would happily rewatch The Expanse, for instance

[rinue]

A friend and I are trying to pick a TV show to watch together, and she said as a sorting idea that she remembers I don't like science fiction

which is a pretty amazing thing to say about me

but I think what she's actually picking up on is that she watches all the Star Wars and Star Trek shows and I don't, which I have finessed as "I don't have a lot of time to watch TV so I can't watch something where I have to have seen tens of hours to be able to talk about it"

but really it's that I don't like shows that are too big to fail, and this includes a lot of science fiction franchises, but also includes saturday night live and bake off. Once something can't be personal and weird and smash its format up and go in new directions and decide when it's ready to resolve things, it becomes smooth fuzzy surfaces with the fingerprints wiped off.

this is a friend who does not understand art, and she worries there is something wrong with her because she doesn't understand art, but we will eventually figure out a show

Comments

[sabotabby]

I do like Star Trek, but only when the shows are self-contained and I don't have to watch extra material. Star Wars tends to fail more on this, though not as spectacularly as the MCU, where it feels like I have to do months of homework to watch a movie?

Severance? IMO it's the best thing on TV right now, very self-contained, and lends itself well to discussion and re-watching.

[rinue]

yeah, with recent Trek I watched a couple of seasons of Picard (because my mom understandably loves Patrick Stewart very much) and popped in and out of Disco (because I understandably love Michelle Yeoh very much). But this counts as me "not watching Trek." Reminds me of the 90s when I was watching Next gen and DS9 and Voyager and reading tie in novels and throwing how to host a star trek murder parties, and I still was told I wasn't a trekkie (unprompted, it's not like I was asking). I don't know why. I think it's weird message board and fan convention territoriality.

And the MCU good lord.

I am very interested in Severance! Alas, I do not have apple tv (and would feel silly subscribing with how little television I watch and how many streaming services are already on my tv because other members of the household watch a lot of tv). I expect I will maybe binge watch someday at a friend's house.

I've suggested maybe Wheel of Time; I only watched the first season and it was a while ago. I didn't stop watching on purpose; I just lost track of when it was coming out.

[sabotabby]

Ah, see, I torrent everything. I never pay attention to what's on what.

Trek's problem is that it tries to be everything to everyone, which in theory it should allow. But when you have tie-ins and Easter eggs it contributes to the fan convention mentality. I should not have to watch a cartoon aimed at children to understand what's happening in the adult show.

[valancy_jane]

it becomes smooth fuzzy surfaces with the fingerprints wiped off

I am far more tolerant of mass media than you; I delight in a good popcorn movie. But yes, yes, precisely. I get so confused when people tell me "oh, you love those comic book movies, you only care about sci fi and fantasy," when I love so many things (particularly unique storytelling, which no one can accuse comic book movies of).

It's a bit of "I am not a great reader, and I take pleasure in many things," Elizabeth Bennet moment (even though I am a great reader; but you understand).