I decided to watch an often-forgotten 90’s police procedural because at one time, it had a massive, offbeat legion of slash fans. Here are my thoughts on the first five episodes.
NSFF: How Fandom Has Censored “Mature” Material
Warning: This article is NSFW.
How we have kept “mature” sexual material out of the hands of others has evolved over time, along with our morals and culture around sex. Erotic images that were once common in Pompeii were later locked in the Secret Museum in Naples for nearly 200 years, only accessible to “people of mature age and respected morals.” In Ancient Greece, women weren’t allowed to view the Olympics, because all of the sports were done in the nude.
How VHS Tapes Created a Proto-Binge Culture in Fandom
If there’s one recurring theme I’ve found when I’ve looked into the history of fandom, it’s that what we do now and what fans did back then can be similar in some surprising ways, and that new technology has always played a big role in facilitating the spread of fandom. While Netflix and other home streaming services have been touted as creating a “binge culture,” the reality is that watching entire seasons of a show in a day wasn’t the invention of the internet age.
I Read the Gayest Star Trek Novel
In the annals of Star Trek fan history, few novels have been as infamous as Della van Hise’s Killing Time. Published in 1985, Killing Time was the 24th book in the Star Trek book series being released by Pocket Books at the time. And, due to a publisher mix-up, the infamous first edition is incredibly, painfully gay.
Star Trek: Discovery, “Brother”
My biggest impression of Star Trek: Discovery’s first season was that it felt like they were deciding what show they wanted to make as they went along. Pretty much every Star Trek show to follow the first one has had a problem with this very issue; in such a character-driven, concept-heavy format, you sometimes have to break your show in to know its weak points and its strengths. So I had a lot of optimism going into season 2 of the show. While season 1 wasn’t everything I hoped for, it was a starting point that could lead into something promising.
Fanfiction Explained: Omegaverse
WARNING: This post discusses a very porny, homoerotic fanfiction trope with seasonings of bestiality, BDSM, and male pregnancy. This is INCREDIBLY NSFW.
Agent Carter Rewatch: “Now is Not the End”
Hey everybody! It’s been a while since I did a regular series–the series I was planning to do next has become a bit derailed. I was going to rewatch Jem and the Holograms and humorously recount the various crimes people commit during the episodes–the show has a kind-of hilarious habit of sweeping kidnappings, attempted murder, and various economic misdemeanors under the rug. I realized by the end of watching the first episode that not only would that series involve a lot–a lot–of notetaking, but it would end up with me making fun of the show in a way that wouldn’t actually be fun. As hilarious as the show’s idea of criminal justice is, tearing the show to itty bitty shreds just wasn’t that fun–it was too nitpicky for my taste, and, ultimately, wouldn’t work.
So! I’ve decided to rewatch Agent Carter. And of course, I started at the beginning: “Now is Not the End.”
Besame Cosmetics: AC245
After what seems like a literal year (and actually is probably close to it) of waiting, the first part of the Agent Carter Besame Cosmetics collection has shipped to eager audiences. I personally bought the mysteriously labelled “AC245” within ten minutes of knowing it existed, and after a long, anxious wait, it finally arrived at my front door!
So…what do we get after a year of waiting? Something great…that’s also kind of frustrating.
Genuinely Fake: When Fans Make Parodies That Mean Something
(I’m going to go on a tangent about Star Trek. Bear with me.)
There’s been a complaint, recently, about the new Star Trek series, Star Trek: Discovery. Actually, there have been a lot of complaints, but one of the real head-scratchers has been that The Orville, the parody TV show created by Seth McFarlane, feels more “Star Trek” than Discovery. While Discovery is certainly a departure from the usual Trek formula, it seems…a bit much, to decide that the parody is the more “real” creation.
Star Trek Discovery Review: Season 1, Part 1
Star Trek Discovery finished up premiering the first half of its first season this Sunday; the second half will come in January. But now that we’ve received a complete narrative arc, it’s a convenient time to look back on the half-season and reflect on what we’ve seen so far. I ended up opting not to do weekly recaps of this show; for one, I was busy, and for two, it’s such a season-narrative type show that it felt like I was attempting to review an unfinished project. I wasn’t decided on how exactly I felt about the show, which is a little contrary to, well, reviewing something.
I’m not sure I have a definitive opinion on the show, but I do have some thoughts. (No spoilers, unless you count vague plot references as spoilers.)