On crossovers
Jul. 31st, 2004 05:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakTomorrow, the ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
multiverse2004 stories will be unveiled, and I’m all aquiver with anticipation. You know, there was a time where I wasn’t that fond of crossovers – extremely sceptical towards them, as a matter of fact. Mostly because I had the misfortune of coming across some none too convincing ones first. Since then, some excellent writers have convinced me of the error of my ways.
So, what does a crossover need in order to work for me?
1) Good background knowledge of both worlds. Should be a given, but isn’t. In ye olde Highlander days, I used to find stories by the dozens where the author kindly informed her readers that she hadn’t really watched HL/ knew Methos only from fanfic/ knew only the Methos episodes, but hey, she had this neat idea etc.
2) On the other hand, not too much infodump. Recapitulating the crucial events of two canons in detail tends to bore the reader familiar with both or either. Admittedly, this is tricky. I admire crossovers which work even though one is familiar with only one of the fandoms, by giving just enough information about the character from the other show and their world. Granted, this is tricky. Where to draw the line? But that’s how I first came across Blake’s 7 - by reading a crossover. I was intrigued enough to want to know more about this old British show. (Even though I assumed Vila was female before pronouns were used, simply because of the name.*g* Given that I had Latin at school, I should have known better.)
3) No ooc-ness simply because one character is in unfamiliar surroundings. Doesn’t mean he/she shouldn’t react to the unfamiliar surroundings – after all, this character does not have the information the author has. But Buffy telling X all about being the Slayer within five minutes feels wrong even for the later seasons, when she’s more blasé about it. Same with any of the HL Immortals telling Y all about their status, and when Methos spills the Horseman beans, I start screaming.
4) Romantic pairings should be believable. This is another tricky area. Any imagined crossover has the problem that we simply don’t know whether the characters would have chemistry; we never saw them together, and we never will. But if a story gives me in-character reasons for the two people in question to jump each other’s bones, other than “they’re really pretty”, I’m all for it. (Exception: if the character in question is someone like James T. Kirk whom the show had going after pretty much everyone female with a pulse and not under his command, he doesn’t need much additional incentive to make a pass at character Y.*g*)
5) Difficulties at combining specific canons acknowledged. For example, the magic used in the Potterverse is clearly of a different type than the one used in the Buffyverse. So if I read a crossover which doesn’t even bat an eyelash at Harry & Co. coming across Tara or Willow who don’t need wands and didn’t get letters on their 11th birthday, my suspension of disbelief is overstretched.![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
marinarusalka, otoh, turned this difficulty into a virtue in her splendid crossover “The End of the Beginning”, in which Giles and Ethan become entangled in the last war against Voldemort precisely because both sides look for a different type of magic.
6) New ideas. Not absolutely necessary – Liz Williams once wrote a great DS9/B5 crossover in which Garak meets Londo Mollari, which doesn’t mean I wouldn’t love to read another crossover using the same idea. But once I read a drabble byaltariel1 which managed to cross LotR with Watership Down and am still agog with admiration at the ingenious idea. (Plus I’ll never look at Sam’s coney stew with the same eyes again.*g*)
My one big crossover turn-off: if characters from different shows played by the same actor meet and end up in bed. Which might be someone’s ideal sexual fantasy, but it certainly isn’t mine.
multiverse2004 stories will be unveiled, and I’m all aquiver with anticipation. You know, there was a time where I wasn’t that fond of crossovers – extremely sceptical towards them, as a matter of fact. Mostly because I had the misfortune of coming across some none too convincing ones first. Since then, some excellent writers have convinced me of the error of my ways.So, what does a crossover need in order to work for me?
1) Good background knowledge of both worlds. Should be a given, but isn’t. In ye olde Highlander days, I used to find stories by the dozens where the author kindly informed her readers that she hadn’t really watched HL/ knew Methos only from fanfic/ knew only the Methos episodes, but hey, she had this neat idea etc.
2) On the other hand, not too much infodump. Recapitulating the crucial events of two canons in detail tends to bore the reader familiar with both or either. Admittedly, this is tricky. I admire crossovers which work even though one is familiar with only one of the fandoms, by giving just enough information about the character from the other show and their world. Granted, this is tricky. Where to draw the line? But that’s how I first came across Blake’s 7 - by reading a crossover. I was intrigued enough to want to know more about this old British show. (Even though I assumed Vila was female before pronouns were used, simply because of the name.*g* Given that I had Latin at school, I should have known better.)
3) No ooc-ness simply because one character is in unfamiliar surroundings. Doesn’t mean he/she shouldn’t react to the unfamiliar surroundings – after all, this character does not have the information the author has. But Buffy telling X all about being the Slayer within five minutes feels wrong even for the later seasons, when she’s more blasé about it. Same with any of the HL Immortals telling Y all about their status, and when Methos spills the Horseman beans, I start screaming.
4) Romantic pairings should be believable. This is another tricky area. Any imagined crossover has the problem that we simply don’t know whether the characters would have chemistry; we never saw them together, and we never will. But if a story gives me in-character reasons for the two people in question to jump each other’s bones, other than “they’re really pretty”, I’m all for it. (Exception: if the character in question is someone like James T. Kirk whom the show had going after pretty much everyone female with a pulse and not under his command, he doesn’t need much additional incentive to make a pass at character Y.*g*)
5) Difficulties at combining specific canons acknowledged. For example, the magic used in the Potterverse is clearly of a different type than the one used in the Buffyverse. So if I read a crossover which doesn’t even bat an eyelash at Harry & Co. coming across Tara or Willow who don’t need wands and didn’t get letters on their 11th birthday, my suspension of disbelief is overstretched.
marinarusalka, otoh, turned this difficulty into a virtue in her splendid crossover “The End of the Beginning”, in which Giles and Ethan become entangled in the last war against Voldemort precisely because both sides look for a different type of magic. 6) New ideas. Not absolutely necessary – Liz Williams once wrote a great DS9/B5 crossover in which Garak meets Londo Mollari, which doesn’t mean I wouldn’t love to read another crossover using the same idea. But once I read a drabble by
altariel1 which managed to cross LotR with Watership Down and am still agog with admiration at the ingenious idea. (Plus I’ll never look at Sam’s coney stew with the same eyes again.*g*) My one big crossover turn-off: if characters from different shows played by the same actor meet and end up in bed. Which might be someone’s ideal sexual fantasy, but it certainly isn’t mine.
