In defence of Fangirls

All over the internet I see snide comments regarding fangirls and they are always excessively negative. That fangirls only like insert random writer/character/actor because they find them sexually attractive.  I've seen this opinion expressed over women who like Neil Gaiman or China Miéville but not just limited to authors.  And you know what? As someone who identifies as a fangirl I've got a two word response to that; the second of which is 'off'.

I read a lot of books and I watch a lot of shows and I feel passion or a large percentage of what I consume.  The passion that I feel for a piece of work can develop for many reasons its not limited to getting warm fuzzy feelings in my loins because someone is pretty. Not surprisingly I get pretty angry when male fans presume that's my sole reason for liking something. I'll write about why I think male fans need to do this at the end, but before that I want to explore why I fangirl things.

When I get excited about a book by a specific author it isn't because I fancy the author. I'm excited because it's new and I am desperate to know what is going to happen to the characters I'm invested in. I'm invested in the narrative and the characters not the author. Same with TV I'm invested in what's going to happen how the characters will deal with something. I might regularly tweet that I love Steven Moffat, but that's not because I think he's a sex god, its because I think he's a genius with plots and when he's pulled off a episode like Let's Kill Hitler I am genuinely thrilled.  

The other accusation which is basically the same is that fangirls only watch X Y Z because they fancy the actors.  Excuse me while I headdesk. Yes many actors are attractive and yes I've got a long list of actors I think are rather dishy, but by and large they still aren't the sole reason I'd watch a show (they might be the reason I stick with a show long after it's past it's best though). It's still all about the characters and how they react to a given situation.

I've asked my friends and the consenus was that they might watch shows for certain actors but to really stick with it the narrative has got to be good and the characters have got to draw you in.

So why do male fans feel the need to put down fangirls?  Is it because in the past scifi fanboys were seen as nerds and geeks and derided because of that fact? In some areas sci fi is still seen as the preserve of geeks and is still looked down on because it's a genre. Feel free to argue with me about this, but I think that with the advent of fangirls male fans feel that the way that women interact with a show and the way that men interact with a show are different and they feel that the way fangirls interact with a fandom is somehow less valid than their male ways.  I am aware that I'm making sweeping generalisations here and not every male fan feels this way but I believe that the ones moved to make disparaging comments are the ones who do.

One thing I'm certain of is that being a fan should be about celebrating that fandom and everyone should be able to express their love for a show or a character in a variety of different ways. I might not appreciate or agree with the way you celebrate that show or book but by golly it is certainly not my place to judge or to harsh your squee.  I guess negative opinions get thrown around for a variety of reasons, we all like to feel that our way is the best way of being a fan; but putting down someone else's work so you feel better about yourself is a poor choice.

All photos in this post are me expressing my fangirly squee.

Top 3 Shows that went on too long

Well after last week's shows which were cancelled too soon, I've had a request to do the shows that went on too long.

Now I'm going to qualify my choices here at this point. I'm not in the business of intentionally harshing anyone else's squee and if there's a show I took an instant dislike to or just didn't get on with I ignore it's existence. My choices are shows that I loved but along the way they lost what made them special.

1. Heroes.

Season one was an amazing piece of television.  THere were many threads of seeming disparate narrative which over the weeks wore a tapestry which had a fab finale.  It had a comic book ethos and was beautifully shot.  Save the Cheerleader, save the world. Yatta! and Sylar all became iconic hallmarks of the series.  Season two suffered because of the writers strike, but despite the shortened season I had loved Adam's story and was disappointed that his arc had been curtailed.  Season three lost it's way and season four jumped the shark repeatedly.  My problem with the show was that the rules for the universe that the show operated in were not consistent.  The writers were changing their mind's about character's motivation on a weekly basis and it kind got to the stage where it just didn't make any kind of sense at all.



2. Torchwood

I'm sure you're already sick of my writings about Torchwood and I'm loathed to repeat myself so here's the potted version.  Believe me getting me on this rant live is a whole other ball game. I've written multiple times at length about Miracle day but here's the bottom line, Torchwood  was always a bit of silly fun. Pterydactyls, sex aliens, bloody great demons destroying half of Cardiff. Torchwood was also creepy, there was Coutrycide, the circus freaks and then there was a smattering of wibbly wobbly timey wimey.  Everyone had sex with each other and it was a hoot.  Then there was always the threat of Death, Suzy, Tosh, and Owen all lost their lives in the first two series. 

Then Children of Earth happened and as a viewer it was like: oh wow, Torchwood has grown up and isn't it ace. I'm one of the few that thought Ianto had a fantastic poetic death. And I loved Peter Capaldi's performance.

