(no subject)
Day 21 -- Favorite ship.
Here's the thing--I suck at shipping romantic pairs. I really do, even if the pairing is canonical. So rather than talk about favorite romances--and there are so few that I care about that I can't truly be said to HAVE any favorites--I'm going to talk about favorite non-romantic relationships. Because those interest me more.
These are in no particular order. I'm just listing them as I go.
1) Favorite Father-Child Relationship:
Bob and Harry Dresden; Rupert Giles and Buffy Summers.
It probably says something that both fathers are of a particular type (very formal, quite British, possessed of a dry and sardonic wit, seriously badass when the situation calls for it and not biologically related to their respective offspring) while both of the "kids" are of another specific type (stubborn, sarcastic, independent, idiosyncratic, and a headache to anyone who wants to make them obey certain rules). I think that Bob and Giles, if they could ever meet, would commiserate with each other no end. And Buffy and Harry would probably trade baffled looks--what have Bob and Giles got to commiserate about, anyway?--before starting their own conversation on the difficulty of living in a world where everything supernatural wants to kill you and you seem to be stuck with the job of saving the world.
2) Favorite Mother-Child Relationship:
Joyce, Buffy and Dawn Summers.
Joyce had a lot to deal with in the course of her life--a daughter who seemed to have had a psychotic break, a divorce, the reality of the supernatural, her daughter being the Slayer, her other daughter and her memories about that daughter being artificially created, and her own illness. Let's face it--the woman did NOT have an easy time, and she didn't always understand Buffy or the world she lived in. But--despite the disagreements and the worry and the arguments, you always knew that she loved Buffy. And she gets serious props for loving and accepting Dawn as a person even after she knew Dawn's origin story. As for her daughters--does anyone truly doubt that they loved her deeply, both before and after her death?
3) Favorite Female-Female Friendship:
Emily Prentiss, J.J. Jareau and Penelope Garcia of Criminal Minds.
I am still matching up names to faces on this show, but these three are AWESOME--three very different women who work together and who socialize together for fun. Let me repeat that. They genuinely enjoy spending time together, and their conversation is not all about work nor all about men. It's a mix, like it is with most people. (And Garcia, who is my favorite of the three, has a wicked sense of humor and a devious streak.)
Also, you have to see this scene, in which the three FBI agents pwn a guy in a bar who's passing himself off as an FBI agent. Please, no one report it, as these snippets on YouTube are the best advertisements any show could have:
(Regrettably, the awesome threesome is going to be broken up because CBS is cutting back the role of Emily Prentiss next season and did not renew the contract of A.J. Cook, who plays J.J. So J.J.'s last appearance really WAS her last appearance.)
N.B. ctrl_issue says that the fans of Criminal Minds have been fairly outspoken. so it's possible that Cook's contract may be picked up after all. We'll have to wait and see.
ETA: As of June 23, 2010, J.J. may return briefly, but only as a guest star to put a cap on her story. And Brewster's appearances are still being reduced. Damn it!
4) Favorite Male-Female Friendship:
I'm less certain about this. Screenwriters, who always seem to have been exposed to When Harry Met Sally at an early age, are generally determined to get the friends kissing or dating or to have one in love with the other...the most egregious offender being Doctor Who.
I never would have thought of the companions of Classic Who as romantic partners. In New Who, we've got Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Reinette (I'm counting her as a companion even if she didn't survive long enough to travel in the TARDIS, because the Doctor definitely intended to bring her along), Jack Harkness and Amy Pond all ended up kissing and/or falling in love with the Doctor. Even Sarah Jane Smith said in Family Reunion that she'd been in love with the Doctor. Donna Noble appears to be the sole exception so far--and even with her, everyone they met assumed that they were either brother and sister or a couple.
All these people falling for, or at least wanting to snog, the Doctor doesn't feel right to me. I'll give Jack Harkness a pass, because he would have sex with a supernova if he could figure out a way to do so without getting cremated...but honestly, the Doctor is supposed to be an ancient alien wandering through the universe having adventures with human (or not) companions. He was never intended to be a romantic lead.
