Lewis love meme!

[wendymr]

In view of the recent reminder on inspector_lewis that S9 of Lewis will be filming possibly this spring, I thought it would be nice to have a post to discuss all the things we love about the series - the episodes, the actors, the music, the scenery, the fic, the fandom... you name it.

So what do you love and why?

For me, just a few things to get started:

• the

Comments

[owlbsurfinbird]

Echoing everything that has already been said, here's a few more things to love about Lewis

[wendymr]

40+ years? Wow. That's incredible - and I'm thrilled that it's Lewis that got you inspired to write again.

And all the rest you refer to: the music is gorgeous. I don't know whether a Lewis music CD has been released; there were Morse CDs - I have one of them. It really is just beautiful. Barrington Pheloung is a genius. And the intelligence of the scripts - as lj user=skyebabycat> says below, they don't talk down to the audience. If there is something we don't understand, we may get an explanation later on - usually from James - but it's never spoon-feeding.

And, yes, the fandom is wonderful :) Which is thanks to each and every one of those who participate in it!

[owlbsurfinbird]

40+ years? Wow.
Yes, we used clay tablets and a stylus to write fan fic back then. :)

[divingforstones]

"Lewis inspired me to write fiction again after a somewhat lengthy bout of writer's block (40+ years)."

Your writer's block is older than me. That's head-wrecking! Good God. Well, there's another coup we can be grateful to Lewis for - getting you back to writing - and writing for this fandom in particular :). It must be a wonderful feeling to rediscover enjoyment in writing after that lenght of time - and we get to benefit with your beautifully written fic.

I love Barrington Pheloung's music too, I love the unusual recordings we get of familiar pieces in Morse and Lewis - the Bach concertos on the cello in Morse stand out for me - I often write to them. I love hearing about how this fandom inspires people to write :).

[owlbsurfinbird]

(Whacks the tip of a cane against the floor and shakes a gnarled finger) Well, Little Missie, I'll have you know that I was writing non-fiction the whole time--made a soul-crushing living doing it, too!

But you're right--I didn't enjoy it.

So yes, Lewis brought me back to writing for fun. I'm glad you like reading it. I certainly enjoy reading what you write, too, and I look forward to seeing you write for many, many years to come.

Don't ever stop. :-)

[divingforstones]

*g* It must be lovely to "reclaim writing" for yourself as it were and rediscover the pleasures of it through these characters.

I thought you had it just right there above btw - when you said Lewis inspired you to write fiction (return to in your case) but the fandom inspired you to keep writing - that's exactly how I feel. I would still be quite lost about particular aspects of writing and I imagine it would have become quite frustrating to do it and try and make it work without the kind intervention of people here when I first posted, who were willing to give time and effort and tuition to help. I don't know how much that would have happened in another fandom but I am still struck by that and very grateful for it.

[owlbsurfinbird]

I'm grateful too. (I'm not a particularly social person--being a professional curmudgeon and all--but I do find myself spending an inordinate amount of time now checking Lewis LJ now for replies and discussion. And, of course, checking AO3 for fics and then worrying when I haven't seen anything from certain people in a long time. Are they all right, I wonder?)

And the exchange that we are having right now--taking up space on wendymr's LJ--is something that I frankly cannot envision in larger fandoms. There is a sense of warmth, friendship and camaraderie here which seems to echo that of the series. (I'd say 'family' but a lot of families are somewhat dysfunctional, and this feels more like we're all on a journey together...)

I know I've become a better writer from reading everyone's stories and getting constructive feedback on my work. I truly appreciate the opportunity to thank everyone here for that.

And thank you Wendy, for being nurturing, supportive, and starting such a positive post and allowing us to natter on like this. :-)

[wendymr]

I'm just happy that everyone's come over here and is busily engaged in a wonderful conversation about much we love our favourite TV series. Maybe the fact that we're a smaller fandom makes it easier to do something like this; there are fewer of us, so there's more of an intimate feel, and people don't vanish into the woodwork unless they really want to. And, much though I'd love there to be more fic, it does make a difference that there isn't so much it's impossible to read it all.

(I dabbled in Sherlock fandom before finding Lewis, and did write a couple of fics - but there is so much posted there that it's just not possible to keep up with it all, and in any case so much of what is posted is stuff I simply wouldn't read - bizarre AUs where the characters are transplanted into different worlds, fantasy AUs, dystopias, horribly violent fic, ships I simply have no interest in... I don't think Lewis fic is same-y at all, but we haven't attracted the weird barista or baseball AUs or stories where one of our beloved characters is instead

[ruby_took]

Maybe the fact that we're a smaller fandom makes it easier to do something like this

I think you're probably right there. It kind of feels more like chatting to a group of friends and acquaintances, not like trying to talk to a group of strangers as it usually does in a larger fandom.

bizarre AUs where the characters are transplanted into different worlds, fantasy AUs

Ah, now, I will confess that I gravitate towards a bit of fantasy and supernatural - if it's done well, it can be a wonderful thing. But I think I know what you mean - there is a difference between an AU with a few supernatural elements and an AU that's completely bizarre, and there certainly is a whole lot less bizarre in the Lewis fandom than in most others :). That said, if the story that's been niggling at me for a while now (I also haven't written fanfic in quite a while, but it seems that Lewis is very good for getting the inspiration flowing :)) comes to anything, there will be some supernatural in there. Within reason, though, I hope :)

[wendymr]

It's odd - I really don't care for supernatural/magical/fantasy versions of my favourite fandom characters at all - but these have been done a few times in Lewis, and I've enjoyed them. There's lindenharp's wonderful wingfic series, complexlight's gorgeously poignant Robbie-as-vampire fic, which I really hope she continues, and paperscribe's sad but ultimately very happy ghost-Robbie series. I think what helps is that, other than the AU element, everything else is just the characters and the situations I love. James with wings is still prickly, secretive James Hathaway. Robbie the vampire is still grumpy, missing Val, and enjoys winding up his smartarse bagman.

Whereas some of the stuff I've seen elsewhere... well. And I barely even want to mention the so-called 'high school' AUs!

[ruby_took]

James with wings is still prickly, secretive James Hathaway. Robbie the vampire is still grumpy, missing Val, and enjoys winding up his smartarse bagman.

I think that's definitely the key. In some other fandoms, I've come across AUs where apart from the names, the characters didn't really bear any resemblance to themselves, in which case I don't quite see the point. Certainly when it comes to writing, to me the attraction of AUs with supernatural elements comes from exploring how not being human (or differently human, as the case may be) changes a character, while at the same time staying recognisably themselves. Any changes have to make sense in context, rather than just being there for the sake of changing the characters, and the personality they have in canon still has to shine through strongly. It's a balancing act, but one I find very enjoyable :)
We'll see how the Lewis AU I've got brewing at the back of my mind goes, I guess :)

And yes, best not to mention the 'high school' AUs. I'm sure it can be done well, but so far, all