Post in which I'm totally out of step with fandom...

[shipperx]

Browsing around the net (and, yeah, TWOP) sometimes is an experience in feeling completely out of step with prevailing wisdom or everyone... or both simultaneously.

The original thought for this post came when making the mistake at looking at TWOP's 24 forum. I swear, want to be unhappy with a show, go to TWOP. They've raised it... well, not to an artform but to something.

I mean, I know how to be negative about a show. You know the last season of BtVS? I can be really negative. But sometimes I look at TWOP and... is there anything (other than Veronica Mars) that we're actually allowed to like?

Anyway, my totally out of sync with fandom feelings about a few tv shows:

24 - Personally, I think this season has fucking rocked! I know there are nitpicks to be made by the bazillion. But I look at 24 as a roller-coaster ride, and my only question has been whether I've enjoyed the ride. This season, I definitely have. Oh, I choked up and cried when they killed Edgar. And I stared in disbelief when the killed Tony. No, happiness wasn't the reaction there. But I thought Edgar's death carried the appropriate shock and horror, and made the point about the randomness of death. (Tony's death wasn't nearly as well done, which is a shame). Weller makes an awesome, scary, smart villain. I've loved the gutsy First Lady from the point where she seduced her way into the file room, to her placing herself in the limo in a desperate attempt to protect the Russian President. I want her to hook-up with Aaron the Secret Service Agent because... at first it looked like the President was an incompetent weenie, but now he just looks like an all-out self-serving bastard who somewhere crossed the line into being just plain evil. The First Lady deserves better and I hope she'll be allowed to kick her husband's sorry ass before the season is out! Chloe dependably rocks with her sour puss face. Audrey has been rehabilitated to being a loyal and relatively interesting character. And the hours just move along with lightening speed. 24 is serving up all the action, excitement, and tension that it was designed to-- so screw the details. Why sweat the small stuff? Enjoy the freaking ride. I've found this season of 24 to be fast-paced and fun.

Lost -- Similar to 24, I honestly don't get what all the grousing over on TWOP is really about. I've thought this season has been better than the first. Maybe it's my X-File history showing up, but these people who are so hot and heavy and OBSESSED with wanting the answers and wanting them now should just give up because they are doomed to disappointment. Mytharcs will never, on any show, live up to fandom speculation. No show can pull that off (and to their credit, the producers seem to realize that). Like 24 the purpose of Lost is to enjoy the ride. I've thought the elaborate Dharma Initiative has been creepy and fun. Henry Gale has been a hoot as he subtly manipulates the survivors. Some of the flashback episodes leave things to be desired because they're retreading old ground, but the stuff on the island has been, in my eyes, just plain fun. The characters are de-evolving this season (which always places the audience on edge), but it gives a wonderfully sinister tone as their nerves are worked upon and anarchy is just a few steps away. Paranoia is rampant, and why shouldn't it be? With all of these bizarre connections, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you. I don't obsess over the stuff because that only leads to disappointment. Been there, done that with XF black oil. I'm not worried about solving the mystery. Pfft! That's never going to work out well. I just want to enjoy the testosterone contests between Locke, Jack, and Sawyer. I want to worry about Jim and Sun. I want to watch Mr. Eko be a Zen-like badass. I don't even mind Kate this season, which is a huge improvement over the last one. I want to see Locke and Jack come to loggerheads. I want to see what mindfuck Henry Gale is going to pull next. I want to see Sayid's sexy hair, and Jin shirtless. I want Hurley to figure out where he knows Libby from. I want confirmation that Locke's father is the orginal "Sawyer" who destroyed wittle James Ford's life (and Our!Sawyer to realize that he, himself, is responsble for who James Ford became). These are the things I'm intersted in, and why I'm quite satisfied with the show and (more shockingly) the pacing this year. In my eyes they've been handing out answers generously enough. I don't need them to spill their entire wad now. I like them dribbling it out drop by drop. That's right -- I'm happy with Lost. Shocking, isn't it? Please, don't hate me.

And in case this all sounds Pollyanna let me proceed to where I'm so out of step with fandom that I'm actually nervous to mention it...

Sigh. I don't care for Veronica Mars.

I know! I'm supposed to. I must be missing some VM gene or something.

I've watched over eight episodes (nearly all of which were in Season 1). And last night, with nothing that I usually watch on, I watched VM again, and... I'm still not into it. I've tried. The closest I've come to actually enjoying the show was the little scene last night where Wallace watched what was basically "E! True Hollywood Story" on Logan's parents and suddenly he felt a bit of sympathy for Logan. That was a nice little scene, but, overall, I remain rather 'meh' on the show.

