TV Poll! I don't watch enough to know what's on!

[beccatoria]

Okay so. When I started hating The X-Files, it was right around the time I fell for Farscape. When Farscape got axed BSG very kindly showed up to steal my heart. Now that BSG is over (and my heart is in tatters; nope, still not over the surreal anti-intellectual reactionary technophobic crap: after all the stuff it pulled and the wars fought in its name they should have kept the tech and thrown GOD into the sun) I find myself adrift.

My cunning plan was to jump on the Terminator train and develop wallow in an enormous crush on Agent Ellison and an intellectual crush on Weaver/Cameron/John Henry. However, it's looking increasingly and depressingly likely that it won't get renewed. *commences wailing*

And for real, I watch like, no television. Occasionally I'll catch an episode of House or Bones or something but other than that, my TV schedule consists pretty much exclusively of BSG, Terminator and, when it's on, Dexter. So I need advice on what to start watching next.

I know you can't force fannish love, but I can at least start, um, "seeing other shows," and finding out if there's a spark, right?

So, my personal ad! Sorta.

Basically I like science fiction/fantasy/magic realism/SOMETHING that means its not just...our normal, ordinary world. This makes me feel like a really huge geek, because I don't watch shows everyone tells me are amazing like The West Wing or The Wire because I'm like...blah. It's not crazy or magic or epic enough! Boo!

I love brilliant acting and interesting character arcs. I like narrative story arcs.

I also like shows that make me think. I like shows that try to talk about big, complicated issues, and I have a special weakness for techy cyborgy religious weirdness and moral relativism done well (i.e. NOT as an excuse for the hero to do reprehensible, selfish things just because it's "dark" which MUST make it "cool" and "more mature.")

I mean, I enjoy TV that doesn't make me think lots too; I do completely get that "I just want to have fun with it!" mentality. But I find it hard to be truly fannish about those shows because, well, I end up with nothing to say, or vid.

Similarly, I can love shows that are set completely within the bounds of the "real world" (Dexter and Breaking Bad are both ace) but similarly, it's hard for me to really connect on a total geek-out level.

I think the problem is that I'm a science fiction fan in the tradition of LeGuin or Ghost in the Shell. I want everything. I want all the big issues we face combined with world-/civilisation-spanning alien fascinating stuff that punches these issues out into an arena other than the one we're familiar with, and as such, allows us to examine these issues from new angles.

I guess what I want is intelligent science fiction, with a side-order of character-arc and extra epic.

Do any of you know where I might be able to find such a thing these days?

* * *

Redacted.

Comments

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Sort of. I love some anime. I love Ghost in the Shell. Castle in the Sky is possibly the most beautiful movie in existence. I love a series called Martian Successor: Nadesico which may very well be one of my favourite TV series of all time, it's just beautiful and I seriously need to rewatch it (and had already been thinking that now might be the time to do so.)

On the flip side I think Neon Genesis Evangelion, once I got over the amazing and wonderful shock of animation being given serious treatment and allowed to tell a serious story, was an entirely overrated experiment in narrative disatisfaction.

My problems with anime generally fall to two issues, which are not unrelated.

Firstly, the levels of fan service and dodgy shit that goes on. I find the whole cutesy treatment of dirty old men and underage girls seriously squicky, and yes I know that's partly a cultural issue, but it's something I have trouble getting past. This extends into a lot of the tropes they employ with regards to characterising women - and also men. Anime employs short-hand cliches, and even visual cliches in its animation styles - like suddenly changing to superdeformed visual expressions to be "cute" or "upset" or whichever. It's something I find kind of irritating, although I can get past it for a good story.

Secondly, a lot of the anime that gets exported to the west is very...similar? Fake Science explanation for psychic powers, angsty teenagers, giant robots (sometimes) and then a big explosion at the end and something about nature.

Which isn't to say I don't like that kind of thing.

