fray-adjacent

Past memes: 2016 | Um apparently I only did this once before?

1. Your main fandom of the year?

Steven Universe, as last year. But also a certain creative decision made during Season 4 of The Mindy Project knocked my socks off and massively increased my commitment to that show.

I also listened to Hamilton A LOT, and spent way too much money buying tickets to see the show this year. But I never really got into the fandom side, so I'm not sure it counts.

2. Your favorite film watched this year?

Arrival. It was so beautiful and hopeful and wonderfully told, and I looooovvvved all the process stuff in it.

3. Your favorite book read this year?

Sorcerer to the Crown, by Zen Cho, for being delightful and filling my soul just when I needed it. Also Black Wolves by Kate Elliott, which was a slow burn but so good, Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (narrated by Adjoa Andoh -- I alternated between reading and listening on this one), and the audiobook of Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein (narrated by Morven Christie and Lucy Gaskill).

4. Your favorite TV show of the year?

Steven Universe. This season of Orphan Black was also excellent, and left me happy that the show hadn't ended with three seasons as originally planned (and as I'd wished when S3 finished).

5. Your favorite online fandom community of the year?

Dreamwidth, but I haven't been engaged much with online fandom at all this year.

6. Your best new fandom discovery of the year?

Underground -- but I think that might be the only new show I watched in full this year? I have not been watching much and when I do I generally rewatch old stuff for comfort, or watch my few ongoing shows: Steven Universe, The Mindy Project, and Orphan Black.

Underground got some flack for being more of an action-drama than its premise suggests, but I kinda loved it. I mean, why shouldn't runaway slaves get to be action heros? And the ending left me So Excited for Season 2.

7. Your biggest fandom disappointment of the year?

I finally read Uprooted, and while in some ways it was better than I expected, it was also a lot more violent than I expected and I just wasn't feeling it. Though calling that a disappointment is a major stretch. I mostly really liked the book.

8. Your TV boyfriend of the year?

Rahul Kohli from iZombie is outrageously attractive to me, so I'll choose him even though I only watched one episode of the show. Certainly not any of Mindy Lahiri's boyfriends.

9. Your TV girlfriend of the year?

Mindy Kaling. I have heart-eyes for her.

10. Your biggest squee moment of the year?

Every. Single. Moment. of the Steven Universe episode Last One Out of Beach City

Restarting a meme from...January (!) to help me get back in the habit of posting.

Day 11 - A show that disappointed you:
Oh this is maybe why I stopped this meme! I dunno, the world is shitty right now and I don't feel like knocking anyone's fandom. So I'll just say that Doctor Who fans are my favorite part of the show.

Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times:
Lol, most of Buffy. Like seriously intently watched, and within the last 6 years. /o\ The episode I've watched the most is probably "Once More, With Feeling". I still love it so, but I had to back off because the impact was starting to wear off. It's beautiful, it's funny, it makes me cry. Especially when Buffy sings, "well that depends/ on if they let you go". Shit. Shit shit shit. Now I'm all full of love and sorrow for my girl.

Also, I used to listen to the soundtrack (along with my "Buffy playlist", which is what I called it before I knew that fanmixes were a thing, and which by the way sparked my first vid ideas) while bicycling to and from work on the Burke-Gilman trail. So now I associate specific songs with specific parts of the commute. E.g., "I'll Never Tell" immediately makes me think of riding in the dark and cold of a winter evening under the Aurora Bridge and around the corner past Theo's chocolate factory. I always skipped "Rest in Peace", which is the only song on the soundtrack I dislike.

(In case you're wondering, I listened with only one earbud and, um, usually took it out when I was riding on streets with cars. Usually.)

I'm trying to think if there are any non-Buffy episodes I've watched more than five times. Possibly some X-Files or Star Trek: Voyager episodes, because I had a few on tape so I probably rewatched them a bunch, but that was so long ago I don't remember them well. Maybe a few episodes of the US version of The Office, because Mr. Adjacent cycles through sitcoms while he cooks -- which is most of the time -- and there are few I can't resist. Mainly "Boys and Girls", "The Dundies", "Duwali", that beach party one. I like when everyone goes somewhere else together.

