Spinning a Spin-Off
This issue I reviewed two books that are the start of a new series, but that’s not all they are. They are also spin-offs from another series. Spin-off is a term used to describe a new creation that is derived from one (or more) works that has already existed before. Of course, more often, it is used to explore aspects of the original work that haven’t been explored much before. In these two books’ case and in most spin-offs’ case, it is usually created to explore new characters or existing supporting characters that have not been in the spotlight much in the original creation.
That’s the delicate process in making a spin-off; you have to be sure the characters you choose to star in this new-but-not-really creation is one that your audience will fall in love with as much as they did with the original heroine. Because they would have known the character to some extent before, even if not much, the audience would have already formed opinions about these characters, however minor they are. Thus if a character that isn’t well-liked to begin with is picked to be the center of the new series, you can have no doubt that no one will be reading/watching/checking out the spin-off. After all, if just a glimpse of the character proves uninteresting, why would someone want to spend an entire new series learning more about said character?
When the spin-off for the beloved Vampire Academy series was first announced and it was revealed that Sydney would be the central character, many people were not so excited. Due to her smaller role and her relatively uninteresting personality in the series, no one felt all that inclined to be trapped in her world for a whole new series. On the other hand, I loved the original series enough to want to give it a chance. Besides, the promise of other more interesting characters, mainly Adrian, was what drew me in.
The familiarity of a spin-off series is a double-edged sword. On the upside, people, like me, who loved the original series would find it difficult to not check out the new series simply because the new main character might seem uninteresting. On the downside, there is a lot of pressure to match the original series’ standard. After all, people would argue, it’s the same universe. It’s the same world, the same characters, the same everything. It’s just the point of view that has been moved. Why shouldn’t it be as interesting as the original?
But that’s where people are wrong. Characters—especially the main one—is integral in deciding the series’ success. As much as people love a particular hero, how much would they be inclined to learn the story of the sidekick? Probably only a few would bother if given the chance. The others would be pretty skeptical. It’s the same case with spin-offs. You just can’t hold them to the same standard as the original. There’s a reason the original story came first. Although there might be cases where spin-offs turn out to be more successful than the original, I find this pretty rare for me.
In any case, you should really treat spin-offs with their own brand new expectations. If you do that then you might just be able to enjoy it as something that stands on its own. The bonus is you already know a lot about its world and don’t have to learn it all over again. See, all the more advantage for you!
