gategrrl | (no subject)

Oh, you rebel.

I dunno about being a "rebel". There are some shows I'm all for the established Canon couple. Like on Buffy, I really got behind Buffy/Angel, and sort of got behind Buffy/Spike, although I thought that relationship was about as disfunctional as any I've seen.

I understand. I was on board Buffy/Angel and was vehemently opposed to Buffy/Spike. I still don't like them. I wasn't a huge fan of those shows, though. My brother--who is--informed me that Buffy will sleep with just about anyone, so in the end it's best that neither Spike or Angel ended up with her. They'll always remember her but she'll just be on to the next guy...

Because they don't make sense?

(Keeping in mind that I'm completely guessing and have no idea which shows or couples you're talking about...)

I'm mostly thinking about the Stargate shows...I guess because that's the show I'm most involved in with the fandom, and I think hearing other wax on religiously about their fave pairings as if they were All That IS Was And Will Be has entirely put me off on any pairing the show could come up with, even if I *liked* it.

Ooops. I guess Moonshayde was right. I AM a rebel.

Remember when "ship wars" was something we read about in history books? ;-)

Because you just can't and there's no reason you should?

There's one particular pairing that makes me want to hop in the shower and stay there for a long time, but lots of people seem to love it. Trauma for me is, for them, a squee.

It's the same as asking why someone can't get into CGI when all their friends love it. If it doesn't ring true to you, it just doesn't.

I want to be able to understand the relationships on a show. You don't have to give me tons of backstory or lots of cuddly scenes... I just want to know why they click. If I can't see the click, I can't get on board.

Maybe other people see the click, or maybe they're just happy to project their fantasies when the show falls short.

Just speaking for myself, the only reason I get hostile about some pairings is that people act like I should apologize for not embracing them. So for me, the two elements are: the show makes it clear what they're going for, and no one evangelizes the couple to me.

this is why I'm avoiding the online House fandom like the small pox. I know there are House/Cameron shippers and that pairing would gross me out as much as Sam/Jack. Now, House/Cuddy I could get on board with if the show handled it properly. ;)

Just speaking for myself, the only reason I get hostile about some pairings is that people act like I should apologize for not embracing them. So for me, the two elements are: the show makes it clear what they're going for, and no one evangelizes the couple to me.

There it is in a nutshell! Although I don't think the folks I know think I should *apologize* for not "going with the flow"...it's still like, they're playing in the really cool tree-house club-house, and I'm at the bottom of the tree in the shade by myself (or nearly) while I hear squeeing and simulated sounds of sex drifting down from the tree top. It *sounds* fun, but to me, there's nothing to back those feelings up.

I have a friend who annoys me sometimes because she'll say, "Did you see Desperate Sex In Housewife City the other night when blah blah blah, and wasn't it great?"

I'll say, "I don't watch it."

She'll go all bug-eyed and say, "Oh, you don't watch that???" and then shake her head as if to tsk tsk me! I suspect it's just something she picked up from a parent or something, but the effect is like she's pitying me.

I think it's just insecurity. she wants to share the show with a friend, and maybe the fact that I don't watch it means I think she's stupid for watching it, so she's pre-emptively doing a little passsive-aggressive maneuver. I don't think she's stupid for watching, actually. Her shows just aren't my type of show. It's no big deal.

I'm not really a "go with the flow" kind of person either--for the most part. *g* I can be with some shows, but Stargate is different and I'm not sure why. I think maybe it's in part because the show has just changed so much from how it began (or how I saw it in the beginning). I sometimes end up resenting certain changes, though, because it's not clear why.

For instance, it really, really bugged me when they just changed Mitchell--just did a 180 degree about face with the character with absolutely no explanation--nothing on the show to explain it. I think that's also at least partly why I began to resent Sam on the show as far back as season 3 and certainly in seasons 4 and 5. What they did just made no sense in the context of the show--not from any standpoint (IMHO--I know it's a matter of opinion *g*).