Frankly, I liked it a lot better when the Doctor had human and humanoid companion-friends (please note the word) of both sexes, as well as a shapeshifting android, a tin dog and (at least in the comics) an alien penguin. The show now seems to be saying that the only possible relationship the Doctor's companions can have with him is a romantic one, and I'd like to think that his interactions with people could have a slightly broader spectrum than that.
Is anyone actually portraying male-female friendship and not going the attraction-dating-and/or-unrequited-love route? Because I can't think of a single show that doesn't add romance or sexual tension to the mix. (Even in BtVS, Xander was crushing on Buffy, and Willow had a serious fixation on Xander for a very long time.) And I think that's rather sad.
5) Favorite Sibling Relationship:
Simon and River Tam.
These two are fantastic--a brother who sacrifices all the familiar trappings of his life, not to mention quite a few comforting beliefs about the way that his own government works, in order to save his little sister, and the little sister who will fight and kill all the enemies in the universe to keep her brother safe. It's not a relationship that's put into words much, and it's certainly not without its prickly and frustrating moments, but the love and loyalty between the two is all but palpable.
So those are my five answers. Hope you like them.
***
Completed questions
Day 1 - A show that never should have been canceled.
Day 2 - A show that you wish more people were watching (or that you wish more people had watched).
Day 3 - Your favorite new show (aired this TV season).
Day 4 - Your favorite show ever.
Day 5 - A show you hate.
Day 6 - Favorite episode of your favorite TV show.
Day 7 - Least favorite episode of your favorite TV show.
Day 8 - A show everyone should watch.
Day 9 - Best scene ever.
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving.
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you.
Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times.
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show.
Day 14 - Favorite male character.
Day 15 - Favorite female character.
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show.
Day 17 - Favorite miniseries.
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence.
Day 19 - Best TV show cast.
Day 20 - Favorite kiss.
Day 21 - Favorite ship.
***
Here's the thing--I suck at shipping romantic pairs. I really do, even if the pairing is canonical. So rather than talk about favorite romances--and there are so few that I care about that I can't truly be said to HAVE any favorites--I'm going to talk about favorite non-romantic relationships. Because those interest me more.
These are in no particular order. I'm just listing them as I go.
1) Favorite Father-Child Relationship:
Bob and Harry Dresden; Rupert Giles and Buffy Summers.
It probably says something that both fathers are of a particular type (very formal, quite British, possessed of a dry and sardonic wit, seriously badass when the situation calls for it and not biologically related to their respective offspring) while both of the "kids" are of another specific type (stubborn, sarcastic, independent, idiosyncratic, and a headache to anyone who wants to make them obey certain rules). I think that Bob and Giles, if they could ever meet, would commiserate with each other no end. And Buffy and Harry would probably trade baffled looks--what have Bob and Giles got to commiserate about, anyway?--before starting their own conversation on the difficulty of living in a world where everything supernatural wants to kill you and you seem to be stuck with the job of saving the world.
2) Favorite Mother-Child Relationship:
Joyce, Buffy and Dawn Summers.
Joyce had a lot to deal with in the course of her life--a daughter who seemed to have had a psychotic break, a divorce, the reality of the supernatural, her daughter being the Slayer, her other daughter and her memories about that daughter being artificially created, and her own illness. Let's face it--the woman did NOT have an easy time, and she didn't always understand Buffy or the world she lived in. But--despite the disagreements and the worry and the arguments, you always knew that she loved Buffy. And she gets serious props for loving and accepting Dawn as a person even after she knew Dawn's origin story. As for her daughters--does anyone truly doubt that they loved her deeply, both before and after her death?
3) Favorite Female-Female Friendship:
Emily Prentiss, J.J. Jareau and Penelope Garcia of Criminal Minds.
