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Jul. 7th, 2009 12:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snowystingrayMeme!
Comment to this entry and I'll pick three of your fandoms. You must then update your journal and answer the following questions:
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teh_maskmaid chose for me to post about Star Trek, Psych, and Merlin.
01: What got you into this fandom in the first place?
Star Trek: Um, my genetic coding? My parents are long time Trekkies from way back when and I grew up on a steady diet of Next Generation and Voyager. At the same time, though, I was never hugely into it in a fannish way when I was younger. It wasn't until the summer before I started college when I started working out more with my sister; because exercise is so damn boring, we'd always have on an episode of Deep Space Nine, which I hadn't watched first run, and I slowly but surely became hooked. I watched a weird smattering of episodes then so I don't really remember the first thing that struck me in a "huh, I totally love this show" way -- it was more of a building affection, I guess? The other Trek that I get extremely flaily over is TOS, and my love for that came as a direct result of my DS9 involvement. Once I went off to school I no longer got SpikeTV, woe, and could only get my Trek fix via the remastered Original Series episodes on the CW. In this instance I do in fact have a powerful first OMG I'M SO HOOKED moment -- or episode, rather. "The Immunity Syndrome" was the first episode I caught in full, and what with the bright colors and rampant Spock/McCoy bickering and general OT3ness and balled firsts and cries of ANTIBODIES!! I knew I was sold for life. The rest is history!
Psych: I guess I can also blame my family for this one. While I've only ever watched Monk casually, my mom is a huge fan so when they started promoting the heck out of Psych during all hours on USA she inevitably caught a few ads and mentioned it to me as something I might enjoy. Lo and behold, we sat down as one happy family and cracked our way up through the pilot with its Shawn/Gus bromance and gruffy-Lassiter and JUST LIKE MY DAD Henry and extensive quippiness. The rest is history!
Merlin: I honestly cannot recall how I first heard about this show, or what made me want to check it out. Uh? The fact that it's about magic and fancy costumes and Giles?? What other recommendation is needed? So anyway, I was full of anticipation and tentative affection before the show even began. The first episode did not disappoint, but I think I had my first "Okay, now I am officially sold forever" moment in "Lancelot" at the celebratory feast, as Merlin and Gwen play "who would you rather?" over Arthur and Lancelot. The rest is history!
02. Do you think you'll stay in this fandom or eventually move on?
I'm not going to bother addressing these separately, because my response is the same for all. I harbor a shockingly consistent amount of fandom loyalty to, well, basically everything. Once bitten by the love bug, it takes quite a bit to budge me! I'm trying to think of the last fandom I flat-out quit and... honestly, nothing is coming to mind. Of course there are things that drift out of prominence after a while -- I mean, compare how HUGELY INSANELY EXCITED I was for the first Harry Potter film with how "Oh, hey, I guess another one of those things is rolling around some time" I am with HPB -- but I can still flail with the best of them when the opportunity arises, and it takes quite a lot to taint any pre-established affections (case in point: ROBIN HOOD). So, um, long story short? I'm in it for the long haul.
03: What are your favorite episodes/books/movies/etc?
(Warning: THIS IS HARD. EXCUSE ME WHILE I ANGUISH. I hate narrowing down favorites. I love everything in its own special way!)
Star Trek: (I'll limit myself to TOS and DS9, as they're the series for which I've seen every episode.)
TOS: AUUUGHHHH SO MANY. "The Immunity Syndrome" still holds a hugely special place in my heart for the aforementioned reason. I love love LOVE the heck out of "Journey to Babel" for all the Amanda/Sarek drama. "Mirror, Mirror"? Who doesn't list that as a favorite episode? And I've always had a quiet but heartfelt affection for "Metamorphosis," which is just its own unlikely little sinister and yet oddly beautiful love story. "Bread and Circuses" just for the Spock/McCoy prison scene. Oh, and STV is totally my favorite of the films. Yeah, stick that on your transporter pad and beam it.
DS9: I... I... I honestly have no idea of where to even begin. This is such an arc driven show, and everything fits in its own perfect place, and picking them out just seems wrong. So, that said, episodes I have been driven to revisit from time to time... "Explorers," for the Sisko family joys and the Bashir/O'Brien drunken confessions of love. "Indiscretion"/"Return to Grace" because I just love that arc of Dukat's storyline, and the weirdly compelling tensions of the Kira/Dukat dynamic. "In the Cards" because it's so damn cute. "Far Beyond the Stars" because HOT DAMN PEOPLE THIS IS INVENTIVE AND RELEVANT SCIFI AT ITS BEST. "Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang" because I love Vic, too, and everybody looked totally smokin'.
