How long has it been since I've done some gratuitous memeage?

[drakyndra]

Tell me you want to play and I'll pick up to three of your fandoms. Then update your journal and answer the following questions:

1. What got you into this fandom in the first place?
2. Do you think you'll stay in this fandom or eventually move on?
3. Favorite episodes/books/movies, etc?
4. Do you participate in this fandom (fanfiction, graphics, discussions)?
5. Do you think more people should get into this fandom?

I yoinked this meme from xwingace, who gave me the following fandoms: Code Geass, Firefly and Thursday Next/Fforde


Code Geass
1. What got you into this fandom in the first place?
I'm not entirely certain, actually - I first really heard about towards the end of R2 airing, thought it sounded kind of interesting but I didn't fancy catching up on a series that was only a few episodes away from finishing until it completed and I could marathon the lot (Certain other current series had burnt me out of getting invested into shows and then being disappointed by endings)... and yet I didn't actually get around to watching the whole thing for almost an entire year. It was only, what, seeing a box-set of the first season going cheap that I picked up (and then I proceeded to watch the whole thing in about four days).

2. Do you think you'll stay in this fandom or eventually move on?
I probably will eventually move on, once I find something else shiny and new to obsess over. If any of the new stuff coming out hits my narrative buttons the way the main series does, it might keep me around longer. There's also the fact that while I love a certain circle of the fandom, I finding stepping outside that opens one to vast supplies of stupid - and this little circle is slowly shrinking. I think I am spoiled from mostly coming from freaking huge fandoms in the past.

3. Favorite episodes/books/movies, etc?
I'm a sucker for Zero Requiem stuff: Part of that is because in order to sustain the drama we don't know very much about what went on there in the timeskips, which gives lots of fuel for thought. Plus as someone who's main interest in the show was in the relationship between Suzaku and Lelouch, the fact that after everything they could team up and trust one another so much really pings me.
I also think from the SAZ to the end of the first season was really well done, even if it's horribly, horribly painful to watch. Same goes for the arc from Shrine meetup to FLEIJA in ''R2'' - it's compelling to watch in the sheer obvious tragedy you can feel coming.

4. Do you participate in this fandom (fanfiction, graphics, discussions)?
I hang out in the LJ comm a bit, when there is discussion going on, and read a bit of fic. Though apparently my favourite fics are all currently very slow to update. I wish there was more in-depth analysis, though - not just LOLing over funny art or whatever, or the inevitable complaints/wishes for the new show. And I may have sorta-kinda written fic. Possibly. *looks shifty*

5. Do you think more people should get into this fandom?
I'd like to see more serious analysis of it - including R2. As far as I can tell there's very little outside repetitions of memes, cracky injokes and bitchery nowadays. Which is I suppose what happens when one gets into a fandom a year too late. There's something very strange going on when some of the best conversation one has had on the topic is on 4chan, FFS.
Maybe I should just get more fans on my flist, or something. It's neither my favourite series, nor the best or anything, it just does an amazing job of really hitting a whole lot of my narrative buttons, and I want more people I can flail over them with.



Firefly
1. What got you into this fandom in the first place?
So, back when I was in my first year of Uni, still living at IH, some of my shiny new geeky friends found out that I was an old Buffy fan - and that I hadn't seen his masterpiece, Firefly (Understandable, given what Australian TV did to the airing of the damned show). And so some of them - I believe it may have been altheas decided to show me some particular clips. They looked fun, so I borrowed a boxset - or maybe it was some burnt DVDs - and marathoned the whole thing. I was pretty much instantly hooked. (In retrospect, it's probably my favourite Whedon series, despite it's issues).

2. Do you think you'll stay in this fandom or eventually move on?
In spite of the fact that I still love the show dearly - and the movie - and consider myself a fan... I'm not sure if I actually am in the fandom. I don't take part in discussion or anything, I don't really read much fic for it any more - it's just a thing I love that I will happily talk about with friends if it comes up, but I don't really feel the need to hunt out any more than I do.

3. Favorite episodes/books/movies, etc?
Honestly, the show's so short it's hard to pick out favourites - pretty much ever episode has at least one great bit in it, and the memorable moments are pretty well spread. But if I have to pick some (because there is no way you'd get just one): Any of the episodes with Saffron/YoSaffBridge/Whatever because of the hilarity and all; Ariel because I like the whole sci-fi heist movie shtick; and probably Jaynestown because it's, well, Jaynestown. And now I have that song stuck in my head, dammit.

