Fan meme

[aelfgyfu_mead]

From astrogirl2:

Comment to this entry and I'll pick up to three of your fandoms. You must then update your journal and answer the following questions:

1. What got you into this fandom in the first place?
2. Do you think you'll stay in this fandom or eventually move on?
3. Favorite episodes/books/movies, etc?
4. Do you participate in this fandom (fanfiction, graphics, discussions)?
5. Do you think more people should get into this fandom?

Astro chose: SG1, Doctor Who, and Blake's 7.

Stargate SG-1
1. This is a long story that I've probably repeated way too often, but since you asked. . . .
We saw Stargate the Movie when I was in grad school. It was a blast, almost literally. The effects and the sound system at the theater practically knocked me out of my seat. I loved Daniel Jackson. I came to love Jack O'Neil (yes, with one 'l'). The show started on Showtime, right? We get Expanded Basic; we don't get pay channels. I couldn't watch. Some of it was sour grapes, probably, but there was also a very strong streak of "if they don't have James Spader, they must be joking; nobody else can be Daniel Jackson."
Meanwhile, we got into Farscape (starting in the middle). When SG-1 came to SciFi, Brilliant Husband watched the first episode, which would be s6. I didn't really sit down to watch; I came and went through the room, and I'd pause for a bit and watch, and I'd say, "Man, Jack's in a bad mood!" and then, ultimately, "Why would anybody watch hour after hour of O'Neill being a jerk?" BH agreed and didn't watch again in s6. I didn't sit down for two reasons: a) I knew that Daniel was dead (well, I thought he was dead) and b) they didn't have James Spader playing Daniel!
Then Farscape was canceled and I was desperate for a show I could call my own, and, honestly, Farscape never really made it to being my show; it was simply too disturbing. Too much torture, mutilation, death, etc.
I tuned in just in case SG-1 was any good, and we watched "Fallen" and "Homecoming," and I was hooked. Partly, I think it had finally been long enough that I could forgive Michael Shanks for not being James Spader. Partly, I was actively looking for a Show. Partly? I just loved the camaraderie!

2. I have gotten into other fandoms, but SG-1 is my first online fandom. I find I'm not reading so much SGA fic anymore, or Torchwood; my Primeval fic has always been somewhat limited, even though I'm writing some. I still keep looking for SG-1 fic; I seek it out far more than anything else. I suppose all things must come to an end eventually, so my involvement in this fandom may end. I don't see it happening anytime soon.

3. I wasn't so fond of the movies (after the first Stargate, which is not SG-1!). It's hard to think of favorite episodes; I've enjoyed so many! I really enjoyed "Crystal Skull" for no good reason. It has massive bloopholes. I think "Forever in a Day" may be one of the best, but it just hurts so much that I've only watched it once! The same is true for "Heroes." I really liked "Need"; I think I'm a Jack and Daniel fan above all, though I also love Sam and Teal'c. "2010" was a great one.
I don't read the published books. I read lots of fic. I'm loathe to list my favorite authors or stories here, however, because I know I'll forget people and stories, and frankly I'm spending enough space on this one fandom for the meme!

4. Totally! I write and read fic, I get into discussions; I even get into some of the redial_the_gate discussions (and did one meta for them) though I've never rewatched any episodes in sync with Redial the Gate!

5. I wouldn't say more people should get into it now. There simply aren't new episodes, and as a fan, I find it harder to get into that sort of show. I certainly wouldn't turn anyone away, but I'm not out there seeking converts (though I suppose that's true of most shows).

Doctor Who
1. I got into DW around sixth grade; I think someone suggested I watch, but I don't rightly remember. Once I started watching, I was hooked. The show has been part of my life for far too long; it feels as though it was always there. I watched episodes on PBS until college, when I joined a DW fan club. There I met Brilliant Husband and one of my best friends ever.

2. I will never move on. I may add fandoms, but DW remains.

3. How the heck am I supposed to answer this? We're talking three decades of episodes! I can't even pick my favorite Tenth Doctor stories, for heaven's sake! Also, I now have a problem remembering titles.
Okay, with IMDb's help as an aide de mémoire: Ninth Doctor: "Aliens of London" and "World War Three" (Harriet Jones for the win!), "The Doctor Dances"; Tenth Doctor: "The Christmas Invasion," "School Reunion" ("I am the tin dog!" Oh, Mickey, I always loved you--and with Sarah Jane and Rose, how could we lose? Who cares what the plot is?), "Army of Ghosts" and "Doomsday", "Human Nature" and "Family of Blood," "Blink", and the trilogy starting with "The Sound of Drums"; "Partners in Crime," "Silence in the Library"--and gosh, that's just since the revival! Just a few blasts from the past: "An Unearthly Child" (episode one only)--oh, heck, this would take forever. Favorite companions (not necessarily in any order): Donna, Martha, and Rose; Sarah Jane (forever!); Ace; Jamie (man, I wish more of those episodes survived), the second Romana.

