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selenakSo, that affection-for-characters meme for some of my fandoms, gakked from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
minim_calibre. Hoping that the hotel dial-up connection from hell (am travelling right now) will work long enough to post this.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
1. The first character you first fell in love with: Cordelia, in season 2.
2. The character you never expected to love as much as you do now: Buffy herself. I liked her well enough early on, but loved other characters more. The first time I noticed this had changed was in season 5, when I realized she had become my favourite character. Going back, I find early cheerful Buffy heartbreaking, but it's later messed up, scarred but still trying Buffy whom I really fell for.
3. The character everyone else loves that you don't: Kids, there is no "everyone" in this fandom. See also: my little guide for Newbies about the Spike Wars. Mind you, in season 1-3 I think almost everyone loved Willow, whereas I did not - I found her too sweet, too cutesy, but then in seasons 4 - 7 (almost) everyone fell out of love with Willow, so I can't name her. (I find her somewhat more interesting in the later seasons, but never loved her then, either. I think the difference to later Buffy is that Buffy has to deal with the mistakes she makes and that her screw-ups have far more consequences.)
4. The character you love that everyone else hates: See above. There is no "everyone". I did love Wesley long before the majority did, feeling truly sorry for him in later season 3 and falling in love in AtS' season 1 episode I've Got You Under My Skin, but as Wesley is now one of the most popular characters ever, he hardly qualifies. Let's see: Andrew? Also has his defendants, aside from me. Hm. I suppose my unholy fascination with Warren, unglamourized human villain that he is, might qualify.
5. The character you used to love but don't any longer: Cordelia, but that happened on AtS. Hm. I came occasionally close to Spike dislike but that was due to the above mentioned Spike Wars and thus some fannish behaviour, not really due to Captain Peroxide himself, and I ended both BTVS and AtS feeling fuzzy fondness for the Bleached One.
Angel the Series
1. The first character you first fell in love with: Wesley. See above. I had pity and fannish underdog sympathy for him when he was on BTVS, but fell in love rapidly somewhere between his entrance on AtS, the desperate eagerness to please, the exorcism-plus-childhood revelations and the Faith torture.
2. The character you never expected to love as much as you do now: Darla. I was intrigued by the season 1 flashbacks but truly fell for her in season 2, when she became not just my favourite of the Fanged Four but my favourite Jossverse character altogether.
3. The character everyone else loves that you don't: Um. Gunn. Sorry. Except for season 5 when they did some interesting stuff with him, he regularly got my vote for "character I wouldn't mind dying an heroic death". Also, Lindsey. I found him interesting (as opposed to Gunn) but never loved him. And don't get me started on the Misunderstood!Lindsey stuff.
4. The character you love that everyone else hates: Connor. Well, see above. There is no "everyone" in the Jossverse. He has his fans on lj at least. But still probably far more enemies. I loved him from A New World onwards and thought the father-son tragedy of season 4 was absolutely masterfully written. Other people go for the Faith mini-arc, me, I'm grooving on Inside Out and Peace Out and Home. Because I love to see my darlings tortured, and because Vincent Kartheiser is ever so good in these episodes.
5. The character you used to love but don't any longer: Cordelia. Darla overtook her in my affections in season 2, but I still loved her then. 'Twas season 3 which did it, first with the sanctification of Cordelia and then with her inexplicable (unless you explain it with the Jasmine retcon) indifference towards Wesley. When Fred asked her to intervene for Wesley with Angel and said "imagine how he must feel now", and Cordy replied: "The only feelings I care about are Angel's", I didn't know her anymore. You're Welcome at least left me somewhat mollified in this regard due to the Cordy-Wesley conversation in it, but I never recovered the love for the character I had from season 2 of BTVS to early season 3 of AtS.
Oh, and Lilah. I actually liked her more than Lindsey when (almost) everyone was still first bitching about her and then bemoaning the absence of the Evilhanded One. Her relationship with Wesley was fascinating. And then... a strange thing happened. I overdosed on Lilah fanfic, I supposed, and developed a violent distaste. Especially towards the "Lilah is sexier than anyone, smarter than anyone, had it tougher than anyone, and everyone wants her" kind.
On to my beloved space stations!
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
1. The first character you first fell in love with: Garak. Alas, I missed his season debut during the original broadcast, but from Cardassians in season 2 onwards, I was his.
