Fannish notes

[crypto]

I feel as though my fannish interests are drifting further and further away from the LJ/DW zeitgeist, which makes me hesitant to post about the stuff I'm enjoying. So, as an experiment, I'm going to try to post in code to make my enthusiasms sound more relevant to everyone else's interests.

I've been catching up on The Secret Six Leverage and I'm really enjoying the "band of misfit outlaws" team vibe and Gail Simone's John Rogers' writing. And the characters are great -- I had my doubts about Bane Eliot at first, but I think I like his dynamic with Scandal Savage Sophie.

Another recent find is The Mighty Avengers Merlin. I'll admit, I found the art anachronisms jarring at first, but it's very well done visually. And the writing somehow hits that magical "so wrong, it's right" sweet spot. The characterization of Hank Pym Uther is especially inspired, and I'm intrigued by where they're going with Loki Nimueh.

A pretty strong episode of SYTYCD Canada Supernatural this week; I haven't seen tonight's results show yet, but I'm assuming that Melanie B. Castiel gets eliminated. Still, America's Best Dance Crew House had possibly its best episode this season with the Bollywood challenge.

...okay, I'm stumped for what to substitute for professional wrestling. I guess I haven't used the Star Trek reboot yet: if Randy Orton = James Kirk, who's the WWE's Spock?

Wow, this code thing pretty much went all down hill after Secret Six/Leverage, huh? ETA: or possibly during.

Comments

[anatsuno]

<3

(I always enjoy your creativity! And your posts about things I know nothing about are illuminating, in a way. They broaden my horizon!)

[crypto]

Aw! ♥

Somehow I managed not to say much about anything. When what I really want to say is, Scandal Savage, you're the lesbian mercenary anti-hero supervillain I've been waiting all my life for! Mighty Avengers, how are you managing to skate on the edges of crackfic and still feel like a worthy flagship comic of a legendary superhero team? And everybody knows that the b-boys of Massive Monkeys are pretty much a shoe-in for winner of America's Best Dance Crew this season, but it's so awesome that a bunch of NYC voguers headed up by a fierce trans woman has become the audience's favorite underdog crew! Also, professional wrestling, with your feuds and your gimmicks and your pyrotechnics and and your costumes and your corny announcers and your hapless referees and your male melodrama, why did I ever turn my back on you?

[sara]

I had a lengthy conversation with my daughter on Sunday, at the end of which I finally realized that "the show with the rat-eating and the wizard guy and they did the thing," was not (1) Ratatouille or (2) a Harry Potter movie but, in fact, Merlin.

I have no help to offer with anything else, except to say that I certainly have my own share of obscure fandoms.

[crypto]

I'm pretty much at the "and they did the thing" level these days too. I like hearing about other people's obscure fandoms, but I'm anti-eloquent about my own unless I run across a fellow initiate, who intuits exactly what I mean when I wave my hands around and exclaim that they did the thing.

[sara]

Sadly, I do not think I will be able to share her interest in Merlin. Though at least there were girls hitting bad guys with swords, as well as boys hitting bad guys with swords, which...well, I can't call it a victory for feminism, but at least they weren't tied to something that was on fire, or whatever.

[gchick]

Hrrumph. I will note for the record that anybody hitting anybody with swords is a victory for hitting people with swords.

[sara]

If I didn't know how much you like hitting people with swords....

[crypto]

Supernatural has really lowered the bar for what counts as quasi-feminist fandoms....

[sara]

Yeah, and so have the Disney fucking Princesses ("OooOoh, let's wear nothing but pink and have a crown and a magic wand and go to the ball and get married!" It's revolting. And I say this as someone who's been married for eleven years and really likes to go dancing.)

[crypto]

Yeah, the princess onslaught makes me nostalgic for Nancy Drew. You can't uncover the secrets of Larkspur Lane in a ball gown!

But hey, now that Disney has bought Marvel Comics, maybe Marvel will be a good influence on them. Oh, wait....

[sara]

Princesses...in spandex! With tiny, tiny feet and big guns!

(I'm fixated on Lewis this week. Talk about fandom of one.)

[crypto]

I confess that I had to Google Lewis -- a British spin-off of Inspector Morse?

[sara]

Yep! They fight crime...in Oxford!

(Okay, so part of why I like it is because it's essentially anti-academicwankery. Also, Lewis' sidekick is scary and hot. Show-Oxford is whiter than actual-Oxford, which is too bad, and there's occasionally weird gender stuff with their boss, who is female and has a lot of that stereotypical "women in authority must be irrational bitches" thing going on. But, that aside, I like it.)

[gchick]

The thing! Yes, exactly! Also, that other business, with the guy.

[crypto]

And I couldn't believe when they -- oh, I know! It was so -- Aaaa!

[torachan]

I LOLed at SYTYCD/Supernatural. I know a lot of people who would like Castiel eliminated!

[crypto]

I just can't see the judges demons giving Castiel good reviews on his salsa number....

[lo_rez]

A+++

Alex Drake approves of these shenanigans!

[crypto]

Between you & A2A vids, I keep thinking I need to give the show a second chance. It's just that by the time Life on Mars ended, I was way past ready for it to be over, and that was, what, under 20 episodes total?

[lo_rez]

No pressure! (I like reading squee about shows I'm not watching, mostly.)

And I, too, was soon bored by LoM, though I think it's a well-made show; I didn't have the patience to try matching up all the LoM eps with their A2A counterparts. But I came to it after seeing A2A, and with a negative bias thanks to the prevailing fannish Gene Hunt Will Never Love Some Annoying Woman meme.

That said, here's my VRY SRS opinion: LoM was a well-written but conventional drama dressed up as a time-travel buddy-show hybrid. Ashes to Ashes is an artful and surprisingly (for the medium) astute analysis/critique of the sexual politics of aforementioned formula (including some commentary on the audience) that nevertheless manages to maintain its membership in that set of formulaic narratives in good standing. Plus: funny.

Hm. The Secret Six, eh?

[laurashapiro]

Hee! Possibly you need to borrow this icon...

[crypto]

Ha, I've always loved that icon! This summer, I was increasingly feeling that way about Treks old and new.

[laurashapiro]

Well, it's available for sharing should the urge occur.

(New Trek? Bah, humbug.)

[(Anonymous)]

You think that's hard? Try talking football (somehow proudly and sadly just about my primary fannish passion) on LJ/DW!

That said, Secret Six (GUSH!)!!! I'm no longer picking the single issues (of just about anything these days), but I can't wait for the next trade. Gail kicks ass with these characters and until DC wises up and reboots Birds of Prey with her (again), this will be my favorite capes-n-spandex title.

[crypto]

*tries talking about football; can't think of anything to say; proves your point*

I got the impression that Gail Simone has a lot of freedom with Secret Six precisely because the characters are relatively marginal to the DC universe. Which makes me almost hope that the series keeps flying under the radar and the team doesn't get drawn into the constant mega crossovers or characters poached by more central titles.

[thistleingrey]

Hee. I am still not watching any shows you watch, but that's totally fine by me: I get to read little bits about them, which contributes usefully to my pop-cultural awareness. But maybe I like niches and dells and balance better than the people who think SPN and Leverage or whichever is The Only Show to Watch Right Now.