Returning to my fannish roots
I've been lax recently in spending time on the elliptical machine. I've been in need of some "new" viewing material to keep me entertained. So this morning, I decided to go back to my fannish roots and revisit the show that started me in on all this 'Net fandom thing: Hercules: The Legendary Journeys.
Oh. My. Word. I'd forgotten how truly cheesy and campy this show is, and how much pure, unadulterated fun. It's cheesy like a nice queso dip: a thoroughly delicious indulgence, though you might suspect that it's more tasty than actually nutritious.
Since my time was limited, I skipped the five movies and started right in with the first ep of the TV series, "The Wrong Path." Now, I've made mention of the pilot eps to N3 and SPN being fantastic in that they're great stand-alones while also introducing the premise and the characters. I might also add that in both instances, the actors seem to have a fairly solid grounding in the characters they play. They don't seem particularly OOC compared to later in the series.
Not so sure I can say the same for H:TLJ. Now, bearing in mind that the actors had 5 (okay, 4.5, since movie #5 was basically a clip show) TV movies under their belts, I can't fault them for laying on the cheese. The dialogue! The OTT action sequences! The melodrama! It's just so freakin' much fun! Though I recall things settling into a slightly less campy (emphasis on slightly) variation later on.
This was also the show that introduced me to Michael Hurst, who played Hercules' best friend, Iolaus. And it was my interest in Michael Hurst that led me to get involved in internet fandom, since the man is a Kiwi and therefore it is nigh impossible for a Yank to follow his career without the 'Net. I fell for Michael Hurst for the same reasons I've fallen for Jensen--amazing talent, passion for the craft, a certain joie de vivre (though Jensen is far more low-key), handsome, professional . . . and an overall je ne sais quoi that just sucked me in. Plus, Iolaus just charmed me with his comedy.
After a year of thespicly crushing on Jensen, I'd forgotten how not tall Michael Hurst is. I am amused. Hee! (He's what's considered "average," 5'9", iirc. And Kevin Sorbo is tall, so that just exaggerates the difference. But people who mistakenly think that Jensen is short? Yeah. Um, no.)
MH is also the actor for whom I attended my first convention. It was a Creation Convention in Valley Forge, PA, back in . . . March 2001, I think. Will have to double-check. I had a blast, both seeing him in person, and with the sight seeing in Philadelphia. It was an adventure all the way around.
H:TLJ is the fandom in which I made my first foray into 'Net published fic. In fact, I believe next month will be my 10 year anniversary. I posted my first story, "All's Fair in Love and War," to the IML (Iolausian Mailing List) back in the day, before Yahoo mailing lists, even. (I think the list was on a server called angus, but now you're talking about "ancient history.") "All's Fair" is still one of the fics of which I'm most proud, and it is stylistically contrary to anything I've posted since. I know that only a very, very small handful of you remember me from the Iolausian fandom (if any of you do at all), but I might post the fic here just for kicks.
I won't get into how I discovered the show. But this was the show (along with the early seasons of Xena: Warrior Princess) that was Geo's and my must-see TV in the early days of our marriage. This show holds some history for me. I'd forgotten how much.
Oh. My. Word. I'd forgotten how truly cheesy and campy this show is, and how much pure, unadulterated fun. It's cheesy like a nice queso dip: a thoroughly delicious indulgence, though you might suspect that it's more tasty than actually nutritious.
Since my time was limited, I skipped the five movies and started right in with the first ep of the TV series, "The Wrong Path." Now, I've made mention of the pilot eps to N3 and SPN being fantastic in that they're great stand-alones while also introducing the premise and the characters. I might also add that in both instances, the actors seem to have a fairly solid grounding in the characters they play. They don't seem particularly OOC compared to later in the series.
Not so sure I can say the same for H:TLJ. Now, bearing in mind that the actors had 5 (okay, 4.5, since movie #5 was basically a clip show) TV movies under their belts, I can't fault them for laying on the cheese. The dialogue! The OTT action sequences! The melodrama! It's just so freakin' much fun! Though I recall things settling into a slightly less campy (emphasis on slightly) variation later on.
This was also the show that introduced me to Michael Hurst, who played Hercules' best friend, Iolaus. And it was my interest in Michael Hurst that led me to get involved in internet fandom, since the man is a Kiwi and therefore it is nigh impossible for a Yank to follow his career without the 'Net. I fell for Michael Hurst for the same reasons I've fallen for Jensen--amazing talent, passion for the craft, a certain joie de vivre (though Jensen is far more low-key), handsome, professional . . . and an overall je ne sais quoi that just sucked me in. Plus, Iolaus just charmed me with his comedy.
After a year of thespicly crushing on Jensen, I'd forgotten how not tall Michael Hurst is. I am amused. Hee! (He's what's considered "average," 5'9", iirc. And Kevin Sorbo is tall, so that just exaggerates the difference. But people who mistakenly think that Jensen is short? Yeah. Um, no.)
MH is also the actor for whom I attended my first convention. It was a Creation Convention in Valley Forge, PA, back in . . . March 2001, I think. Will have to double-check. I had a blast, both seeing him in person, and with the sight seeing in Philadelphia. It was an adventure all the way around.
H:TLJ is the fandom in which I made my first foray into 'Net published fic. In fact, I believe next month will be my 10 year anniversary. I posted my first story, "All's Fair in Love and War," to the IML (Iolausian Mailing List) back in the day, before Yahoo mailing lists, even. (I think the list was on a server called angus, but now you're talking about "ancient history.") "All's Fair" is still one of the fics of which I'm most proud, and it is stylistically contrary to anything I've posted since. I know that only a very, very small handful of you remember me from the Iolausian fandom (if any of you do at all), but I might post the fic here just for kicks.
I won't get into how I discovered the show. But this was the show (along with the early seasons of Xena: Warrior Princess) that was Geo's and my must-see TV in the early days of our marriage. This show holds some history for me. I'd forgotten how much.