A terrific fannish idea...

[tzikeh]

This could turn into something big.

A few weeks back, movies_michelle started an lj community, sportshoes, for discussion of the tv series Wiseguy. The twist on it is this: as a pimping mechanism, the community would watch and discuss one episode a week, in order, as if the series were currently airing. The Monday post is open to discussion of that week's episode, but no spoilers for future episodes. The folks who are well-acquainted with the series can post anything they want about the whole series, so long as it's behind an lj cut. Most of Wiseguy is out on DVD, so renting or Netflixing is fairly simple. The community is only three episodes in, so you should all drop by and play along...

and I think this may have started something.

pipsqueaky is currently polling in her lj if anyone is interested in doing the same kind of thing for due South - watch from the beginning, one episode a week, for new folks, while those who have seen it can post whatever they like behind cuts. The poll is here. Again, due South is readily available on DVD.

I think this is a great way to introduce new blood (heh, New Blood) into a fandom as well as appeal to the old-timers - there's something about the vicarious joy of seeing someone else watch something you love for the first time that gets a longtime fan energized.

I wonder if other fandoms will run with this idea.

Please feel free to pimp all this around, or start your own!

Comments

[pipsqueaky.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the pimp!

I am addicted to living vicariously through newbies now. Worse than crack, yo.

[nomadicwriter]

Alas, 'tis not available at all for those of us in region 2. I still have all my crappy tapes from years ago, but I'm missing a few episodes, or bits of. (Many years on, and I'm still pissed that my VCR chopped off the ending of Juliet is Bleeding.) One day I must get that multi-region DVD player... Do the US DVDs still have the original soundtrack, or have they replaced some of it? 'Cause the music on that show was always amazing.

That community sounds interesting; I'm crossing my fingers that it will attract some new gen writers to the fandom. I love the show, but the fandom is so slash-focused I can barely find anything I'm interested in reading.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

There are gen zines - several of them, actually. I just don't know where you'd find it online. Have you checked exwood? You can search by "gen"...

[nomadicwriter]

Yeah, I've been through the archives. I know there is some gen around, it's just that I read most of it years ago, and there never seems to be any more written. Actually, the main problem I have with the fact that the fandom is so overwhelming slashy is that people often don't bother to label their recs - or sometimes even their fics! - so checking out things that look like they might be gen fic is kind of an exercise in frustration.