The most important fandoms of my life
Oct. 19th, 2008 09:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
starsthatshineI thought I'd share something about myself. And I thought what better than to share the top three fandoms that have really been... important to me, somehow. Obviously, there are a lot of fandoms which I have very fond memories of and probably like better than one of these three these days, but I thought I'd share those that back in the day, was THE fandom, or at least pretty close. That some how mark a turning point or a peak in my fandom!life.
Charmed
Okay, so this is the mother of all fandoms as far as I'm concerned. I still remember to this day the first time I ever saw an advert for this show. I remember I was about ten - eleven maybe - it was a Tuesday or a Monday. It was a very captivating trailer for the "upcoming" episodes and seeing as X-Files had sort of intrigued me about supernatural-ishy things, I was very much intrigued. It seemed dark, scary, magical and just the sort of thing that appealed to me. It was going to air on a Thursday. I went and told my sister, who wasn't so keen, but I decisively told her that I was going to watch, and I made it a point to always have the air date in the back of my mind. I counted the day, and finally, it aired. I can't remember if it was love at first sight, or whatever it was, but I know that not before long, I was captivated. It engaged my imaginative mind, pushed the boundaries of what I had previously known and it made me imagine.
And looking back, I couldn't be happier that this was my first fandom. Even though the originality can sometimes be questions, it had a good message and showed strong female characters, taking control of their lives, dealing with regular problems and fighting the good fight even though it wasn't always easy. It was an empowering message and since I have two sisters myself, I could easily relate to the whole thing about sisterhood. I am really grateful for this fandom because even though I've loved shows before, nothing can really describe the love I had for this show. I wasn't so much obsessed, but it was just such a rich and fulfilling experience to watch and I do think that this show helped me to realize that nothing is impossible as long as you fight for it. It's not always easy but you should never tell anyone that you can't.
And not to mention the show had one of those love stories that even now makes me all depressed, in the best way possible. Phoebe/Cole. Phoebe was definitely my favourite sister out of thefour three sisters, probably because I could relate to her more than the others, and into her life came this gorgeous man, er, demon. He sort of swept her off her feet, but he was flawed. He was sent out by the enemy to kill them but despite himself, he fell in love and tried to become a better man, someone worthy of her love. Going back to the flawed bit, you have to remember that at the time I was around eleven. The closest I had come to a flawed male character falling in love with the heroine was John Smith from Pocahontas. So having a character like Cole was really just an eye-opener. Their love and the actors' chemistry was just so mindblowing and wonderful that I adored them. I wanted Phoebe to be happy, and I wanted Cole to be happy. And because I could talk forever, here's a music video that I found on YouTube. It's a Phoebe/Cole music video (that basically has spoilers for most things happening in their relationship) and for some reason... even though the technique might be questioned of it, it's somehow so spot on that it almost brings me to tears:
Buffy: The Vampire Slayer
If everyone did this thing, how many do you think would list this show? A LOT of people, I bet. When I started with the Charmed fandomness, I was a member of this awesome forum that combined Buffy and Charmed and so therefore I became soon aware that there was a show called Buffy with something as surprising as a spin-off called Angel. But I never really watched it. I became aware, but I didn't watch it until I was twelve. I remember I was twelve and I was at the hospital for a surgery and I wasn't allowed to eat anything. There's a lot of other stories connected to that hospital visit, but those are nothing more than trivia concerning this topic. Anyway, the doctor finally came in and said that the surgery had to be postponed to the upcoming day. I naturally, in my starvation, dove over the nearest chocolate bar while my mother went out to find something to eat.
Since I was aware of Buffy, my sister and I had made a pact of watching the show now that Kanal 5 was showing a rerun of the show (actually, now that I think about it, I think I caught some seconds earlier in my life of Something Blue and we had a temp at school who showed us 'Hush' once, but I was never necessarily hooked, just intrigued) and since I was at the hospital and had a big TV in front of me, I watched the first episode and I thought it was really great. My sister had missed it, but she caught the next episode. And that was the beginning of another turning point in my life.
If Charmed was the introduction of fandom in general, Buffy was the one that introduced me to unconventional ships, a show that had a larger variety of complex characters and they made mistakes and surprisingly human. I can probably say that I think I will never be able to connect with Buffy the same way I connected with the sisters (and in particular, Phoebe) that I did in Charmed back in the day. First off, Buffy was an only child, I was one of three. Buffy was somewhat spoiled and popular, I was anything but. Also, I was still sort of in love with Charmed at the time. But as the quality of Charmed began to decrease and Buffy's began to increase, I began to like Buffy more. I don't really think it was a clear transition, but it was made nevertheless (even though Charmed will always have a place in my heart, kind of how it is with your first love). If I had to say one thing that really attracted me to this show it was probably... the dialogue and Buffy and Angel's relationship, although it was never really the sole reason for watching. I just remember that I had this really great idea of their love story before I started watching, and the fan sites I found online were great and dark and spooky (why can't they make websites like that any more? They used to be focused on content, now it's more how the site looks) and I guess the online fan sites (not communities at this point, although the people at the Buffy/Charmed forum were pretty FANTASTIC) really contributed to my love. And having that discussion forum to go to whenever I wanted to talk about something relating to either of those shows was just great. Really.
