Just call me Short Attention Span Girl

[drakyndra]

Your daily dose of absurdity. So, there were ticket inspectors when I was getting off my tram today. And though I had a ticket, it wasn't as yet validated. I think you can guess where this is going.

Anyhow, when they took my name and address, slight problem: I didn't have anything in my bad that proved my address - only address was the farm (You know, my parents place). So, the ticket inspector dude proceeded to ring my Mum at the tram stop, in order to check the address I had given him was accurate.

Yeah, that was strange. Amusing, though, for all it's WTFery.

Anyhow, onto the actual meat of this post. Which, coincidental timing aside, was not actually inspired by this Fandom_Discuss post. I just tl;dred in the comments there.

It has probably been obvious to the denizens of my flist - it's certainly been obvious to me by the amounts of comments to my posts - that I have been making rather less posts in recent months regarding Doctor Who (and assorted spin-offs).

And I've sort of come to the conclusion that it seems my fannish focus on Doctor Who has been waning.

I don't know where and when it started exactly, but it sort of started to fade about the middle of S4, and has never really recovered. Which isn't so much a criticism of S4 itself (though I have some epic issues with parts of that, heavily focused towards how it ended), but more the fact that Doctor Who fandom... it's no longer my Happy Place.

The way the fandom itself has been is probably the main cause of this, really. Not so much individual people, but the overall tone of things. And worse, I think, is the fact that we're all just having the same debates, over and over again. To be quite honest, I was already sick of talking about Rose at the start of S3 (and the rest of S3 didn't help). So people still going on about this stuff over a year later...

Ship wars, anger at RTD's treatment of Martha, whatever. Once upon a time these things were interesting, whether it was anger or thought provoking or amusingly wanky. But it's all gotten sort of stale now, and I haven't really the motivation to come up with something new.

It's not that I'm blah on all Who - I still occasionally find something interesting or amusing or whatever. But LJ is repetitive and quiet on the Whovian front (or at least the parts I care about), and the DWF seems incapable of having a thread I find interesting without ending up in tedious wank/sniping/ridiculous speculation/Martha or Freema bashing (I'm looking at you, Team Rocket).

I suppose I'm timing this well, given that with only the specials coming up for another year and a half, I have the strong vibe that I'm not going to miss much new. It'll just continue to be blah blah Is X returning blah blah OTP blah blah My companion was done wrong blah blah Moffat is going to be God/Satan.

It's not just that I have gotten kind of fed up with the fandom. It's not just the lack of involvement from the characters I am most invested in (And Martha and Mickey showing up in Torchwood would have done so much to restore my excitement). It's not just I don't really care for how S4 ended, and the spoilers so far haven't enraptured me.

I'm just not as enthused about things, either good or bad, as I once was.

Or to sum up all this tl;dr: Sorry Doctor Who fandom, I'm breaking up with you.

This isn't an "I'm leaving fandom" post. I'm still going to mod at lifeonmartha - though that requires rather less effort these days - and I still read spoilers and follow the news and check out fics and fun stuff recommended to me.

And I'm not telling my list to go or anything - I still do read a lot of your posts on Doctor Who stuff. It's more I'm lurking again than getting involved. This is just to inform you go guys that my posts will no longer be all Doctor Who, all the time. Or even much of the time.

It's no longer Me/Doctor Who OTP. It's back to just friends.

And my new fannish lovelife is complicated enough. I've just started my affair with Comics, and I'm already cheating on him with Anime.

...And now, just to be contrary to the entire point of this post, I wish to drop in a link to a nifty bit of Doctor Who meta, namely about Martha and her character arc. Because it always makes me grumpy when people say Martha had no character development.

...Why doesn't a Martha fanvid to I Will Survive exist already?

Comments

[everlasting-day.livejournal.com]

I also had epic issues with season four. While it produced some of the best stuff New Who has given us so far (I'm thinking mainly of Midnight here, which scared me to death - but the Moff two-parter was fab as well), I also felt it was the most unsatisfying season so far in many respects, mainly down to how it began and how it ended, certain aspects of the characterisation of the Doctor, too much playing safe, and the whole Rose Issue. And what happened to Donna. And Torchwood still failing to really click for me. And... yeah.

I try not to get too involved with the New Who side of fandom when the series isn't airing, mainly for burn-out reasons and as you say, the same old arguments and debates going back and forth without much (if any) progress being made. Instead I get excited for the new DVD releases of Classic Who stories and I'm very much enjoying the new season of The Sarah Jane Adventures. So I'd say that having breaks from getting involved in fandom too heavily is definitely A Good Thing and something everyone should do now and again. A little goes a long way.