I think that's also why I feel the way I do about Vala. I could actually love CB on the show as Vala if she were an isolated character and not interacting with my characters. *g* But I feel like they've changed Daniel's place on the show and will have to change him further--along with everyone else--to fit Vala into the show. So far, there was no explanation for it. I'm not sure if I can buy whatever it is they do in season 10, but if all it is is a "poor poor Vala--you must feel sorry for her now" storyline, then...no, probably not. They retrofitted a few things in the Avalon episodes (from P.U.), but, IMHO, they did a huge retrofit of Vala and all the other characters and her place there in Crusade. I know it was to help her fit into season 10, but honestly...none of it made sense (the way others reacted to her) based on what came before.

I want to be able to just "go with the flow" on that like everyone else, but I feel like the show was hijacked and everyone else thinks: Squee! *g*

I'm not saying others are wrong, but I honestly cannot understand it. I mentioned this in the "not" thread on OS, that a part of it is my feelings about Daniel. I feel like Vala hurt Daniel over and over and having her around hurts Daniel as a character. I find it difficult to comprehend Daniel fans also liking Vala. *g* I could like Vala if she were more of a nemesis for Daniel and if everyone else (all the other characters on the show) reacted to her in that way, even if they had to work with her.

I know other fans of Daniel really like Vala, obviously, but I just can't understand it (especially the reaction to Daniel telling her to shut up--finally!), and I've given up trying. And when it comes to the other characters, I wanted them to react indignantly to Vala based on the things she's done to Daniel, but no...they all act like it was a lark, too, and that everything that was done to Daniel by Vala (and done to others at the SGC) means nothing because she's cute (or???). It's like rubbing salt in the wound of things like nobody really noticing that Daniel was missing in Reckoning and Threads and similar episodes.

The more everyone squees about it, the more I feel like I must be this strange creature from another planet who just doesn't get it, because I don't. That's why I'm trying to stay away from that as much as possible. In some ways, it's working for me. I am having slightly less bad feelings about the show right now. *g* I actually feel better reading the "hate season 10" threads at GateWorld and similar places because then I think, "Well, at least I don't hate it that much." *g*

(not sure how i ended up here)
Delurking to say thank you because you just articulated something I haven't been able to explain. How they changed Daniel (even more than what they've already done to him) in relation to Vala, and the revisionist history. I didn't like the ep PU, nor did I like the character of Vala or how they made Daniel act in that episode. Nothing that happened in season 9 changes that.

Haven't paid enough attention to Mitchell to get your point on that, but I too can see what you mean about Sam's character.

Mitchell started out as an uptight military guy who seemed overly concerned with protocol and following the rules, but he also had a mind of his own and could think quickly on his feet. I thought he had potential. Later in the season he became sort of a good ol' boy who made inappropriate comments and announced that he was now reckless and rash--a bit of a hotdog.

And, yes, the revisionist history bugs me a lot. *g* It's always bothered me on shows when they did that, but I can usually overlook it. I don't really know why I can't on Stargate.

This discussion actually came up in a way on another LJ. Someone just can't see Rodney/John. She also can't see Jack/Daniel, mainly because she just doesn't like Daniel. She sees Jack/Teal'c.

I don't have an OTP actually. I like all sorts of combinations. I do like Jack/Daniel and John/Rodney, but as long as there is boy kissing and hot sex I'm happy.

I love the way you challenge the status quo. You make me think.

You remind me of a birthday card my aunt gave to a friend years ago. The picture showed a movie theater full of people sobbing, and one guy laughing hysterically. The card said something different drummer or something. Be proud of your uniquenes Julie.

Ah, yes, Lady Jax - I have her on my flist, too. I'm still a little gob-smacked that someone would dislike Daniel so totally, and think that Sam was underdeveloped and should have Ascended instead...still trying to wrap my head around that one!

You know what my mother brought up the last time she visited? That when I was a kid, one of my teachers wrote on one of my report cards that "Julie marches to a different drummer." I think my mother has used that as a Mantra for years. *sighs*