So, Sanctuary.

[meganbmoore]

What I expected:  Amanda Tapping: Immortal monster hunter with possibly questionable accent.  There are sidekicks.

What I got: Boring, self-righteous, sanctimnious dude learns the supernatural/abnormal/whatever-this-show-is-going-with-I-forgot-what-term-it-chose exists.  Amanda Tapping shows up for a few minutes to tell us how amazing he is, then ends the episode with "Oh yeah, Jack the Ripper?  Was totally not a killer until a transfusion of my blood-to save his life-made him one."

You know, I knew the Jack theRipper part would be an issue for me*.  I wasn't expecting "It's all her fault!" from the word go.

I need brain bleach.

*Dear universe:  Jack the Ripper was a sadistic misogynist who mutilated his victis while they were still alive.  Get over him already.  There's been exactly one "let's solve the mystery of Jack the Ripper/figure him out" plot that I liked.  It involved the women he wanted to make his vctims kicking his butt a lot.  (IIRC, I didn't have issues with Simon R. Green's version, but evryone thought he was an evil sadistic creepster and only kept him around to kill the things they pointed at.)

Comments

[demimonde]

'jack the ripper, woobie' is pretty much why i refused to watch that show, a brief glimpse of what the fandom does there was enough to put me completely off the whole thing

[havocthecat]

Heh. I love that character on that show. BUT, I will point out that I don't think he's a woobie, I hate his woobiefication by the fandom, and I have a fannish history of writing a bunch of fic about Spike from BtVS and enjoying him as both a bad guy and a romantic interest (er, for Drusilla, who is arguably worse than Spike is).

Um. So. Basically, yes, I like bad guys (and have an utterly ridiculous thing for bad guy/bad girl and an even worse thing for bad guy/good girl that I can't get over) and hate fandom woobiefying them, and do agree with you. I mostly watch the show and avoid 90% or more of the fandom.

[demimonde]

i think for me the fact it's jack the ripper is just a dealbreaker, i would never be able to get past that :/

[havocthecat]

No, no, I totally get that. And I'm not implying you should, which, if it came across that way, sorry.

[demimonde]

Oh, no! I get where you are coming from, I just can't make the separation myself. Which is a bummer, because I was tentatively interested in the show when I first heard of it.

[havocthecat]

I think it helps, for me, that I like the actor. BUT. I mean, dude, Jack the Ripper. I actually couldn't get past it for a while either. I basically refuse to judge or not understand people not getting past that, because it's a kind of skeevy choice to make, show-wise.

I've thought about busting out my old XF fandom serial killer researching skills and writing fic about how fucked up Jack the Ripper really was. (I never said that liking the character didn't mean really weird dichotomies in my brain, I hope.) But then I realize I don't want to depress myself by re-researching Jack the Ripper.

[demimonde]

HEYERDAAAAHL none of my sga buddies back in the day ever liked Halling like I did :( I love that guy, he's fabulous.

I think that is correctly erring on the side of not ruining your own day, ack - my friend Claire writes an Abberline that is fantastic, though, good times.

[havocthecat]

I miss Halling. *insert spiel about Athosians staying on Atlantis*

I'm sure that your friend does! You know tons of good writers.

[demimonde]

Ripper stuff can be done really well, it is a bit beyond my writing ability, though, I think. /hoards talented people

[havocthecat]

Did you watch the webseries or the tv show?

By the way, canon got around to making it 100% Not Her Fault some time in mid second season.

ETA: I'm not saying "you should give it another chance" or "you should see that it's all okay now," I'm just pointing out that the show made an attempt at fixing something that, yes, I agree, was rather failtastic.

[meganbmoore]

Full pilot for the TV show.

Also, I think I've had my fill of "awesome dude with no training or experience does job better than people (conveiently women) with years of experience."

Honestly (and this is kinda pretty much my comment on the entire convo above) I think a large part of it is that Jack the Ripper was REAL, which makes it creepier, somehow, than the way Vampire Diaries bends over backwards to woobiefy Damon even as he rapes/abuses/murders women, because while people LIKE Damon are real, Damon himself, and his abilities, aren't.

(Also, very fond of Dru, think Angelus is a blast, FREAKING ADORE Darla and Lilah, thought Spike was fun and his plotline good through season 5. Don't ask about the last 2 seasons and Spike. When you'll notice the woobiefying began.)

[demimonde]

Yes, this, re: Jack the Ripper being real.