Hopefully your enthusiasm will be restored when season five rolls around in 2010!

[longtimegone]

Stargate Atlantis really came along at the right time, as I was experiencing the post S3 fatigue around Christmas/New Years last year and... yeah. I'm not Done With Doctor Who by any means, because I can still get excited about it, but my focus has definitely shifted.

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

I think I'm sort of there with you. It's just that Doctor Who was more notably my main fandom to start with, so moving a way was more obvious.

And I think I caught the start of the Dark Knight hype-storm at about that time. And that went and swept me into comicsdom (Though I'm still more a lurker than anything else). Ah, bless you Dark Knight. Not only were you my epic movie of the year, but you also got me into a whole new shiny fandom. That is especially shiny, since it is both ongoing and freaking huge, being an entire form of media. Bless.

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

You know, for all the bitching about Martha's character arc, Donna's the one who really screwed over, there. Because her entire arc got undone, and I can't think of a single reason for RTD to do that beyond NEEDS MOAR ANGST!

But I think you're right about S4 - unsatisfying is the right word. Not because it was bad, but because the pay-off wasn't nearly as good as the set-up would imply. Someone needs to tell RTD that bigger isn't always better.

See, I'm sort of doing the same thing. Except my other interests are a bit further out, and it's sort of taking more and more to drag me back into the Doctor Who stuff. Once upon a time I checked DWF daily. Now it's about once a fortnight.

Here's hoping Moffat brings back my Who love.

[shadowkitty.livejournal.com]

Comics fandom got me through a very boring summer.

[gryffinclaw.livejournal.com]

I broke up with DW a while ago. I still enjoy it but not like I once did and it saddens me that my squee has lessened.

Freema squee is still going strong though!

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

That's the magic of comics! There's a never-ending supply of the damn things.

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

I agree with this entire comment.

Especially the Freema bit (Seen the most recent post at freema_love?)

[gryffinclaw.livejournal.com]

Yup! Can not WAIT for Little Dorrit. It is honestly taking too damn long!

[everlasting-day.livejournal.com]

There was absolutely no reason at all for what happened to Donna and it just made me so angry. I mean, yes it's tragic but then what was the point of bringing her back and developing her in the first place? Coming after the horror/hilarity of Rose's ending it was just the icing on the cake of "oh god, seriously?!" that was Journey's End. I just don't understand RTD sometimes.

Season 4 certainly wasn't bad and I enjoyed watching it mostly but like season 2 (to a lesser extent) the parts were greater than the whole. And I agree, I think RTD tried for something so big that it just became meaningless. Destroy reality itself? Well, OK. Makes no sense.

Wider interests are definitely a good thing. I've always found it better to be interested in lots of things at once rather than fixate too much on just the one thing, usually because it's so much easier to fall out of love.

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

Not being a big period drama person, until now my only interest was Freema. However, it's starting to get my attention...

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

RTD seems to have this thing where he knows what he wants to happen in the finales, and that will damn well happen no matter what that means for the build up, characterisation or whatever.

And yeah, I agree with you on the S4-S2 two. Both have some very good episodes, but as an arc? Um, no.

True. I've always been multifannish, it's just I've been Doctor Who-ing it up for so long that it seems a bit strange to change that. (Also, it seems hardly anyone comments on my non-Doctor Who posts. I need more shared new fandoms with my flist)

[chocolatepot.livejournal.com]

I still read spoilers and follow the news and check out fics and fun stuff recommended to me.

This is exactly how I interact with all of my fandoms. It's often much less stressful!

[fa11ing-away.livejournal.com]

Never thought I'd hear that.
But then again, your usual RL squeeing hasn't been at all about DW for a while now, so I suppose I should have seen it coming.
Do you need a post break up movie fest or something? Chocolate? Need me to call a dial-a-Davros stripper?

On the plus side however, you can now move on to other things. Not necessarily better, as I do have to question alot of anime, but certainly with less tentacles and bubblewrap...actually, don't tell me if this doesn't actually end up being the case. Please, oh gods, please*.

*Ok, maybe just a little bit.

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

I know, but it's just sort of ...sad, to see something like that fade away.

It also means I have rather less conversations with my flist. Which is not so fun.

[fa11ing-away.livejournal.com]

And this is why I shouldn't still be on the internet at 2am.
Rina out.

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

Well, it's not like there's going to be much Who coming up in the future - Christmas special, couple of specials, and then that's all for next year.

Which, incidentally, means by the time the Moffat series comes around, the speculation will have reached a critical mass of stupid.

I need new things to watch, that's what I need. (Okay, after I finish reading the Haruhi books). I don't want to know what goes on in your brain any more.

