selenak

From:

rydra_wong

Okay, I'm going to be utterly predictable here and say Black Sails. *g*

From:

bimo

Definitely seconding Black Sails, especially since Cavendish and I are currently watching. *g* (First time for Cavendish, re-watch for me, we've just finished S2.)

From:

selenak

I just posted my reply. Did Cavendish guess the big mid s2 twist? (Am still proud of the fact I guessed this might be the case earlier than that.)

From:

bimo

Just read your answers. Some exquisite choices that I would mostly agree with!:)

I must admit, though, that my favourite female character is definitely Eleanor, simply for the sheer amount of ruthlessness she displays and and her extraordinary determination to execute her plans even at the cost of cutting emotional ties.

As for Cavendish: No, he didn't. However he was 100% correct whenever it came to guessing any incidents related to the Urca gold.

From:

selenak

my favorite female character: Miranda. *sob* (It's not that I love the others less, but that I love Miranda just that extra bit more.)

my favorite male character: Silver. (Ditto for the above.)

my favorite book/season/etc.: tricky. It's a toy between s2 and s3, I think, depending on which mood I'm in.

my favorite episode (if it's a TV show): well, 2.05 (aka XIII) has the key flashbacks and fantastic present day Miranda and Flint interaction, 3.03. has Flint and Silver going sharkhunting and starting their co-depency in earnest, 3.10 is possibly my favourite season finale and has everyone, including this time Madi, being great, plus it contains Silver's realisation that it's not that Flint will destroy him but that he might destroy Flint, so I can't choose between these three.

my favorite cast member: Toby Stephens. Mind you, I have leftover fondness from Rome for Ray Stevenson though I have zilch interest in Blackbeard. But anyway, Stephens for sheer talent and handling the homophobes after the big reveal beautifully. Also he has the coolest mother.

my favorite ship: You know, I'm kind of fond of the Urca, it just looks more elegant than the Walrus, you've got to hand it to the Spanish... Okay, fine. Flint & Silver, or Flint/Silver, however you want to put it.

a character I'd ~~die for~~ put a reasonable amount of effort into defending: Eleanor Guthrie when she got so much crap for executing Vane. Also Max from the part of fandom who hated her for "interfering" in Jack/Anne. (Long live the complicated relationship between the three, say I.)

a character I just can't sympathize with: Of those I'm meant to sympathize with, Blackbeard. Sorry not sorry, Blackbeard. It used to be Vane, but he did have his occasional moments (usually with Jack Rackham, but also in the s2 finale) when I liked him.

a character I grew to love: Max. She interested me more every season, and with the interest came also more and more fondness.

my anti-OTP: I don't feel that way about any of the Black Sails relationships. Even those I'm not fond of have their point in the narrative and don't bore me. For me to reach NOTP level happens very rarely. (Though it does: looking at you, Kara/Lee in BSG.)

From:

rydra_wong

Eleanor Guthrie when she got so much crap for executing Vane.

Seconded, fervently. What a fucking great character moment for her! And, I mean, Flint murders Gates in 1.08 with far less justification, and everyone goes WOW HOW COMPLEX HOW DARK WHAT GREAT CHARACTERIZATION.

Also, as a practical point, Vane has been arrested for capital crimes (piracy and murder) which there is not even the slightest shred of doubt that he's committed. He can be shipped back to England to be tried and executed, or he can be tried and executed in Nassau, but -- short of Eleanor breaking him out of his cell and thus completely screwing over British rule in Nassau -- there isn't an outcome in which he doesn't get executed.

The choice to rush through the trial and execute him a.s.a.p. (and take the shit for it being seen as her decision while Rogers is out of action) is a very very Eleanor way of dealing with the particular no-win situation she's in. But (unless she abandons all her goals and current loyalties and switches sides) there's not a "Vane doesn't die" option open to her anyway.

And, it's just occurred to me -- out of "I will ship you back to England to be tried and executed by the British justice system and the blood won't be on my hands" versus "I will order you hanged now, and you and everyone will know this was my choice", the latter is the one that's far more respectable and honourable according to the moral code that's articulated by Vane and the some of the other pirates:

“When I take something from a man – his ship, his money, his life – I don’t hide behind a clerk. I don’t hide behind the law. I don’t hide behind anything. I look him in his eye and I give him every chance to deny me. That is legitimate.”

From:

selenak

And, I mean, Flint murders Gates in 1.08 with far less justification, and everyone goes WOW HOW COMPLEX HOW DARK WHAT GREAT CHARACTERIZATION.