I think, to be honest, my biggest disappointment with anime is that it's full of stories I think I'd love told in a style I cannot stand.

As if every science fiction story were written in the style of Lovecraft, or Mills & Boon, or John Grisham, you know?

I'm sure there's stuff out there that's not like this, I just don't have the fortitude to find it. If you have any suggestions though, I'd be very open to them.

[jo-lasalle.livejournal.com]

You have an awesome Luna icon! Hello, Luna!

I don't think I've watched enough anime to be systematic about a theory of 'Julia and anime'; I get your points about the tropes and annoying cutesy things. I've also never fallen into fannish love with one, though one came close once, and I've liked some a lot.

What actually sparked my comment, though, was that I was flashing on X and thought that might be something for you. More fantasy than science fiction, to be sure, but medium/style aside, the feel of it actually reminds me a bit of SW? It might not be your thing for a number of reasons, but it's a) pretty serious (I wouldn't swear this on my life, but off the top of my head I can't recall any cutesy chibi faces ever -- though there's one character who might have committed that, it's been a while), b) pretty epic, and c) pretty.

This is the trailer. No spoilers. If you don't know it yet and the visual style appeals, I would actually turn this into an official rec, based on... well, gut feeling mostly. I was never fannish about it, but it was interesting *and* gripping, and it might be your thing.

[sonofgodzilla.livejournal.com]

Pointless weighing in from me:

the feel of it actually reminds me a bit of SW

There's a lot of almost!"Star Wars" moments in CLAMP's work, isn't there? "Tsubasa" has a couple of moments worth of nice comparison too. I've never been a huge fan of "X" but respect really does deserve to be given to the ladies of CLAMP as they are amazingly talented and awesome.

Ahhhh...also: hi beccatoria, sorry about your loss of "BSG". Also also: we watched the first episode of "Sarah Connor" recently and loved it so I'm going to pretend I didn't read your cancellation fears!

[nightxade.livejournal.com]

I second the CLAMP love. And of course, you need to catch up on Terminator. SERIOUSLY. And while I hope it doesn't get cancelled, I kind of don't mind if it does because the ending was AWESOME. Lots of questions and lots of room for becca-fic!

ETA: I'd actually recommend the CLAMP manga (there ought to be lots of translations now). I also will add Sanctuary, Crying Freeman and Bastard to the list. Turn off the TV and curl up by the fire place.

If you must watch TV, I'm going to try Dollhouse again. I have no intention of watching the episodes prior to 'The Awakening' because they were just bloody boring and took too long to get to the point, however, friends whose opinions I respect say that the show has improved with the expected turn of events. It's not perfect and it's not up to Firefly caliber, but it's better now.

[jo-lasalle.livejournal.com]

Oh, also. This is not a rec as such, because it was actually too fucking crazy for me, but if one can handle massive amounts of narrative crazy and is into world-building, Utena might be worth looking into. (It's also got a whole lot of skeezy sexual stuff going on, but I think that was a case of consciously skeevy, not OMGcute!1!)

[luzula]

Butting in here. I just commented on your latest story and surfed around your journal after that. : )

If style is your problem with a lot of anime, I'd recommend Serial Experiments Lain and Haibane Renmei. They're both interesting sf/fantasy stories about big issues, and they're beautifully animated--kind of low-key, with none of the super-deformed-ness. The first one is set in modern-day Japan and is about Internet reality bleeding into ordinary reality. The other one starts with a girl falling from the sky, and then waking up in a new world, only she has wings. It's ultimately about sin and redemption, I would say. There's some interesting world-building, and it isn't as Christian as it sounds. Both of these are only thirteen episodes long.

I also like Princess Tutu very much. It's a fairy-tale where the story-teller is behind the scenes orchestrating it all, and the characters in the story try to get free. There is a also a lot of ballet dancing, and all of the music is classical ballet music. I love the animation in this one, too, but it occasionally goes into super-deformed territory and cuteness. This one has 26 episodes.