Festivids letter
Firstly, thank you so much for making a vid for me! You are a wonderful person with excellent taste for offering one of these fandoms and you should feel good. :D
Secondly, this got long. Very, very long. Insanely long. I spent the last week or so drafting this letter while watching TV and it kind of ran away with me. Please feel free to ignore the whole thing or just skip to the relevant bits!
Thirdly, and most importantly, I would love anything for one of these fandoms. Seriously, anything. I want you to make the vid that you want to make; the one that inspires you, the one that gives you that giddy, happy feeling when you find the right song and just know it's going to be the best vid you've ever made. (You know, the nice bit before it all goes horribly wrong and you spend weeks shouting at the computer in frustration…)
The last thing I want is for anyone to spend time slaving away on a vid they're not enjoying cos they think it's what I want, so please feel free to do whatever you want. I know I'll love whatever you come up with!
Music-wise, I'm seriously not fussy, I love pretty much all styles and genres. I love it when a vid either uses a song I've never heard of and makes me fall in love with it, or uses a song I know in an unexpected way, so I'm not offering any music suggestions at all this year. You have completely free reign.
So honestly, when I say anything? I mean anything.
However, in case a totally blank page scares you (it does me!), I thought I'd waffle on for a bit (well, a bit and a half) about some of the things I love about each of these fandoms. Please feel free to ignore my wafflings (waffles?).
Request #1: Dinnerladies [TV]
Things I love about it: Bren! So lovely and funny and brilliant but doesn't believe it. I don't think I've ever seen a fictional character with lower self esteem. Bren/Tony! The way he sees her for the lovely person she is and tries to convince her of it. Jean and Dolly and their legendary friendship; Stan and his tools and his attitude to life; Anita, completely devoid of braincells but oh-so-sweet and genuinely lovely; Twinkle, the least twinkly person you will ever meet but so protective of Anita; Philippa, as useless as every HR person I've ever met but with the best of intentions.
Most of all, it's so warm and funny and sad and heartbreaking and bittersweet and so, so real. I know these characters. I've met them. I've worked with them. My Bren is a close member of my family, which is probably why I've cried so hard at so many of her scenes. They all have normal conversations like the rest of us about toast and diets and cruises and weddings and that bloke, you know, him off the telly; but no normal conversation I've ever heard in reality makes me double up with laughter like these lot do. I just love all of it. Can you tell?
Things I'm not so fond of: Nothing. Well, okay, I'm probably a little less fond of Petulia than the rest of them because she's a little too cartoonish while everyone else feels so real, but Julie Walters is still a comedy legend.
Request #2: Doctor Who - 1963-1989 [TV]
Things I love about it: Everything. Every companion, every Doctor, every era, every slightly-rubbish-but-endearing episode, every so-bad-it's-good episode, every oh-my-god-did-you-see-that?-amazing episode. I love the way every companion is different but still brilliant in their own way; I love the way the Doctor is still the Doctor with that essential Doctor-ness through every incarnation; I love the fact that the female companions did everything the men did, "only backwards and in high heels" (or rather high-heeled boots and mini-skirts); and I love the way the Doctor sees the hidden depths in everyone and brings the best out of people, even if they may not be that clever or strong or brave at first glance.
However, that's a pretty broad scope for a vid(!), so here's some specific things I love; 60s!Who (the clothes! the monsters!), the Troughton era (probably my favourite Doctor), Two/Jamie/Zoe, One/Ian/Barbara, Ian/Barbara (the teachers you always wanted), just Barbara (so awesome!), One/Steven/Vicki (I love Steven to unhealthy levels). 70s!Who (the clothes! UNIT! proper sci-fi!), the UNIT era, the Brig (what a legend), Three/Jo/UNIT, Four/Sarah Jane (with or without Harry), Four/Leela, Four/Romana (both Romanas, they're equally awesome), K9 (yes, I love him. So sue me). 80s!Who (the clothes! the 'special' effects! oh-so-brilliant when it was brilliant and oh-so-rubbish when it was rubbish!), Five/Tegan/Nyssa/Adric (I like an overcrowded TARDIS, ok?), Five/Tegan/Turlough, Nyssa/Tegan (their friendship always seemed so real), just Tegan (haters to the left, I adore her to pieces), Six/Peri (so underrated, shame about the scripts), Seven/Ace (an amazing Team TARDIS), just Ace (she beat up a Dalek with a baseball bat. A Dalek. With a baseball bat.)