No kidding. Incidentally, as far as I recall Flint even mentions this to Eleanor in s2 (after he returns minus Urca money and promptly starts a pissing contest with Vane) explicitly to tell her she's too soft on Vane and where are her sacrifices for their shared goal? I think other than gender, the difference is that Gates was a minor character whom people liked but didn't ship with Flint. Whereas to a sizeable part of fandom, Eleanor/Vane was supposed to endgame or at least he was supposed to be her One True Love whom she couldn't live without, and if she killed him, then only in a context where they both die at each other's hands or something like that.

Instead, her hate towards him is a factor in her attitude towards him (see: prison visit) but mainly she kills him for politics and because, as you say, there is no way for this story to end other than with Vane's execution. Now I can understand why Max thinks this is a mistake - because Max knows this means Eleanor will have burned her bridges with the pirates once and for all, and there's no guarantee that Rogers, once back on his feet, won't gladly sacrifice Eleanor on the alter of public opinion. Far safer for Eleanor's own survival to wait until Rogers recovers and let him take the responsibility for Vane's execution, or, well, ship him to England. But that's not how Eleanor thinks, and certainly not at this point where she has decided to try the "choose a side and stick to it for good" approach.

I suppose if Eleanor had subsequently been haunted by Vane the way Flint was by Miranda or later Rogers will be by her disgruntled shippers would have felt soothed a bit, but there is no indication she regrets Vane's death as such in s4. She certainly thinks the escalating cycle of retaliation is a big mistake etc., but we don't get any scenes of Eleanor going Lady MacBeth about Charles Vane's blood on her hands. She did it, she stands by it, she's moved on from it. Jack and Blackbeard are the ones doing the pining-for-dead-Charles thing. What I'm trying to get at: the anger at Eleanor to me basically feels like it's coming from the discovery that the way Eleanor saw her relationship with Vane was decidedly not how either Vane or the shipping part of fandom had seen it; instead, she was in another narrative altogether.

From:

lilacsigil

Star Trek: Discovery!

From:

selenak

my favorite female character: well, it's obvious, but Michael Burnham. Which I didn't think would be the case that quickly in the pilot, when I had some problems with her, but from her little speech to Lorca in 1.03. onwards, she had me.

my favorite male character: Gabriel Lorca. Sometimes I do go for the villains. (While considering his fate justified, I hasten to add!)

my favorite book/season/etc.: doesn't apply yet.

my favorite episode (if it's a TV show): has to be Mudd's second outing. Which has it all. A great twist on a standard sci fi trope (the time loop), the regulars partying, Michael becoming friends with Paul Stamets (that dancing and handholding when the nth death comes gets to me), and Michael pulling off one of her signature putting-herself-on-the-line-but-no-one else moves to make Mudd reset the time line once more. Also, the montage of Lorca's multiple deaths was great black humor, and there are a lot of good quotes throughout the episode.

my favorite cast member: well, Michelle Yeoh has those decades of coolness, but Jason Isaacs is a riot on twitter (while also politically active), so he might just have the edge.

my favorite ship: Michael & Saru which had fantstic development through the season, from their painful history to that complete trust by the time Michael tells Saru the truth about Lorca and he accepts it instantly to him siding with her in her second mutiny in the finale.

a character I'd ~~die for~~ put a reasonable amount of effort into defending: Sarek, from the charge of being The Worst or The Worst Father Ever, or however the hyperbole goes these days. He's never going to win prices, though; dysfunctional relationship with his kids is one big reason the character exists. :)

a character I just can't sympathize with: so far, they've all had their moments, unless you count the paper-thin written Klingons other than L'Rell and Voq, which I don't.

a character I grew to love: most of them, but let's single out Katrina Cornwell; am I ever glad the writers were as impressed by the actress as I and decided to bring her back again and again instead of the originally planned short appearance.

my anti-OTP: Michael/MirrorPhilippa Georgiou. Sorry, but in addition to the "raised her counterpart as her daughter" factor, there's the whole "unrepentant genocidal mass murderer, torturer and cannibal aspect.

From:

lilacsigil

Yay Michael! She is absolutely the best, and I love that the show's writing has to keep up with her integrity and bravery and give her real challenges! Captain Lorca was a fantastic villain, especially when it wasn't at all clear that he *was* a villain and yet it retrospect of course he was! I will miss him next season and yet it's a relief that he won't be there undermining everybody and torturing poor tardigrades. I also don't ship Michael/Mirror!Georgiou though I'm sure mirror!Georgiou would go for it in a hot second - their relationship is complex and dangerous even without actual shipping.

From:

flo_nelja

Doctor Who ?