Psych: I've probably watched "9 Lives" the most times, and even after at least a dozen viewings it still ranks as one of the most hilarious hours of television in the history of ever. Then me being, well, me, I am also perhaps overly fond of every Lassicentric episode ("From the Earth to the Starbucks"! "Dis-Lodged"! "Lassie Did a Bad, Bad Thing"! "Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Title from Yet-to-Air S4 Ep Blurb and Even Though I Haven't Seen the Episode Yet I Already Know It's Going to Rock My Face Off"!). And...? I don't know! This is one of the most consistently hilarious shows! It might be easier to just list off which episodes weren't my favorite ("American Duos," with the exception of Tim Curry's scenes; "There Might Be Blood"... that's about it, every other episode is amazing).
Merlin: "To Kill the King." Okay, now I feel bad for not anguishing over this one because somehow I worry that might imply that Merlin doesn't have as many good episodes for me to choose from, which of course is not true. In just 13 episodes it managed to run through a hefty variety of action, adventure, romance, angst, swordplay, travel quests, deaths, near-deaths, magic, mystery... each worthwhile in its own way. But, oh, when it comes right down to it, the episodes that get me the most are always the heartwrenching relationship-strained-to-breaking-point, epic betrayal arcs, and I just bawled my way through this entire episode. AND. THEN. IT ENDED SEMI-HAPPILY??? The Uther/Morgana hug it so completely my favourite moment of the entire series. The music, the emotion, the framing, the BIG CRAZY SWIRLY CAPES OF ENGULFING LOVE -- gahhhh.
04: Do you participate in this fandom (fan fiction, graphics, discussions, etc)?
Again, one answer for all: I participate in general episode chatter, occasional iconing, and frequent cheerleading of others more artistically blessed/motivated than myself.
05: Do you think that more people should get into this fandom?
Star Trek: Yes! But Trek is such a timeless thing, and has so many different incarnations, that I feel like it's going to maintain it's appeal in some form no matter what.
Psych: Yes! Because then maybe more people will laugh when I bust out Psych quotes at all times. I do enjoy that this is one of my smaller fandoms, though; it seems to fit the feel of the show, being rather low-key and quirky (but, well, that certainly doesn't preclude me from telling everybody to WATCH WATCH WATCH the show anyway).
Merlin: Yes! Especially over here in America. I can't say I'm really surprised that the show hasn't had a huge take-off in the US, but it's nevertheless disappointing because I'm sure it could find a rather wide popular audience if people would just give it a try. As far as I'm concerned, any and all support for fun weekly action-adventure costume dramas is always appreciated.
Comment to this entry and I'll pick three of your fandoms. You must then update your journal and answer the following questions:
teh_maskmaid chose for me to post about Star Trek, Psych, and Merlin.01: What got you into this fandom in the first place?
Star Trek: Um, my genetic coding? My parents are long time Trekkies from way back when and I grew up on a steady diet of Next Generation and Voyager. At the same time, though, I was never hugely into it in a fannish way when I was younger. It wasn't until the summer before I started college when I started working out more with my sister; because exercise is so damn boring, we'd always have on an episode of Deep Space Nine, which I hadn't watched first run, and I slowly but surely became hooked. I watched a weird smattering of episodes then so I don't really remember the first thing that struck me in a "huh, I totally love this show" way -- it was more of a building affection, I guess? The other Trek that I get extremely flaily over is TOS, and my love for that came as a direct result of my DS9 involvement. Once I went off to school I no longer got SpikeTV, woe, and could only get my Trek fix via the remastered Original Series episodes on the CW. In this instance I do in fact have a powerful first OMG I'M SO HOOKED moment -- or episode, rather. "The Immunity Syndrome" was the first episode I caught in full, and what with the bright colors and rampant Spock/McCoy bickering and general OT3ness and balled firsts and cries of ANTIBODIES!! I knew I was sold for life. The rest is history!
Psych: I guess I can also blame my family for this one. While I've only ever watched Monk casually, my mom is a huge fan so when they started promoting the heck out of Psych during all hours on USA she inevitably caught a few ads and mentioned it to me as something I might enjoy. Lo and behold, we sat down as one happy family and cracked our way up through the pilot with its Shawn/Gus bromance and gruffy-Lassiter and JUST LIKE MY DAD Henry and extensive quippiness. The rest is history!
