So, here's the thing: when I was watching Xena I was not the least bit involved in fandom, and certainly not online fandom (which obviously wasn't at the levels it is now, but it did exist). And I'm curious about something.
See, since this period predated my introduction to online fandom, it also predated my introduction to slash. I understood that the show was absolutely playing up the idea of a Xena/Gabrielle pairing; I saw Lucy Lawless talking about it more than once on this or that talk show. But while I understood it as fan service, I thought it was for the show's gay fans, because Lucy would talk about the show having a large gay fanbase and that there were 'Xena nights' at gay bars and such. At that time I didn't understand the, ah, complexities.
Now I get to see House doing what ever it is that it's doing, and I get to watch the crowd go wild, so to speak. I never got to see that with Xena, and I'm wondering, how much were people actually reacting to it? Did Usenet explode after the
post-wedding kiss, or one of their shared bath scenes?
For that matter, how many of you think that's what House is actually doing? Does this mean we'll get to see House and Wilson kiss in the series finale one day?