From:

selenak

Good grief, too much canon. Pray narrow it down - Classic Who, New Who, and Big Finish. Am willing to do eithther of the three, but if we don't narrow it down, it will be too hard!

From:

flo_nelja

Sorry. Classic Who then?

From:

selenak

my favorite female character: Ace, in a toss with Jo Grant.

my favorite male character: the Brig.

my favorite book/season/etc.: Season 8 has both Jo Grant and the Master debuting. Season 7 has Liz Shaw in hands down one of my favourite debut episode(s). Cruel choice!

my favorite episode (if it's a TV show): See above, Liz' (and the Third Doctor's) debut, but also, a season later, Mind of Evil.

my favorite cast member: Lis Sladen. *sob*

my favorite ship: The Brig & the Doctor (all of them) on the friendship side, Seventh Doctor & Ace for Doctor & Companion, and Doctor/Delgado!Master for the slash. :)

a character I'd ~~die for~~ put a reasonable amount of effort into defending: Jo Grant, if certain fanboys dare to call her the epitome of the "useless screaming companion".

a character I just can't sympathize with: The Fourth Doctor. Alas. I don't know what it is with me and Tom Baker.

a character I grew to love: Barbara, who turned out to be as awesome as everyone had always told me she would be.

my anti-OTP: let's just say I'm glad Big Finish gave Peri other relationships.

From:

trobadora

Perry Rhodan? :)

From:

selenak

my favorite female character: I'm currently very fond of Toio Zindher. (I, err, feel differently about the current cycle than you do.) In the past, Thora, and in Neo, Belinkhar.

my favorite male character: Atlan. Joining the club. ;) Though Gucky is a close second. Well, he is the saviour of the universe.

my favorite book/season/etc.: Well, I shall always be nostalgic for the very first one, "Die Dritte Macht", not least because "getting out of a tense cold war situation and incidentally also rendering all previous weaponry useless" has never looked better than right now. Perry founding his initial utopia in the middle of the Gobi desert also was an unusual (for the time) choice, given that most sci fi lets these kind of things happen in the US or Britain at best. Oh, and also the Sol cycle because that was my first encounter with the concept of a several generations spanning space ship which the series subsequently did a couple of times. NeoVerse wise, I was enamored with their alternate take on the Andromeda & Meister der Insel scenario.

my favorite episode (if it's a TV show): doesn't apply, but the very first Perry and Atlan showdown at Hellguard remains special. I still can recite that silly rhyme!

my favorite cast member: doesn't apply.

my favorite ship: did I mention I'm kind of fond of the Sol? *g*

a character I'd ~~die for~~ put a reasonable amount of effort into defending: let's just say I'm really glad Neo offers an alternate Thomas (not Cardif), son of Thora and Perry, because I thought the entire original series premise of Thomas Cardif being raised anonymously because of his potential evilness and then him subsequently being evil was really not a good idea on the part of the series founding fathers. If they were going for an Arthur and Mordred tragedy, this was really not the way to do it. Perry's offspring in general, other than Michael/Roy Danton, had bad luck with the characterisation (and poor Susan hardly even got one).

a character I just can't sympathize with: I know what you mean about Mondra Diamond, but I thought in the Jupiter miniseries some months ago, the authors did okay with her (not least because, I guess, there was no attempt at an angst fest, she was simply one of the characters in a past adventure.

a character I grew to love: Erik Leydon in the NeoVerse. Complete with cat and bickering team.

my anti-OTP: don't feel that strongly about any of the romances.

Edited Date: 2018-04-14 07:13 pm (UTC)

From:

davetheanalyzer

Hmm. How about Black Panther?

From:

selenak

my favorite female character: Shuri.

my favorite male character: on the one hand, it's T'Challa, otoh, this is carry over from Civil War because T'Challa really captivated me there, whereas in his own movie I thought he probably had the most conventional storyline.

my favorite book/season/etc.: doesn't apply.

my favorite episode (if it's a TV show): doesn't apply.

my favorite cast member: Andy Serkis, but hey. I own all the special editions of LotR and the Hobbit movies on dvd. Lupita Nyong'o is my second favorite.

my favorite ship: Ampersand strikes again; predictably, I adored the sibling relationship between T'Challa and Shuri.

a character I'd ~~die for~~ put a reasonable amount of effort into defending: hm, I don't feel anyone in Black Panther needs defending? I mean, from what I can see, none of the characters (so far) gets bashed, and this despite the fact it's one of the stories in which the villain ends up as the designated woobie because of his background tragedy.

a character I just can't sympathize with: *tongue firmly in cheek* Bucky. What? He's in the movie. Just after the credits.

