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Dear Butch Hartman,

I hope that, by now, you’ve noticed that there seems to be a spilt in the Danny Phantom community. On one side you have the people who are convinced that Danny and Sam might be the most romantic couple since Professor Harold Hill and Marion the Liberian, and on the other side you have those who want Danny and Sam to reenact Romeo and Juliet right up to the part where Juliet kills herself. I have to say I am surprised by the reaction. I’ve never seen fans react like this, and I‘ve never seen a split in the fan community like this.

I’ll tell you right up front, I’m on the side of the Danny/Sam haters, but I don’t think I really understood why until a few days ago. I’ve come up with a theory that I think explains it, for me at least. I’m certain there are others who have their own theories, but I don’t know them or the people who have them well enough to ask. You’ll have to ask for them directly.

But, anyway, the centerpiece of my elegant theory of why people hate the Danny/Sam pairing is that you made it too obvious. When romance is downplayed and subtle and allowed to play out naturally, it’s fun and interesting. The less outright romance there is the more romantic tension there is. It’s not something you can force.

And I regret to inform you that you tired to force it and therefore you smashed any and all of the romantic tension that would have keep the coupling interesting. I don’t even mean you forced it during Fanning the Flames, although that was the breaking point. I mean you forced it in the first episode. It started to break the moment Danny and Sam angrily denied that they were boyfriend and girlfriend. I can’t speak for everyone, but I think most of us figured out that they would in fact become boyfriend and girlfriend the moment they said that. It’s a plot device that’s older then my copy of Laurel and Hardy shorts and it just doesn’t work anymore. For us it was like you pointed to a dog, said “That’s not a dog” and expected us to be surprised when it had fur.

Speaking of Fanning the Flames, I have only one thing to say: “Get real.” OK, fine, two things. “Get Real” and “What the Hell Were You Thinking!?” I should put that in some sort of context, shouldn’t I? Well, here goes.

In the episodes leading up to Fanning the Flames the romance was mostly fan speculation. Oh sure, we got little hints now and then, but mostly it was kept to a tolerable level.

Then suddenly after all that time with no solid romance, we get an episode where Danny and Sam blush every time they have to hold hands, make eye contact, or even talk to each other! Lemmie tell you, it’s absolutely gutless to put character traits that haven’t been properly established and pretend that they’ve been there all the time. It’s a staple of bad writing used by writers who are afraid to let things happen naturally and think that they have to put this romance or that angst in here or they might loose their audience and have to cram whatever plot device that will keep the teenage audience interested with a crowbar.

I didn’t think it could get worse, until I saw the next episode, Teacher of the Year. Guess what? The “romantic’ traits you tried to force in the last one didn’t carry over to the next one. I don’t want to have to spell this out but you’ve got to keep the character traits, even ones that shouldn’t be there in the first place, consistent. I put that in italics because it’s important, Butch. It’s not fun to have to guess how characters are going to act from episode to episode. We can’t identify with any one character or characters if they don’t have consistency in their relationships. You want your audience to identify with your characters, in case you didn’t know that either.

So figure out what the hell's happening with Danny and Sam, get your characters right, and we’ll all be happy. Well, I and the other Anti Danny/Sam fans will be at least. I can’t speak for the people who love this stuff.

Description
Dear Butch Hartman,

I hope that, by now, you’ve noticed that there seems to be a spilt in the Danny Phantom community. On one side you have the people who are convinced that Danny and Sam might be the most romantic couple since Professor Harold Hill and Marion the Liberian, and on the other side you have those who want Danny and Sam to reenact Romeo and Juliet right up to the part where Juliet kills herself. I have to say I am surprised by the reaction. I’ve never seen fans react like this, and I‘ve never seen a split in the fan community like this.

I’ll tell you right up front, I’m on the side of the Danny/Sam haters, but I don’t think I really understood why until a few days ago. I’ve come up with a theory that I think explains it, for me at least. I’m certain there are others who have their own theories, but I don’t know them or the people who have them well enough to ask. You’ll have to ask for them directly.

But, anyway, the centerpiece of my elegant theory of why people hate the Danny/Sam pairing is that you made it too obvious. When romance is downplayed and subtle and allowed to play out naturally, it’s fun and interesting. The less outright romance there is the more romantic tension there is. It’s not something you can force.

And I regret to inform you that you tired to force it and therefore you smashed any and all of the romantic tension that would have keep the coupling interesting. I don’t even mean you forced it during Fanning the Flames, although that was the breaking point. I mean you forced it in the first episode. It started to break the moment Danny and Sam angrily denied that they were boyfriend and girlfriend. I can’t speak for everyone, but I think most of us figured out that they would in fact become boyfriend and girlfriend the moment they said that. It’s a plot device that’s older then my copy of Laurel and Hardy shorts and it just doesn’t work anymore. For us it was like you pointed to a dog, said “That’s not a dog” and expected us to be surprised when it had fur.

Speaking of Fanning the Flames, I have only one thing to say: “Get real.” OK, fine, two things. “Get Real” and “What the Hell Were You Thinking!?” I should put that in some sort of context, shouldn’t I? Well, here goes.

In the episodes leading up to Fanning the Flames the romance was mostly fan speculation. Oh sure, we got little hints now and then, but mostly it was kept to a tolerable level.

Then suddenly after all that time with no solid romance, we get an episode where Danny and Sam blush every time they have to hold hands, make eye contact, or even talk to each other! Lemmie tell you, it’s absolutely gutless to put character traits that haven’t been properly established and pretend that they’ve been there all the time. It’s a staple of bad writing used by writers who are afraid to let things happen naturally and think that they have to put this romance or that angst in here or they might loose their audience and have to cram whatever plot device that will keep the teenage audience interested with a crowbar.

I didn’t think it could get worse, until I saw the next episode, Teacher of the Year. Guess what? The “romantic’ traits you tried to force in the last one didn’t carry over to the next one. I don’t want to have to spell this out but you’ve got to keep the character traits, even ones that shouldn’t be there in the first place, consistent. I put that in italics because it’s important, Butch. It’s not fun to have to guess how characters are going to act from episode to episode. We can’t identify with any one character or characters if they don’t have consistency in their relationships. You want your audience to identify with your characters, in case you didn’t know that either.

So figure out what the hell's happening with Danny and Sam, get your characters right, and we’ll all be happy. Well, I and the other Anti Danny/Sam fans will be at least. I can’t speak for the people who love this stuff.