New Genre :: Paranormal

SilverSurfer wrote:
I'd like to suggest a new genre be added, Paranormal.

Paranormal encompasses topics such as ESP & other psychic phenomenon, UFOs, Bigfoot (Cryptids) and ghosts (like "Ghost Hunters" but not "Supernatural").

It is different than Supernatural which covers topics like witches, vampires, werewolves, demons and/or angels, ghosts (where their existence is accepted as fact), zombies and the like.

Basically, as I see it Paranormal takes the subject matter seriously and tries to prove or disprove the subject of the show whereas Supernatural, generally, accepts the existence of the phenomenon and uses it for story telling purposes.

I think david and jan said that for now they won't add anymore genres :)

JuanArango wrote:
I think david and jan said that for now they won't add anymore genres :)

Cool. If/when new ones are considered, hope Paranormal is in the mix. Txs for info! :)

I'm still carrying a torch for "Talent" and "Lifestyle" to be used with Reality. They reach wide and should cover a wast majority of the reality shows we have now with no genre.

"Paranormal" as described seems mostly like a subgenre of "Reality"

It would also raise the question of where to put fictional shows like X-Files, where the existence of ghosts and demons aren't accepted as fact. Except for the main character, but the main characters on a lot of paranormal reality shows are the only ones who accept the evidence of such beings as fact, too. Heck, even on Supernatural only the main characters and their buddies accept the supernatural as real. Judging from last night's "Scoobynatural", even animated character don't accept the supernatural as fact. :)

As with most sites, I tend to find the use of genres pretty much useless. They are alternately too broad ("Comedy", "Drama", "Action") and too narrow.("Nature", "Food"). Sometimes variably-defined: does "Children" refer to a show for children, or a show with children? And sometimes cross over and the only differences are subjective. What good does my subjective opinion do anyone else when trying to find/pick/identify shows?

TVMaze can and has come up with definitions, but if they're different from other sites, what good are they? And if there aren't any common definitions, what's the point?

Gadfly wrote:
"Paranormal" as described seems mostly like a subgenre of "Reality"

It would also raise the question of where to put fictional shows like X-Files, where the existence of ghosts and demons aren't accepted as fact. Except for the main character, but the main characters on a lot of paranormal reality shows are the only ones who accept the evidence of such beings as fact, too. Heck, even on Supernatural only the main characters and their buddies accept the supernatural as real. Judging from last night's "Scoobynatural", even animated character don't accept the supernatural as fact. :)

The shows themselves 'accepts the existence of the phenomenon and uses it for story telling purposes' ... it doesn't matter if certain characters believe or not ... the universe the show inhabits is the key ... in "Supernatural" we the viewer know what the Winchesters and other hunters know even though most other characters are blind to the 'facts'.

But to your first point, yes, Paranormal could very well fit as a sub-genre under Reality along with Talent & Lifestyle as Aidan suggested ... and I'm sure a few more sub-genre tags could be applied to the Reality genre.

Well, reality shows don't have "story telling purposes" the way that scripted shows do. So the question is, does TVMaze create subcategories of the various genre shows. And the answer is presumably... no, at least for now.

That and paranormal reality shows would be seemingly really dumb if the viewer didn't at least accept the existence of ghosts. "Oh, look, a bunch of idiots wandering around with EMFs and night-vision goggles." I've pretty much watched the shows: is there any entertainment to them if you (and the participants) don't believe in the supernatural? Unless they're debunkers, but pretty much all of the shows I've heard of take the "Yes, ghosts really exist and it's possible to get proof of them" approach.

Our definition of Supernatural is Series about events, beings, or situations outside the natural world and/or defies scientific explanation.

I think the description is pretty much covering anything paranormal as well.

But as long as we're throwing ideas, Science and Art could be a nice addition.

But I highly doubt it. David said several times, in very adamant tone http://www.tvmaze.com/threads/1631/missing-genres?page=4#21737

Gadfly wrote:
Well, reality shows don't have "story telling purposes" the way that scripted shows do. So the question is, does TVMaze create subcategories of the various genre shows. And the answer is presumably... no, at least for now.