Merlin: I honestly cannot recall how I first heard about this show, or what made me want to check it out. Uh? The fact that it's about magic and fancy costumes and Giles?? What other recommendation is needed? So anyway, I was full of anticipation and tentative affection before the show even began. The first episode did not disappoint, but I think I had my first "Okay, now I am officially sold forever" moment in "Lancelot" at the celebratory feast, as Merlin and Gwen play "who would you rather?" over Arthur and Lancelot. The rest is history!
02. Do you think you'll stay in this fandom or eventually move on?
I'm not going to bother addressing these separately, because my response is the same for all. I harbor a shockingly consistent amount of fandom loyalty to, well, basically everything. Once bitten by the love bug, it takes quite a bit to budge me! I'm trying to think of the last fandom I flat-out quit and... honestly, nothing is coming to mind. Of course there are things that drift out of prominence after a while -- I mean, compare how HUGELY INSANELY EXCITED I was for the first Harry Potter film with how "Oh, hey, I guess another one of those things is rolling around some time" I am with HPB -- but I can still flail with the best of them when the opportunity arises, and it takes quite a lot to taint any pre-established affections (case in point: ROBIN HOOD). So, um, long story short? I'm in it for the long haul.
03: What are your favorite episodes/books/movies/etc?
(Warning: THIS IS HARD. EXCUSE ME WHILE I ANGUISH. I hate narrowing down favorites. I love everything in its own special way!)
Star Trek: (I'll limit myself to TOS and DS9, as they're the series for which I've seen every episode.)
TOS: AUUUGHHHH SO MANY. "The Immunity Syndrome" still holds a hugely special place in my heart for the aforementioned reason. I love love LOVE the heck out of "Journey to Babel" for all the Amanda/Sarek drama. "Mirror, Mirror"? Who doesn't list that as a favorite episode? And I've always had a quiet but heartfelt affection for "Metamorphosis," which is just its own unlikely little sinister and yet oddly beautiful love story. "Bread and Circuses" just for the Spock/McCoy prison scene. Oh, and STV is totally my favorite of the films. Yeah, stick that on your transporter pad and beam it.
DS9: I... I... I honestly have no idea of where to even begin. This is such an arc driven show, and everything fits in its own perfect place, and picking them out just seems wrong. So, that said, episodes I have been driven to revisit from time to time... "Explorers," for the Sisko family joys and the Bashir/O'Brien drunken confessions of love. "Indiscretion"/"Return to Grace" because I just love that arc of Dukat's storyline, and the weirdly compelling tensions of the Kira/Dukat dynamic. "In the Cards" because it's so damn cute. "Far Beyond the Stars" because HOT DAMN PEOPLE THIS IS INVENTIVE AND RELEVANT SCIFI AT ITS BEST. "Badda-Bing, Badda-Bang" because I love Vic, too, and everybody looked totally smokin'.
Psych: I've probably watched "9 Lives" the most times, and even after at least a dozen viewings it still ranks as one of the most hilarious hours of television in the history of ever. Then me being, well, me, I am also perhaps overly fond of every Lassicentric episode ("From the Earth to the Starbucks"! "Dis-Lodged"! "Lassie Did a Bad, Bad Thing"! "Spoiler Spoiler Spoiler Title from Yet-to-Air S4 Ep Blurb and Even Though I Haven't Seen the Episode Yet I Already Know It's Going to Rock My Face Off"!). And...? I don't know! This is one of the most consistently hilarious shows! It might be easier to just list off which episodes weren't my favorite ("American Duos," with the exception of Tim Curry's scenes; "There Might Be Blood"... that's about it, every other episode is amazing).
Merlin: "To Kill the King." Okay, now I feel bad for not anguishing over this one because somehow I worry that might imply that Merlin doesn't have as many good episodes for me to choose from, which of course is not true. In just 13 episodes it managed to run through a hefty variety of action, adventure, romance, angst, swordplay, travel quests, deaths, near-deaths, magic, mystery... each worthwhile in its own way. But, oh, when it comes right down to it, the episodes that get me the most are always the heartwrenching relationship-strained-to-breaking-point, epic betrayal arcs, and I just bawled my way through this entire episode. AND. THEN. IT ENDED SEMI-HAPPILY??? The Uther/Morgana hug it so completely my favourite moment of the entire series. The music, the emotion, the framing, the BIG CRAZY SWIRLY CAPES OF ENGULFING LOVE -- gahhhh.
04: Do you participate in this fandom (fan fiction, graphics, discussions, etc)?
Again, one answer for all: I participate in general episode chatter, occasional iconing, and frequent cheerleading of others more artistically blessed/motivated than myself.
05: Do you think that more people should get into this fandom?