2. The character you never expected to love as much as you do now: Quark. He's a short greedy sexist capitalist with terrible looks. I always liked him, but somewhere between Profit or Loss and House of Quark he became my favourite regular, leaving such earlier suspects as Bashir or Kira far behind in the dust. (Second favourite regular, in case you care, is Dax in either incarnation.)
3. The character everyone else loves that you don't: Hm. I don't love the entire bunch in equal measure, but I like all of them. But I do have an episode which everyone else (well, most of them) loves which I don't: Take me out to the holosuite. I really, really don't get baseball, and wish American tv was less obsessed with it. I also can't stand the Prophets, but I don't think anyone (in the fandom, that is, not on the show) loves them.
4. The character you love that everyone else hates: if "everyone" means "the majority of fans" - Kai Winn. And not in a "love to hate" manner, either - Her Eminence intrigues me. Another character I love who leaves the majority of the fandom cold, at least if fanfic is anything to go by - Michael Eddington. One of these days, I'll write an Eddington fic, I swear.
5. The character you used to love but don't any longer: Not really. In theory, I was somewhat fonder of Bashir before Quark captured my heart, but in practice, I still love good old Julian and his chocolate eyes as well. I'm just more interested in Ferengi fanfic than in yet another Bashir one.
Babylon 5
1. The first character you first fell in love with: Londo, Londo, Londo. And in conclusion: Londo. 'Twas Born to the Purple which did it, and I never recovered.
2. The character you never expected to love as much as you do now: G'Kar. It took me a while longer to fall for G'Kar, though he amused me from the start. My G'Kar love is slightly less than my Londo love, but that doesn't mean I don't adore him.
3. The character everyone else loves that you don't: Marcus Cole. I went from dislike to indifference to being mildly amused, and his death was touching, albeit more for Ivanova's reaction, but I never go the Marcus love. He was just static in terms of character development (entering and exiting as the romantic knight), not nearly as interesting as the rest of the bunch.
4. The character you love that everyone else hates: Bester comes to mind, but he's far from hated by everyone. I was on the Psi Corps Mailing list, I know.*g* From an out of story perspective - Lochley, I suppose, though the Lochley hostility is mixed with some sympathy these days as far as I know in B5 circles. For starters, I have a thing for fannish underdogs, and secondly, she endeared herself to me through her backstory in Day of the Dead, through bringing an outside perspective on B5 matters such as Bester and the civil war, and for getting Garibaldi out of his self-pitying funk near the end. Great chemistry there, too.
5. The character you used to love but don't any longer: None. They all kept my affection, the clingy bunch.
minim_calibre. Hoping that the hotel dial-up connection from hell (am travelling right now) will work long enough to post this. Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
1. The first character you first fell in love with: Cordelia, in season 2.
2. The character you never expected to love as much as you do now: Buffy herself. I liked her well enough early on, but loved other characters more. The first time I noticed this had changed was in season 5, when I realized she had become my favourite character. Going back, I find early cheerful Buffy heartbreaking, but it's later messed up, scarred but still trying Buffy whom I really fell for.
3. The character everyone else loves that you don't: Kids, there is no "everyone" in this fandom. See also: my little guide for Newbies about the Spike Wars. Mind you, in season 1-3 I think almost everyone loved Willow, whereas I did not - I found her too sweet, too cutesy, but then in seasons 4 - 7 (almost) everyone fell out of love with Willow, so I can't name her. (I find her somewhat more interesting in the later seasons, but never loved her then, either. I think the difference to later Buffy is that Buffy has to deal with the mistakes she makes and that her screw-ups have far more consequences.)
4. The character you love that everyone else hates: See above. There is no "everyone". I did love Wesley long before the majority did, feeling truly sorry for him in later season 3 and falling in love in AtS' season 1 episode I've Got You Under My Skin, but as Wesley is now one of the most popular characters ever, he hardly qualifies. Let's see: Andrew? Also has his defendants, aside from me. Hm. I suppose my unholy fascination with Warren, unglamourized human villain that he is, might qualify.
5. The character you used to love but don't any longer: Cordelia, but that happened on AtS. Hm. I came occasionally close to Spike dislike but that was due to the above mentioned Spike Wars and thus some fannish behaviour, not really due to Captain Peroxide himself, and I ended both BTVS and AtS feeling fuzzy fondness for the Bleached One.
Angel the Series
1. The first character you first fell in love with: Wesley. See above. I had pity and fannish underdog sympathy for him when he was on BTVS, but fell in love rapidly somewhere between his entrance on AtS, the desperate eagerness to please, the exorcism-plus-childhood revelations and the Faith torture.
