Partly Cloudy with a chance of Navel Gazing
Is it just me or has this month whizzed by in a blur? Five and a half more days until Springsmut is finished. I'm not quite sure what I'll do with myself when it's over.
Oh yeah. Now I remember. Write my Remix fic. Heh.
So I'm plodding through my work today, thinking, "Yay, it's Monday - Heroes!" and then I remember it's On Hiatus until May sweeps. But the new series of Doctor Who starts on Saturday, and I'm very much looking forward to that! I haven't been following too many of the spoilers this year, though my actions are not from lack of interest. I've been thinking a lot about my own personal fannish tendencies, particularly on the heels of gmth's post here and I've come to the conclusion that, particularly with television media sources, my fannishness is best served when I'm content to not let my own brain get in the way with regard to expectations.
That's not to say I don't like to nitpick. Part of my fannish glee over Star Trek for umpteen years consisted of nitpicking to a very fine degree, but while I could nitpick the original series, Next Generation and Deep Space Nine to death and it never infringed on my fannish love, it wasn't the same with Voyager though, and I stopped watching Enterprise after the third or fourth week. Some of it was burnout, but most probably had more to do with the characters and my own expectations. Or perhaps I got tired of waiting for Al to step out from between hulls to call Captain Archer "Sam".
When it comes to degrees of fannishness, I'm much more inclined to want to read and write fanfic about fandoms derived from books. Or in the more recent development in my own fannish pursuits, manga, which is a book. Sort of. :-P But generally, though there are exceptions - namely Trek, Highlander and Star Wars, though with Trek and SW, I have dozens of 'tie-in'/extended universe novels' and even have a few for Highlander - I'm not much of a "television series" fannish fan. And it's not like I can explain why that is, either.
I'm also very particular about which shows I watch and follow. I loved the movie Stargate, but never had any interest in watching the television show past the first few eps with Richard Dean Anderson. I'm much more interested in reading Star Wars Extended Universe (books) fanfic than those based directly off the movies, and have virtually no interest in the 'prequels' time period with the exceptions of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. I read Trek fanfic for years - mostly TOS and TNG, but never had any desire to write my own. Highlander, well I loved the series to bits, and reading the fanfic was my way of coping with its cancellation. And my need for more Methos than we ever got on the show. :-P But again, never really wanted to WRITE any myself. Same for West Wing, though duplicating Sorkin in fanfic is a tricky proposition just in itself.
I watch Supernatural, but I have very little interest in delving into and participating in the fandom. I get any fix I need from the people on my flist, like ignipes, krisomniac, cathybites and a few others. I enjoy it, but I just can't muster the "SQUEE!" I see all the time. And that's okay. I actually do enjoy seeing others so excited even if I don't feel it myself.
I love Heroes. Love it to pieces. It's just pure unadulterated fun, and I have no great interest in nitpicking details, no real desire to ship anyone, and with the exception of reading occasional meta-type posts about the 'plotlines', no burning desire to immerse myself in the fandom. I love the show and it makes me happy, and that's all that matters to me.
Doctor Who and Torchwood - again, extreme love for both of these shows. They're fun and I love the characters and I love the premise and I don't need it to be perfect or intellectual or scientifically sound or even shippy. Do I salivate over like the notion of certain shippiness in these series? Absolutely! Jack is probably the most shippable character I've ever come across and beats out anyone from Harry Potter by a longshot. They're fantastical, and fun, and there's eye candy for all, and I enjoy the characters and the adventures and I Just. Don't. Care. if other people find something stupid or nonsensical or implausible or too Deus Ex Machina-ish or whathaveyou. And did I mention fun?
Same goes for BSG, though some episodes did drag a bit, and I found myself getting impatient, wanting them to stop with the emo relationship angsting (despite the fact that I love Kara, Lee, and Sam) and get to the good Cylon-related stuff. So, me? I loved the season finale. Loved it!
In fact, I can't think of a single episode of Doctor Who, Torchwood or Heroes that I didn't love. Some I loved more than others, yes, but it's still love. And if anyone says to me, "But! But that episode where blahblahblah totally SUCKED!" and "Ugh! I HATE character X! And that was the stupidest thing I've ever seen in my life and I can't believe they paired J with Q! That TOTALLY RUINED IT FOR ME!!1!1!!"?
Well, you know. To each his own. My love is not contingent on the opinions of others. I like what I like, love what I love, and loathe what I loathe. Sometimes I'll rant or blather on in a loose essay of sorts, but that's usually the result of a "What crack are you smoking?" reaction than a "ZOMG! Stop pissing in my Cheerios!*" reaction. (*a phrase I've always loved and I smiled to see it used recently in a meta post linked at metafandom) Piss all you want - I've got plenty more bowls to spare, thanks.
But all this still doesn't tell me why my habits are what they are. Why do I prefer to delve more deeply into fannish obsession over book fandoms (Trixie Belden, Harry Potter, Loveless) rather than 'visual' fandoms? No idea really. It's not about love. It's not even about "anything I write this week will be jossed next week".
I think it's probably best not to analyze my fannish tendencies too critically. I prefer being surprised, and there's nothing like that initial obsessive tingle - the one that causes every thought to gravitate towards "Must. Have. More. NOW!". Makes me feel twenty years younger every time. And at my age, that can only be a good thing. :-P
Oh yeah. Now I remember. Write my Remix fic. Heh.