(Disclaimer because I know I have various people passionate about Bucky Barnes among my friends: he had a horrible life not by his own choices and he's doing his best not just to recover from it but to protect others from the fallout. No dissing of Bucky intended. It's just one of those things where a character who in theory should grab me doesn't and leaves me indifferent. It happens.)

a character I grew to love: Okoye in her mixture of stoic competence and the occasional wry aside. I'm glad she'll be in Infinity Wars as well, as the trailer shows.

my anti-OTP: doesn't apply in this movie.

From:

blueswan

Because I'm currently doing a re-watch, I'm interested in Deep Space Nine right now, or any of the Treks.

From:

selenak

I did Discovery above, but let's see, DS9:

my favorite female character: Jadzia Dax.

my favorite male character: used to be Garak, then became Quark.

my favorite book/season/etc.: 4, which has many episodes I love, and in a good mixture of light and dark, too.

my favorite episode (if it's a TV show): Well, In the Pale Moonlight really deserves its spot on many people's Top Ten Best Of Trek lists, and it's one of mine, too, but it's not one I can watch on repeat endlessly. The Wire as the first great Garak (and one of the defining Garak/Bashir) episodes (there were of course earlier great Garak appearances, but he wasn't the focus of those episodes), House of Quark is both a great Quark episode and a great Ferengi/Klingon culture crash, Our Man Bashir is a better Bond movie than all the Brosnan era Bond movies put together, and Indiscretion was the Kira and Dukat combination on screen at its best. So one of those.

my favorite cast member: Armin Shimmerman.

my favorite ship: Quark & Jadzia Dax side by side with Garak/Bashir.

a character I'd ~~die for~~ put a reasonable amount of effort into defending: Did I mention I am fond of Quark? The rest of them hardly needs defending. Though, wait: Michael Eddington. Best Maquis character, imo. And that includes the bunch on Voyager.

a character I just can't sympathize with: the Prophets. Grrr. Argh.

a character I grew to love: It didn't hit me during the original broadcast as much as it did the first time I rewatched, but ever since then: Kai Winn is one of the best ST villains, and I'm terribly fond of her in that capacity. The rest of you can keep Khan, I'm sticking with Her Eminence.

my anti-OTP: Other than the Prophets using Joseph to unknowingly (on his part) rape Sarah which we were just supposed to handwave, I don't feel that strongly about any of the DS9 sexual and/or romantic relationships. I mean, I thought that Bashir/Ezri Dax was badly written, but people do have ill adivsed flings if they feel the need to take the road not previously taken, and nothing in the finale suggests they won't quickly recover from the inevitable break up.

Edited Date: 2018-04-14 05:37 pm (UTC)

From:

blueswan

I just started season five last night amd I've got to agree with your favourite episodes. I loved House of Quark, and Indiscretion in particular. I'm more interested in characters than romance so I can't say I really ship any relationship in particular. I think Quark and Odo have a great frenemy vibe, but I don't ship it.

Thanks for your thoughts and insight.

From:

musesfool

Star Wars! Pick an era or do the whole saga - it's up to you!

From:

selenak

my favorite female character: Ahsoka Tano.

my favorite male character: Anakin Skywalker.

my favorite book/season/etc.: it's a cliché, but yeah, The Empire Strikes Back of the movies. Other incarnations. Season 3 of The Clone Wars.

my favorite episode (if it's a TV show): perhaps Weapons Factor, which has the heartrendering-in-retrospect Ahsoka and Barriss scenes, Anakin and Ahsoka both bickering and having an emotional reunion once she's rescued, and an example of how being Anakin's padawan (as opposed to that of a more worthy Jedi Master) actually helps Ahsoka staying alive.

my favorite cast member: right now, it's Mark Hamill, being gracious to fans and trolling Trumpians and the man himself beautifully. Also, he was the best Joker.

my favorite ship: Anakin & Ahsoka.

a character I'd ~~die for~~ put a reasonable amount of effort into defending: well, I was not happy to hear there was Rose hostility post The Last Jedi, and since I loved all of her scenes, she's the most recent example.

a character I just can't sympathize with: Of those we're meant to feel for, Mace Windu. I mean, I even managed Yoda, which can be tough, but between his lack of interest in kid Boba Fett in The Clone Wars (would it have been so hard to show some compassion there?), his words to Ahsoka in The Wrong Jedi and his, err, everything in Revenge of the Sith... ugh.

a character I grew to love: Ahsoka.

my anti-OTP: don't feel that strongly about it in any of the incarnations.