4. Do you participate in this fandom (fanfiction, graphics, discussions)?
As I said above, at the moment - not so much. Back in the day I did read some fic and talk about it a lot; I'm never adverse to watching an episode, and I supoose I did recently have my Kaylee cosplaying experience, but that's it really. Hardly like back in the day of the movie, with attending preview screenings in cosplay and meet-ups and hanging out on forums for it and what-not. And those - memorable things that happened, yes.

5. Do you think more people should get into this fandom?
I will totally recommend the show to anyone, because I love it muchly, and wouldn't be against talking about it. But it'd be a bit hypocritical for me to tell people to be fannishly active for it when I hardly am, wouldn't it? (Also, I am aware of the overbearing reputation some of the Browncoats have among general sci-fi and geekdom circles). But still: I totally recommend the show. It's only 14 episodes (and a movie).



Thursday Next/Jasper Fforde's novels
1. What got you into this fandom in the first place?
Now this is going a while back (Seriously, I think I was in Monivae). Erm... if I recall correctly, I saw a review of the second book I think which I thought sounded rather interesting. So I kept an eye out, and saw it in a shop somewhere - and listed in with the shiny review stuff was a recommendation from Terry Pratchett, and I just had to check the first book out. And then the second, and when the next books came out I got them, and this Jasper Fforde's other series, and then I went and joined the Fforde Fforum and went to signings and yeah. So it went.

2. Do you think you'll stay in this fandom or eventually move on?
Again, it's a forum I am not really in so much - it has been ages since I went to the Fforde Fforum, sorry guys - but I do still buy every one of Fforde's books basically as soon as they come out in Australia (Wiki informs me that there's one due in September, one in March, another for 2012, and that's not including the rest of the Shades of Grey books which I want to read more of). I might duck back into things once there's a new book out for me to read.

3. Favorite episodes/books/movies, etc?
OH GOD, WHY ARE YOU ASKING ME THAT? The Thursday Next books probably remain my favourites just for sheer reminiscence, and as much as I love the cracktastic BookWorld, I also love Thursday's home world, too, and I think Lost in a Good Book had the best balance of those - but it was the newest one when I started if my memory is correct, so it might just have shiny nostalgia on it's side. Shades of Grey has some interesting potential with it's darker overtones, and the Nursery Crime books are just solid crack. I love the lot of them, I swear.

4. Do you participate in this fandom (fanfiction, graphics, discussions)?
Once upon a time, it was probably my main fandom (This was between Harry Potter books, I believe), and I spent lots and lots of time on the forums there. I also made some icons for it, back in teh day, though seeing as they were icons made by me, they kind of sucked. Nowadays, I still buy every book, and love to chat about it with people, go to see Jasper Fforde signings whenever he's in Australia (...I aim to one day have all of his books signed, though at this rate I'll have some heavy bags), but beyond that... not so much. Like I said, it's been a while since the Fforum, and I don't know where else the fandom is active.

5. Do you think more people should get into this fandom?
Yes, the books are great fun if you like meta-fiction, lots and lots of literary references and in-jokes, incredibly convoluted puns and utter crack. Or Shades of Grey also has some more serious stuff going on, though there's a surprisingly large amount of puns for a hierarchical dystopia. And let me know where the discussion for it goes on, m'kay.


If you don't want to actually participate, feel free to just comment on my questions. Or you can volunteer yourself!

Comments

[laurenthemself]

PLOCK!

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

PLOCK INDEED! (Is that a request to play?)

[laurenthemself]

No, just a plock. I've yet to finish the tl;dr meme.

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

This one ended up being pretty tl;dr for me, really.

[hacked2death.livejournal.com]

Do it here. Hah, if that's okay :P

Of course, Doctor Who

1. What got you into this fandom in the first place?
A friend of mine, Andrew, is an old school fan. I started watching it around about 1994 I think it was. He had the entire VHS collection at one point. Before the days of the net, lots of people with copying tech, that was a very impressive move. He had/has this friend who was some years older than us that had heaps of rarities as well, that we take for granted today. Stuff like "Dimensions in Time", the Lenny Henry sketch, Tom Baker swearing at k9, and this odd sketch on a childrens show with Sophie and Sylvester on an excercise bike which I've never seen again.

