Fandom meme
Okay, I've been tagged by sallymn to do this one. This could take awhile....
1) Total number of fandoms I like:
Dragonriders of Pern series of novels by Anne McCaffrey
Harry Potter both the books and the movies
The Magnificent Seven tv series
Star Wars mainly the old trilogy. I haven't been able to get that into the later movies.
Star Trek any vintage. I like them all. Probably liked DS9 the best, though.
Ths Sentinel an under appreciated "buddy cop" show, with good looking guys. I think I like the fan fiction written about it as much or more than the series itself, though.
2) My first fandom ever: Oh, man. Going back to the beginning of time...anyone remember Combat!? It was a World War II series from back in the early-mid 60's. I remember my sister and I watching it with the Kaplan boys from next door, and we LOVED that show. I still do. It turns up on cable every so often, and I watch for my favorite episodes (many of which make me cry like a baby.) A lot of well known actors and directors got some of their earliest good roles on this series, too. Robert Altman directed several eps. Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, James Caan, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Duvall, Telly Savalas could all be spotted in one show or another. And for the time, it was as much of a realistic war series as you could have. There weren't that many happy endings. Like life.
3) My most recent fandom: The Magnificent Seven tv series. I watched the show in its original run, but lately I've found that I like it better now than then. Maybe because I've hooked up with the fans here on LiveJournal, and they're a likeable bunch--but something made me look them up to start with, right? Maybe I'm just more into the nuances of the characters now. And there's always the shallow but true answer--there's some HOT guys on that series. Yummmmm....
4) Five fandoms that currently mean a lot to me (in order of preference), with explanations: Order of preference? Yikes! That's going to be hard.
1) Dragonriders of Pern--My brother bought me my first paperback edition of Dragonflight when I was a kid. I'd already checked it out of the library at least three times before, but I wanted one of my very own. Every time I reached the end of it, I'd close the book and wish it went on and on. Well, with the sequels, it did. And although I didn't like what the author did after the third novel in the original series, I found that the fandom that I ran into didn't like it either. We wanted Pern the way it started out, so we basically ignored the thire novel past about the halfway point or so. And what a world it is--people with "the right stuff" are recruited to try to "impress" a dragon at birth, thereby linking themselves to the creature forever. During the fifty Turn (year) period of a Pass by the Red Star, the humans on Pern, along with their dragon lifemates, fight the deadly Threadfalls that threaten to wipe out all of their civilization. Thread, if allowed to burrow into the ground, will destroy everything it touches, and it can only be destroyed by fire--by the flame throwers of the people on the ground, or in the air by the fiery breath of the dragons. Being a dragonrider is a great honor, but it's also dangerous. Few riders survive beyond middle age, if that long.
I feel comfortable with Pern. I can project a character living there easily, and I have done so with a lot of characters. They're as alive to me as the people I talk to online. Sometimes even more so.
2) The Magnificent Seven TV series. This is so recent it's hard to be objective about it, but I can try.
I like the actors. I like the characters. The writers allowed the characters to interact with some emotion--they didn't just show up and start shooting at the end of every episode. You felt attachments between the characters, and in one episode that had the Seven breeking up, I was in tears when they all rode away separately. And I exulted when they got back together. It MEANT something to me, tugged at my heart strings.
I enjoy the fandom, too. For a show that only lasted 23 episodes, it's attracted a lively and creative fan base, many of whom write excellent fan fiction. I have to force myself to stop reading and get back to work on the stories I'M supposed to be writing, but it's hard. Very hard.
3) Star Wars episodes 4 through 6--the orginal trilogy. And what a wild ride it was. You could cheer for the good guys and boo the bad guys, and never have any real doubt of who was which. It was a science fantasy fairy tale, but you never lost your affection for Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie--they were the center of the movies, the heart of the movies, which I find to a large part missing in the new trilogy. (Note--I haven't seen ROTS yet, because we're waiting for the crowds to die down.)
I wrote my first (completed) fanfic story in the old trilogy's universe, and with my friends role played other stories that went on forever. Eventually they all moved on to other things, but I'm content to stay where I am, with the world according to my imagination as shown in "The New Hope," "The Empire Strikes Back," and "Return of the Jedi." And so it goes.
4) Star Trek of any series. I've found something to enjoy in all of them. This was my very first SF based famdom,and some of the people I met through it are still my friends today. Trek got me to my first convention at the rather late age of 17. Eventually I traveled as far away as Boston to go to conventions, and that gave me a chance to see new and beautiful things after, when we did a driving tour of New England. I can truly say that ST changed my life, and for the better, no doubt. Aside from introducing me to a new society of convention fandom, ST, being "just a science fiction show," managed to touch on themes that no other series on the air dared to touch. Racial prejudice, religion and politics, the meaning of being a human being, sacrifice and redemption--no other series ever explored these things the way the various ST series did. Not every episode was golden, but it had a pretty high success rate with me.