From:

musesfool

Of those we're meant to feel for, Mace Windu.

Oh that's a good one. He is definitely a difficult character.

From:

sovay

How about we do that thing where you give me a show/movie/book/fandom and I'll tell you

I don't think I know most of your fandoms, so how about the late Roman Republic?

Edited Date: 2018-04-14 04:15 pm (UTC)

From:

selenak

A veritable challenge! Let's see:

my favorite female character: well, Servilia is certainly the one I'm most curious about, but other than a German YA novel about her youth, I've never found a fictional rendition that became the definite one for me. She's an OTT villain in Colleen McCullough's "Masters of Rome" book series, and a more complicated three dimensional one in Rome the tv series, but that one took enough liberties with her background for me not to regard it as the definite one, either.

my favorite male character: Gaius Asinius Pollio. Gotta love a man who founds the first public library and manages to show a reasonable amount of ethics through the years in this particular era, capped of course by saying no to Octavian re: fighting against Antony because of their past.

my favorite book/season/etc.: since I, Claudius doesn't cover the late Republic but begins with the early Empire, it's currently Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa series, novel wise, and Rome, tv wise.

my favorite episode (if it's a TV show): well, that Senate session where Caesar argued against the death penalty for the Catilinarians and almost swayed the Senate until Cato saved the situation for Cicero by his counter speech, followed by Caesar getting Servilia's note and Cato embarassing himself by demanding a public reading must have been something...

my favorite cast member: doesn't apply.

my favorite ship: in the sense of wishing-we-knew-more-about-it, certainly Caesar/Servilia.

a character I'd ~~die for~~ put a reasonable amount of effort into defending: Clodia, for all the slut shaming she got via Cicero and Catullus. I mean, she probably weathered it with a shrug and outlived them both, but still, I always appreciate more dimensional Clodias.

a character I just can't sympathize with: for quite a while, it was Octavian/Augustus, but then I realised I have moments I do feel either something like respect or where I see him basically as Michael Corleone, which is sort of sympathizing, I suppose. But mostly he'd still be my choice.

a character I grew to love: Octavia, for handling a lot of awful situations gracefully, not in a martyr-like way but every time trying to make the best of them.

my anti-OTP: don't feel that way about any of them. I mean, I wouldn't have wanted to be married to most of these people, but that's neither here nor there... If I have to choose, maybe Cicero/Second Wife Publilia for the extra creep factor of her age and her having been his ward?

Edited Date: 2018-04-14 06:08 pm (UTC)

From:

ffutures

Da Vinci's Demons?

From:

selenak

I've never seen that one, but if you want Italian Renaissance, I'm happy to do the Borgias for you. Either series. (Which has different results.)

From:

ffutures

Unfortunately I never watched that, but I'll say S1 because it's more likely I'll watch that at some point in the future if I take a look at the show.

From:

selenak

I had actually meant either of the Borgias based recent tv shows, i.e. The Borgias or Borgia, but you know, my answers would vary in one category within The Borgias from season to season, !

my favorite female character: Lucrezia in seasons 1 and 2; Vannozza in s3.

my favorite male character: Rodrigo/Alexander VI.

my favorite book/season/etc.: s1, definitely. S2 I like as well but it is darker (justifiably so), which depending on the mood I'm in makes it less rewatchable, while s3 has severe writing problems, with only a few episodes preventing me from wishing it never existed at all.

my favorite episode (if it's a TV show): the s1 finale in which each of our main characters cunningly outsmarts the opposition, there is delicious revenge and there are oddly endearing (for these bunch of people) family scenes.

my favorite cast member: Holliday Grainger had her breakout role here, and impressed me so much I was thrilled when she got cast as Robin in Strike.

my favorite ship: the unexpectedly delightful friendship between Lucrezia and her father's mistress, Guilia Farnese vying with the increasingly messed up and intense father-son relationship between Cesare and Rodrigo. I should add that in s1 and s2, I also loved the Cesare & Lucrezia relationship, but s3 killed my enthusiasm for it entirely. Oh, and then there's one-sided Rodrigo/God, because along with being corrupt like (most) of the rest of the upper hierarchy clergy that we see, Rodrigo actually is a believer and the inner suspicion that he's spiritually empty goes from bother to existential crisis throughout the show (one of the few things I liked about s3 was the follow-up on this).

a character I'd ~~die for~~ put a reasonable amount of effort into defending: Rodrigo Borgia, corrupt Renaissance Pope and anything but a model father. Also a fascinating character.

a character I just can't sympathize with: of those we were meant to sympathize with, none. They all have their moments.

a character I grew to love: Ascanio Sforza really grew on me throughout the seasons.

my anti-OTP: has to do with my s3 dislike and would be too spoilery to explain.