'Logan' is a good actor with a nicely understated way of deliverying snarky lines. I admire that, but I can't lust over the guy because he looks fourteen... which is in contrast to my impression of Kristin Bell who looks nothing like a teenager to my eyes. Yeah, she's petite and pretty, but she looks every inch the 20-something she actually is (if not a scant bit older than she actually is). And Veronica's dialog always seems a bit too witty, meaning most of the time I'm inordinately aware that someone wrote a clever line for her to say rather than it seeming to me that she thought it up herself. (Heck, even with my multitude of Buffy and SMG issues, I think this area of characterization was handled better on BtVS where I always felt the fiction that Buffy's words originated with Buffy instead of a script writer was adequately maintained). With Veronica there's just some sort of dichotomy that I cannot pin down where I'm always aware that there's a script involved. I buy the snark from Logan (and I totally bought it from Jeremy Piven on Thomas' earlier show "Cupid".) For some, verbal wit comes naturally to an actor (even if the actor him/herself wouldn't be witty in person, they have a natural delivery of the line). With Kristin Bell's character... I don't know. I just haven't felt it. (Which isn't to say that I didn't LOVE her as the evil little prostitute who met a very bad end on Deadwood. Just that for some reason, I'm far less enamoured of Veronica.)

And then, there's something about the art direction. Again, I can't pinpoint it, but I find myself constantly noticing the art direction on the show. It distracts me to the point that I'd wish they'd seriously tone it down. Art direction isn't supposed to drag me out of the story, but in every episode that I've seen, there have been numerous examples of overt art direction that caught my attention until it dominated my attention, more than the story on sceen. (And seriously, fewer attention grabbing camera angles would be equally welcome. I find it distracting and vaguely irritating). I just don't care for how noticeable the art direction often is. (I had a similar issue with Firefly, and even occasionally BSG but, strangely, despite it being every bit as ostentatious, not nearly as much an issue with Farscape... which only shows that I have no consistency on this issue. I'm being contradictory and even somewhat hypocritical. I admit it).


Have I just ostracized myself from fandom? I'm not saying I'm right on any of these issues, or that my opinion carries any weight (or that it should). I just seem to be totally out of step with the bulk of fandom these days, and sometimes it feels somewhat curious. (Though I've always been stubborn an opinionated :)

Comments

[jerrymcl89.livejournal.com]

It seems to me that '24' is doing what '24' does about as well as possible. If people don't like what '24' does, well, they should follow some other show.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

That's been my feeling about 24. It's supposed to be a thrill ride, and as long as they're keeping it tense and exciting with my rooting against the bad guys, they're doing what they're supposed to be doing.

[sp23.livejournal.com]

I only really got into 24 last season, and I, like you, am really loving this season. You CANNOT take this show seriously. It's so over-the-top, it looks down on the Chrysler Building. But that's the point. It's total escapism where black and white are blended together into a very murky shade of gray, where an episode in which Jack Bauer doesn't torture someone feels like an incomplete episode, where people get from one end of LA to the other end in FIVE MINUTES, OMG NEVER! This season has been really wild, and I'm loving it. ::sniff, Edgar::

I've had my ups-and-downs with Lost this season, but right now, I'm enjoying it quite a bit. I think part of my dissatisfaction with it comes from the long breaks between episodes that networks make us suffer through that disrupts the rhythm of the show. Lost is one of those shows, I think, that will work better viewed in a marathon on DVD.

I watched the first season of VM on DVD as I didn't get UPN then, and while I enjoyed it, for all the comparisons I kept seeing crop up, it's no Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

[mlgm.livejournal.com]

I kinda thought the president is evil not stupid might been one too many twist; but not so twisty as to derail how much I've enjoyed this season.

As for Lost, I'm no where near as interested in the answers as I am in having interesting questions.

I will this once forgive you for your inexplicable ability to love my favorite, Veronica Mars. ;>

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

ITA on all three shows. This is my first season watching 24 and I'm having a blast. Lost may not be as amazing this year as last, but it's still twisty and fun. I look on both shows as rollercoasters, as you said of 24. I don't try to figure out what's coming; I just enjoy the ride. As for VM? I tried it and watched a good whack of S1 when it aired, and I can't stand it.

::happily marches out of step with the world of fandom::

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

I predict that the President will be BOTH evil and stupid. Weller's character is the brains of the outfit.

[kellyhk.livejournal.com]

Apparently, I lack the VM gene as well because the show doesn't do anything for me.

My biggest loves this year, and like you, I am happy with the pacing are BSG and Lost. You're right, the pacing on Lost is fine. I think I would be bored if they shot their wad and revealed everything at once. It's like reading a good book or fic: each chapter tweaks you to want to know more.

And then there's the Sopranos. I'm convinced that Jerry and I are the only ones who ever squee about it.

[deborahw37.livejournal.com]

I often find TWOP pointlessly snarky, their Buffy recaps used to drive me mad though the Smallville ones are great!.

