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selenakFive canon moments that turned a casual fandom into a hardcore fandom for you.
1.) Star Trek: The Next Generation: actually, there are three candidates here, but the last one settled my fate, moving from a TOS-but-willing-to-give-the-new-guys-a-chance to ZOMG!TNG!Fan. The first season of TNG was, err, extremely uneven. The second season had several episodes I liked quite a lot, notably Measure of a Man and Q Who, but I was not yet won completely over. Though scenes like the is-Data-a-toaster debates or Q and Picard in a shuttle certainly helped the process along. Then, however, came season 3 and the episode Sarek. And with it, in addition to a great mix of nostalgia and present day characterness, the scene where Picard channels Sarek's unfettered emotions. Let me tell you, I was glued. And from this point onwards watched every single TNG episode.
2.) Sandman: Neil Gaiman famously remarked that he was still experimenting in Preludes and Nocturnes and didn't really find his narrative voice until issue #8, i.e. the epilogue of the first Sandman trade volume, which introduces Death. This sibling encounter between Dream and Death is what did it for me, too. Until then, I wasn't sure I would continue reading; then, I knew. (In addition to making me a Sandman fan, it made me a Neil Gaiman fan, as it turned out.) Death in her perkiness and slapping-sense-into-her-brotherness was a perfect counterpoint to Dream, I believed these two as siblings, and at the same time, the mythic part of their nature wasn't neglected; Death keeps taking people through this sequence, and it's at the same time scary and comforting. So yes, it was a fandom, here I come moment.
3.) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: so several Highlander fandom friends kept raving about this show. I watched a few season 1 episodes which were amusing, but I wasn't yet hooked. It all seemed pretty black and white, for starters. Season 2 comes along, and I'm still just a casual watcher, not catching every episode. (Though I did see School Hard, as every fandom friend insisted I should. And while I was suitably entertained by the arrival of Spike and Dru, I didn't become really fannish then, either.) No, the episode which made me into a fan, as in, not missing any more episodes from this point onwards and really caring what became of these people was Lie to Me, specifically Buffy's last scene with Giles. (And of course the story leading up to it; Buffy's old friend Ford was until that point the most shades-of-grey villain the show had offered.) To this day, Buffy's last word - "liar" - remains one of the crucial BTVS moments for me. From this point onwards, the show would grow into something fantastically layered.
4.) Angel the Series:: I was mildly curious about the spin-off, especially since Cordelia, who by season 3 of BTVS had become a firm favourite for me, was going to be in it, but I wasn't sure whether Angel himself would be able to carry a series. Angelus aside, BTVS hadn't really presented him as more as Buffy's brooding love interest, plus I had seen Forever Knight. Did there really need to be another vampire detective? So I didn't yet know whether or not I'd watch until the point about 10 minutes into the pilot where Angel, in pursuit of the villain of the day (or rather, night), heroically jumps into the wrong car. (Which sort of cancels the heroic pursuit.) This simple gag not only reassured me the spin-off would have a sense of humour, but also that, by the way he reacted, that Angel did. So this was when I knew I would watch more than the pilot.
4b) AtS when I went from liking to loving: the end scene of Expecting, actually. I was in the very tiny minority of people who had liked Wesley in season 3 of BTVS and who reacted to the news he'd be back in AtS with joy. (*cue Selena's usual "I liked Wes before he became fashionable and when he became fashionable, I didn't like him quite so much anymore" snobbery.*) That last scene, when Wesley is about to leave but desperately wants to stay, and Angel and Cordelia invite him to share breakfeast, made me feel all fuzzy and glowy inside. I think, looking back, the Angel-Cordy-Wes dynamic from the second half of season 1 is my favourite AtS team relationship and -constellation. (Though in terms of storytelling quality and favourite characters, I like later seasons better.) And that was when it came together.
5.) Battlestar Galactica: near the end of the miniseries that serves as a pilot as well, Laura Roslin, secretary-of-education gone president, has a showdown with William Adama. In which she tells him that fighting heroic last stands is really stupid when you have the survival of what's left of humanity at stake, and instead they should hightail it out of Dodge. And he listens. I had seen the pilot and the Pegasus episode of the original BSG, and it hadn't exactly captured my attention; second rate Star Wars, I thought. (And SW hadn't exactly captured my attention the first time around, either, not until ESB really.) Basically the only reason why I watched this new version was that Ron Moore, whom due to his work on both TNG and DS9 - which hadn't been that long ago at that point - I was majorly impressed with, had written it. I found the mini captivating and full of iinteresting elements, plus I loved Roslin pretty much from the get go, but this scene was what settled it for me and pushed it into "awesome! Sign me on! I'll so watch this show!" territory. (And yes, I'm pretty much sighing at the thought of a certain 4.5 storyline now.)