( Links to previous answers )

( the rest of the questions )

Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving:

Most shows?  I'm very reluctant to try new things. 

Though as I've discovered fandom and thus given more thought to what I actually like in television, and had opportunity to interact with people who are good at articulating what *they* like -- and don't like -- it's easier to predict what I'll enjoy.  But yeah, pretty much everything I watched prior to ~2012 I was cajoled into giving a shot. 

( 30 Questions )

Oops, I'm getting behind!

Day 07 - Least favourite episode of your favourite TV show:

Everytime people talk about the bad BtVS episodes, all I think about is the things I like about them.  Even "I Robot, You Jane" has Giles/Jenny fun, plus that great final scene:


(This image comes from tumblr, but I can't seem to track down the maker to credit them.)

Hmm.  Maybe "Bad Eggs".  That episode is pretty boring.  Or "Wrecked" -- not because it was as bad, in and of itself, as some other contenders, but because it threw Willow's arc a bit off course.  Before that, I think Willow had one of the strongest character arcs I've seen on television.  After "Wrecked", it was still strong, but it never worked quite as well for me.

Day 08 - A show everyone should watch:

I don't believe such a thing exists.  Sorry.

( 30 Questions )

Day 05 - A show you hate:

I was about to write how I never watch more than a few episodes of a show if I don't enjoy it, but it's not really fair to say I hate something if I haven't seen that much of it.  Or, more likely, I won't even watch one episode of the shows I'm pretty sure I'd hate, but then it's really not reasonable to say I hate them.

But then I realized: I've seen most of How I Met Your Mother.  And I kinda hate it.  No amount of Robin Scherbatsky in the world will be enough to stop my bitterness at giving hours and hours to this show when I could have been discovering Parks and Recreation working on my dissertation.

( 30 Questions )

Day 03 - Your favourite new show (aired this TV season):

Seriously?  I've only watched one: Agents of SHIELD.  So I guess it wins by default.  But, even though I haven't seen a single clip of it, I've heard so much good stuff about Sleepy Hollow, and I really do intend to watch it.  So I bet once I do, that would beat Agents of SHIELD.

( 30 Questions )

If you want me to answer a question or prompt of your making instead of posting on this meme, prompt me here!  I still have plenty of days left.

I like memes.  I like how they get me posting.  I especially like memes with questions that draw out a substantive response rather than just yes/no/link here etc.  So I'm going to do the TV meme, which I last spotted over at deird1's page.

Day 01 - A show that never should have been cancelled:

Ooh, this is a tough one.  My immediate response is Firefly.  I imagine that's a lot of people's immediate response.  It's one of my favorite shows, and it was way too short.  I'm not a huge fan of Serenity and would definitely prefer that we got that story, as well as The Shepherd's Tale, in a season or two of television instead of a film and comic book. 

But at the same time, just that first season still feels like a complete package.  No, we didn't get any big plot arcs, and yes there are lots of unanswered questions.  But the end of "Objects in Space" doesn't leave me hanging.  It leaves me feeling all the affection for these characters that the other episodes already earned.  And yes, more is great, but I don't need it.

What I'd really love is a third season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.  The first time I watched I was let down by the lack of resolution with the S2 finale -- I'm not sure I realized that there wasn't a third season, actually.  But it was only on rewatch, when I more fully appreciated just how many plot threads and story lines and character arcs were coming to a head and left to dangle, that I realized what a loss that cancellation was.  I think T:tSCC is probably the only show whose cancelling has actually made me angry.

( Complete list of questions )

Give me a show/movie/fandom and I'll tell you:

my favourite female character
my favourite male character
my favourite book/season/etc
my favourite episode (if it's a TV series)
my favourite cast member
my favourite relationship
a character I'd die defending
a character I just can't sympathize with
a character I grew to love
my anti otp