whatever happened to the fourth wall?

[krickets]

→ So my friend Abby and I are going to try to rewatch Buffy and Angel using this watching order list. She is already in mid-season two and so in order to catch up with her I did the "short version" of season one. (Welcome to the Hellmouth, The Harvest, Angel, and Prophecy Girl.) Gosh, the sfx are so hard to watch, going back. I forgot how bad they were! But it's crazy how so many of the lines are familiar to me to this day. How many times did I watch Prophecy Girl? It must have been a bunch.

I got through When She Was Bad (2x01) last night, so if I keep up the pace I can catch up to her soon. Since I'm trying to get back into working out, I think what I'll do is bring my phone with me to the gym and watch it with headphones when I do the elliptical/bike. Good motivation! When She Was Bad was just a great lead-in to season two. I do think that the show matured ten-fold between season one and season two. It took what was great about the show in general in season one, the darkness in Buffy and the sacrifices she has to make, the strong ensemble and bond between the characters, the witty banter, Cordelia and Giles in general, and it just made it that much better. Season two is definitely when this show came into its own. Watching it now (almost 20 years later, fuck I'm old) it really still shows.

→ I have been quietly watching Girls since it came out and sadly I had completely missed the most recent season. But I recently caught up, thank goodness. I have to say the current season is pretty darn great. The writing in the first episode back was so on point that it's not even funny. I especially enjoyed the most recent Marnie-centric episode.

The only thing I am not thrilled with is the Jessa/Adam thing and how it's developing. It's especially hard to get behind them as a couple after Adam's attempt to reconcile with Hannah last season and how that scene just completely broke my heart. I think Jessa and Adam are great to watch together, but the revelation that they've both wanted each other for a long time didn't ring true to me. Plus they're both just too pretty together. Ick. Gross. I do love Fran, though. I am just not sure what I want for Hannah. When she and Adam were great together, they were phenomenal. So it's hard not to want that for her. But then maybe their time has passed? I don't know. And I am not sure how things are going to happen as far as her finding out about Adam and Jessa. I mean, he's meeting Jessa's family and agreeing to pay for her degree? And they still haven't told Hannah. I don't know how she will react when she finds out. I do know that I am still holding out for Ray and Marnie though. Also, Elijah is literally the best.

→ Unpopular opinion time? I am so annoyed by The 100 fandom. I was behind on the show when the thing happened. And I guess I'll spoiler cut this for anyone who is living under a rock.

I'm going to preface this by saying that I was a fan of Lexa and of the Clarke/Lexa relationship. I am such a non-traditional shipper that I actually ship Bellamy and Raven (which the show clearly doesn't) so I don't even GAF about Bellamy/Clarke. I am not ANTI-Bell/Clarke but I am more invested in Bell/Raven because I am clearly a crazy person. I'm telling you this because I want it to be clear that I'm not saying this as a Bellamy/Clarke shipper. (And I never liked Finn/Clarke.) Now that that's out of the way, I can say that I'm so disgusted with the fandom reaction to Lexa's death. I get that killing of lesbian characters is a thing. But it's not like the show could have sent Lexa off to college in another state. That's not the kind of show this is. If the actress had to leave the show (I was actually surprised she was even in this season because of Fear the Walking Dead) it just made logical sense to me that she would probably perish in some way. It could have been done another way, but it would have been abnormal for this show.

It just seems like it's incredibly selfish of the fans to campaign against a show in an effort to kill it. This is a show I fucking like that has low-ish ratings and that is kind of an underdog to begin with. And I would just really fucking appreciate it if fans (ex-fans?) weren't trying to actively sabotage it. And the worst part about it is that the fans aren't even upset at the text alone, they're mad about the social media accounts of the show runner (and apparently others?) -- which is just stupid, I'm sorry -- and they're mad that the character and relationship they were invested in was actually promoted by the network prior to the character's death? If they hadn't promoted the character or the relationship, they'd have been pissed at that too. (Also, that would have been really bizarre.) So I just don't see how any of this could have resulted in anything other than an angry mob.

There is something sacred about lesbian characters and lesbian couples on television and people get very passionate about it, especially in the LGBTQA community. Their feelings are still valid, but I don't have to like their actions. It's one thing to be upset and it's another thing to start an all-out campaign. I happen to be glad that The 100 was renewed. But I have to wonder that if the show doesn't survive another season. Who is to blame? And there's still Clarke. She's a bisexual character who is the lead in a show and she's still there. This is not me saying be grateful for what you get, this is me saying that if the show dies, so does Clarke.


God, I miss the fourth wall. So fucking much.

Comments

[geckoholic]

Rewatching BtVS these days is a really interesting experience, isn't it? I'm up to season six with a friend, and some things are so different and some are still the same.

I agree about the mess in the The 100 fandom. I mean, I get why they're pissed. They have every right to be. But aiming to get the show canceled? That's taking things a bit to far. Argue to have the showrunner displaced. Rant and rave and conjure up all the shitstorms you want, but wow. Nope. Don't aim to put a whole number of people who had NOTHING to do with that decision out of a job.