Yeah, you can't go wrong with this one. I love Doctor Who.
Things I'm not so fond of: Doctor/companion shipping. I don't see it. Fair play to those who do, each to their own, but my Doctor is "above such things" as someone once said. I love every Doctor/companion relationship, they're each special in their own way, but it's never sexual or romantic to me. Sorry!
Request #3: Jekyll - 2007 [TV]
Things I love about it: The atmosphere, the direction, the black humour, the fresh take on an old story, the twists and turns of the plot and the way it all fits together; the complex, messed-up relationship between Tom & Hyde, the Tom/Claire/Hyde relationship, Miranda/Min (I bloody love Meera Syal and Fenella Woolgar), Katherine (one of the few Michelle Ryan roles where she doesn't irritate me beyond belief).
Things I'm not so fond of: Nothing, really! It's a gorgeous, dark and funny TV show.
Request #4: Jonathan Creek [TV]
Things I love about it: Jonathan (fantastic, unique character), Maddy (so very awesome), Jonathan/Maddy together with all their flirting and UST; the baffling mysteries, the gentle humour, the way it doesn't take itself too seriously; the magic and the windmill!
Things I'm not so fond of: Adam Klaus gets on my nerves a bit, particularly in the later series; I'm not so fond of Carla or the show in general once Maddy left - it felt as though the mysteries themselves ran out of steam.
Request #5: Press Gang [TV]
Things I love about it: Everything! Lynda (childhood role-model-slash-crush, along with Nancy Blackett and Kate Lonergan's Maid Marian); Kenny (oh-so-reasonable in the face of the madness around him; Jiminy Cricket to Lynda's Wicked Queen); Colin (one-dimensional comedy character who turns out to have hidden depths - who knew?); Spike (still gorgeous and lovely despite the accent); Sarah (the most real character in the show if sometimes the least interesting because of it); Sophie & Laura (not in it for long enough! Best double act ever). The humour, the issues, the masterclass in chemistry and UST that was Spike/Lynda (still my OTP), the dialogue. Utterly brilliant.
Things I'm not so fond of: Never felt it was quite the same once they'd left school, though there's still fantastic episodes in there, and I missed Kenny a lot when he left. I've also never liked the last episode - I can barely bring myself to rewatch it, it makes me feel so uneasy.
Request #6: The Sarah Jane Adventures [TV]
Things I love about it: The fun, the adventures, the scare factor, the character relationships, the way it feels more like old school Who than Doctor Who itself does these days. I love all the kids equally but the star of the show is of course Sarah Jane herself, still as awesome as she was 35 years ago, if not more so. Plus I love her clothes.
Things I'm not so fond of: Overuse of the Slitheen (*shudders*). Worst monsters in the history of the Whoniverse. (Yes, worse than the Myrka. At least everyone involved admits the Myrka was bad but the Slitheen keep coming back!)
Request #7: The Slipper and the Rose [Movie] (safety)
Things I love about it: It's The Slipper and the Rose. There is no part of this movie that doesn't make me happy. I watched it so much as a kid that I physically wore out the tape and Gemma Craven was my first childhood crush. Again, you really can't go wrong here. I love the Fairy Godmother (Annette Crosbie is just a legend); Cinderella (she's so adorably dopey!); Prince Edward (also so adorably dopey!); the two of them together (so much adorable dopiness in one place just kills me); John (the eyebrows! the smirking!); John/Edward (dear god, the subtext that is practically text); all the Royal Family (completely nuts in the best possible sense); the Wicked Stepmother (so deliciously nasty).
Things I'm not so fond of: …yep, drawing a blank again to think of negative things. I wouldn't have chosen these fandoms if I didn't love them!
Request #8: Spaced [TV]
Things I love about it: The geekiness, the references, the gags, the world these characters inhabit, the way they live their lives entirely in reference to pop-culture; Tim, Daisy, Tim/Daisy (yes, I ship it hard), Brian (probably my favourite character, I love Mark Heap), Mike, Marsha, Colin!, and the gang as a whole. All brilliant.
Things I'm not so fond of: Meh, probably Twist - not that I dislike her, just that she doesn't leave as much of an impression as the others.