2. The character you never expected to love as much as you do now: Darla. I was intrigued by the season 1 flashbacks but truly fell for her in season 2, when she became not just my favourite of the Fanged Four but my favourite Jossverse character altogether.
3. The character everyone else loves that you don't: Um. Gunn. Sorry. Except for season 5 when they did some interesting stuff with him, he regularly got my vote for "character I wouldn't mind dying an heroic death". Also, Lindsey. I found him interesting (as opposed to Gunn) but never loved him. And don't get me started on the Misunderstood!Lindsey stuff.
4. The character you love that everyone else hates: Connor. Well, see above. There is no "everyone" in the Jossverse. He has his fans on lj at least. But still probably far more enemies. I loved him from A New World onwards and thought the father-son tragedy of season 4 was absolutely masterfully written. Other people go for the Faith mini-arc, me, I'm grooving on Inside Out and Peace Out and Home. Because I love to see my darlings tortured, and because Vincent Kartheiser is ever so good in these episodes.
5. The character you used to love but don't any longer: Cordelia. Darla overtook her in my affections in season 2, but I still loved her then. 'Twas season 3 which did it, first with the sanctification of Cordelia and then with her inexplicable (unless you explain it with the Jasmine retcon) indifference towards Wesley. When Fred asked her to intervene for Wesley with Angel and said "imagine how he must feel now", and Cordy replied: "The only feelings I care about are Angel's", I didn't know her anymore. You're Welcome at least left me somewhat mollified in this regard due to the Cordy-Wesley conversation in it, but I never recovered the love for the character I had from season 2 of BTVS to early season 3 of AtS.
Oh, and Lilah. I actually liked her more than Lindsey when (almost) everyone was still first bitching about her and then bemoaning the absence of the Evilhanded One. Her relationship with Wesley was fascinating. And then... a strange thing happened. I overdosed on Lilah fanfic, I supposed, and developed a violent distaste. Especially towards the "Lilah is sexier than anyone, smarter than anyone, had it tougher than anyone, and everyone wants her" kind.
On to my beloved space stations!
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
1. The first character you first fell in love with: Garak. Alas, I missed his season debut during the original broadcast, but from Cardassians in season 2 onwards, I was his.
2. The character you never expected to love as much as you do now: Quark. He's a short greedy sexist capitalist with terrible looks. I always liked him, but somewhere between Profit or Loss and House of Quark he became my favourite regular, leaving such earlier suspects as Bashir or Kira far behind in the dust. (Second favourite regular, in case you care, is Dax in either incarnation.)
3. The character everyone else loves that you don't: Hm. I don't love the entire bunch in equal measure, but I like all of them. But I do have an episode which everyone else (well, most of them) loves which I don't: Take me out to the holosuite. I really, really don't get baseball, and wish American tv was less obsessed with it. I also can't stand the Prophets, but I don't think anyone (in the fandom, that is, not on the show) loves them.
4. The character you love that everyone else hates: if "everyone" means "the majority of fans" - Kai Winn. And not in a "love to hate" manner, either - Her Eminence intrigues me. Another character I love who leaves the majority of the fandom cold, at least if fanfic is anything to go by - Michael Eddington. One of these days, I'll write an Eddington fic, I swear.
5. The character you used to love but don't any longer: Not really. In theory, I was somewhat fonder of Bashir before Quark captured my heart, but in practice, I still love good old Julian and his chocolate eyes as well. I'm just more interested in Ferengi fanfic than in yet another Bashir one.
Babylon 5
1. The first character you first fell in love with: Londo, Londo, Londo. And in conclusion: Londo. 'Twas Born to the Purple which did it, and I never recovered.
2. The character you never expected to love as much as you do now: G'Kar. It took me a while longer to fall for G'Kar, though he amused me from the start. My G'Kar love is slightly less than my Londo love, but that doesn't mean I don't adore him.
3. The character everyone else loves that you don't: Marcus Cole. I went from dislike to indifference to being mildly amused, and his death was touching, albeit more for Ivanova's reaction, but I never go the Marcus love. He was just static in terms of character development (entering and exiting as the romantic knight), not nearly as interesting as the rest of the bunch.
