Christmas
Gift Ideas for the Television Enthusiast
It’s
that time of year when friends and relations scramble to find that perfect
Christmas present, but more often than not have trouble when it comes
to those difficult-to-buy-for names on the gift list who spend all their
spare time watching television. Sound familiar? Then why not try something
a little bit different this
season by shopping for gifts geared towards those TV enthusiasts
instead of the traditional
standbys like fruitcakes and sweaters.
Still seems difficult? Well, three of the major networks—ABC,
CBS and NBC—have websites selling sweatshirts and baseball caps
for their popular shows as well as more unique gifts. VIP
Fan Clubs, meanwhile,
caters to various series from the FOX network, while online stores like
Power
Star Merchandise offer
items from defunct shows such as Alias, Firefly and
Veronica Mars.
Although CBS
makes extensive use of its CSI franchise, with gym bags, a
magnifying glass and even an “evidence bag” that can be
used for travel or laundry, it’s ABC and NBC that realizes the
marketing potential of their more popular shows the fullest. In addition
to basic logo-themed coffee mugs and shot glasses, for
example, the NBC
site also utilizes tag-lines like “Save the Cheerleader”
and “Are You on the List?”
for many of its Heroes-themed items. The comic-book inspired
series also takes advantage of the Tim Sale-created artwork from the
show, going so far as to place drawn images of Hiro, Nathan, Claire
and Peter on official 41-cent US postage stamps. A lunch box, containing
popular paintings on
each of its four sides, is also available. For fans of The
Office, warehouse staff shirts and terry-cloth robes carrying the
Dunder Mifflin logo are spotlighted alongside “Support the Rabid”
and “Schrute Farm Beets” T-shirts. Probably the most popular
item, however, is the Dwight Schrute bobblehead featured in a season
two Valentine’s Day episode; for the completionist, a talking
Michael Scott bubblehead is also available.
ABC,
meanwhile, offers a talking bobblehead of its own—Denny Crane
from Boston Legal—but it’s Grey’s Anatomy
and Lost that get the best commercial treatment. There is a
line of Seattle Grace Hospital items, from hooded sweatshirts to pairs
of actual scrubs, a “Seriously Collection,” featuring the
catch-word on a variety of mugs and T-shirts, as well as a “McDreamy
Collection.” On the Lost front, numerous action figures
and puzzles are available, and Dharma Initiative logos are on everything
from journals to duffel bags; there’s even a Rubik’s cube
featuring the insignias from six Dharma hatches.
Trading cards are popular items as well, and have been expanded from
the generic sets of the past to include autograph and sketch cards.
Companies like Rittenhouse
(Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek) and Artbox
(24) now even include costume cards that feature a swatch of
actual show-worn clothing, as well as prop cards containing slices of
set-used items like a CTU briefing file from 24. It’s
a third manufacturer (Inkworks),
however, that offers the most extensive collection of television card
sets, including Alias, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Jericho,
Lost and Veronica Mars. Through the years their costume
cards have featured a latex dress worn by Sydney Bristow (Alias),
Spike’s leather jacket (Angel and Buffy), the
top Paulo was buried alive in (Lost) and a shirt worn by Buffy
mastermind Joss Whedon during his season two guest appearance on Veronica
Mars.
Looking for something a little more intellectual? Publishing companies
like BenBella
Books and I.B.
Tauris have been releasing
essay anthologies on television shows for the better part of this decade.
Although Seinfeld was the first series given such a philosophical
treatment, Buffy the Vampire Slayer has risen to the head of
the class in regards to the number of academic titles available, including
the recently released Undead TV and The Psychology of Joss
Whedon. ABC’s Lost is also becoming popular with
offerings like Living Lost and Lost: A Search for Meaning,
but essays collections on shows from 24 to Gilmore Girls,
Grey’s Anatomy to Veronica Mars, are also available
at any local Barnes & Nobles.
Although pretty much confined to shows created by Whedon (Angel,
Buffy and Firefly), comic books and graphic novel
collections are another gift possibility. While all three of those series
are no longer on the air, Whedon recently resurrected Angel
and Buffy in comic book form by both writing and “executive
producing” issues featuring official new “seasons.”
Firefly, meanwhile, had a three-issue miniseries, also written
by Whedon, released a few years ago and a follow-up is scheduled for
next year as well.
Action
figures, bobbleheads, trading cards, comic books and academic essays:
there is a plethora of gift options for the television enthusiast, whether
they’re fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or CSI,
Boston Legal or The Office. And let’s be honest,
who would want a fruitcake for Christmas when they could get a Dwight
Schrute bobblehead instead?
December
10, 2007
