Here's why...
I have been noticing a trend in the mass media for quite some time. This is certainly not my own unique theory, I stand on the shoulders of giants here. I am merely synthesizing what appears to be a common process. Over time, an intellectual property seems to follow in this sequence. Exactly how long each phase lasts varies widely.
Phase 1: Artistic Creation: During this phase, the foundation of the IP is laid. Major issues are worked out and the property matures. For a TV show, this might involve not just the pilot but the entire first season. For a film, it could be as little as the first film, possibly a trilogy. For a video game, RPG, or other art form this phase can be quite fluid.
Phase 2: Exploitation: During this phase, the property has become so well established that huge streams of revenue can be extracted by clever marketing folks. This is when you get your own pez dispensers, beer coozies, and so on. Anything that can be sold with the IP becomes so.
Phase 3: Jumping The Shark: During this phase, the public has become wise to the gimmicks and product quality has been diluted to the point that it frustrates many consumers. A growing pool of critics forms that sees what has happened and long to return to the earlier time period when things were better.
Phase 4: Fade to Black: During this phase, the lack of quality has declined to the point that people begin abandoning the property in droves and it eventually falls to the wayside. Examples produced during this period are viewed with horrid derision by even the most hardcore fans. If there are dedicated fans remaining, they cling to the original ideas of Phase 1, purifying the art back to it's basis, and setting the stage for Phase 5. Otherwise, the property fades from popular culture at this time. If it is later resurrected, it will be as a new Phase 1 creative work.
Phase 5: Resurrection: A remake allows you to go back to Phase 2.
Here is a handy visual reference:
If I had a way for predicting how long a property stays in each phase, we wouldn't be having this discussion because I would be living the good life on my yacht in the Mediterranean, so lets just assume the "why" aspect is unknowable for now. For Firefly/Serenity, however, they never really made the jump to Phase 2. The Matrix jumped the shark before the trilogy was even completed. The range of outcomes is large.
How do Edition Wars fit into this?
Edition Wars are essential in determining the fate of the property in the long term. They occur during Phase 3 and 4, and they are vital in culling the property back down to either a form that endures permanently as an elite art form or shaping it into a property that can be resurrected. All this fighting is an evolution of sorts, culling out the bad (ex. Jar Jar Binks) and retaining the good (ex. Han Solo). This is the process of taking the property from those who created it, cutting off all the crap, and giving it back to them so they can hopefully reuse it later. At the very least, refining it for a long dark age of obsurity.
There are several properties that are currently in this "edition wars" period, here is just a short list:
D&D
Star Wars
Battletech
The fans of these properties are engaged in a war of ideas to distill down what exactly is the true essence of that IP. Should the Clans be rolled up and forgotten, leaving only the Inner Sphere, or should they remain as a permanent feature of the universe? Can Mechs pick up "power-ups"? Should the prequels be abandoned and focus placed once more on the epic redemption struggle of the first trilogy? Is a Gungan holocaust necessary or sufficient? Should original D&D be retained or should D&D truly become a tactical combat simulation that largely abandons its RPG roots? Should D&D include collectible cards?
The gnashing of teeth that occurs on these conflicts is not in vain. The next iteration of these properties will be based on what the IP holder feels is the direction that it needs to move in. They may or may not be influenced by the community pressure, but the fate of the resurrection will always lay in the community's hands. Unsuccessful resurrection is actually quite common (see The Crystal Skull).
A recent IP to experience successful resurrection is Batman. Under Christopher Nolan, Batman has been given a new lease on life. The clumsy movies of the Tim Burton vision of Batman were chiseled down to their bare essence and the Nolan films took the property is a new direction. Many people describe the Nolan films as really tapping into what they envision Batman to truly be. They strike closer to the essence of the property.
Edition Wars are simply a fight over what that essence actually is. And they are worth fighting because they really do determine the future.
Fight on, brothers!
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