That and paranormal reality shows would be seemingly really dumb if the viewer didn't at least accept the existence of ghosts. "Oh, look, a bunch of idiots wandering around with EMFs and night-vision goggles." I've pretty much watched the shows: is there any entertainment to them if you (and the participants) don't believe in the supernatural? Unless they're debunkers, but pretty much all of the shows I've heard of take the "Yes, ghosts really exist and it's possible to get proof of them" approach.

I love the Paranormal genre but I am not a believer. I am open to the possibility but proof is required to back-up theory. Perhaps that makes me an odd duck but it is a guilty pleasure of mine ... running around the woods at night yelling, banging trees with sticks reminds me of my youth ... we weren't hunting Bigfoot we was just drunk as skunks.

I mean, from a literary perspective. Although paranormal and supernatural are often used interchangeably, they do actually mean different things.

Paranormal is specific to something that’s not currently understood by scientific knowledge; but there’s the potential that something paranormal will someday be explained scientifically, and there’s a likelihood there’s a good, natural explanation for it within the realms of scientific inquiry.

Supernatural refers to a phenomenon that is beyond our capability to understand, now and simply forever, because it just doesn’t operate under the scientific rules of our universe.

I admit, there's a lot of crossover in terms of shows and these genres, just as there's often a crossover between SF and fantasy, but that doesn't mean they aren't still separate concepts. Scripted supernatural shows operate under the principle that these things are real and do in fact operate in their pretend-world, and they do not attempt to justify those things with science. Non-scripted paranormal shows shows exist within our scientific world, they do posit themselves as investigating spooky shit, but they do so within the belief that it can be proved/disproved by scientific means.

I'm not particularly invested in this, and David has been adamant about not considering any more genres anyway. But I've got a Literature MA and I felt it necessary to point out the differences (and why the current TVM description for the supernatural genre doesn't actually cover paranormal at all. Technically.)

I understand the technical point of the difference between the two genres, but would the average user not just filter by Supernatural if they were wanting Paranormal (investigatory type) shows?

I also imagine if people wanted to search specifically, they'd combine the following:

Reality (real life) / Documentary + Supernatural = Paranormal

Scripted + Supernatural = Supernatural

gazza911 wrote:
I understand the technical point of the difference between the two genres, but would the average user not just filter by Supernatural if they were wanting Paranormal (investigatory type) shows?

Perhaps we could take the opportunity to help expand the average users knowledge and understanding of the two genres by adding Paranormal and explaining the differences and overlaps ... "TVMaze: We Educate As Well As Inform" :)

FYI, Shelley is currently TVmaze's CGO (Chief Genre Officer), not me :-)

david wrote:
FYI, Shelley is currently TVmaze's CGO (Chief Genre Officer), not me :-)

So, the genres list is not carved in stone? And who makes the final decision about potential additions?

Me and Jan have the final say, but we're not taking genre suggestions ourselves. However, if you go through Shelley and convince her, she might be able to convince us. :)

Will have to add Chief Genre Officer to my bio page. LOL

Not really seeing the need for a "Paranormal" genre though, as gazza911 pointed out there are ways to use the current genres to mean the same thing.

Scripted shows are already well covered. For any possible new genres I think they should be something that cover the most common types of Reality and Documentary shows.

LadyShelley wrote:
Will have to add Chief Genre Officer to my bio page. LOL

Not really seeing the need for a "Paranormal" genre though, as gazza911 pointed out there are ways to use the current genres to mean the same thing.

I'm not talking about Paranormal :) But we have a number of genre-less documentaries that would benefit from adding a Science and Art genres (which are impossible to substitute with any combination of the existing genres).

I really like "Lifestyle" as a genre for reality, it reaches broadly and can be used a lot of different shows that don't have a genre currently, everything from the Kardashian type follow a celebrity around shows to those people doing a <insert exotic job> or living at <insert exotic place> type shows.

Also "Talent",I guess this one is obvious as there's a million different talent shows out there.

Aidan wrote:
Also "Talent",I guess this one is obvious as there's a million different talent shows out there.

There's also a butt load of Paranormal shows ... with more showing up all the time ... you can't swing a dead cat with out knocking into one