fifty frenchmen can't be wrong (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
some_stars) wrote2011-09-16 05:57 pm
some_stars) wrote2011-09-16 05:57 pm
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I have actually started doing non-TV things again the last few days, but not the things I really really need to do, and not with a huge amount of success either. I did finally get my preferred roast chicken recipe to work again, after half a dozen failures, and while doing so managed to spatter grease all over everything in the world, including somehow my car keys, and probably yours too.
But mostly it continues to be all TV all the time, plus of course fanfic. The existence of fanfic is the only reason I don't feel like watching White Collar was a terrible and regrettable life choice. That show really went off the rails; I don't think I've ever seen a show go bad that fast except possibly Heroes. The first season was--well, it was incredibly sexist and racist, in premise and execution, and it wasn't exactly intelligent, but at least I was really interested in the white guys and found their issues compelling, plus the plot was reasonably fun and not so stupid as to be annoying. (And yes, the slash was unbelievable, that was a major factor.)
The second season...did not have those things, especially towards the end. So much of the emotional intensity just drained away and all the potential was wasted. And the backstory they decided on is logistically ridiculous, self-contradictory, and an even bigger waste of emotion and possibilities. I kept stitching together new character interpretations after each episode, and I actually can make it work pretty well but it's like the least interesting road they could possibly have taken. And naturally, when I went poking around episode reaction posts from other people, I found that fandom hates one of the few wonderful things that season two brought, by which I mean Sara. (Everyone at least claims to love Diana.) Of COURSE fandom hates her. It took me about five seconds to come up with an approach to Neal/Sara that was both really slashy and completely respectful of Sara and how awesome she is--not conscious effortful seconds, I did it automatically as soon as they started having UST--but I guess that is just five seconds too long.
Another discovery I made while reading other people's journals: I am so completely fucking over people promoting their favorite shows with "it has awesome women!" It's so dismissive, and so meaningless, especially considering fandom's criteria for awesomeness in women. And when people start saying it about White Collar of all shows, it becomes so clear that female characters, as a single lumped-together concept, are considered to be a tasty but optional side dish at a dinner party. Because White Collar has no main female characters at all, and--as much as I like Diana and Elizabeth and Alex and June and even poor Lauren, underwritten to death--Sara is the first recurring female character who's dimensional enough to have flaws. (Kate doesn't have flaws because Kate doesn't have anything. Except apparently the ability to know when Neal is lying to her and tell him to fuck off, which was the single saving grace of that awful backstory they gave her. I knew their relationship had to be founded on lies, but I figured it would be hers to him and his to himself, not his to her, which is kind of fascinating if unpleasant.) In short, I never want to hear that phrase ever again unless it's being applied to a fandom with multiple female main characters, and really even then the phrasing is questionable.
So now I can read all the threesome fic, which was my goal, and I'm switching back to watching Leverage (about 2/3 through s1 so far). Which will probably also go off the rails soon, as seems to be the way of things, but so far has brought me only joy. Oh television, why is it so hard to love you? Or rather, so EASY, even when I know you'll only hurt me in the end.
But mostly it continues to be all TV all the time, plus of course fanfic. The existence of fanfic is the only reason I don't feel like watching White Collar was a terrible and regrettable life choice. That show really went off the rails; I don't think I've ever seen a show go bad that fast except possibly Heroes. The first season was--well, it was incredibly sexist and racist, in premise and execution, and it wasn't exactly intelligent, but at least I was really interested in the white guys and found their issues compelling, plus the plot was reasonably fun and not so stupid as to be annoying. (And yes, the slash was unbelievable, that was a major factor.)
The second season...did not have those things, especially towards the end. So much of the emotional intensity just drained away and all the potential was wasted. And the backstory they decided on is logistically ridiculous, self-contradictory, and an even bigger waste of emotion and possibilities. I kept stitching together new character interpretations after each episode, and I actually can make it work pretty well but it's like the least interesting road they could possibly have taken. And naturally, when I went poking around episode reaction posts from other people, I found that fandom hates one of the few wonderful things that season two brought, by which I mean Sara. (Everyone at least claims to love Diana.) Of COURSE fandom hates her. It took me about five seconds to come up with an approach to Neal/Sara that was both really slashy and completely respectful of Sara and how awesome she is--not conscious effortful seconds, I did it automatically as soon as they started having UST--but I guess that is just five seconds too long.
Another discovery I made while reading other people's journals: I am so completely fucking over people promoting their favorite shows with "it has awesome women!" It's so dismissive, and so meaningless, especially considering fandom's criteria for awesomeness in women. And when people start saying it about White Collar of all shows, it becomes so clear that female characters, as a single lumped-together concept, are considered to be a tasty but optional side dish at a dinner party. Because White Collar has no main female characters at all, and--as much as I like Diana and Elizabeth and Alex and June and even poor Lauren, underwritten to death--Sara is the first recurring female character who's dimensional enough to have flaws. (Kate doesn't have flaws because Kate doesn't have anything. Except apparently the ability to know when Neal is lying to her and tell him to fuck off, which was the single saving grace of that awful backstory they gave her. I knew their relationship had to be founded on lies, but I figured it would be hers to him and his to himself, not his to her, which is kind of fascinating if unpleasant.) In short, I never want to hear that phrase ever again unless it's being applied to a fandom with multiple female main characters, and really even then the phrasing is questionable.
So now I can read all the threesome fic, which was my goal, and I'm switching back to watching Leverage (about 2/3 through s1 so far). Which will probably also go off the rails soon, as seems to be the way of things, but so far has brought me only joy. Oh television, why is it so hard to love you? Or rather, so EASY, even when I know you'll only hurt me in the end.
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