The Reluctant SuperFan

By Gemma Jacob

I didn’t expect to love ABM the way I do. Even a year ago, when I had shown signs of SuperFan behaviour, if you had told me I would be Editor-in-Chief of their fan site I would have laughed. In fact, when the idea was first suggested to me I did just that. Of course, the person suggesting it knew me better than I know myself and within a few hours I had convinced myself that it was the most sensible thing to do. I had a vested interest in seeing one of its stars happy in the profession she had chosen and was born to do, I needed a project that would not only test my capabilities, and I was most definitely passionate about ABM. Why not?

As quick and easy as that decision was, most would probably be surprised to learn that getting me to watch ABM initially took a bit longer. I had read an article on AfterEllen before it aired so I knew it existed. Episode one and two came but I pretty much ignored the show. It was just another American thing that I could avoid reading about whenever there was a post or article about it. There was a feint “buzz” about it and the general consensus was that it was a really good show. This meant nothing to me. I was the person who started watching Buffy six seasons in and has still to be caught by the True Blood phenomena, despite acknowledging the genius of Alan Ball. What was this thing called a “webseries” and why should I care? My blood from a stone characteristic proving true.

Some time during Christmas 2008, when I had too much time and not enough to do I decided to finally watch an interview on AfterEllen with the two stars of ABM, Nicole Pacent and Rachael Hip-Flores. Mostly I was trying to figure out which one was which before I even clicked play, for the record – I got it wrong. With nothing else to do having watched the interview I thought I might as well watch the show. It was only two episodes into the season and if I hated it I could always turn it off. So I clicked on the link, and that was it.

I am not quite sure how, but after that moment I went from being a fan of the show, to being a friend of one of the cast members, to a “SuperFan,” to a friend to a few more of the ABM team, to this. It is difficult to explain exactly how this became my life, but it has. I even carry ABM flyers in my bag. I suppose I shouldn’t be as taken aback, as I often am, when people say my name and “ABMFans” in the same sentence, as though those two things are somehow intrinsically linked. I suppose they are now.

Being Editor-in-Chief of a fan site is no easy task, despite how much you love the show or film or whatever it is you’ve created a fan site for. I very much underestimated how much time it would take and how much dedication I would need. I can only liken it to putting on a one-person-show, literally a one-person-show. I may not be dealing with costumes and staging but I do have to put in the hours editing, compiling photos, developing and designing the site, scheduling, content layouts, marketing, interviewing, and of course, the main task of writing. Most of these tasks, apart from the writing, I have never done before and I find myself learning along the way. If all this were not enough, add to it the logistical headache of having to manage everything in time zones often not helpful to my own. Did I mention I also have a day job?

I won’t say that it is always easy, it seldom is. There have been a few moments where it has felt like work, hard work, and I want to throw my hands up in the air and ask why I bother. It can be very frustrating. However, those moments are rare, and when they do occur all I need to do is remind myself why I took on the role and I put my head down and get on with what needs to be done. As much as ABM is a labour of love for its cast and crew, ABM Fans is that for me. Because of their dedication to giving us a show of such quality I devote as many hours as I can to providing them, and the fans, a site they deserve. My reasoning in all of this is very simple, first and foremost I wanted to help a friend, and because of that I ended up loving my ABM.

It is hard to believe that is hasn’t even been a year since ABM Fans launched. I find it difficult to understand fully when a person says that a show or a film has changed their life. I am even hesitant to make that statement about ABM. I know the affect it has had on fans all over the world, I know because I’ve spoken to many of them. It is different from any other show I have ever seen, it tells a universal story that spans age, and gender, and geography. We all know what it is to question whom we are and what our place in the world is. I have met some truly outstanding people, many of whom I am now lucky enough to call genuine friends. I have tested my abilities and developed skills I did not know I had.

If at first I was reluctant to start watching the show, I have absolutely no reservations about it now. So much of what I have achieved in the last few months has been to do with the show and I make no secret of how much I love my ABM and the people that work to bring it to us. My life may not have been changed, but I can say, with certainty, that my life would not be what it is, were it not for ABM.