2. Do you think you'll stay in this fandom or eventually move on?
The good Doctor will always be a part of my life, I think. There's just so much of it to obsess over, and the show doesn't look like ending any time soon.

3. Favorite episodes/books/movies, etc?
Old school - Tomb of the Cybermen, Remembrance of the Daleks, Androzani
New School - Utopia, Doomsday
Books - Saint Anthony's Fire leaves a pretty big memory, actually. Pretty dark story in the New Adventures era. Poor Ace. I can see why she left.

4. Do you participate in this fandom (fanfiction, graphics, discussions)?
When the show is on, I tend the frequent the forums (when Ian Levine isn't going off about his whinge of the week) but don't communicate TOO much - they get pretty anorak sometimes..

5. Do you think more people should get into this fandom?
Old school, I can totally understand why people steer clear. The new show, every one should watch at least once and see whether you love it as well...

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

I watched a bunch of old episodes when they were airing on ABC in the afternoons - do you remember that? - but I didn't really get into the fandom until I watched the first series of New Who. And then a couple of seasons later I faded out again, which was partially because I was starting to find RTD's shtick repetitive, and partially because I was just plain getting fed up with the fandom. It wasn't as fun any more, and I found other interests.

[hacked2death.livejournal.com]

yeah, i remember that. unfortunately that was in that middle period before the new series got permission to have the daleks, so all the old eps involving daleks were missing, and any serial with missing episodes.

unfortunately it was in the middle of the time i bought my first dvd burner so i missed out on heaps of them off of television.

I totally get your feeling with russell. he's brilliant at making a cliffhanger, but lousy at making a good ending (and dont get me started on the rose conclusion...). im glad its changing hands - that's what made the old series go so long. I've not had a huge "wow" episode with matt yet, but im enjoying it a lot..

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

I watched a really random selection of episodes, most of which I couldn't identify now. They were just random episodes. Sort of charmingly old-fashioned really.

Mmm, in the Code Geass section I mention not starting the show that was almost over because I was burned out on crappy endings, and RTD's finale resolutions are probably the big source on that (I still think the first series was the best ending, and even that had issues).

[hacked2death.livejournal.com]

the best ending was doomsday, IMO. there's nothing wrong with ending on a sad note (which should have been rose's exit. not everything needs closure...)

[hacked2death.livejournal.com]

if you ever have the desire to watch again, watch anything that DNA was involved in. the humor shines through and tom baker just makes it work so well...

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

Honestly, the sad part of Doomsday kind of failed for me, because I could see Bad End coming from the Queen Victoria episode. It looked less like a shocking tragedy and more like an ironic inevitability (but yes, it should have been her final ending; bringing her back kind of ruined the impact).

And I am a Douglas Adams fangirl, I freely admit that. I love the Hitchhiker's books so much.

[hacked2death.livejournal.com]

I would of liked it more if they left Rose out of Journey's End (where she continues to shit on Mickey.. GARHEHGAHG) and the last time Tennant sees her is before. Don't you think it would of been more sad? Not knowing what happened to her?

I've got Russell's book. He actually considered a moment in Pete's world. The Doctor/Donna and Rose hanging/lying about/whatever and he "feels" the 10th Doctor dying or something.... I think I would of thrown the DVD across the room at that point ;)

[hacked2death.livejournal.com]

sorry, i mean last time seeing her is just before he regenerates??

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

I actually agree with that - once just before he regenerated. (In retrospect, the big drama of Journey's End seemed really pointless, since they had to know he'd be regenerating in only a few episodes: why not save it all until then?)

That idea seems very... indulgent. More fanficcy than written for the sake of a decent story. Which is odd, since RTD can do decent story writing - it's as if with Doctor Who he forget the whole "kill your darlings" thing.

[hacked2death.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I think it's the family thing.. There's certain things you probably cant do with family TV. killing Rose off was certainly a no-no. Say what you want about john nathan turner, at least he had the guts to kill of adric. that still gets talked about today.

