December Talking Meme: The Expanse

[lirazel]

dirty_diana requested that I talk about The Expanse.

The Expanse is such an interesting show-watching experience for me because it's got the trappings of things that make me fannish (spaceships, worldbuilding, found families from motley crews, lots of different groups of people who end up crossing paths, etc.) and yet I do not feel fannish about it at all. I admire it greatly; I super, super enjoy watching it; I think it's one of the best shows currently airing; I recommend it to everyone I know who can tolerate scifi. But it does not inspire the fannish squeal of delight in my soul that many lesser, messier shows do. And I cannot figure out why!

Maybe I feel a bit of a distance from the characters? Again, I appreciate them so much--well, I don't really appreciate Holden, but I do most of the other characters. Chrisjen, in particular, is one of the best TV characters I've ever seen. So why do I have zero desire to read/write fic about any of them? I love watching them onscreen, but they take up little space in my brain when I'm not actively thinking about the show.

Is it so good that it's emotionally alienating to me in some weird way? Am I so busy being pleased with the plotting that I don't have emotions left over? I'm not used to watching a show where I feel like I'm mostly into it for the plotting--most of my favorite shows have been much weaker on plot than they are on character or mood or relationships or whatever.

I don't mean this post to be negative in any way. Like I said, it's a fantastic show and I enjoy watching it so much. But I have never latched onto it on an emotional level, and I remain baffled as to why.



I don't think I'm going to be watching S5 right now. My head is just in another place. I'm absolutely going to watch it at some point, but I think that will as part of a rewatch of the first 4 seasons. The show is so complex and has so much going on that I feel like I'm missing out on a lot by not doing a rewatch right before each season debuts.

That said: I want to support the show, so I will be logging into my dad's Prime account and letting the episodes play on mute while I do other things because I very much want Amazon to keep putting money into it. It's the literal least they can do.


I'm sorry dirty_diana__this was probably not at all what you wanted to read about when you requested this topic!

Comments

[dollsome]

This reminds me that I'd like to watch this show someday! Sometimes it's kinda nice to have those shows that you aren't fannishly moved by, but just get to enjoy at a normal person's level of enjoyment, hahaha. I always feel like I'm pretending to be a regular human being during those instances!

[lirazel]

Uh...so...it honestly didn't occur to me that this is how other people watch TV. Like...it's what normal people do! My mind is blown.

[elperian]

I sort of wonder if my reaction to the show (which is the same as yours) is because it's so well done, relatively and in an absolute sense, that there isn't a lot of space to fill in with fannish works. I've written some meta, but it's not like I'm dreaming of fix-it fics or AUs. Maybe that'll change when it closes out.

[lirazel]

Yeah, I have often wondered that myself.

[nyctanthes]

I feel the same way about The Expanse. I've written a teeny tiny ficlet for a prompt, and have a Drummer centric fic that's gone nowhere for a year. In terms of reading, I have little desire to check out fic. I'm not interested in ship fic for the show, and there's already so much plot!

I wonder if part of my detachment comes from knowing there are thousands and thousands of pages of published Expanse stories out there that I haven't read (and probably never will.) What could I possibly say that hasn't already been covered in the books?

[lirazel]

I wonder that as well! I haven't read the books yet, but I intend to do so, and maybe that's why I don't ever want to read any fic.

[pauraque]

I think this is the feeling I was trying to pinpoint in my post yesterday when I talked about how I felt towards DS9. A sense of satisfied admiration + slight emotional remove. Not that DS9 was a perfect show, but for me it lacked the kind of messiness that often inspires fannish feelings. I was content to watch it passively and let it play out rather than feeling the need to involve myself in it.

[lirazel]

I was content to watch it passively and let it play out rather than feeling the need to involve myself in it.

Yes, I totally know what you mean!

[dirty_diana]

No worries, I wasn't expecting anything in particular! You're not the first person to observe that, that the show creates a bit of emotional distance for many people. It is much tighter than a lot of fandom-inspiring works, it's true. I like gen works for it, because a lot of the things it's already about are favourite subjects, but I can't work up a ton of interest in romance for it in most cases. And I saved up S3 to watch after the finale and I do think that's actually pretty good way to watch the show.

[lirazel]

that the show creates a bit of emotional distance for many people.

Yeah, exactly.

I have zero feelings about any of the romances, but romances aren't necessary for me to feel fannish, necessarily, though they do often drive my desire to read/write fic.

[dirty_diana]

Fannishness doesn't have to be shippy, for sure! I was mainly saying that it is probably a sign of my own emotional distance that I am kind of like, no thank you to thinking of any of the characters getting busy, lol.

[lirazel]

Oh, I totally agree! (This comment is sooooo late!)