Good thoughts! I think there is definitely a difference - I watched all of Buffy and Angel in a marathon, and barely stopped to think between episodes. And I have to say, I had very few well-formed opinions about where the show should go or whether the choices made were good or bad. I was just going with the flow, and clearly loving it enough that I couldn't wait to get to the next episode.
But then I got involved in fandom, and I feel like I've retroactively gained a lot of that real-time examination and speculation. Part of it is my role as a fanfic writer - I have to think about the road not taken in order to come up with fic ideas. But I suppose the difference is that I know what I'm writing is the road not taken, so there's no big let-down in discovering that the writers disagree with me - I knew that when I started.
But there is a different kind of let-down. I've gone back and rewatched episodes, read a lot of meta, and participated in a lot of discussions. And things I glossed over in my initial marathon watch are now getting a lot more attention and scrutiny. I'm now questioning things that, on first viewing, I just accepted. And I'm finding that some things don't hold up to that kind of scrutiny. Season six bothered me a hell of a lot more the second time around, even though I watched at relatively the same pace.
When I think about it, I think I liked Buffy both more and less the first time I saw it. I was entertained; it was a great ride. But it didn't really mean anything to me. It didn't challenge me or make me think. Going over it a second time, delving deeper, I find myself disappointed by the show more often, but I also see it as a richer, more fulfilling experience. For all its faults, I do enjoy the meta and dissection it prompts.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2009-01-14 11:23 pm (UTC)But then I got involved in fandom, and I feel like I've retroactively gained a lot of that real-time examination and speculation. Part of it is my role as a fanfic writer - I have to think about the road not taken in order to come up with fic ideas. But I suppose the difference is that I know what I'm writing is the road not taken, so there's no big let-down in discovering that the writers disagree with me - I knew that when I started.
But there is a different kind of let-down. I've gone back and rewatched episodes, read a lot of meta, and participated in a lot of discussions. And things I glossed over in my initial marathon watch are now getting a lot more attention and scrutiny. I'm now questioning things that, on first viewing, I just accepted. And I'm finding that some things don't hold up to that kind of scrutiny. Season six bothered me a hell of a lot more the second time around, even though I watched at relatively the same pace.
When I think about it, I think I liked Buffy both more and less the first time I saw it. I was entertained; it was a great ride. But it didn't really mean anything to me. It didn't challenge me or make me think. Going over it a second time, delving deeper, I find myself disappointed by the show more often, but I also see it as a richer, more fulfilling experience. For all its faults, I do enjoy the meta and dissection it prompts.