[hacked2death.livejournal.com]

indulgent? but i dont know. i just seems more tragic. she DOESN'T get a happily ever after. we don't know what happens to her after doomsday, but the doctor "kinda" says goodbye on new years 2005? i like that idea a lot.

[hacked2death.livejournal.com]

oh you mean the other ending?? totally. i think even he thought the idea was terrible :P

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

Yes, I meant the other ending was indulgent. And some of what got through into the show itself was indulgent - everyone there for the biggest finale ~ever~, and then a few episodes later with the big goodbye too.

I meant metaphorically on the "kill your darlings" thing - I never expected, or even wanted them to kill off Rose: I wrote meta about it, way, way back that I was hoping she got a Susan ending. A forced departure against her will, but one that means she can pick herself up and develop her own life, instead of spending forever trailing around at the Doctor's whims. It retrospect, I apparently expected a more independent future for Rose.

[hacked2death.livejournal.com]

TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU 100%

When I first saw the ending, I thought "maybe her and Mickey won't work out (cause Mickey is awesome and deserves (and gets) better), but she'll grow up. We'll see her running Torchwood or something"

The funny thing is, you can't blame Billie Piper. For what she had to work with, she did an amazing job. Look at her on the Bella/call girl show. The girl can act. Just look at the end of School Reunion (crappy at Mickey joining the TARDIS crew) to next week where it's completely ignored when The Doctor gets his "dance" on...

I could complain about the same with Torchwood, that's easier to pick on.

Hah, it's funny I rant and complain, but I still come back week after week. It's not blind fan service, there's something magical behind the curtains that makes me download the moment it's on the net...

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

That's the problem of shooting out of order, and not having a strict enough overview of the entire series: you get issues like that.

Otherwise, as some people on my flist have noticed, RTD has this whole habit of being completely able to raise all these questions about the dubious nature of the Doctor and his relationship with people and so-on, but then at the last minute backing out and going for DRAMA instead of actually confronting the issues he raised. That, and like I said, he gets a bit indulgent when it comes to characters he loves.

There's nothing wrong with liking a flawed program, even if you can admit it's flaws. (Actually, probably especially if you can admit it's flaws; you get less insane defenders that way. It's probably the most balanced to acknowledge both the good and the bad)

[hacked2death.livejournal.com]

oh, certainly. the die hards "NOTHING IS WRONG OMG" are the worst. I dont think i've seen a show yet which has some faults. Even b5, which was written and scripted pretty damn well.

i think i need to start on fringe again soon. from what ive heard it's heading in a wonderful direction noone expected. i like that about a show.

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

I've heard some stuff about Fringe; not entirely certain I want to get into it but it certainly sounds interesting.

[hacked2death.livejournal.com]

goddman i love your LJ pics ;)

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

203 userpics, and I still can't have all the ones I want.

[author-by-night.livejournal.com]

My issue with Firefly fandom is that because it was such a short-lived show that was canceled years ago, discussion basically nonexistent. And the fics are mostly pairings I have no desire to read.

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

You make a very valid argument there. I know there is some canon-esque fic around (and honestly, that's what I'd want to read canon-esque where shipping is only a subplot); but yes, I was kind of surprised to see what pairings got all the fic.

I once wrote what was basically Firefly fic with the labels peeled off for one of my Creative Writing Classes. *reminisces*

[hacked2death.livejournal.com]

The Comics are too safe as well. All of them so far do nothing to continue the story... All we get is "side steps" of a sort inbetween the episodes. Yes, I'm curious to know how Book and Inara became to be how they are, but I also want to know what happens next. You did it well with Buffy S8 (speaking of which, they've "animated" the comics somewhat), do it again!!

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

The Buffy comics did honestly seem interesting for a while (in my opinion). But then they started taking a trip down cracktastic lane, and it's sort of killed the appeal of them. I still like the Fray comic, though, that was nifty.

[ypaladinofchaos.livejournal.com]

Commenting!

I'm in that with Firefly (and a lot of other fandoms) as well, where I'm a fan but I just don't participate. My attention's too scattered as is, lol.

[drakyndra.livejournal.com]

Yeah, there's a lot of things I am like that for. Though, with Firefly I was for a while at least somewhat involved, that's just sort of faded off in the absence of much new coming.