With season four dead and in a ditch, I thought I'd give an update on my Fishtank paper/book/theory work I mentioned a few months back.
I have reached page 400, roughly 200k words, and am currently in my second round of editing and making additions I feel are necessary. The writing will follow a theory building structure. I've built a theory surrounding the foundational axioms of content, what it is, and what it isn't. From that fundamental building block I segway into the concept of fish as individual content making mechanisms, and go on to demonstrate how these individuals make up the overall content output of a given season. The main goal is explaining why the show cycles through periods of highs and lows and the best course of action for potential stability.
It will largely be focused on season one and two, with an especially detailed analysis of season two in relation to my content theory, though mentions of all seasons exist throughout the work. Season three is simply too massive to include in this work, and should be addressed on its own given its volatility in theming and tone. Season four is a separate beast, and it will be a fun challenge to connect its misfortunes with the theory I have built.
I'm still considering whether or not I should mention bloodgames given it's not regarded as a mainline season. While I believe a majority of the work is done, I still plan to write about the Neptunian and Goranian divide, which could easily take up another 50 or more pages. After that I will do one final edit and post it here.
It's an opinion piece, and I know some people aren't really into the analytical side of Fishtank. However, I am, and this has helped me scratch that itch and prevented me from shitting up the thread many-a-times. With season four ending early, I've had a lot more time to write. Stay tuned, fellow Fishtank spergs.