So there you have it! Sorry about the length. I can't wait to see whatever you come up with!
Secondly, this got long. Very, very long. Insanely long. I spent the last week or so drafting this letter while watching TV and it kind of ran away with me. Please feel free to ignore the whole thing or just skip to the relevant bits!
Thirdly, and most importantly, I would love anything for one of these fandoms. Seriously, anything. I want you to make the vid that you want to make; the one that inspires you, the one that gives you that giddy, happy feeling when you find the right song and just know it's going to be the best vid you've ever made. (You know, the nice bit before it all goes horribly wrong and you spend weeks shouting at the computer in frustration…)
The last thing I want is for anyone to spend time slaving away on a vid they're not enjoying cos they think it's what I want, so please feel free to do whatever you want. I know I'll love whatever you come up with!
Music-wise, I'm seriously not fussy, I love pretty much all styles and genres. I love it when a vid either uses a song I've never heard of and makes me fall in love with it, or uses a song I know in an unexpected way, so I'm not offering any music suggestions at all this year. You have completely free reign.
So honestly, when I say anything? I mean anything.
However, in case a totally blank page scares you (it does me!), I thought I'd waffle on for a bit (well, a bit and a half) about some of the things I love about each of these fandoms. Please feel free to ignore my wafflings (waffles?).
Request #1: Dinnerladies [TV]
Things I love about it: Bren! So lovely and funny and brilliant but doesn't believe it. I don't think I've ever seen a fictional character with lower self esteem. Bren/Tony! The way he sees her for the lovely person she is and tries to convince her of it. Jean and Dolly and their legendary friendship; Stan and his tools and his attitude to life; Anita, completely devoid of braincells but oh-so-sweet and genuinely lovely; Twinkle, the least twinkly person you will ever meet but so protective of Anita; Philippa, as useless as every HR person I've ever met but with the best of intentions.
Most of all, it's so warm and funny and sad and heartbreaking and bittersweet and so, so real. I know these characters. I've met them. I've worked with them. My Bren is a close member of my family, which is probably why I've cried so hard at so many of her scenes. They all have normal conversations like the rest of us about toast and diets and cruises and weddings and that bloke, you know, him off the telly; but no normal conversation I've ever heard in reality makes me double up with laughter like these lot do. I just love all of it. Can you tell?
Things I'm not so fond of: Nothing. Well, okay, I'm probably a little less fond of Petulia than the rest of them because she's a little too cartoonish while everyone else feels so real, but Julie Walters is still a comedy legend.
Request #2: Doctor Who - 1963-1989 [TV]
Things I love about it: Everything. Every companion, every Doctor, every era, every slightly-rubbish-but-endearing episode, every so-bad-it's-good episode, every oh-my-god-did-you-see-that?-amazing episode. I love the way every companion is different but still brilliant in their own way; I love the way the Doctor is still the Doctor with that essential Doctor-ness through every incarnation; I love the fact that the female companions did everything the men did, "only backwards and in high heels" (or rather high-heeled boots and mini-skirts); and I love the way the Doctor sees the hidden depths in everyone and brings the best out of people, even if they may not be that clever or strong or brave at first glance.
However, that's a pretty broad scope for a vid(!), so here's some specific things I love; 60s!Who (the clothes! the monsters!), the Troughton era (probably my favourite Doctor), Two/Jamie/Zoe, One/Ian/Barbara, Ian/Barbara (the teachers you always wanted), just Barbara (so awesome!), One/Steven/Vicki (I love Steven to unhealthy levels). 70s!Who (the clothes! UNIT! proper sci-fi!), the UNIT era, the Brig (what a legend), Three/Jo/UNIT, Four/Sarah Jane (with or without Harry), Four/Leela, Four/Romana (both Romanas, they're equally awesome), K9 (yes, I love him. So sue me). 80s!Who (the clothes! the 'special' effects! oh-so-brilliant when it was brilliant and oh-so-rubbish when it was rubbish!), Five/Tegan/Nyssa/Adric (I like an overcrowded TARDIS, ok?), Five/Tegan/Turlough, Nyssa/Tegan (their friendship always seemed so real), just Tegan (haters to the left, I adore her to pieces), Six/Peri (so underrated, shame about the scripts), Seven/Ace (an amazing Team TARDIS), just Ace (she beat up a Dalek with a baseball bat. A Dalek. With a baseball bat.)