So, man, yes. The fourth wall was sure nice when it was still in place, wasn't it?

[crickets.livejournal.com]

I guess I am just having trouble with the fact that I have been upset by character deaths in the past, including Tara which is apparently drawing a lot of comparisons here for obvious reasons, and since I am a fucking adult, I built a bridge and got over it. Most of the articles written on this (And it has gotten mainstream media attention. There was an article in Variety for christ's sake!) -- most are quick to point out that this fan base, and specifically the one causing the ruckus, are very young/teens. And what kind of backwards world are we living in where fans being upset gets written up in Variety? Beyond a passing mention in an interview? It's just so bizarre to me.

[geckoholic]

Yep, same here. I guess I'm still expecting fandom to be this, like, hidden society that rumbles and grumbles bit itself, and having so much attention shone on it continues to baffle me.

[girlwhowaited.livejournal.com]

The watch order list - how do I install this or is it already on my Netflix?

EDIT: I meant Party Mode. I heard it's a new feature?

[crickets.livejournal.com]

Okay the watch order link I'm just using as a reference and will only start really using when I start Angel. It tells you what order they aired and which episodes are particularly important to watch in a certain order. I hadn't heard of Party Mode. But a quick google search reveals it used to be a Netflix feature on Xbox but is no longer available. That's all I know!

[girlwhowaited.livejournal.com]

A Youtuber I followed was talking about it. It's an extension called Netflix Party. You go onto Chrome and add the extension so you can watch and chat with friends :) Thanks though!

[crickets.livejournal.com]

Ah okay yeah that's not something I'd heard of. I googled Party Mode. Very cool. I'll look into it. I wonder if it works on mobile and not just your computer. I never use my computer. Especially not for watching TV. We have the Roku at my apartment.

[hypertwink.livejournal.com]

I never really liked Shosh but I love her in Japan. Separated from her friends, she's growing up and becoming her own person. I wonder what happened for Chris Abbott to come back for an episode of Girls -- from what I remember, Lena was pissed when he left. I guess, she still is because look at what she did to Charlie lol but I have to say, it was a great way for Marnie to have an epiphany about her marriage.

I like Jake Lacy and he makes me like Fran even if he's a little sketchy -- it doesn't help that I don't like Hannah so I always take Fran's side lol Seriously, though, even last season, I was sure they were going to break up when they were starting to like/date each other.

[crickets.livejournal.com]

According to the inside the episode interviews Lena had a brain child with this episode and wrote the whole thing, realizing that if he wouldn't agree to come back, the whole thing was for nothing. But she called him and he agreed.

Hannah is so hard, nearly impossible to like. But something happened in the episode when she decided to go to grad school and I have become very invested in her in a way I never was before. I do feel like she is better than she was. To a degree. But hey if this show can make me like an entire episode dedicated to Marnie, it can do anything. Haha.

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

are people trying to get the 100 canceled because of lexa's death? seriously? that's... extreme. and stupid. i get why people are upset, and they have a right to be, but like you said, how else were the ptb going to write lexa out so the actress could leave? she's a major character with a major plotline - you can't just send her off to hang out with some other tribe for half a season. if the showrunner is saying boneheaded things online, then call him out on them. but don't campaign to get the show canceled.

on the other hand, it's good to know buffy still holds up. (even if the effects don't.) if the apocalypse comes, beep me. :D

[crickets.livejournal.com]

Well a week or less after the episode aired, maybe just a day or two, the CW renewed it's entire line-up for next season. So cancelation was almost immediately out of the picture. But they are certainly trying to encourage people to quit the show to kill the ratings. And yeah they want the show runner gone. I am not even remotely convinced that is warranted. He didn't say anything bone-headed. They are mad that he posted pics of the actress on set filming the upcoming finale. Giving them hope she would make it to the finale. (My thought is, maybe she is in the finale??? Flashback or some other reason?) Or maybe she just stopped by set to visit? Also, they are mad that he encouraged fans to watch the episode in question. Hahah. No lie. Why wouldn't he? That literally makes no sense. And then after that they were mad at him for his radio silencd when they were calling for blood after the ep. Can't exactly blame him. I think I read that he published an explanation/apology that they also took issue with, but I haven't seen or read it. And it blows my mind that such a thing would even be necessary. Apologizing as if he did something wrong. Maybe he narratively made a poor choice given the context of the history of lesbians on TV and could have killed her off in a better way? But if every TV writer that ever wrote a bad episode had to issue an apology about it, we would simply run out of space on the internet.

[crickets.livejournal.com]

That scene where Cordelia follows Buffy out of the Bronze in When She Was Bad to give her some on point unsolicited advice? Still 100% golden.

[favoritexrecord.livejournal.com]

I'm going to save the link to that order list for Buffy/Angel. I plan on watching both on Netflix for the first time sometime in the near future (I saw episodes of each here or there back when they aired but didn't watch regularly).