Edited Date: 2018-04-15 06:01 am (UTC)

From:

saturnofthemoon

BSG

From:

selenak

my favorite female character: Laura Roslin.

my favorite male character: Gaius Baltar.

my favorite book/season/etc.: the problem with the later seasons is that they are extremely uneven, you get six great ones in a row and then filler filler filler and then a good finale. That s1 was shorter than the others benefited the overall quality, and of course the original miniseries was fab, so it's either one of those.

my favorite episode (if it's a TV show): Downloaded for our first good look at Caprica Six (as opposed to Head!Six) (and, as it turns out, the last good episode for Boomer), The Hub for the Roslin-Baltar scenes and Roslin almost killing him plus D'Anna making a great return (loved the way she just snapped Cavil's neck while still in the resurrection bath), and 33 for it being a terrific ensemble episode and indeed a great hook into the new show.

my favorite cast member: Lucy Lawless, but this predates BSG. :)

my favorite ship: as far as romantic relationships were concerned, to my surprise, by the time the show ended and I looked back, it turned out to have been Gaius/Six and the Tighs, Saul and Ellen, in their glorious millennium-spawning Edward Albee messed up ness. But my overall favourite relationship of BSG is the one between Roslin and Baltar, and I've written the meta to prove it.

a character I'd ~~die for~~ put a reasonable amount of effort into defending: depends on the context. For example: I can hold a great many things against Lee Adama, but that he defended Baltar in Crossroads certainly isn't one of them, nor is the fact he used Roslin's cancer return. I am always bewildered when fellow Roslin fans go "how could he?". Excuse me, but much as Adama Snr. earlier offers to let Baltar disappear at Madam President's convenience, this isn't how I want my remaining civilisation to be run. Lee actually doing his job instead of just letting this be a show trial made me like him more than I had in a long time.

a character I just can't sympathize with: post season 2 Bill Adama. I liked him once! I've written the fanfic to prove it! (Shore Leave.) But then I started to dislike him more and more, and by the time the show ended I absolutely loathed him. (The funny side effect was that when on the short lived spin-off Caprica young William, a perfectly innocent kid, showed up, I practically booed and hissed.

a character I grew to love: Ellen Tigh. Which I hadn't expected after her (hilarious) first appearance, but there were are. Definitely Ellen Tigh.

my anti-OTP: Kara/Lee. They were toxic for each other whenever they were more than buddies. I liked both of them separately, and their s1 friendship was fine, but then, nah. With Adama/Roslin, it turned from a relationship I had actually liked (I had loved their scenes in the miniseries, the first season, and the first few eps of s2 capped by "I forgive you"/"Thanks, Bill, but I didn't ask for your forgiveness" on Kobol) to one I positively resented. Partly because of my taking against Bill Adama post s2, but partly also because of the way later s4 reduced Roslin, screen time wise, to her scenes with Adama. (With some good exceptions! But still, if you compare early Roslin, who had scenes and relationships with Billy, the Quorum, Lee, Baltar, Zarek, to second half of s4 Roslin, it makes you want to weep, and not because of her cancer.)

From:

ffutures

I just did this for Galactica before I read this, looks like we have a lot of the same opinions!

From:

selenak

So we do, including the one on Adama/Roslin. ;)

From:

saturnofthemoon

Sadly, you're on of the few people I know in fandom who agrees with me on Bill Adama. (Thank gods his spinoff prequel series never took off.) I'm also seriously in need of a BSG rewatch now that I'm no longer looking at Roslin through the fandom gaze of sweet spacemom and/or Cylon God. Laura Roslin is am amazing character but she wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty to do what she felt needed to be done for the sake of the human race, plus she was never particularly maternal, even if she was a teacher.

From:

selenak

And she's not always right, either in the moral or in the pragmatic sense - one thing that makes her human. She can make misteps, which doesn't take from her being a fantastic character but adds to it!

I think the Laura-is-the-Cylon-God thing mostly came from JennyO, and I was against that theory from the start, feeling that Roslin and Baltar were the two characters whom the narrative really needed to be human. Baltar because being revealed as Cylon would have given him a way to excuse his actions and reframe them in a positive light (as can be seen in the episode where he briefly thinks he is Cylon) on a Watsonian basis, and on a Doylist level, it would have felt like the show was saying "he's got all these flaws, but don't worry, it's not lilke he's human". And with Laura Roslin it was the other end of the scale - her living under a death sentence from the get go but (until they find the first Earth) continuing regardless, her growing into leadership and both her strengths and compromises as leader needed to be human.

