Sanctuary thus far
Feb. 27th, 2011 04:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kindkitI'm caught up now. I don't have all that much to say, really, because I'm still upset about 3x09 and the writers just ignoring Henry and the Big Guy's closeness. And doing so for no good reason. In fact, the most plausible reasons I can imagine are the worst ones: (a) they're downplaying the emotional attachment in order to demonstrate Henry's heterosexuality, and/or (b) they've decided that Kate, as The Girl, should be the one who's nice and comforting and whom the other team members should turn to when they're in trouble. That's a horrible thought, because it fucks up Kate's character too, and I've grown to like her.
Seriously, this comes close to overshadowing everything else in S3 for me. I'm that disappointed. It's not just the slashy thing--I can think of ways around it for fanfic, and I'm fully aware that Henry was always Officially Heterosexual--it's the lack of respect for what, for me, was a key emotional aspect of the show. I loved the way the Big Guy and Henry were together, in part because it's so rare. How often, on TV or in movies, are men allowed to openly express that much tenderness for one another? *sigh*
Anyway. Lots of other stuff was going on that was pretty cool, e.g. the hollow earth and the underground city (zeppelins!) and the possible rekindling of John and Helen's relationship (which is cool in the sense that I think they do still love each other, but oh, the potential trainwreck), and new revelations about the Five. Alas, I didn't love "For King and Country" as much as I'd expected to. Not enough James, too much Adam Worth. Any Adam Worth is too much, as far as I'm concerned. His manpain is tedious and I'm finding it hard to get past the fact that his Hyde voice sounds like Eddie Izzard's imitation of James Mason.
I'm a bit worried that the show has bitten off more than it can chew. Introducing a whole new civilization is kind of ambitious, and it felt like all the other aspects of the show were given short shrift in order to make room for it. The resolution of the serial killer plot, for instance (assuming it is completely resolved) was quite hasty. There may be emotional repercussions about the Big Guy having killed someone (and if there are, Henry had better damn well be there for them), but the plot itself just seems to have been dropped as an encumbrance.
I dunno. I got into the show as silly fun, and then I started to caretoo much a lot about certain characters, and now every episode has the potential to upset me and I don't like this feeling. Blech. And on top of that, there's the knowledge that the things I most want to see will never happen.
After the whole Top Gear imbroglio, which seriously dented my affection for the show and the fandom, I'd really really really like to just be fannishly happy with something. Why can't there be a sff show with fun adventures and nifty creative worldbuilding and solid characters and good dialogue and decent representation of both queer people and same-sex relationships? (Do not say Torchwood. No, really, don't. Or I will rant for the umpteenth time about the show's homophobic trajectory and we'll all be bored.)
Seriously, this comes close to overshadowing everything else in S3 for me. I'm that disappointed. It's not just the slashy thing--I can think of ways around it for fanfic, and I'm fully aware that Henry was always Officially Heterosexual--it's the lack of respect for what, for me, was a key emotional aspect of the show. I loved the way the Big Guy and Henry were together, in part because it's so rare. How often, on TV or in movies, are men allowed to openly express that much tenderness for one another? *sigh*
Anyway. Lots of other stuff was going on that was pretty cool, e.g. the hollow earth and the underground city (zeppelins!) and the possible rekindling of John and Helen's relationship (which is cool in the sense that I think they do still love each other, but oh, the potential trainwreck), and new revelations about the Five. Alas, I didn't love "For King and Country" as much as I'd expected to. Not enough James, too much Adam Worth. Any Adam Worth is too much, as far as I'm concerned. His manpain is tedious and I'm finding it hard to get past the fact that his Hyde voice sounds like Eddie Izzard's imitation of James Mason.
I'm a bit worried that the show has bitten off more than it can chew. Introducing a whole new civilization is kind of ambitious, and it felt like all the other aspects of the show were given short shrift in order to make room for it. The resolution of the serial killer plot, for instance (assuming it is completely resolved) was quite hasty. There may be emotional repercussions about the Big Guy having killed someone (and if there are, Henry had better damn well be there for them), but the plot itself just seems to have been dropped as an encumbrance.
I dunno. I got into the show as silly fun, and then I started to care
After the whole Top Gear imbroglio, which seriously dented my affection for the show and the fandom, I'd really really really like to just be fannishly happy with something. Why can't there be a sff show with fun adventures and nifty creative worldbuilding and solid characters and good dialogue and decent representation of both queer people and same-sex relationships? (Do not say Torchwood. No, really, don't. Or I will rant for the umpteenth time about the show's homophobic trajectory and we'll all be bored.)
no subject
Date: 2011-02-28 10:34 am (UTC)*sighs* Where do I sign up for this mythical show? I want to read/watch/experience it. No wonder every time I do NaNo, my world is 90% queer.
If it's any comfort, it's really nice to be sharing a fandom with you again - if there was any way I could make the show better for you, I'd do it in a second. I like your writing, I like the way you do sci-fi, and I wish creators would stop letting you down.
(And Adam was annoying - I liked the idea of seeing the Five from the outside, and the story arc about him feeling excluded, but it should have stopped there. Megalomaniac Adam is as boring as shit.)
no subject
Date: 2011-02-28 07:28 pm (UTC)It balances out how the way so many other fictional worlds are 100% heterosexual. Especially, alas, sff ones.
I have a real problem with finding stuff to watch/read, because sff tends to have no LGBT characters, or no significant, recurring, non-evil ones. On the other hand, the texts that do have LGBT characters are mostly soaps and sitcoms, which don't interest me.
it's really nice to be sharing a fandom with you again
Thank you! And, you know, ditto. (Have I mentioned my nefarious plan to lure you into writing some Henry/Big Guy? It's quite nefarious.)
As pissed off as I am about That Thing in 3x09, I can feel my affection for the show coming back. It's got a lot of characters I really like, and apart from the sudden heterosexual shippiness as far as the eye can see, it's going in directions I find appealing.
I liked the idea of seeing the Five from the outside, and the story arc about him feeling excluded, but it should have stopped there.
Yes, exactly. The exclusion thing, the cliqueishness of the Five, that was really interesting. But they've kept Adam around for too long and made him too central. Plus, whoever decided on the "dead daughter" backstory seriously overegged the pudding.