"Fanon" is a combination of "fan" and "canon" and usually refers to a widely accepted fan assumption about the universe or characters of a specific show that did not appear in the canon but has been so widely disseminated in fandom that it becomes generally accepted. Many fans assume that Starsky's father (who was killed when he was young) was a cop; likewise, many fans assume that Hutch comes from a well-to-do family that was emotionally cold. Neither of these issues was ever brought up on the show, but so many fans have written about these two issues that they have become "fanon." From Virginia Call: Has anyone else here seen the use of the word '"fanon"? I saw it used in The Sentinel groups and don't know if it is commonly used in other fandoms or not. I've seen the word "fanon" to describe those little bits and pieces of fanfic that fans sometimes *confuse* as having come from the series itself. (It usually seems to be something popular, so more than one author will tend to use it.) For a long time there was one thing that I thought actually came from and S&H ep, and that was that Starsky's father was a cop before he got killed. It wasn't until later that I realized they never say what his father did for a living, and after reading it in fanfic assumed it was actually stated as such in the series. (My Swiss cheese memory is famous for doing things like that! : ) So Starsky driving a Ford Torino is 'canon' and Starsky's dad being a cop is definitely 'fanon'.