Yeah, you can't go wrong with this one. I love Doctor Who.
Things I'm not so fond of: Doctor/companion shipping. I don't see it. Fair play to those who do, each to their own, but my Doctor is "above such things" as someone once said. I love every Doctor/companion relationship, they're each special in their own way, but it's never sexual or romantic to me. Sorry!
Request #3: Jekyll - 2007 [TV]
Things I love about it: The atmosphere, the direction, the black humour, the fresh take on an old story, the twists and turns of the plot and the way it all fits together; the complex, messed-up relationship between Tom & Hyde, the Tom/Claire/Hyde relationship, Miranda/Min (I bloody love Meera Syal and Fenella Woolgar), Katherine (one of the few Michelle Ryan roles where she doesn't irritate me beyond belief).
Things I'm not so fond of: Nothing, really! It's a gorgeous, dark and funny TV show.
Request #4: Jonathan Creek [TV]
Things I love about it: Jonathan (fantastic, unique character), Maddy (so very awesome), Jonathan/Maddy together with all their flirting and UST; the baffling mysteries, the gentle humour, the way it doesn't take itself too seriously; the magic and the windmill!
Things I'm not so fond of: Adam Klaus gets on my nerves a bit, particularly in the later series; I'm not so fond of Carla or the show in general once Maddy left - it felt as though the mysteries themselves ran out of steam.
Request #5: Press Gang [TV]
Things I love about it: Everything! Lynda (childhood role-model-slash-crush, along with Nancy Blackett and Kate Lonergan's Maid Marian); Kenny (oh-so-reasonable in the face of the madness around him; Jiminy Cricket to Lynda's Wicked Queen); Colin (one-dimensional comedy character who turns out to have hidden depths - who knew?); Spike (still gorgeous and lovely despite the accent); Sarah (the most real character in the show if sometimes the least interesting because of it); Sophie & Laura (not in it for long enough! Best double act ever). The humour, the issues, the masterclass in chemistry and UST that was Spike/Lynda (still my OTP), the dialogue. Utterly brilliant.
Things I'm not so fond of: Never felt it was quite the same once they'd left school, though there's still fantastic episodes in there, and I missed Kenny a lot when he left. I've also never liked the last episode - I can barely bring myself to rewatch it, it makes me feel so uneasy.
Request #6: The Sarah Jane Adventures [TV]
Things I love about it: The fun, the adventures, the scare factor, the character relationships, the way it feels more like old school Who than Doctor Who itself does these days. I love all the kids equally but the star of the show is of course Sarah Jane herself, still as awesome as she was 35 years ago, if not more so. Plus I love her clothes.
Things I'm not so fond of: Overuse of the Slitheen (*shudders*). Worst monsters in the history of the Whoniverse. (Yes, worse than the Myrka. At least everyone involved admits the Myrka was bad but the Slitheen keep coming back!)
Request #7: The Slipper and the Rose [Movie] (safety)
Things I love about it: It's The Slipper and the Rose. There is no part of this movie that doesn't make me happy. I watched it so much as a kid that I physically wore out the tape and Gemma Craven was my first childhood crush. Again, you really can't go wrong here. I love the Fairy Godmother (Annette Crosbie is just a legend); Cinderella (she's so adorably dopey!); Prince Edward (also so adorably dopey!); the two of them together (so much adorable dopiness in one place just kills me); John (the eyebrows! the smirking!); John/Edward (dear god, the subtext that is practically text); all the Royal Family (completely nuts in the best possible sense); the Wicked Stepmother (so deliciously nasty).
Things I'm not so fond of: …yep, drawing a blank again to think of negative things. I wouldn't have chosen these fandoms if I didn't love them!
Request #8: Spaced [TV]
Things I love about it: The geekiness, the references, the gags, the world these characters inhabit, the way they live their lives entirely in reference to pop-culture; Tim, Daisy, Tim/Daisy (yes, I ship it hard), Brian (probably my favourite character, I love Mark Heap), Mike, Marsha, Colin!, and the gang as a whole. All brilliant.
Things I'm not so fond of: Meh, probably Twist - not that I dislike her, just that she doesn't leave as much of an impression as the others.
So there you have it! Sorry about the length. I can't wait to see whatever you come up with!