Star Trek: Yes! But Trek is such a timeless thing, and has so many different incarnations, that I feel like it's going to maintain it's appeal in some form no matter what.
Psych: Yes! Because then maybe more people will laugh when I bust out Psych quotes at all times. I do enjoy that this is one of my smaller fandoms, though; it seems to fit the feel of the show, being rather low-key and quirky (but, well, that certainly doesn't preclude me from telling everybody to WATCH WATCH WATCH the show anyway).
Merlin: Yes! Especially over here in America. I can't say I'm really surprised that the show hasn't had a huge take-off in the US, but it's nevertheless disappointing because I'm sure it could find a rather wide popular audience if people would just give it a try. As far as I'm concerned, any and all support for fun weekly action-adventure costume dramas is always appreciated.
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no subject
Date: 2009-07-07 04:41 am (UTC)2) Ha, I also totally intend to watch more Psych. I've only seen like, one and a half episodes, and I find it utterly charming, but it feels so less epic than other things, so I keep putting it off. For shame!
3) MERLIN! "To Kill a King!" Uther and Morgana! Swirly capes!
4) Meme?
no subject
Date: 2009-07-07 01:42 pm (UTC)2) DOUBLE EEEE. I do know what you mean because, well, it's not like it has HUGE MAD BRAIN-BREAKING PLOTTING or CRAZY INSANE MAGICAL TWISTS or GROUNDBREAKING WORLD BUILDING or what have you, and it's pretty predictable viewing in that I know every episode is going to be an absurd mystery, involve many 80s references, have Shawn and Gus be goofy together, have Shawn and Lassiter engage in their strange sexual chemistry, have Lassiter and Jules be adorable and partner-y, and somehow they will all save the day within 42 minutes... But at the same time it's just so consistent that I don't have to anguish over it like I do with the rest of my fandoms. And, you know, in the most recent series especially, the show has demonstrated that it can pull out the quiet angsty character backstory development when needed. So while it isn't as much with the high-strung intensity as many of my other shows, it's just so gosh darned entertaining and wonderful.
3) Yes! Yes! YESSSS!! In putting together this post I just had to go back and rewatch those last few minutes over again, and... oh... I love the two of them more than is healthy. And now somehow I'm sure I'm setting myself up for Robin Hood levels of character angst because of course both Uther and Morgana are going to eventually get in the way of the Hero plot and then I will be very sad indeed.
4) Hm... Mad Men, Robin Hood, and Disney (movies, music, TV, whatever).
no subject
Date: 2009-07-07 05:10 am (UTC)But, c'mon, no "Doctor Bashir, I Presume?" in those favorite episodes? ^.^ Also, lurve "Far Beyond the Stars."
no subject
Date: 2009-07-07 01:49 pm (UTC)Oh, and did you want me to pick three of your fandoms to post about?
no subject
Date: 2009-07-07 05:43 pm (UTC)One half of me has been saying for, like, a month now that I should rewatch DS9. And then the other half of me is like "WE JUST DID THAT LAST YEAR, STOP."
Sure, all I've got today is work :P
no subject
Date: 2009-07-07 08:33 pm (UTC)Augh, long-standing Trek frustration! I'll admit that my fannish inclinations usually lean more towards Bashir/O'Brien, but, man, Bashir/Garak was just so blatant (I think Andrew Robinson even said that he intentionally played their first meeting as if Garak was hitting on Julian?) and yet even then it was still never a relationship/attraction that could be acknowledged as such. It seems like TPTB are always saying that they'd love to have LGBT characters join the franchise... but maybe next time... or the time after that... or...!! And suddenly it's strung out for 40+ years. I mean, what do we get in DS9? There's that episode where Jadzia meets a former lover, but then it's all "we used to be straight and are now only homosexual in a star-crossed and tragic manner"; and then all the Mirrorverse episodes where we could tell who the baddies were because they're all lesbians. SIIIIIGH.
Ahem, anyway. Three fandoms: Stargate: Atlantis, Leverage, and Bruce Campbell.
no subject
Date: 2009-07-07 08:37 pm (UTC)Yep, he did. And that scene is so totally blatant with it haha
all the Mirrorverse episodes where we could tell who the baddies were because they're all lesbians
Ugh, I know! It's like "hey, that Kira must be evil, she's bisexual!" Soooo annoying. And they're always talking about how Rodenberry wanted to introduce a gay character or something, but then the studio always holds back on it. Sure, some Trekkies are annoying geeks who feel gay characters threaten their own tentative hold on heterosexuality and want to live vicariously through the characters because they'll never get decent sex, but I'd say the majority of Trek fans are openminded enough to accept gay characters.