What is this with people messing with the opening credits - I want the original ones and and opening credit from either season one or two would've been perfect but... *sigh* Season three was a really good season so...
Doctor Who
Okay, I'm being honest here: my love for this show... is not so great any more. But I have not tagged a subject more than I have Doctor Who (although I'm sure there are quite a lot of untagged Buffy posts somewhere...) and I've written a lot of fics about the show and there was a time when I was really nuts about this show. It's kind of funny how I can remember definitive details about what happened and how I saw the first two episodes of the two fandoms listed above, but with Doctor Who... I remember downloading an episode and somehow I had managed to see the entire first season during two days. And it wasn't until after that I convinced my sister to watch it. I cried like a baby during 'The Parting of the Ways' and I'm still really convinced that the first season was golden. The second season was really good, but it had flaws (as far as I'm concerned, season one only had one and that was that Adam fellow whereas season two had a few more) and it wasn't until watching the second season that I became public with my love. Going way back in my LiveJournal (now I'm really thankful for the detailed documentation that my LiveJournal provides sometimes) this is what I thought of the first episode:
(and yes, I kept the spelling errors because I think they're adorable ;))
I don't know, I think that Doctor Who was a really intense ride, but I guess because I've sort of grown "accustomed" to fandom, I don't think there can ever be a fandom that can rival with the two mentioned above (even if The X-Files was technically the first TV show I ever watched, it was never my fandom until much later when I had the time to watch all the episodes). These days I'm so aware of production and what it takes for a show to even be aired, that a bit of the magic is a bit lost on me. The flaws are much more apparent, in any show. I've started to be more critical than loving, which can be both good and bad.
But anyway, those are the shows that have had large impacts on me as a person, and I hope you've all had a good read. And I'm probably the only one, but am I the only one who suddenly feels for a major rewatch of Charmed? Or perhaps turn back the time and let me be all eleven again and let the television screen captivate me as it once did again. Or let my head be erased of all the drama and compromises that's involved when making a story and let me just pretend that some stories are never tampered with?
... I don't know what to say other than I'm so grateful and appreciative for all the wonderful memories that Buffy and Charmed have given me. It's given me friends, it's opened up my eyes, allowed me to be crazy creative and given me a world that I at least temporarily lived in and given me stories that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
Charmed
Okay, so this is the mother of all fandoms as far as I'm concerned. I still remember to this day the first time I ever saw an advert for this show. I remember I was about ten - eleven maybe - it was a Tuesday or a Monday. It was a very captivating trailer for the "upcoming" episodes and seeing as X-Files had sort of intrigued me about supernatural-ishy things, I was very much intrigued. It seemed dark, scary, magical and just the sort of thing that appealed to me. It was going to air on a Thursday. I went and told my sister, who wasn't so keen, but I decisively told her that I was going to watch, and I made it a point to always have the air date in the back of my mind. I counted the day, and finally, it aired. I can't remember if it was love at first sight, or whatever it was, but I know that not before long, I was captivated. It engaged my imaginative mind, pushed the boundaries of what I had previously known and it made me imagine.
And looking back, I couldn't be happier that this was my first fandom. Even though the originality can sometimes be questions, it had a good message and showed strong female characters, taking control of their lives, dealing with regular problems and fighting the good fight even though it wasn't always easy. It was an empowering message and since I have two sisters myself, I could easily relate to the whole thing about sisterhood. I am really grateful for this fandom because even though I've loved shows before, nothing can really describe the love I had for this show. I wasn't so much obsessed, but it was just such a rich and fulfilling experience to watch and I do think that this show helped me to realize that nothing is impossible as long as you fight for it. It's not always easy but you should never tell anyone that you can't.
And not to mention the show had one of those love stories that even now makes me all depressed, in the best way possible. Phoebe/Cole. Phoebe was definitely my favourite sister out of the
Buffy: The Vampire Slayer
If everyone did this thing, how many do you think would list this show? A LOT of people, I bet. When I started with the Charmed fandomness, I was a member of this awesome forum that combined Buffy and Charmed and so therefore I became soon aware that there was a show called Buffy with something as surprising as a spin-off called Angel. But I never really watched it. I became aware, but I didn't watch it until I was twelve. I remember I was twelve and I was at the hospital for a surgery and I wasn't allowed to eat anything. There's a lot of other stories connected to that hospital visit, but those are nothing more than trivia concerning this topic. Anyway, the doctor finally came in and said that the surgery had to be postponed to the upcoming day. I naturally, in my starvation, dove over the nearest chocolate bar while my mother went out to find something to eat.