I am still matching up names to faces on this show, but these three are AWESOME--three very different women who work together and who socialize together for fun. Let me repeat that. They genuinely enjoy spending time together, and their conversation is not all about work nor all about men. It's a mix, like it is with most people. (And Garcia, who is my favorite of the three, has a wicked sense of humor and a devious streak.)
Also, you have to see this scene, in which the three FBI agents pwn a guy in a bar who's passing himself off as an FBI agent. Please, no one report it, as these snippets on YouTube are the best advertisements any show could have:
Click to view(Regrettably, the awesome threesome is going to be broken up because CBS is cutting back the role of Emily Prentiss next season and did not renew the contract of A.J. Cook, who plays J.J. So J.J.'s last appearance really WAS her last appearance.)
N.B. ctrl_issue says that the fans of Criminal Minds have been fairly outspoken. so it's possible that Cook's contract may be picked up after all. We'll have to wait and see.
ETA: As of June 23, 2010, J.J. may return briefly, but only as a guest star to put a cap on her story. And Brewster's appearances are still being reduced. Damn it!
4) Favorite Male-Female Friendship:
I'm less certain about this. Screenwriters, who always seem to have been exposed to When Harry Met Sally at an early age, are generally determined to get the friends kissing or dating or to have one in love with the other...the most egregious offender being Doctor Who.
I never would have thought of the companions of Classic Who as romantic partners. In New Who, we've got Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Reinette (I'm counting her as a companion even if she didn't survive long enough to travel in the TARDIS, because the Doctor definitely intended to bring her along), Jack Harkness and Amy Pond all ended up kissing and/or falling in love with the Doctor. Even Sarah Jane Smith said in Family Reunion that she'd been in love with the Doctor. Donna Noble appears to be the sole exception so far--and even with her, everyone they met assumed that they were either brother and sister or a couple.
All these people falling for, or at least wanting to snog, the Doctor doesn't feel right to me. I'll give Jack Harkness a pass, because he would have sex with a supernova if he could figure out a way to do so without getting cremated...but honestly, the Doctor is supposed to be an ancient alien wandering through the universe having adventures with human (or not) companions. He was never intended to be a romantic lead.
Frankly, I liked it a lot better when the Doctor had human and humanoid companion-friends (please note the word) of both sexes, as well as a shapeshifting android, a tin dog and (at least in the comics) an alien penguin. The show now seems to be saying that the only possible relationship the Doctor's companions can have with him is a romantic one, and I'd like to think that his interactions with people could have a slightly broader spectrum than that.
Is anyone actually portraying male-female friendship and not going the attraction-dating-and/or-unrequited-love route? Because I can't think of a single show that doesn't add romance or sexual tension to the mix. (Even in BtVS, Xander was crushing on Buffy, and Willow had a serious fixation on Xander for a very long time.) And I think that's rather sad.
5) Favorite Sibling Relationship:
Simon and River Tam.
These two are fantastic--a brother who sacrifices all the familiar trappings of his life, not to mention quite a few comforting beliefs about the way that his own government works, in order to save his little sister, and the little sister who will fight and kill all the enemies in the universe to keep her brother safe. It's not a relationship that's put into words much, and it's certainly not without its prickly and frustrating moments, but the love and loyalty between the two is all but palpable.
So those are my five answers. Hope you like them.
***
Completed questions
Day 1 - A show that never should have been canceled.
Day 2 - A show that you wish more people were watching (or that you wish more people had watched).
Day 3 - Your favorite new show (aired this TV season).
Day 4 - Your favorite show ever.
Day 5 - A show you hate.
Day 6 - Favorite episode of your favorite TV show.
Day 7 - Least favorite episode of your favorite TV show.
Day 8 - A show everyone should watch.
Day 9 - Best scene ever.
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving.
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you.
Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times.
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show.
Day 14 - Favorite male character.
Day 15 - Favorite female character.
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show.
Day 17 - Favorite miniseries.
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence.
Day 19 - Best TV show cast.
Day 20 - Favorite kiss.
Day 21 - Favorite ship.
***