OMG. I'm actually jealous of her trip to LA now.

Just mention the Buffista connection and she'll totally understand.

Sail, if you want Sentinel stuff on DVD we can totally hook you up cause she has collections called "Sentinel & Stuff, Volumes 1 through I dunno"

I figure I'll just Netflix 'em, Katie. Otherwise, they'd probably sit in a pile somewhere and gather enough dust to cause mites to evolve into Presbyterians. With Netflix, there's some internal prompt to finally get the damn DVD back to the company so I can get another.

I think some Buffistas would appreciate this fan-comic. It's SPN meta, but certainly more broadly applicable.

re: the comic

Way to be supportive, Presumed Husband.

Was that supposed to be amusing or a slam on women who play online?

addendum: Interesting juxtaposition since I got a review this morning for an SGA Christmas story, where the woman who read it said the story gave her hope for happy Christmases in the future after a particularly sucky one this year.

I thought the comic felt heavy-handed and like it misplaced blame on TPTB.

I interpreted the comic two ways. First as a slam on the SPN producers who okayed a script that ridiculed a segment of their fan base that helps keep them on the air, i.e., fandom.

Second, that within the confines and definitions of the "real world" what women's imaginations invent to keep them interested, invested, and inventively alive, and which spills into and fuels the "reality" of their lives, is viewed as a dirty secret, something which should or must be hidden from people in their lives who are supposed to know and support them. Or something which they should give up because their nearest and dearest disapprove.

Others may, probably have, gotten more or different impressions from the comic. It's certainly swept a segment of my flist with reaction and discussion.

What TPTB, Plei? Showrunners? Specifically SPN staff? Or wider spectrum of blame?

My reaction wasn't as strongly focused on show staffing as it was on people in personal lives from whom one's involvement in fandom must be concealed. Highly subjective, admittedly.

Second, that within the confines and definitions of the "real world" what women's imaginations invent to keep them interested, invested, and inventively alive, and which spills into and fuels the "reality" of their lives, is viewed as a dirty secret, something which should or must be hidden from people in their lives who are supposed to know and support them. Or something which they should give up because their nearest and dearest disapprove.

All of which is true. But tying it wth the first issue (and using the title) seems to be saying creators have a responsibility to keep those activities hush-hush and under wraps, to not acknowledge it publically, lest they upset the social order by tearing off the curtain to reveal the disorder.

One thing mentioned in a flocked discussion of it was that Becky was, for all other flaws they saw and issues they had, not portrayed as ashamed of her hobbies, nor punished for them by the text. It isn't treated as something that should be shameful, even if it is treated as something weird.

The convention episode showed the fans as varying degrees of weird and risable, but the one pair came through in the end ("Why does Dean's lighter always work the first time!"). Heck, and they even gave Dean some renewed hope.

The showrunners may think the more volatile fans are a bit odd, but I don't think they have contempt for them.

Honestly, the episode didn't bother me nearly as much as the earlier one (the title of which I forget from S4 where we first met Chuck, yeah that one) did. I didn't get the feeling of being ridiculed as much as gently winked at for being a fan. I can see how people would feel otherwise, but I don't share that view.

I do agree that Becky was not treated unfairly, and I'm bemused at my faint surprise at that.

And I do get that the comic is weighted toward blaming the creators, and even agree, now my attention has been drawn. My initial reaction was more global than specific, though.