And anime's like saying TV. There's the good, and the bad, and the cracktastic. Hopefully, I shall continue to get pointed towards the good (and some of the cracktastic).

...And yeah, I should be heading to bed.

[chocolatepot.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's interesting to read about people's personal troubles, but they aren't so much of a discussion-type thing.

[fa11ing-away.livejournal.com]

the speculation will have reached a critical mass of stupid.
Doesn't that describe HP fandom in a nutshell?
*coughs* moving on...

This calls for a movie marathon!
A search for "new things to watch whats are good" in google did bring up an anime list.
Have fun?

[longtimegone]

Harry Potter was that fandom for me. I think, when I came into Doctor Who, I was more open to being multi-fannish, so while it was definitely my "main" fandom for a while, it wasn't the only one.

I will say, I've noticed a trend with my main fandoms... they get less and less serious. :)) I mean, with HP you have the Hardcore Canon Whores. Where it was paramount to be Right (and that often got in the way of enjoying the actual story), and that extended so far into fandom that you rarely ran across truly subversive or groundbreaking fanworks. That's not to say they didn't exist or weren't recognized, but just overall, it was very Srs Bsns.

Doctor Who is similar, though more in that LotR way, where all the New Kids coming in from the bright new shiny show were clearly either there for the wrong reasons or could just Never Understand. I was a new!Who fan, and you know, have half a brain, so I didn't ever feel that specifically directed at me, but there's still the lurking "Those that have watched longest win the argument" thread in most all arguments/discussions/wankery.

SGA is decidedly less serious, I've found. I mean, it's a show about a bunch of slackers and misfits being chased by space vampires. :)) And almost probably too far the other way in a lot of respects! :)) But that kind of...pressure is gone. My fandom preferences don't have to be Right as far as canon goes, and I've been around in online fandom since before SG1 premiered, so I have always been peripherally aware of the 'verse and it's just...well, it's not really an issue. It was shocking how incredibly freeing I've found it.

The SG 'verse has its fair share of wank, and maybe we shouldn't even talk about race and gender becuase GOD, TALK ABOUT SOME EPIC FAIL SOMETIMES. I'M LOOKING AT YOU, SG WRITERS, so obviously, it's not perfect, but it's my new home and I'm quite comfy here. :)

[eido.livejournal.com]

I'm still watching SJA, but I'm kind of in the same place you are with Who and I think it's been happening for some time. Way back in TW S2 when I didn't watch the last two eps Martha was in all the way through until they aired on BBC America, weeks later. Since most of my posts on my LJ tended to be Who spec/squee/bitching, thus the neglect of my LJ. *sighs*

Also, "The Middleman" (with, along with SJA, really does feel more like Classic Who than Nu Who does), "Supernatural" and gaming has (re)invaded my fanon experience and really hasn't made room for much else. I might feel some inspiration again when Moff takes over, but despite thinking the guy's stories are brilliant, I haven't even watched pt 2 of his S4 2-parter yet. My reinvestment in Who, even in era of Moff, is looking kind of grim.

And I could put this in the apropos post, but as I'm a lazy bastard, you're like the fourth person I know in two months that's loved the hell out of "Princess Tutu". It's almost Sanrio-levels of cutesy looking hence why I haven't quite been able to get myself to watch it, but the curiosity is getting to me.

[ionlylurkhere.livejournal.com]

I can definitely see where you're coming from; my Doctor Who squee these days tends to come about by deliberately choosing to ignore large chunks of fandom -- it's a very long time since I've gone to DWF, f'rinstance (thanks for the rec, btw) -- and writing lots of fic for the eras I like.

Also, yay comics! Are you reading Final Crisis?

[nostalgia-lj.livejournal.com]

I would break up with it, but we've been married for too long.

[nostalgia-lj.livejournal.com]

The one thing I would never have expected Rusty to do was to completely undo a season of characterisation and mindwipe a companion (or kill them off). It's made a bit better by me not having actually seen it, but I loved Donna and it seems like such a waste. Maybe it's like with Doomsday where it seems like he wanted to effectively kill off a companion without having to actually kill them? Either way it really just added to my sense that there isn't much point caring about Rusty's companions when you get right down to it.

I can't wait for Moffat, just to see if it heals my love a bit. The specials seem like an annoying waste of time that hold the potential to fuck everything up for S5 and beyond, out of hubris or spite.

I love SJA though, and Torchwood is great lols to me.

[shannonsequitur.livejournal.com]

I know exactly how you feel. I think by the end of S4, the entire fandom was burned out (whether they'll admit it or not). I'm still enjoying the hell out of SJA and Classic Who at the moment, but I'm completely apathetic to New Who stuff.