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shapinglightI see the mysterious disappearing LJ comments phenomenon is still going on. Wonder what that's all about?
Anyway, after watching the second episode of True Blood last week and still finding the Bill/Sookie relationship about the least interesting thing in the show....
Very slight spoilers within for True Blood and Flash Forward ep 4
....I read some vague spoilers to do with season 3, in which the guy who developed the series (can't remember his name) said that, though other characters would be brought to the fore in the new season, the Bill/Sookie romance would still be the focal centre.
I suppose the show and the books it's based on were built around this romance (very Twilight, though I suppose the Sookie Stackhouse books came first?) so he didn't have much choice. I must say, though, I do think it's a mistake, because it hamstrings the story and prevents it going in the direction of what works. I mean, to this day, I am grateful that BtVS was about Buffy and how she grew up and found her place in the world, not about the great, eternal romance of Buffy and Angel. I liked B/A fine in season 2, but if the show had become all about B/A, I doubt I would have kept on watching - or rather, I might have done, but would have found myself watching for the secondary characters, not the leads, which is how I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up watching True Blood.
In fact, the more I think about it, the more I realise I'm not really a 'shipper. Which is not to say that I don't like romance at all, or that I don't like the characters I like to have romantic relationships. No, it's more that I tend to glom on to particular characters to a greater or lesser extent and go through their journey with them, seeing how they deal with what's thrown at them. In general, this is why I don't feel the need to identify with characters, or even necessarily like them, to find them interesting and want to watch them.
So yes, I wanted Spike/Buffy to work when I was watching the show in real time, but more because Spike wanted Buffy and because I loved him so much, I wanted him to have what he wanted. That didn't happen, or only sort of, but because Spike was still around, I was still happy enough to carry on watching. His personal arc was more important to me than his romantic relationships, which is probably one reason why I found his story so exasperating at times in AtS season 5, because he seemed to be going backwards.
I've previously identified myself as a Spike/Angel 'shipper too, but I'm not really one. I can happily 'ship Spike with lots of characters. I do like him to have romantic/sexual relationships. I just don't need them to be with one particular character.
As for other shows I've loved, like BSG, I've never really 'shipped anyone. I love Starbuck almost as much as I love Spike, but it's her character journey that interests me, not her romances as such. Which is not to say that I don't appreciate romantic (and otherwise) relationships are an important part of character development. Clearly they are. Without Buffy, Spike would still be a two-dimensional villain etc etc. But I'm not a 'shipper.
At least, I don't think so, but maybe I just don't understand the term properly. To me, it means being invested in a particular relationship and that relationship becoming the touchstone of the show, so that if that relationship bombs, it ruins the show for the 'shipper in question. Do other people interpret it differently?
In other telly-related news, I am watching season 4 of The Wire, and it's just as good and just as upsetting as I thought it would be. Bravura scene from Michael K Williams as Omar in the episode I watched today (not to mention some full-frontal nudity), and a horrific shock ending.
Finally, was disgusted to find at the end of last night's ep of Flash Forward that I was right. The characters with British accents are evil. How bloody predictable. Have to say, it's beginning to seriously annoy me. After all, we haven't done anything particularly horrid to Americans since the 1780s. How come we always get picked on?
Anyway, after watching the second episode of True Blood last week and still finding the Bill/Sookie relationship about the least interesting thing in the show....
Very slight spoilers within for True Blood and Flash Forward ep 4
....I read some vague spoilers to do with season 3, in which the guy who developed the series (can't remember his name) said that, though other characters would be brought to the fore in the new season, the Bill/Sookie romance would still be the focal centre.
I suppose the show and the books it's based on were built around this romance (very Twilight, though I suppose the Sookie Stackhouse books came first?) so he didn't have much choice. I must say, though, I do think it's a mistake, because it hamstrings the story and prevents it going in the direction of what works. I mean, to this day, I am grateful that BtVS was about Buffy and how she grew up and found her place in the world, not about the great, eternal romance of Buffy and Angel. I liked B/A fine in season 2, but if the show had become all about B/A, I doubt I would have kept on watching - or rather, I might have done, but would have found myself watching for the secondary characters, not the leads, which is how I'm pretty sure I'm going to end up watching True Blood.
In fact, the more I think about it, the more I realise I'm not really a 'shipper. Which is not to say that I don't like romance at all, or that I don't like the characters I like to have romantic relationships. No, it's more that I tend to glom on to particular characters to a greater or lesser extent and go through their journey with them, seeing how they deal with what's thrown at them. In general, this is why I don't feel the need to identify with characters, or even necessarily like them, to find them interesting and want to watch them.
So yes, I wanted Spike/Buffy to work when I was watching the show in real time, but more because Spike wanted Buffy and because I loved him so much, I wanted him to have what he wanted. That didn't happen, or only sort of, but because Spike was still around, I was still happy enough to carry on watching. His personal arc was more important to me than his romantic relationships, which is probably one reason why I found his story so exasperating at times in AtS season 5, because he seemed to be going backwards.
I've previously identified myself as a Spike/Angel 'shipper too, but I'm not really one. I can happily 'ship Spike with lots of characters. I do like him to have romantic/sexual relationships. I just don't need them to be with one particular character.
As for other shows I've loved, like BSG, I've never really 'shipped anyone. I love Starbuck almost as much as I love Spike, but it's her character journey that interests me, not her romances as such. Which is not to say that I don't appreciate romantic (and otherwise) relationships are an important part of character development. Clearly they are. Without Buffy, Spike would still be a two-dimensional villain etc etc. But I'm not a 'shipper.
At least, I don't think so, but maybe I just don't understand the term properly. To me, it means being invested in a particular relationship and that relationship becoming the touchstone of the show, so that if that relationship bombs, it ruins the show for the 'shipper in question. Do other people interpret it differently?
In other telly-related news, I am watching season 4 of The Wire, and it's just as good and just as upsetting as I thought it would be. Bravura scene from Michael K Williams as Omar in the episode I watched today (not to mention some full-frontal nudity), and a horrific shock ending.
Finally, was disgusted to find at the end of last night's ep of Flash Forward that I was right. The characters with British accents are evil. How bloody predictable. Have to say, it's beginning to seriously annoy me. After all, we haven't done anything particularly horrid to Americans since the 1780s. How come we always get picked on?
no subject
Date: 2009-10-21 02:06 pm (UTC)