Or why I see little pleasure in the DP fan community nowadays.

I've been a big fan of Danny Phantom since it first premiered. I watched every episode more than once and rarely missed a premiere date except for when other occasions took higher priority in my schedule. Some of you may not know this, but I had an older account on this website which I heavily used in the DP forums and was pretty active on FanFiction.net back in 2007. During the summer of 2005, we had a handful of great episodes and not one but two excellent TV movies. After the bevy of premieres that made up the beginning of season 2 of Danny Phantom, I was under the impression that nothing but good stuff was in store for this show.

Well, we all know what happened next: the bombshell, which was that the show would end after its third season, was dropped and fans were pissed. Many wrote angry letters to Nickelodeon, innumerable people formed and signed petitions, and rallies were held outside of Nickelodeon key buildings and even the Kids' Choice Awards at one point. These fans were fervent about the show and would fight to the death, so to speak, to bring the show back. Naturally, the pleas fell on depth ears and the show ended in August of 2007. Reruns slowed down afterward and after a year or so of hanging in there, Nick dropped DP from its lineup entirely.

Before I get to my key point, let me demonstrate some of my fond experiences as part of this community.

These fans are very passionate about the show even today. Every other day, we get new drawings, photos, and whatnot of the show on deviantART and people still talk about it a lot. They keep the show's memory alive and there is certainly nothing wrong with that.

We all were in this together during the "Save DP" movement of years past and I (rather) shamelessly admit I helped from time to time. Eventually, I saw that little could be done from the fans' standpoint so I let fate takes its route.

Okay, enough of the good stuff. Now let's go for the throat.

Some fans are a little too enthusiastic, almost to the point of being radical. I've noticed more girls than boys in the DP community and a good number of those girls would say that Danny is "hot". Now, I'm sure there are many people out there who lust after fictional characters, but some of these fans are in their late teens to early adult years; I'm pretty sure that's bordering on being a pedophile, even if he is a fictional character. Some take it to one side of the extreme by putting themselves into tales, also known as the dreaded "original character", and pair themselves up with Danny. Getting back to the actual show, every year in late winter/early spring, someone brings up the ever-annoying "DP might come back this year" tale and the rumors spread like wildfire. To that end, some people insist on continuing to blast Nickelodeon about this decision even though years have passed since the show ended. The creator of the show, Butch Hartman, would like to make more episodes but even he admits that it's beyond his control.

People continue to release their blind hatred towards Nickelodeon while asking things like "Why should I care for them? They're just an evil corporation out to get money!" Whoa, slow down on the high fructose corn syrup there. If you take a moment from your teen cynicism, you'll notice that you're answering your own question: they have to care about money because that's how they stay in business. They give the crowds what they want, which is indicated by ratings. DP was not on par with what they wanted, i.e. what SpongeBob established, and so it was not a big loss to them.

And some people just can't leave well enough alone with how the show ended. Fine, in retrospect, the show had a half-baked ending with plots that were left unresolved. On the subject of fan fiction, people create alternate endings, new tales, and a boatload of crossover stories. I've seen many people tailor the DP universe so much that they seem to forget what the show actually is: a kid-friendly superhero show. What I've read ranges from romance crossovers, angst fests, and even a bunch of slash pairings. To make matters worse, some people take their "original" characters so far that they somehow persuade others into thinking that they're part of the actual canon. I know that unsatisfactory turnouts is a cause for all this, but persuading others into believing non-canon to be canon? That's either really impressive or laughably stupid.

There's nothing else I can say right now. Dozens, if not hundreds, of fans have dropped out of the community due to loss of interest of the show and for the fans out there still fighting to bring the show back, guess what: it'll be harder with the lost support. Keep in mind that I still like the show, I'll draw and write about it from time to time. But asking me to help in bringing the show back is where I draw the line.

I ask this: I was sad about the show ending, and even without it, I've moved on and have lived happily for three years without it. Why can't you?