And I too have tried and failed to get into VM . I;ve seen several episodes but it seems rather derivative to me . I guess I'm out of step too.

And Lost is FABULOUS this season.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Heh, well, I'm too cheap to pay for HBO. :)

[mlgm.livejournal.com]

I confess I keep up with the Sopranos via DVD myself.

[txvoodoo.livejournal.com]

Obviously, I'm with you on Lost.

I just blithely go my way and enjoy it, ignoring negative opinions out there. I have enough confidence in my own opinions of what I like to frankly not give a shit ;)

And I tried VM, and don't like it for whatever reason. It didn't do what I need a show to do in order for me to watch it and look forward to it.

So, que sera :D There's plenty of good stuff on for me to enjoy!

:D

[queenofattolia.livejournal.com]

Totally agree about Lost and Veronica Mars, although of course you know I was one of the ones duped into believing VM was a quality show because of S1. Great analogy between Lost and The X-Files, too, something that occurred to me last week as I watched some old XF episodes (although I didn't put it together as clearly as you have). To paraphrase the subtitle title of a great old '60s film, Lost fans should just stop worrying and learn to love the mytharc, obfuscation, illogic, bad continuity, boring flashbacks and all. With these sorts of shows it's the journey not the resolution which is the payoff. This is why I can still watch old XF episodes with such pleasure. Stop the obsession, obsessos! You're ruining all the fun.

As for VM - you're totally right about both the Logan and Veronica characters, even as far back as last season when I was still watching. In any given episode I always expected Veronica to heave a sigh of frustration and say "Where's my goddamn Martini?" as a natural progression of her general un-teen-like bearing and demeanor. And Logan, for all intents and purposes, is a kid -- looks like a kid, snarks like a highly intelligent kid, and therefore is totally off-limits as an object of sexual or romantic fixation (ew). So basically, no fun there anymore. Plus it's obviously devolved into a teen soap on par with The OC and who wants to watch that?

This is why I only watch The Sopranos, Lost and Doctor Who with any regularity now (also watch House and L&O:CI when I'm home and I remember they're on). I can't wait for Deadwood and Rome to come back, but beyond these shows and the random BBC or PBS series, I'm totally off TV shows and fandoms -- and relieved to be.

[cy-girl.livejournal.com]

Kirsten Bell rocked hard on Deadwood, but I haven't been able to get passionate about Veronica Mars. Maybe I'm just too damn old to care about a teen drama.

I've missed 24 this season but will catch up with it on DVD. I totally agree with you on Lost. It's been a fun season and there's been, like, 80% less Kate and some guests. The guy who plays Henry Gale is fantastic.

[rahirah]

I've been enjoying Lost this season, and the only real gripe I've has has been the repetitious nature of soem of the flashbacks. (There's the ongoing gripe of How Colossally Stupid Are These People? but that's endemic to the genre and falls into the fun-to-bitch-about category.) The pacing has been much improved--I still think they're making a lot of it up as the go along, but at least they're giving a better illusion of having a plan of some kind.

The other shows I watch regularly (House and Boston Legal) aren't big on plot arcs; they're both disease/case of the week shows, and the fun is in the characters. BL can get preachy on occasion but it's such a bravura preachiness I have to kind of stand back and admire their balls. Plus BL probably has more raw actorly talent per square inch than any other show in TV at the moment. House is flawed, but I've made my peace with the flaws and just sit back and enjoy the snark.

And there's Scrubs, which is brilliant, but perpetually doomed, and My Name is Earl, which is hella funny. All in all, not a bad season.

[mlgm.livejournal.com]

Boston Legal) aren't big on plot arcs; they're both disease/case of the week shows, and the fun is in the characters. BL can get preachy on occasion but it's such a bravura preachiness I have to kind of stand back and admire their balls. Plus BL probably has more raw actorly talent per square inch than any other show in TV at the moment.

Ohh, I agree about Boston Legal. One reason I think they have so much talent is because they're not afraid to cast people over 25. Spader, Shatner, Bergin are

[mlgm.livejournal.com]

Sorry hit enter to soon.

Was going to say the cast obviously enjoys working with each other, enjoy the story, and know exactly what they're doing.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I watched a few episodes of VM, and it was okay, but it really didn't live up to the hype for me. I only kept watching it because of all the urging about how good it will become. And then my friend stopped with the d/ls around episode 5 I think, and I didn't bother after that.

It wasn't a bad show. But not getting the Logan love, or the hype around it being the new Buffy. Evne Joss seems to be a huge fan. Hmm

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah, 24 is over the top and TOTALLY unrealistic. I'm always surprised when others are suprised by that. But, I forgive 24 because it makes such fun viewing. I get some sort of thrill from yelling at the TV "You idiot! Don't go with Jack! Anyone who goes with Jack DIES!"