5) the Harry Potter novels and movies probably led me to places that few other fans of the series can claim. I'm sure you've all heard of the conservative religious backlash against the series, accusing it of being godless, even Satanic, and ready to trap young minds into the evil worlds of Wicca, Goth, Satanism, etc. Much of this, I have no doubt, being spewed by people who probably didn't even read the books or see the movies. When the pastors at my sister's Baptist church began following this intolerant parade, I was appalled. And it drove me to find a way to join the opposition to this idiocy. And I did. I'm now a proud and committed Unitarian/Universalist...never heard of it, right? Well, they're religions that have been around since at least the 16th Century, and they've become so liberal that they don't even count themselves as Christian anymore. Whether you believe in a Biblical God or not, you're welcome at a UU church. I've felt at ease with these people since the first time I showed up on their doorstep. And all because of Harry Potter....
The fact is that I just plain enjoy the stories. I love Harry, Hermione, Ron and the rest of the Weasleys, Professor Lupin, Professor McGonagle, and of course, Dumbledore. J.K. Rowling has created a truly magical universe where kids and parents can meet and enjoy the ride together. Not a bad trick to pull off, that.
5) Shows that I'm a "fan of", even though I don't participate in the "fandom" (or that don't have a "fandom"):
A WWII trilogy from back in the 60's--Combat!, The Rat Patrol, Garrison's Gorillas. If you remember the first run of any of these, you're dating yourself.
The Sentinel
NCIS
CSI:Crime Scene Investigation the Las Vegas original. I do watch the Miami version when I can, mostly because I like some of the actors, but I can take or leave the New York version.
Ths many old TV westerns and movies that I've watched from childhood--High Chaparral, Wagon Train, Gunsmoke, Maverick, Lancer, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance--this list could go on forever. Maybe it's not such a surprise that I feel at home with the Mag7 fandom. I already know Western mythology backward and forward.
ER
The West Wing
Numbers
Medium
I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but this is long enough already.
This is where I get to tag my friends so they have to do this, too. Well, knowing them they might have already been tagged, but I'll tag 'em anyway just in case: libertyrose, xanath, thomsolo
1) Total number of fandoms I like:
Dragonriders of Pern series of novels by Anne McCaffrey
Harry Potter both the books and the movies
The Magnificent Seven tv series
Star Wars mainly the old trilogy. I haven't been able to get that into the later movies.
Star Trek any vintage. I like them all. Probably liked DS9 the best, though.
Ths Sentinel an under appreciated "buddy cop" show, with good looking guys. I think I like the fan fiction written about it as much or more than the series itself, though.
2) My first fandom ever: Oh, man. Going back to the beginning of time...anyone remember Combat!? It was a World War II series from back in the early-mid 60's. I remember my sister and I watching it with the Kaplan boys from next door, and we LOVED that show. I still do. It turns up on cable every so often, and I watch for my favorite episodes (many of which make me cry like a baby.) A lot of well known actors and directors got some of their earliest good roles on this series, too. Robert Altman directed several eps. Lee Marvin, Charles Bronson, James Caan, Leonard Nimoy, Robert Duvall, Telly Savalas could all be spotted in one show or another. And for the time, it was as much of a realistic war series as you could have. There weren't that many happy endings. Like life.
3) My most recent fandom: The Magnificent Seven tv series. I watched the show in its original run, but lately I've found that I like it better now than then. Maybe because I've hooked up with the fans here on LiveJournal, and they're a likeable bunch--but something made me look them up to start with, right? Maybe I'm just more into the nuances of the characters now. And there's always the shallow but true answer--there's some HOT guys on that series. Yummmmm....
4) Five fandoms that currently mean a lot to me (in order of preference), with explanations: Order of preference? Yikes! That's going to be hard.
1) Dragonriders of Pern--My brother bought me my first paperback edition of Dragonflight when I was a kid. I'd already checked it out of the library at least three times before, but I wanted one of my very own. Every time I reached the end of it, I'd close the book and wish it went on and on. Well, with the sequels, it did. And although I didn't like what the author did after the third novel in the original series, I found that the fandom that I ran into didn't like it either. We wanted Pern the way it started out, so we basically ignored the thire novel past about the halfway point or so. And what a world it is--people with "the right stuff" are recruited to try to "impress" a dragon at birth, thereby linking themselves to the creature forever. During the fifty Turn (year) period of a Pass by the Red Star, the humans on Pern, along with their dragon lifemates, fight the deadly Threadfalls that threaten to wipe out all of their civilization. Thread, if allowed to burrow into the ground, will destroy everything it touches, and it can only be destroyed by fire--by the flame throwers of the people on the ground, or in the air by the fiery breath of the dragons. Being a dragonrider is a great honor, but it's also dangerous. Few riders survive beyond middle age, if that long.