4. The character you love that everyone else hates: Bester comes to mind, but he's far from hated by everyone. I was on the Psi Corps Mailing list, I know.*g* From an out of story perspective - Lochley, I suppose, though the Lochley hostility is mixed with some sympathy these days as far as I know in B5 circles. For starters, I have a thing for fannish underdogs, and secondly, she endeared herself to me through her backstory in Day of the Dead, through bringing an outside perspective on B5 matters such as Bester and the civil war, and for getting Garibaldi out of his self-pitying funk near the end. Great chemistry there, too.
5. The character you used to love but don't any longer: None. They all kept my affection, the clingy bunch.
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no subject
Date: 2005-02-15 10:11 pm (UTC)I don't know quite when G'Kar became my One True Character Not Named Ivanova on B5, but it took me by surprise when it happened.
(When we're done with Farscape, the next series we'll be renting is B5. I'm eager to see my husband's reaction to it.)
no subject
Date: 2005-02-15 10:46 pm (UTC)Most people tend to fall for G'Kar in season 2, from Coming of Shadows onwards, because that's when he goes from being the representative of a powerful race and a not just occasional bully to being a the representative of an oppressed people and last hope for their freedom. Same qualities, different application, of course. I think in my case it happened somewhat earlier, for I do remember loving him already in Chrysalis, the season 1 finale.
All in all, it's not that I love G'Kar less, but Londo more - you know what I mean? Can't help myself there. See lengthy essays, ramblings, and lots of fanfic.*g*
Aiiigh!
Date: 2005-02-15 10:38 pm (UTC)*facepalm*
I'm just renting & watching the series now for the first time. Finished Z'ha'dum and Season 3 yesterday.
Sorry. Not your fault. I should have known better. But I was intrigued....
Garak is/was also my favorite character on DS9. Very intricately deep guy. He stole every scene and made the series come alive for me. :-)
"That's why you came to me, isn't it, Captain? Because you knew I could do those things that you weren't capable of doing? Well, it worked. And you'll get what you want: a war between the Romulans and the Dominion. And if your conscience is bothering you, you should soothe it with the knowledge that you may have just saved the entire Alpha Quadrant. And all it cost was the life of one Romulan senator, one criminal and the self-respect of one Starfleet officer. I don't know about you, but I'd call that a bargain."
Still gives me chills. :-D
Re: Aiiigh!
Date: 2005-02-16 08:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-15 10:54 pm (UTC)Yeah, I think that's the exact moment in the series where Wesley replaces Cordelia as my favorite character. I started watching the show in S2, and I was tremendously attached to the friendship between Cordelia, Wesley and Gunn. I was sad to see it fracture between Wesley and Gunn, but I never understood why the writers simply forgot that Wesley and Cordelia had any relationship at all.
no subject
Date: 2005-02-16 08:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-15 10:55 pm (UTC)Please! I miss Eddington, and I'm sorry he didn't live to see the Federation engaged in genocidal biological warfare. It certainly makes him look better in retrospect. And I'm sorry Sisko was never taken to task for his mania in pursuing him.
I agree with you about Lochley, and I'm sorry we didn't have more time to get to know her. Maybe in the movie.
The Winn lover's club seems to be growing. I certainly don't feel as isolated as a Winn fan as I did as a Lennier fan. So, you're having a good influence.
no subject
Date: 2005-02-16 08:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-15 11:58 pm (UTC)See, I can't even blame her for that. That's so obviously the writers collectively losing their minds. *wince*
no subject
Date: 2005-02-16 08:32 am (UTC)Wes/Cordy
Date: 2005-02-16 12:34 am (UTC)Ah, yes. I was nodding along with so much of this (esp. the "there is no everybody in this fandom). But this really clinched it -- fortunately, I handle it through denial, shipping them in alternate universes, etc. That was JASMINE talking, right? and the oddest thing about watching late S4 "Angel" for me is when everybody keeps referring to Cordy, when talking to "Angel," as "The woman you love." Every single time, I'm like -- Buffy's there? no, Darla's there? No. . .Cordy?
and in other news, finally done with class-from-hell so I can go check up on what's been doing in TM-land. :)
no subject
Date: 2005-02-16 08:18 am (UTC)B5: I've seen a lot of Marcus hate, for pretty much the same reasons as you express (lack of long-term character development). I've even heard the phrase "Gary Stu" used.
AtS: See, the "all I care about is Angel" thing ties in to my stubbornly-held theory that in AtS3 we are deliberately seeing Cordy-as-religious-fanatic. Although AtS5's "The PTB want you to go kamikaze, iisn't that great!" rather makes that unlikely.