1.) Star Trek: The Next Generation: actually, there are three candidates here, but the last one settled my fate, moving from a TOS-but-willing-to-give-the-new-guys-a-chance to ZOMG!TNG!Fan. The first season of TNG was, err, extremely uneven. The second season had several episodes I liked quite a lot, notably Measure of a Man and Q Who, but I was not yet won completely over. Though scenes like the is-Data-a-toaster debates or Q and Picard in a shuttle certainly helped the process along. Then, however, came season 3 and the episode Sarek. And with it, in addition to a great mix of nostalgia and present day characterness, the scene where Picard channels Sarek's unfettered emotions. Let me tell you, I was glued. And from this point onwards watched every single TNG episode.
2.) Sandman: Neil Gaiman famously remarked that he was still experimenting in Preludes and Nocturnes and didn't really find his narrative voice until issue #8, i.e. the epilogue of the first Sandman trade volume, which introduces Death. This sibling encounter between Dream and Death is what did it for me, too. Until then, I wasn't sure I would continue reading; then, I knew. (In addition to making me a Sandman fan, it made me a Neil Gaiman fan, as it turned out.) Death in her perkiness and slapping-sense-into-her-brotherness was a perfect counterpoint to Dream, I believed these two as siblings, and at the same time, the mythic part of their nature wasn't neglected; Death keeps taking people through this sequence, and it's at the same time scary and comforting. So yes, it was a fandom, here I come moment.
3.) Buffy the Vampire Slayer: so several Highlander fandom friends kept raving about this show. I watched a few season 1 episodes which were amusing, but I wasn't yet hooked. It all seemed pretty black and white, for starters. Season 2 comes along, and I'm still just a casual watcher, not catching every episode. (Though I did see School Hard, as every fandom friend insisted I should. And while I was suitably entertained by the arrival of Spike and Dru, I didn't become really fannish then, either.) No, the episode which made me into a fan, as in, not missing any more episodes from this point onwards and really caring what became of these people was Lie to Me, specifically Buffy's last scene with Giles. (And of course the story leading up to it; Buffy's old friend Ford was until that point the most shades-of-grey villain the show had offered.) To this day, Buffy's last word - "liar" - remains one of the crucial BTVS moments for me. From this point onwards, the show would grow into something fantastically layered.
4.) Angel the Series:: I was mildly curious about the spin-off, especially since Cordelia, who by season 3 of BTVS had become a firm favourite for me, was going to be in it, but I wasn't sure whether Angel himself would be able to carry a series. Angelus aside, BTVS hadn't really presented him as more as Buffy's brooding love interest, plus I had seen Forever Knight. Did there really need to be another vampire detective? So I didn't yet know whether or not I'd watch until the point about 10 minutes into the pilot where Angel, in pursuit of the villain of the day (or rather, night), heroically jumps into the wrong car. (Which sort of cancels the heroic pursuit.) This simple gag not only reassured me the spin-off would have a sense of humour, but also that, by the way he reacted, that Angel did. So this was when I knew I would watch more than the pilot.
4b) AtS when I went from liking to loving: the end scene of Expecting, actually. I was in the very tiny minority of people who had liked Wesley in season 3 of BTVS and who reacted to the news he'd be back in AtS with joy. (*cue Selena's usual "I liked Wes before he became fashionable and when he became fashionable, I didn't like him quite so much anymore" snobbery.*) That last scene, when Wesley is about to leave but desperately wants to stay, and Angel and Cordelia invite him to share breakfeast, made me feel all fuzzy and glowy inside. I think, looking back, the Angel-Cordy-Wes dynamic from the second half of season 1 is my favourite AtS team relationship and -constellation. (Though in terms of storytelling quality and favourite characters, I like later seasons better.) And that was when it came together.
5.) Battlestar Galactica: near the end of the miniseries that serves as a pilot as well, Laura Roslin, secretary-of-education gone president, has a showdown with William Adama. In which she tells him that fighting heroic last stands is really stupid when you have the survival of what's left of humanity at stake, and instead they should hightail it out of Dodge. And he listens. I had seen the pilot and the Pegasus episode of the original BSG, and it hadn't exactly captured my attention; second rate Star Wars, I thought. (And SW hadn't exactly captured my attention the first time around, either, not until ESB really.) Basically the only reason why I watched this new version was that Ron Moore, whom due to his work on both TNG and DS9 - which hadn't been that long ago at that point - I was majorly impressed with, had written it. I found the mini captivating and full of iinteresting elements, plus I loved Roslin pretty much from the get go, but this scene was what settled it for me and pushed it into "awesome! Sign me on! I'll so watch this show!" territory. (And yes, I'm pretty much sighing at the thought of a certain 4.5 storyline now.)