I feel comfortable with Pern. I can project a character living there easily, and I have done so with a lot of characters. They're as alive to me as the people I talk to online. Sometimes even more so.
2) The Magnificent Seven TV series. This is so recent it's hard to be objective about it, but I can try.
I like the actors. I like the characters. The writers allowed the characters to interact with some emotion--they didn't just show up and start shooting at the end of every episode. You felt attachments between the characters, and in one episode that had the Seven breeking up, I was in tears when they all rode away separately. And I exulted when they got back together. It MEANT something to me, tugged at my heart strings.
I enjoy the fandom, too. For a show that only lasted 23 episodes, it's attracted a lively and creative fan base, many of whom write excellent fan fiction. I have to force myself to stop reading and get back to work on the stories I'M supposed to be writing, but it's hard. Very hard.
3) Star Wars episodes 4 through 6--the orginal trilogy. And what a wild ride it was. You could cheer for the good guys and boo the bad guys, and never have any real doubt of who was which. It was a science fantasy fairy tale, but you never lost your affection for Luke, Leia, Han, Chewie--they were the center of the movies, the heart of the movies, which I find to a large part missing in the new trilogy. (Note--I haven't seen ROTS yet, because we're waiting for the crowds to die down.)
I wrote my first (completed) fanfic story in the old trilogy's universe, and with my friends role played other stories that went on forever. Eventually they all moved on to other things, but I'm content to stay where I am, with the world according to my imagination as shown in "The New Hope," "The Empire Strikes Back," and "Return of the Jedi." And so it goes.
4) Star Trek of any series. I've found something to enjoy in all of them. This was my very first SF based famdom,and some of the people I met through it are still my friends today. Trek got me to my first convention at the rather late age of 17. Eventually I traveled as far away as Boston to go to conventions, and that gave me a chance to see new and beautiful things after, when we did a driving tour of New England. I can truly say that ST changed my life, and for the better, no doubt. Aside from introducing me to a new society of convention fandom, ST, being "just a science fiction show," managed to touch on themes that no other series on the air dared to touch. Racial prejudice, religion and politics, the meaning of being a human being, sacrifice and redemption--no other series ever explored these things the way the various ST series did. Not every episode was golden, but it had a pretty high success rate with me.
5) the Harry Potter novels and movies probably led me to places that few other fans of the series can claim. I'm sure you've all heard of the conservative religious backlash against the series, accusing it of being godless, even Satanic, and ready to trap young minds into the evil worlds of Wicca, Goth, Satanism, etc. Much of this, I have no doubt, being spewed by people who probably didn't even read the books or see the movies. When the pastors at my sister's Baptist church began following this intolerant parade, I was appalled. And it drove me to find a way to join the opposition to this idiocy. And I did. I'm now a proud and committed Unitarian/Universalist...never heard of it, right? Well, they're religions that have been around since at least the 16th Century, and they've become so liberal that they don't even count themselves as Christian anymore. Whether you believe in a Biblical God or not, you're welcome at a UU church. I've felt at ease with these people since the first time I showed up on their doorstep. And all because of Harry Potter....
The fact is that I just plain enjoy the stories. I love Harry, Hermione, Ron and the rest of the Weasleys, Professor Lupin, Professor McGonagle, and of course, Dumbledore. J.K. Rowling has created a truly magical universe where kids and parents can meet and enjoy the ride together. Not a bad trick to pull off, that.
5) Shows that I'm a "fan of", even though I don't participate in the "fandom" (or that don't have a "fandom"):
A WWII trilogy from back in the 60's--Combat!, The Rat Patrol, Garrison's Gorillas. If you remember the first run of any of these, you're dating yourself.
The Sentinel
NCIS
CSI:Crime Scene Investigation the Las Vegas original. I do watch the Miami version when I can, mostly because I like some of the actors, but I can take or leave the New York version.
Ths many old TV westerns and movies that I've watched from childhood--High Chaparral, Wagon Train, Gunsmoke, Maverick, Lancer, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance--this list could go on forever. Maybe it's not such a surprise that I feel at home with the Mag7 fandom. I already know Western mythology backward and forward.
ER
The West Wing
Numbers
Medium
I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but this is long enough already.
This is where I get to tag my friends so they have to do this, too. Well, knowing them they might have already been tagged, but I'll tag 'em anyway just in case: libertyrose, xanath, thomsolo