As for "sweet spacemom", other than Billy, I don't think any of her relationships have maternal overtones. (Certainly not with Lee; that one starts out more like mentor-protegé with the occasional flirtatious undertone.) Including the one with Hera, who is of interest originally because of what she is and how the Cylons are fixated on her.

From:

redfiona99

Film-verse X-Men, which I count as 6 movies plus 3 Logan side stories but if that's too much, your choice of original trilogy and second trilogy.

From:

selenak

I've only seen the last Logan, but of course both trilogies, so with this in mind:

my favorite female character: Raven/Mystique. One of the most pleasant surprises about the second trilogy was how narratively important she was to it, and her overall character development, especially since I had hated what X3 had done to her on every level.

my favorite male character: flaws and bad decisions all notwithstanding, Charles Xavier.

my favorite book/season/etc.: favourite movie - depends on my mood, but when I want my heart broken in a good way, it's Logan, otherwise Days of Future Past.

my favorite episode (if it's a TV show)

my favorite cast member: To everyone's stunned surprise, Patrick Stewart. :)

my favorite ship: first trilogy: Xavier/Magneto; second trilogy: to my surprise, NOT the same but Charles & Raven.

a character I'd ~~die for~~ put a reasonable amount of effort into defending: Scott Summers, shortchanged both by scriptwriting decisions and by much of fandom, poor guy.

a character I just can't sympathize with: adult Storm. I'm blaming the combination of writing and Halle Berry's performance, since Age of Apocalypse, while definitely the worst of the second trilogy, nonetheless offered me a younger Ororo I really liked.

a character I grew to love: Hank McCoy. I mean, I've always liked the comicverse version, but the movieverse one is quite a different beast, pun intended, so it was by no means certain he'd grow on me the way he did. Oh, and also: in the first trilogy, I resented Logan's increasing prominence, in the second, I thought they used him in the right amount, but the third Wolverine solo Logan still hit me unexpectedly hard on his account as well (in addition to all else going on), and that's when I realized I'd come to love him, too.

my anti-OTP: I don't think I have one in the movieverse? I mean, I have preferences, but even the relationships that leave me with a shrug don't make me go "not them! Never them!"

Edited Date: 2018-04-15 12:42 pm (UTC)

From:

redfiona99

Yes, I enjoyed the parts of First Class and DOFP and the Field Marshall Mystique bits of the newer trilogy the most.

I think it's because we'd had 20 years of Logan. That's a long time.

I know my stock answer to the last question is Bobby and Kitty X3 version :)

From:

ide_cyan

The Exorcist!

From:

selenak

my favorite female character: Verity in s2, Angela/Regan in s1, with Mother Bernadette a close second.

my favorite male character: joining the club: Marcus.

my favorite book/season/etc.: s2, not that s1 isn't great as well, but I thought you could feel the show had gotten more confident in itself independent from the movie by s2.

my favorite episode (if it's a TV show): marathoning both seasons means they're sort of blending into each other, which makes it hard to choose, but I think 2.03., "Unclean", where they deal with a case of faked possession (and we meet Mouse for the first time in the other plot thread) stuck with me especially because I really felt the show needed to go there, and managed to do so in a way that was also important character wise for our main duo, and gave them a reason to end up on the island with Andy and his kids.

my favorite cast member: John Cho.

my favorite ship: Andy & his kids break my heart, especially.

a character I'd ~~die for~~ put a reasonable amount of effort into defending: None comes to mind; the emotional need for this usually happens when the fandom is large enough for factions to develop and character bashing to start, and I don't think this is the case with the tv series?

a character I just can't sympathize with: none comes to mind among those we're meant to sympathize with.

a character I grew to love: Father Bennett. Alas, poor Bennett. (If there is a third season, I really hope they'll get the demon out of him!)

my anti-OTP: don't have one.

Edited Date: 2018-04-16 05:09 am (UTC)

From:

mymatedave10

Because I've been doing a rewatch and listening to the great podcast, the Audio Guide to Babylon 5.