4. Actually, I mostly avoid the fandom now. I did love being in the DW fan club in college, as I said. I avoid Internet fandom for this show, and I read virtually no fic in it. Too many people seem to favor one character and hate another, or hate certain writers or producers . . . I found even two of my younger friends with whom I've had lots of fannish conversations on many shows hated "Journey's End" and had all kinds of complaints, so mostly I don't even talk about it, except with BH, Small Child, and sometimes that one friend from college!
I have committed one story ("Goodbye"), excepting my youthful scribblings in college. I'm really proud of "Goodbye," but as far as I know, only about half a dozen people have actually read it! (Though loriel_eris helps make up in enthusiasm for it what it lacks in numbers; a few other people left very nice comments, but Loriel keeps saying nice things about it!)

5. Yes, I do. It's the Show That Won't Die. It may hibernate for years, but it keeps coming back. Yes, it's a flawed show in many ways, and each incarnation has its own problems (of the show, not the Doctor, but I suppose the same applies to him). I don't think about the problems a whole lot. I think a lot of people could find something to love in it!

Blake's 7
1. I hadn't heard of the show until I got to the DW fan club in college. We watched DW on videotape, and several other shows--including B7. I fell in love instantly. What more can I say?

2. I'm not exactly in the fandom anymore; I very rarely read any fic in it, and I think all I've read lately has been by astrogirl2. I don't get into Internet discussions of it. I do, however, have all four seasons on DVD (region 2), so I can rewatch . . . as soon as I have time. (Okay, you can stop laughing any time now.)

3. Yes! "Spacefall," "Blake," "Rumours of Death"; there are more, but that's a start.

4. Not really; see #2.

5. For the most part no, for the same reason as SG-1; a fandom isn't the same if you start after the show has ended. Still, I think aurora_novarum should definitely watch, and perhaps redbyrd_sgfic, and, well, anyone on my flist.

Comments

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

and, honestly, Farscape never really made it to being my show; it was simply too disturbing. Too much torture, mutilation, death, etc.

Ha! For some of us, that's part of the attraction. ;)

I don't think I'd heard your "how I started watching SG1" story before, though, so thanks for repeating it for me!

a fandom isn't the same if you start after the show has ended.

And yet, it's almost a standard MO for me. :)

[aurora-novarum.livejournal.com]

I don't think I ever heard the SG-1 story before either!

when I joined a DW fan club. There I met Brilliant Husband and one of my best friends ever.

AWWWWWW!

[aelfgyfu_mead]

I'm not so big on torture and slaughter.

Oh, I thought I'd told my SG-1 story repeatedly, but since Aurora didn't know it either, maybe I didn't do it on LJ.

[astrogirl2.livejournal.com]

I'm not so big on torture and slaughter.

I'm not in RL, but in fiction, I say bring on the wholesale destruction and ensuing wholesale angst. :)

Oh, I thought I'd told my SG-1 story repeatedly, but since Aurora didn't know it either, maybe I didn't do it on LJ.

Of course, it makes sense that I might not have heard it before, having only recently started paying any attention to this whole Stargate thing. :)

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

*HUGS YOU*

[joonscribble.livejournal.com]

I avoid Internet fandom for this show, and I read virtually no fic in it. Too many people seem to favor one character and hate another, or hate certain writers or producers...

Yeah, it sometimes depresses me how much fandom behavior can get me down about the show itself. It sounds like you have a healthy attitude about separating the two, thought.

Comment to this entry and I'll pick up to three of your fandoms.

I'll play!

[aelfgyfu_mead]

Yeah, it sometimes depresses me how much fandom behavior can get me down about the show itself. It sounds like you have a healthy attitude about separating the two, though.

Oh, but I don't; that's why I must avoid the Internet fandom sometimes! If fans are just being jerks, I don't connect it to the show at all. But when I hear people criticizing a particular character, I can't get it out of my head, and I start to wonder if I ought to like that character. Gwen's a good example: I stumbled across a bit too much Gwen-bashing, and I found myself wondering why I liked her at all--and weren't my friends who didn't like her right? I had to get some distance to remember why I liked her after some of the things I saw said! I saw a lot of truth in the criticisms: Gwen makes lots of mistakes. But if we listed Jack's, it would dwarf her list; Ianto's list still makes Gwen's look pretty insignificant; and so on. Actor bashing is the same sort of thing. Often it starts with actual flaws, so then I start obsessing about them instead of just enjoying the strengths of an actor or character.

Okay, here are your three:
Torchwood
Dresden Files
Being Human

[loriel-eris.livejournal.com]

[*is bitter* LJ ate my comment.]

I just read it again. Still crying. *sniff*

Memes like this are cool. Given that 90% of the interaction we see on LJ is fannish, we assume that we know all about people's fannish interests and background. And then memes like this prove how much we don't know.

[aelfgyfu_mead]

Sorry your comment got eaten.

Yes, I was sure I had told everyone about my involvement in DW fandom and meeting Brilliant Husband there, but apparently I didn't do so on LJ!

Okay, your three are:
Doctor Who
Stargate
Farscape

[loriel-eris.livejournal.com]

I now know what I said in my original comment and forgot to re-type: I'm pretty sure that I knew most of your SG1 story, so you have mentioned *somewhere* on LJ. *g*

However, I didn't know your DW & BH story.

Edited for English failure.