Miracle Day for want of a more elegant phrase has shat over that legacy, it hasn't managed to capture the fun of the early series nor the beautifully crafted tension of Children of Earth.  Miracle Day meanders amlessly for many episodes with no aliens, or threat beyond the human.  THere are two weeks left, I'll admit that week eight was an improvement (thank you lords of Kobol for John Do Lancie) but in a ten week run leaving the plot development to week eight is a very risky strategy.

3. Red Dwarf

Shock inclusion? I do still love the early series of this show. I think more than fondly or series 1-6 but let's face it things started going wrong with series seven onwards.  I used to blame the 'new Kotchanski' but as I've gotten older I've drawn a new conclusion.  It wasn't Chloe Annett's fault, in fact Claire Grogan could have joined the team and it still wouldn't have worked.  Adding a female to the cast completely altered the chemistry of the show. The point was that all the male cast had nothing in common and didn't really like each other, they generated friction and tension and that generated the comedy.  Kotchanski fundamentally changed how the characters interacted with each other and not for the best.

Series 8 was back on the ship and introduced,or rather reintroduced the crew which again lost the point somewhat.  And Back to Earth didn't really do it for me either.

TV round up

I have to squee at you dear reader, please take a seat. I have to squee because I've got a new show which ticks my boxes and that doesn't happen as often as it should do.

Forbrydelsen.

Or The Killing if you prefer. How did I miss this first time round? Dear old BBC Four didn't really trail it and I'd heard the hype but didn't want to come into something half way through and was going to rent it from love film but Auntie saw fit to give this show a repeat showing. 20 tense episodes over four weeks.  I currently am one episode behind as its hard to make time enough to sit down and watch on a daily basis but its so good my chap and I caught up at the weekend and we can happily watch two episodes when we get behind.

So what's so good about this show? I know a lot of people get put off something if they have to watch it with subtitles, but not this puppy. Denmark seems familiar but different; we've had a lot of rain recently and the colouring of the show matches it perfectly. A lot of US shows are very colourful and sunny, this is bleak looking but there's beauty in the bleakness.

The protagonist is Sarah Lund, she wears chunky jumpers and in that respect alone, she's a woman after my own heart.  She's dedicated to her job so much so, she can't leave even though she has a young teenaged son and a Swedish boyfriend who looks like Richard Gere.  She's also very good at her job, she has principles and she isn't an alcoholic and she doesn't have any of the more usual foibles which detectives all seem to have in modern mysteries.  Her grumpy replacement Meyer is irked by Lund's continued presence and her boss doesn't want her to leave.  Meyer and Lund don't really get on, he's somewhat slap dash but his heart is in the right place even when he goes for the easy option.

Add to the mix the family of the murdered girl the Birk Larsen's their reaction to their daughter's death played beautifully and truthfully. 

There's also a political Layer Troels Hartmann campaigning to become mayor, he has his advisor and lover Rie and Morten his campaign manager.  His party are backstabbing and his opponents seem to be capable of stooping to ever more scary depths.

The story is utterly compelling, littered with red herrings and twists, just when you think you've got a handle on things and a working theory, new information comes to light and your prime suspect is now innocent.

I'm loving the tenseness of the show its operating on so many levels and seemingly effortless while it does so.

I can't wait to see how it does.

I'm also rejoicing because Doctor Who is back.

Let's Kill Hitler was a romp wasn't it? Many questions answered, and a fair few more asked. Thank you Steven Moffat, this was excellent when a Good Man Goes to War felt to me to be all set up with not enough satisfaction.  I love that the title was a joke and Rory Williams is a complete BAMF.

I can't really discuss much about the show without spoilers but I will say, "you are authorised;  your existence will continue" made us guffaw along with "you may experienc a tingling feeling then death."

The Borgia is my current catnip.  Its sumptuously shot and Jeremy Irons is second only to Alan Rickman in voice and making me go kind of gooey.  He is quite simply acting the socks off anyone else in shot with an extreme close up and an eyebrow quirk.  The show itself is ridiculous in the way that the Tudors is and in that respect most enjoyable but I'm not expecting nor even wanting historical accuracy. And what's more I don't care I'm having fun watching it and that's all that matters.

I'm also watching the third season of Warehouse 13 which is now being shown in the UK on SyFy.  The show goes from strength to strength, I love the quirkiness of it and the steam punk elements which make this show great for family viewing.  The cast is a great ensemble and its always reasonable viewing.  Its never going to change the world but who said every tv show had to?