So I'm plodding through my work today, thinking, "Yay, it's Monday - Heroes!" and then I remember it's On Hiatus until May sweeps. But the new series of Doctor Who starts on Saturday, and I'm very much looking forward to that! I haven't been following too many of the spoilers this year, though my actions are not from lack of interest. I've been thinking a lot about my own personal fannish tendencies, particularly on the heels of gmth's post here and I've come to the conclusion that, particularly with television media sources, my fannishness is best served when I'm content to not let my own brain get in the way with regard to expectations.
That's not to say I don't like to nitpick. Part of my fannish glee over Star Trek for umpteen years consisted of nitpicking to a very fine degree, but while I could nitpick the original series, Next Generation and Deep Space Nine to death and it never infringed on my fannish love, it wasn't the same with Voyager though, and I stopped watching Enterprise after the third or fourth week. Some of it was burnout, but most probably had more to do with the characters and my own expectations. Or perhaps I got tired of waiting for Al to step out from between hulls to call Captain Archer "Sam".
When it comes to degrees of fannishness, I'm much more inclined to want to read and write fanfic about fandoms derived from books. Or in the more recent development in my own fannish pursuits, manga, which is a book. Sort of. :-P But generally, though there are exceptions - namely Trek, Highlander and Star Wars, though with Trek and SW, I have dozens of 'tie-in'/extended universe novels' and even have a few for Highlander - I'm not much of a "television series" fannish fan. And it's not like I can explain why that is, either.
I'm also very particular about which shows I watch and follow. I loved the movie Stargate, but never had any interest in watching the television show past the first few eps with Richard Dean Anderson. I'm much more interested in reading Star Wars Extended Universe (books) fanfic than those based directly off the movies, and have virtually no interest in the 'prequels' time period with the exceptions of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. I read Trek fanfic for years - mostly TOS and TNG, but never had any desire to write my own. Highlander, well I loved the series to bits, and reading the fanfic was my way of coping with its cancellation. And my need for more Methos than we ever got on the show. :-P But again, never really wanted to WRITE any myself. Same for West Wing, though duplicating Sorkin in fanfic is a tricky proposition just in itself.
I watch Supernatural, but I have very little interest in delving into and participating in the fandom. I get any fix I need from the people on my flist, like ignipes, krisomniac, cathybites and a few others. I enjoy it, but I just can't muster the "SQUEE!" I see all the time. And that's okay. I actually do enjoy seeing others so excited even if I don't feel it myself.
I love Heroes. Love it to pieces. It's just pure unadulterated fun, and I have no great interest in nitpicking details, no real desire to ship anyone, and with the exception of reading occasional meta-type posts about the 'plotlines', no burning desire to immerse myself in the fandom. I love the show and it makes me happy, and that's all that matters to me.
Doctor Who and Torchwood - again, extreme love for both of these shows. They're fun and I love the characters and I love the premise and I don't need it to be perfect or intellectual or scientifically sound or even shippy. Do I salivate over like the notion of certain shippiness in these series? Absolutely! Jack is probably the most shippable character I've ever come across and beats out anyone from Harry Potter by a longshot. They're fantastical, and fun, and there's eye candy for all, and I enjoy the characters and the adventures and I Just. Don't. Care. if other people find something stupid or nonsensical or implausible or too Deus Ex Machina-ish or whathaveyou. And did I mention fun?
Same goes for BSG, though some episodes did drag a bit, and I found myself getting impatient, wanting them to stop with the emo relationship angsting (despite the fact that I love Kara, Lee, and Sam) and get to the good Cylon-related stuff. So, me? I loved the season finale. Loved it!
In fact, I can't think of a single episode of Doctor Who, Torchwood or Heroes that I didn't love. Some I loved more than others, yes, but it's still love. And if anyone says to me, "But! But that episode where blahblahblah totally SUCKED!" and "Ugh! I HATE character X! And that was the stupidest thing I've ever seen in my life and I can't believe they paired J with Q! That TOTALLY RUINED IT FOR ME!!1!1!!"?
Well, you know. To each his own. My love is not contingent on the opinions of others. I like what I like, love what I love, and loathe what I loathe. Sometimes I'll rant or blather on in a loose essay of sorts, but that's usually the result of a "What crack are you smoking?" reaction than a "ZOMG! Stop pissing in my Cheerios!*" reaction. (*a phrase I've always loved and I smiled to see it used recently in a meta post linked at metafandom) Piss all you want - I've got plenty more bowls to spare, thanks.
But all this still doesn't tell me why my habits are what they are. Why do I prefer to delve more deeply into fannish obsession over book fandoms (Trixie Belden, Harry Potter, Loveless) rather than 'visual' fandoms? No idea really. It's not about love. It's not even about "anything I write this week will be jossed next week".
I think it's probably best not to analyze my fannish tendencies too critically. I prefer being surprised, and there's nothing like that initial obsessive tingle - the one that causes every thought to gravitate towards "Must. Have. More. NOW!". Makes me feel twenty years younger every time. And at my age, that can only be a good thing. :-P