Forum:Real world franchises with DWU connections: Qualification speedround
If this thread's title doesn't specify it's spoilery, don't bring any up.
Introduction
Simply put: deciding what franchises qualify for our ever-growing collection of pages that connect with the DWU in some form or another, as it's not always immediately apparent.
To start with:
- Every franchise that appears in Funko Pop! Blitz. A couple of months back, somebody went to that sizeable list of represented franchises at the bottom of the page there, and turned each one into an inactive link, with the clear intention for franchise pages to be created. …I went in and removed the links. The thing is, I'm not entirely sure if it counts as a crossover, when the full extent of their connection to Doctor Who is "characters from this franchise and Doctor Who sometimes appear on the game board at the same time"
- LEGO Dimensions franchises that don't appear with DW elements in any narrative elements. Do we really need a page for, let's say, The Powerpuff Girls, on the basis that "the Doctor and the Cyberman are among the dozens and dozens of characters you can play as while visiting Townsville"?
- Shrek. This one actually already has a page, as you can see, I'm not 100% sure if it actually qualifies due to a unique grey area that's presented: Shrek was involved in BBC One's 2012 Christmas campaign, It's Showtime. Now, in terms of the campaign as a whole, Shrek himself does appear in one of the idents, suggesting a licensing agreement that makes this an official usage. But when it comes to the promo, the thing that we actually cover due its usage of DW elements, Shrek's appearance is only implied; he's presented as apparently being inside a trailer at the BBC studio, where he shoots a large blob of green snot from offscreen. Would you say that counts as an "appearance"?
- The aforementioned campaign brings up a similar question in regard to Disney and Pixar's Up. It's an "official" part of the campaign via one of the idents (Carl's house is seen flying past the screen), but its only usage in the actual promo is the appearance of a bunch of live action balloons that are only said to be from Up.
… On a semi-related note: we need to standardise what the dab term should be. I myself am guilty of not being consistent in that regard, alternating between "series" and "franchise". But we should probably pick one to stick with.
WaltK ☎ 22:44, 29 June 2023 (UTC)
Discussion
I think the "franchise" pages are overwhelmingly harmless. If you have a favorite series, you can type it into our site and find a quick real world article discussing its "connections" to Doctor Who. Thus, I don't think it's a big deal if we have these pages on every LEGO Dimensions series or every FUNKO Blatz whatever.
I would, however, like to bring up another topic: implicit crossovers on comic covers. This has been pretty much ignored due to us not "covering" covers as fiction per se. But look at something like TV Comic Annual 1967 or the TV Comic Holiday Special, 1965. These are very much crossovers in terms of art, and I think they are just as worthy of being documented.
Another important thing to bring up is that when it comes to franchises and series from the past, sometimes it's important we have a page explaining their existence because no other guide exists online. A quick Google of TV Terrors will turn up few useful results! I'm not saying we should cover TV Terrors content, but obviously having that page discussing what the series was would help explain the crossover to some users. OS25🤙☎️ 00:04, 30 June 2023 (UTC)
- It's worth noting that in the It's Showtime promo, Shrek's voice can actually be heard saying "Oh, sorry" after he sneezes. Cgl1999 ☎ 07:27, 30 June 2023 (UTC)
- Personally, I see LEGO Dimensions and Funko Pop! Blitz quite differently: with LEGO Dimensions, an honest attempt is made to have the characters and elements have unique interactions with each other, while Funko Pop! Blitz is a bit closer to Fortnite-ish crossovers (and I don't really thing an overview of John Wick is particularly necessary on this site). With LEGO Dimensions, I feel like all franchises featured are relevant, but ones without DWU interactions should perhaps be saved for an eventual debate on the game's validity/coverage. Cookieboy 2005 ☎ 10:40, 3 July 2023 (UTC)
- I think that's fair, and it is worth saying that we might see Doctor Who in Fortnite some day, so the comparison is quite relevant. In this case, I'd say that we shouldn't make pages for franchises that are only in the Funko thing, but if a page exists already it's fair game. OS25🤙☎️ 19:59, 3 July 2023 (UTC)
- And in a much less official capacity than a real collab would lend it. It's the difference between the BBC having a character pack with Little Big World and the BBC simply publishing a Little Big Planet level as if they were a user. The island in question was not an official Epic Games collaboration. Your minor correction is noted but doesn't continue the discussion. OS25🤙☎️ 23:14, 3 July 2023 (UTC)
- (to be fair, they did also release a TARDIS spray, which most users can't do, but that's still minor) Cookieboy 2005 ☎ 14:25, 4 July 2023 (UTC)