"Fat Hobbit is gonna bite it. Yes, he is, precious."

And then they occasionally throw me a curve ball and make me choke up because OMG! They killed Edgar!

It's been enjoyable viewing this year.

As far as LOST, I read Lindelhof wants to change LOST to more the BSG format where they simply split up the season rather than parcelling out new shows and reruns at a nearly random order. I read that he's proposed that next year LOST air in three acts, with blocks of 7 episodes (for each sweeps period).

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

See, I've found 24 to simply be flat-out fun viewing this year. Yes, I'm aware of the complete implausibility of it all... and I don't care. They make each week a fun adventure in "Ohnoz!" "Get him!!!" "Oh, is he going to die?" "Damn, I want the First Lady to bitchslap the President!" "Yep. They're SO dead." Hee!

And I have an entire series of issues with VM. Considering the rampant love for the series, I tend to feel entirely out of step about it. But I've tried -- multiple times -- but the issues?

They linger.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm glad I'm not the only mutant missing the VM gene.

And I enjoy BSG as well. I may have issues with it here and there, but it does interesting things (and tends to have good cliffhangers), so I'm on board with that.

And it's not that I have no quibbles with LOST, it's just that I don't understand the rampant bitching about it. I've rather enjoyed the season. Yeah, I have nits to pick. But not enough that it changes my feeling that they've done a pretty good job this year.

And I've just found 24 to be fun viewing this year.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Well, I don't worry about being out of step with fandom so much as occasionally looking around and going "Whoa! I'm on an entirely different page than the rest of these people!"

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Yeah, every now and then I'll run across and early season episode like "Humbug", "Little Paper Hearts", "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose," "War of the Carophages," "Unruhe," etc. and I'm reminded that the X-Files was creepy, funny, and AWESOME when it was at its best. Yeah, there were downsides, and some clunkers, and the series went on too long. But, damn, when it was good, it was fantastic.

But, yeah, my experience with XF constantly has me at odds with Lost obsessives because -- dude, let me guarentee you now, the mytharc is going to be less than the sum of its parts. Enjoy the frickin' SHOW!

I'm always behind on Deadwood because they don't load too many torrents on that show and I'm too cheap for HBO so I'm always waiting for the DVDs. It is an excellent show, though.

Rome has a tendency to become a bit silly (I still bitch about how they portrayed Cleopatra). But it has its own unique charm and is just weird enough that I totally enjoy it. (Plus, I just love little Octavius)

And I admit to having watched a substantial amount of PBS this year. I loved Elizabeth I: The Virgin Queen so much that I bought the DVD. (see icon). And I totally TiVoed "He Knew He Was Right" because it was just so frothily soapy that it was awesome. :)

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was impressed with her on Deadwood. She was such a little duplicitous bitch. And I do think one of my problems with VM is my total lack of caring about high school clique issues. (Which is made more problematic when I look at Bell and, to my eyes, she looks every inch of her twenty-six years).

And on Lost, I've totally enjoyed LOST. I'm a sucker for characters like that. I think it's one of the reasons I so enjoyed Farscape's Scorpius. I want my villains to be sly, smart, and manipulative. It's more fun that way.


And, yeah, I think this season's 24 will most likely be worth revisiting in DVD. I've loved Jean Smart's frazzled First Lady. The character actor playing the President deserves kudos as well because he's very good at making you really, really hate him. And Buckeroo Bonzai/Robocop is the big villain this year and he's been so very smart and evil that, yeah, it makes rooting for Jack very easy and fun. Some well done twists and surprise endings and, while, yes there are plotholes to drive a transfer truck through, it doesn't matter. It's been fun viewing.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

My problem with Boston Legal is that it has an awesome cast, but the cases seem awfully reminscent of latter season Ally McBeal. I'm reluctant to place a lot of faith in David E. Kelly because I know the man can lose all restraint with his storytelling and things go kerblooey.

That said, Shatner, Spader, and Bergen are awesome. And I admit to liking Mark Valley (who will always but always be "FauxJack" to me, because he replaced my teen crush tv boyfriend Matthew Ashford as "Jack Deveraux" on Days, which would be cause to hate him, except Valley always seemed to be so sweet and deferential about it).

And I too, love My Name is Earl.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

The thing with Logan is that I can see the characteristics that make girl's squee... it's just that he looks like a kid. Seriously, he looks younger than either of my nephews and lusting after him would make me feel like Mary K Laturno. Last year, he looked twelve. This year, maybe fourteen. I have t-shirts older than that. He just can't be a lust puppy for me.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Yeah, TWOP is only fun when it's a truly terrible show or a reality show. If you have any affection for a show, avoid TWOP. It'll kill it and make you unhappy.

And I'm glad I'm not the only one who can't seem to get into VM.