually'' fits in well with the actual canon (at least until a later writer invalidates it), as it is the writers' idea of "what is really going on" as they craft their stories. However, because it is not established in any official fiction, it can't be taken as a given or definitely "true". Fans are free to incorporate pseudocanon, or not, into their [[Personal canon|personal canons]] as they see fit. Knowledge of relevant pseudocanon may enhance one's enjoyment of a story, but can't be used to "prove" a point about that story because the pseudocanon itself is ''not in the story''. | ||
As an example, at the end of ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'', the Maximals depart from [[Earth]], without ever being shown replacing the [[spark]] of [[Megatron (G1)|the original Megatron]]. Although it could be presumed that they had done so, it was not established as true. The show's writers stated that yes, the Maximals had indeed replaced the spark, and that the scene had even been animated before it was cut for time. They even provided a clip of the scene to [[Ben Yee]] who posted it on his site, and was later included as an extra on Rhino's DVD set.<ref>In fact ''[[Transformers Legends|A Meeting of Minds]]'', a later prose story by [[Simon Furman]], ''may'' have actually canonised the event, though it's complicated. An editorial caveat asserted that all the stories in the anthology it comes from are not canon for the continuities they refer to... and another statement elsewhere in the book contradicted the first one, saying no such rules applied. Depending on whether readers validate authorial intent (and which of the authors they side with) it is thus debatable whether this depiction of the event should technically be considered part of a [[Micro-continuity]], or could actually be re-integrated into the main ''BW'' continuity, thus rescuing it from the clutches of pseudocanon.</ref> Despite all of this, the return of Megatron's spark within the context of that episode is ''not canonically established''. It is clearly the [[Authorial intent|writers' intent]] for the spark to have been replaced, and again, it is logical to presume that this would have happened off-camera, but because no canon source—that is, no official and finished fiction from ''Beast Wars'' establishes it, it technically remains "not necessarily true" for the mainstream ''BW'' canon. | As an example, at the end of ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'', the Maximals depart from [[Earth]], without ever being shown replacing the [[spark]] of [[Megatron (G1)|the original Megatron]]. Although it could be presumed that they had done so, it was not established as true. The show's writers stated that yes, the Maximals had indeed replaced the spark, and that the scene had even been animated before it was cut for time. They even provided a clip of the scene to [[Ben Yee]] who posted it on his site, and was later included as an extra on Rhino's DVD set.<ref>In fact ''[[Transformers Legends|A Meeting of Minds]]'', a later prose story by [[Simon Furman]], ''may'' have actually canonised the event, though it's complicated. An editorial caveat asserted that all the stories in the anthology it comes from are not canon for the continuities they refer to... and another statement elsewhere in the book contradicted the first one, saying no such rules applied. Depending on whether readers validate authorial intent (and which of the authors they side with) it is thus debatable whether this depiction of the event should technically be considered part of a [[Micro-continuity]], or could actually be re-integrated into the main ''BW'' continuity, thus rescuing it from the clutches of pseudocanon.</ref> Despite all of this, the return of Megatron's spark within the context of that episode is ''not canonically established''. It is clearly the [[Authorial intent|writers' intent]] for the spark to have been replaced, and again, it is logical to presume that this would have happened off-camera, but because no canon source—that is, no official and finished fiction from ''Beast Wars'' establishes it, it technically remains "not necessarily true" for the mainstream ''BW'' canon. | ||
Those few examples of pseudocanon considered to be important enough to include on this wiki are marked with <nowiki>{{apocrypha}}</nowiki>. | Those few examples of pseudocanon considered to be important enough to include on this wiki are marked with <nowiki>{{apocrypha}}</nowiki>. | ||
Revision as of 09:02, 6 August 2012
Transformers fiction has an unusual but fairly cut-and-dried policy on what is canon: anything depicted by official fiction/sourcebooks is canon (for some continuity at least). However, there is a large amount of additional information about the various Transformers universes that does not come from officially endorsed products. Background gleaned from creator interviews, early drafts of stories, forum posts, and the like all falls into the realm of pseudocanon.
Pseudocanon usually fits in well with the actual canon (at least until a later writer invalidates it), as it is the writers' idea of "what is really going on" as they craft their stories. However, because it is not established in any official fiction, it can't be taken as a given or definitely "true". Fans are free to incorporate pseudocanon, or not, into their personal canons as they see fit. Knowledge of relevant pseudocanon may enhance one's enjoyment of a story, but can't be used to "prove" a point about that story because the pseudocanon itself is not in the story.
As an example, at the end of Beast Wars, the Maximals depart from Earth, without ever being shown replacing the spark of the original Megatron. Although it could be presumed that they had done so, it was not established as true. The show's writers stated that yes, the Maximals had indeed replaced the spark, and that the scene had even been animated before it was cut for time. They even provided a clip of the scene to Ben Yee who posted it on his site, and was later included as an extra on Rhino's DVD set.[1] Despite all of this, the return of Megatron's spark within the context of that episode is not canonically established. It is clearly the writers' intent for the spark to have been replaced, and again, it is logical to presume that this would have happened off-camera, but because no canon source—that is, no official and finished fiction from Beast Wars establishes it, it technically remains "not necessarily true" for the mainstream BW canon.
Those few examples of pseudocanon considered to be important enough to include on this wiki are marked with {{apocrypha}}.
References
- ↑ In fact A Meeting of Minds, a later prose story by Simon Furman, may have actually canonised the event, though it's complicated. An editorial caveat asserted that all the stories in the anthology it comes from are not canon for the continuities they refer to... and another statement elsewhere in the book contradicted the first one, saying no such rules applied. Depending on whether readers validate authorial intent (and which of the authors they side with) it is thus debatable whether this depiction of the event should technically be considered part of a Micro-continuity, or could actually be re-integrated into the main BW continuity, thus rescuing it from the clutches of pseudocanon.
See also
- Authorial intent
- "Alignment"
- Beast Wars Universe, which is full of this stuff.