Since I was aware of Buffy, my sister and I had made a pact of watching the show now that Kanal 5 was showing a rerun of the show (actually, now that I think about it, I think I caught some seconds earlier in my life of Something Blue and we had a temp at school who showed us 'Hush' once, but I was never necessarily hooked, just intrigued) and since I was at the hospital and had a big TV in front of me, I watched the first episode and I thought it was really great. My sister had missed it, but she caught the next episode. And that was the beginning of another turning point in my life.
If Charmed was the introduction of fandom in general, Buffy was the one that introduced me to unconventional ships, a show that had a larger variety of complex characters and they made mistakes and surprisingly human. I can probably say that I think I will never be able to connect with Buffy the same way I connected with the sisters (and in particular, Phoebe) that I did in Charmed back in the day. First off, Buffy was an only child, I was one of three. Buffy was somewhat spoiled and popular, I was anything but. Also, I was still sort of in love with Charmed at the time. But as the quality of Charmed began to decrease and Buffy's began to increase, I began to like Buffy more. I don't really think it was a clear transition, but it was made nevertheless (even though Charmed will always have a place in my heart, kind of how it is with your first love). If I had to say one thing that really attracted me to this show it was probably... the dialogue and Buffy and Angel's relationship, although it was never really the sole reason for watching. I just remember that I had this really great idea of their love story before I started watching, and the fan sites I found online were great and dark and spooky (why can't they make websites like that any more? They used to be focused on content, now it's more how the site looks) and I guess the online fan sites (not communities at this point, although the people at the Buffy/Charmed forum were pretty FANTASTIC) really contributed to my love. And having that discussion forum to go to whenever I wanted to talk about something relating to either of those shows was just great. Really.
What is this with people messing with the opening credits - I want the original ones and and opening credit from either season one or two would've been perfect but... *sigh* Season three was a really good season so...
Doctor Who
Okay, I'm being honest here: my love for this show... is not so great any more. But I have not tagged a subject more than I have Doctor Who (although I'm sure there are quite a lot of untagged Buffy posts somewhere...) and I've written a lot of fics about the show and there was a time when I was really nuts about this show. It's kind of funny how I can remember definitive details about what happened and how I saw the first two episodes of the two fandoms listed above, but with Doctor Who... I remember downloading an episode and somehow I had managed to see the entire first season during two days. And it wasn't until after that I convinced my sister to watch it. I cried like a baby during 'The Parting of the Ways' and I'm still really convinced that the first season was golden. The second season was really good, but it had flaws (as far as I'm concerned, season one only had one and that was that Adam fellow whereas season two had a few more) and it wasn't until watching the second season that I became public with my love. Going way back in my LiveJournal (now I'm really thankful for the detailed documentation that my LiveJournal provides sometimes) this is what I thought of the first episode:
Well... I'm not sure what I expected... Seems a lot like Farscape to me and the whole brittish thing sort of threw me off. But the show is hilarious although it's sort of hard to take it seriously. So it's a comedy or was it just that the pilot episode had a little too much of it? I haven't heard much from the show and well.... The ending was extremely strange to me and everything seemed pretty... over there, if you get what I mean. It's difficult to explain. The show is weird. But a good kind of weird. I think. Also, seeing Billie Piper is sort of hilarious :P I just hear "'Cause we want to!" in the background all the time.
- 07 May 2006
(and yes, I kept the spelling errors because I think they're adorable ;))
I don't know, I think that Doctor Who was a really intense ride, but I guess because I've sort of grown "accustomed" to fandom, I don't think there can ever be a fandom that can rival with the two mentioned above (even if The X-Files was technically the first TV show I ever watched, it was never my fandom until much later when I had the time to watch all the episodes). These days I'm so aware of production and what it takes for a show to even be aired, that a bit of the magic is a bit lost on me. The flaws are much more apparent, in any show. I've started to be more critical than loving, which can be both good and bad.
But anyway, those are the shows that have had large impacts on me as a person, and I hope you've all had a good read. And I'm probably the only one, but am I the only one who suddenly feels for a major rewatch of Charmed? Or perhaps turn back the time and let me be all eleven again and let the television screen captivate me as it once did again. Or let my head be erased of all the drama and compromises that's involved when making a story and let me just pretend that some stories are never tampered with?
... I don't know what to say other than I'm so grateful and appreciative for all the wonderful memories that Buffy and Charmed have given me. It's given me friends, it's opened up my eyes, allowed me to be crazy creative and given me a world that I at least temporarily lived in and given me stories that I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