From:

selenak

my favorite female character: Timov.

my favorite male character: To everyone‘s stunned surprise, Londo. ;)

my favorite book/season/etc.: first half of s4 for the Centauri Prime storyline. Londo and Vir conspiring against Cartagia, Londo and G‘kar teaming up - it doesn‘t get better than this for this Centauriphile. If it has to be an entire season, then I pick the third one.

my favorite episode (if it's a TV show): Coming of Shadows deserved all the awards it got and is perfection, Soul Mates is hilarious and endlessly quoteable, Day of the Dead is such a quiet spot of grace and wonder (thanks, Neil Gaiman) before things go tragic again, but... I think it might be Dust to Dust, for combining a turning point for Londo & G‘Kar with a great visit by Bester.

my favorite cast member: considering the death rate among these actors, I‘m almost afraid to say, lest I tempt the gods. Anyway, it‘s probably Walter Koenig, who has the big advantage of bringing in my Trek fondness as baggage as well, and of having written great memoirs.

my favorite ship: Londo/G‘kar, followed ever so closely by Londo & Vir.

a character I'd ~~die for~~ put a reasonable amount of effort into defending: well, defending Londo is Vir‘s job, so I‘m going with Elizabeth Lochley, who got a lot of crap back in the day by disgruntled Ivanova fans.

a character I just can't sympathize with: well, there are the obvious suspects, Warren Keffer and Byron, but may I include the spin-off and once more vent my dislike of Galen? Because ugh, Galen.

a character I grew to love: to my surprise, because I didn‘t take to him right away, Garibaldi.

my anti-OTP: don‘t feel that strongly about any of the B5 pairings, unless we include a certain short story featuring resurrected Marcus Cole and Ivanova‘s clone.

From:

makamu

Because I am just now watching seasons four and five and am thinking of making it a part of my first post-dissertation project (if I stay in academia): Orphan Black

From:

selenak

my favorite female character: varies between seasons. Sometimes it‘s Alison, sometimes it‘s Sarah, and then there are the Rachel seasons for me...Second favorite is always Mrs. S.

my favorite male character: Felix.

my favorite book/season/etc.: well, the first one has the least convoluted storyline, and the original bond forming, but I think it might be s4 all in all. Or 5. It depends.

my favorite episode (if it's a TV show): has to be the first big Alison outing complete with Felix as co-host of the party from hell and Alison & Sarah switching roles.

my favorite cast member: well, duh. I mean, cheers for all the supporting cast, and I‘ve liked both Maria Doyle Kennedy and James Frain in other roles before this show started, but yeah. Tatiana Maslany.

my favorite ship: Alison/Donny, and who‘d have thought it in the first season? Re: friendships, Donny & Helena vying with Alison & Felix for top spot.

a character I'd ~~die for~~ put a reasonable amount of effort into defending: hm, my fondness for Rachel is partly due to the show never downplaying the awfulness of what she did, while also presenting her as three dimensional and in the end with a chance for a different life, so I think she doesn‘t need defending?

a character I just can't sympathize with: Delphine.

a character I grew to love: Crystal.

my anti-OTP: Cosima/Delphine, from ca season 3 onwards.

From:

makamu

Thank you! And do you know how comforting it is to realise that I am not the only one to increasingly grow decidedly less fond of Delphine and Cosima/Delphine as time goes on? Because judging by the AO3, you'd think that was all the show was about, and post season three I just...don't think Delphine is good for Cosima, like at all.

From:

selenak

Same here. It‘s the reason why I check the OB fanfiction very rarely, because Cosima/Delphine is to it what Jack/Ianto is to Torchwood fanfiction, and I don‘t have any interest in either, plus an active dislike against the first. I mean, I get the appeal of having a canon f/f couple who gets a happy ending, but let me put it this way: if Delphine had been a male character who‘d stalked Cosima, nearly murdered her rebound lover (poor Shay, as this didn‘t even get more than a raised eyebrow from Cosima, long term wise), and frequently used the „I‘m not explaining this but you must trust that I‘m doing this for your own good“ excuse - welll, people would have hated him and called him a throwback to love interests of decades past in the worst way.

And yes, Rachel did far worse things and I like her. But I never had the impression the show was expecting me to excuse anything Rachel has done because Yay True Love.

From:

makamu

let me put it this way: if Delphine had been a male character who‘d stalked Cosima, nearly murdered her rebound lover (poor Shay, as this didn‘t even get more than a raised eyebrow from Cosima, long term wise), and frequently used the „I‘m not explaining this but you must trust that I‘m doing this for your own good“ excuse - welll, people would have hated him and called him a throwback to love interests of decades past in the worst way.

I agree wholeheartedly. I liked Delphine and had she behaved a lot more like Felix I would have continued to do so, but the scene with Shay put me off the character so hard that I cannot believe in her kinder side anymore (which makes season five very hard to watch right now).

As for Rachel: she is one of my favourite characters as well because she makes me ask questions about my way of watching and because she defies character slots.

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