Fannish thoughts.

[elisi]

Reading 'Mark Watches Buffy' has made me think. Actually, it was this comment by beer_good_foamy to my previous post which really kick-started things:

I'm completely hooked on Mark Watches Buffy. It's so, well, cute how he thinks he has a rough idea of where the show is going from here - and he hasn't even seen Spike and Dru, he has no idea who Giles is, he has no clue about where Willow is going, he thinks Angelus is something that happened in the past... I'm not sure if it's fannishness or sadism that's making me read these reviews, poor kid's in for a world of hurt. :D

Because Mark just flails and CAPSLOCKS and keels over every time the show does something unexpected. He's only just finished 'School Hard' (money quote: HOW IS ALL OF THIS HAPPENING IN THE THIRD EPISODE?) and knowing all the twists and turns that are coming does make the reviews sort of impossible to resist - it'll be ridiculously entertaining watching him have all his expectations demolished.

But here's the thing: He's not exactly a novice when it comes to TV. The second he saw Spike & Angel interact he knew that there must be a gazillion slash fics out there. He's just not used to how BtVS operates... Which made me wonder about how I see the world (as in - TV shows), and how much I've been shaped by BtVS. I've always said that it taught me everything, which is true, but now I'm wondering what it's like for people whose formative fannish experience wasn't Buffy? Who aren't always waiting for the other shoe to drop (people are happy = HORRIBLE THINGS are about to happen); who aren't used to EVERYTHING being subverted; who aren't familiar with the fact that ANYONE could die (and on the flipside - ANYONE could come back, if necessary)...

I'm not entirely sure if this means that I'm suffering from Post-Traumatic Joss Syndrome or whether I've somehow become immune to Righteous ['You Can't DO That!'] Anger/Surprise. (I can get angry with writers, but only if the writing is bad. If they want to end the show with 'Rock Fall, Everyone Dies', then - as long as that's an ending that makes sense - I'll not complain.)

Does any of this make sense? I feel like I've got the hang of something, but I'm terrible at formulating it. I think... it's the idea that a show has to keep to a formula? And then people get upset if it doesn't. It's the constant subversion and the radical changes of Buffy that makes it so different, I guess. Nothing is static, and nothing set in stone. And that is my attitude to anything I watch. For someone to be so SURPRISED at this really just throws me...

Comments

[aerintine.livejournal.com]

I think my Jossian focus has made it so I cannot watch TV correctly anymore. Take Moffat's Who, for example. I really think that the reason I was so often mistaken about how the story would go is I kept expecting Moffat to twist the rug out from under me - I read into lines of dialogue and images way more than was necessary. As I rewatch, I see how completely straightforward the plot is. He tells us what is going to happen and then it happens. The details twist and turn a bit, but they don't change anything. I find this confusing and perplexing. Because, see, I'm supposed to be told this will happen, and instead that happens and also everyone dies and also haha never trust anything you silly, silly thing. Joss trained me well. Unlearning that training is hard.

So Mark has not endured the Joss Whedon Masterclass on screwing with us proper. Oh, how he shall learn. ;)

[elisi]

I find this confusing and perplexing. Because, see, I'm supposed to be told this will happen, and instead that happens and also everyone dies and also haha never trust anything you silly, silly thing. Joss trained me well. Unlearning that training is hard.
THIS! I mean, I can easily see what's going to happen, the metaphors are beautiful and strong. I saw Amy's wedding dress at the end of The Eleventh Hour, and everything said 'So, obviously, the season will end with Amy and Rory's wedding'. Except... that's not how it works, I've learned that over the course of many years and a broken heart. Except with Moffat IT DOES! I still have to sort of pinch myself that a story I love is unfolding the way I want it to, and that he's not sitting somewhere, cackling, waiting for JUST THE RIGHT MOMENT to destroy EVERYTHING. But he isn't. He really isn't. He likes happy endings. He likes making his characters happy. I just. WHAT IS THIS? IT MUST BE WITCHCRAFT! *points to icon*

So Mark has not endured the Joss Whedon Masterclass on screwing with us proper. Oh, how he shall learn. ;)
Oh he will. Damn, I can't wait for Surprise/Innocence. *is evil*

Re:

[aerintine.livejournal.com]

WHAT IS THIS? IT MUST BE WITCHCRAFT!

EXACTLY.

Ok I decided to go read a bit of Mark's School Hard review and got to this:

This episode gives me a great idea of what his character arc might be like, and I think that season two is going to set him up as the main antagonist, like the Master, for Buffy to fight.

... and just burst into a fit of giggles. This kid is ADORABLE. I'd like to roll him up and put him in my pocket, the wee naive thing.

So…he gives Angel the creeps? He worries Angel? Is Angel jealous or something? I don’t quite understand this yet, but I can see that this new character is not someone who is very disposable. Yet, that is. He’s not a main character, so he could die at any time! THIS IS WHAT I KNOW TO BE TRUE.

ADORBS.

Re:

[elisi]

EXACTLY.
Witchcraft GOOD. *laps it up with spoon*

... and just burst into a fit of giggles. This kid is ADORABLE. I'd like to roll him up and put him in my pocket, the wee naive thing.
IKR? I can't stop reading.

ADORBS.
This kid is gonna save fandom, I tells ya. It's the perfect cure for the comics. <3

[gillo]

His reactions are simply adorable, aren't they? So open and full-hearted, somehow. Are you following his introduction to The Lord of the Rings (books) at the same time as Buffy? It's equally wonderful. He's just met Aragorn and is still suspicious of him - on Weathertop!

There may be an element of disingenuity about his writing, but I still love it. The freshness takes me right back to the days when we waited for Thursdays and hated snooker with a passion!

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Wait, he never saw the movies of LOTR???

[elisi]

What shipperx said...

[flake-sake.livejournal.com]

This kid is gonna save fandom, I tells ya. It's the perfect cure for the comics. <3

Isn't he? I have not felt so fannish, ever since I had to accept that the comics are just crap and are not cleverly misleading and twisting into greatness anytime soon.

Now I feel inspired to join his watch and watch the show again as he goes along.