I watched the one episode where Lois Lane pulled a “The Money Pit” and was dangling from a hole in the ground. Didn’t make me laugh much, maybe grinned a few times at best. Interested to hear some people whose opinion I at least listen to if not so much agree with say that the show had a dark biting sense of humor. Will have to give reruns a look.
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| Originally Posted by devincf Genre shows tend to be the only ones that develop cult fanbases regardless of whether they are any good at all. IE, Farscape |
Subjective, obviously. I never cared for Farscape either, but I’m not violently opposed to people who like it.
But where’s the rabid fanbase for Andromeda? Or Beastmaster? Or Cleopatra 2020? Or The Outer Limits (90s version)?
And I need hardly point out the dozens of non-genre shows that have acquired mainstream success despite not being any good at all.
I am baffled by your attempt to make a point there.
Well, you seem to be implying that genre shows are somehow given a free ride simply by virtue of being genre shows. In fact, you seemed to be saying that Farscape somehow had it easier than Desperate Housewives, which is pretty strange.
On boards like this. Not out in the real world, where Farscape fans are rightly persecuted.
Ah, I see. You just said “people” which was a tad vague.
Still, how do you know all the folks not watching DH are rabid Farscape fans? I mean, I can see you being pissed off if DH was in imminent danger of cancellation, but in this context bringing genre fans into it seems kind of arbitrary.
I don’t see how you’re not getting it.
I am talking about the people here, who tend to be genre fans, who don’t give this show a chance.
Being a genre fan (or, for that matter, a Chewer) does not equal being an undiscriminating basement-dweller. That’s the point I’m sticking on. People mentioned that they didn’t care for DH, or weren’t interested in it, for a variety of reasons, and you basically responded with “Well, you’re all a bunch of FARSCAPE FANS!!!” This is a serious accusation and should not be made lightly.
Of course there are troglodytes who’ll watch anything with a spaceship in it. I just don’t think any of them are in this thread, that’s all. Also, I tend to think that putting down the troglodytes isn’t really worth it. It’s like kicking a retarded puppy. At least they’re not the couch potatoes who keep “According to Jim” on the air because they can’t be bothered to change the channel.
Since 98% of stuff that is considered “genre” stuff is absolute trash, I don’t have a very big problem with saying that the vast majority of genre fans are indiscriminate. And I would say that almost ever genre fan would give any random show with a rocket ship in it a chance before they gave a show like HOUSEWIVES a chance.
But the main crux of my thing here is not that it’s lame that genre fans like so much awful crap, but that it’s lame that genre fans don’t give shows like HOUSEWIVES a chance.
I can agree on the second point, now that it’s clear. I’m more interested now in why you keep suddenly interjecting slams on genre fans into random threads. In other words, why you dislike this particular straw man so much. You’re like the wingnuts, but with “genre fans” instead of “liberals”.
…OK, I apologize for that comparison. But still.
Because nothing makes less sense to me than being a fan of a “genre.” I mean, I can understand being really into comedy, because laughing comes from that.
But liking “genres” makes no sense to me. Liking writers, or directors or actors - I can wrap my head around these things. But to say “I really like stories that take place in fantasy worlds the most” just seems infantile and reductive.
But I think there’s a reason that SF and fantasy are set apart from, I dunno, westerns or biblical epics (are you including those in your criticism of ‘genre’, by the way?). Obviously with “Horror”, “Comedy” and “Drama” you’re evoking a specific reaction in a way that you aren’t with genres based around a certain setting. But SF and fantasy literally create their setting in response to an ideology or a thought process, so I think it’s fair to classify those as genres you can be “into” without being facile about it.
None of this is to excuse Babylon 5, but being a fan of SF can evolve naturally out of a totally defensible personal philosophy, or way of thinking, rather than just “Oooh! Looka the spaceships!”. Actually, you can say that about westerns, too, and probably some other “setting genres”.
In fact, now that I think about it, people’s reaction to seeing certain objects or settings or concepts on screen is usually ideological anyway, so it’s hardly surprising that people will react strongly to seeing certain things on screen. The *idea* of a spaceship is, I must admit, a pretty powerful one. Hell, it’s one I’m not immune to myself.
And as for the degree of crap produced by SF and fantasy, I refer you to Sturgeon’s Law. Having stated the above, I’m not sure what makes ‘genre fans’ (kind of a vague concept anyway) so much further beneath contempt than people who will go see–and probably enjoy–anything with a certain actor in it.
I’ve only seen the first episode and last 10 minutes of the finale. The show does nothing for me. What I don’t get is how they wrapped up this dead narrator storyline. She has someone else’s kid and the mother comes back to get him. She kills to keep the kid(thinks the mom is still a junkie) and when she finds out she is wrong the guilt causes her to kill herself. So if she was able to kill for her child why would she leave the kid with just her father? Seems like a stupid reason to kill yourself.
Makes me glad I watch The O.C. Marissa killing Ryan’s brother was a much better ending.
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| Originally Posted by Anyawatchin Angel and when she finds out she is wrong the guilt causes her to kill herself. |
It wasn’t the guilt. It was the fact that someone knew what she’d done and was going to tell. Remember the note that started the whole thing?
prankster, nobody has western or biblical epic conventions. People may like those genres a bit better, they may be attracted to the trappings of those genres, but the SciFi/Fantasy nerd goes beyond that. The genre is the thing for them.
And I am sorry, you can make a movie or a book or a TV show about any ideology or thought process without populating it with faries or laser gun wielding space pilots. Sometimes it’s fun to do that, but you don’t always have to. And just because you do doesn’t make the thing more worthy of your attention.
Finally, I don’t know what Sturgeon’s Law but I somehow doubt it has anything to do with fish and more to do with how genre fans rationalize watching old episodes of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA on the SciFi Channel.
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| Originally Posted by AlisaPerne It wasn’t the guilt. It was the fact that someone knew what she’d done and was going to tell. Remember the note that started the whole thing? |
Wasn’t it her kid that saw though? Just think that if your biggest secret is based on that it’s not a good way to end it.
Sturgeon’s Law: 90% of everything is crap.
Desperate Housewives is good, but it’s not THAT good, Devin.
It’s entertaining fluff. Solid plot driven stories with little emphasis on characterization.
Deadwood. Arrested Development. Now those are legitimately GOOD shows that hinge on quality stories and characters.
And anyone who finds Eva hot is a pedophile. She’s built like a scrawny 12 year old boy with a big bobble head.
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| Originally Posted by BobClark And anyone who finds Eva hot is a pedophile. She’s built like a scrawny 12 year old boy with a big bobble head. |
Totally not my body type, but she’s very sexy - not to mention beautiful - and that makes up for the lack of physical assets.
She’s got a great face. I’ll give her that. But she could really use a sandwich.