Unpopular opinions?

[ceebee_eebee]

Another meme, ganked from prettyquotable this time.

Name a fandom, and I'll give you the scoop on at least three of my unpopular opinions related to that fandom.

To be honest, I'm not sure what unpopular opinions I actually HAVE because I never really think about it that way. I'd say the possible fandoms to request are: Doctor Who, Supernatural, Heroes, Star Trek, Star Wars, Batman, BSG, X-files, Farscape, Lexx, Xena, James Bond...or pretty much anything else I've watched in the last 15 years.

Hit me! I'm probably more curious about what my answers will be than you are. ;-)

ETA. The responses may contain spoilers!

Comments

[elyssadc.livejournal.com]

Dude, this is SO fun.

(1) Kirk was a far better captain than Picard. Though Picard was a better Starfleet officer. I recognize that Kirk did some truly questionable shit, and violated the Prime Directive left and right, but he was a man that would have done ANYTHING for his crew. He was brave and brilliant and utterly devious and I will always, always love him.

(2) Deep Space Nine was, by FAR, the best modern ST series. Although I grew up loving TNG, I honestly think that DS9 came the closest to the original series vision of the future. Despite Roddenberry envisioning ST as a somewhat utopian future, I don't think Starfleet or the Federation were ever pictured as infallible. They made shitty decisions, they did morally objectionable things...they were human (in the broader sense of the word). I think DS9 did a MAGNIFICENT job of bringing that to the forefront and reminding us that Starfleet is a military organization, that no matter how benificent a government tries to be there will always be collateral damage, and that peace can only ever be relative.

(I'm not sure how unpopular this next opinion is, but what the hell)

(3) The Borg are one of the most terrifying enemies of all time, but they were a million times more terrifying before the show started fucking around with them. I totally get the whole Queen thing, because I always pictured them as more of an insect hive than anything else. Drones and soldiers being controlled by a central intellegence. But a lot of the stuff they did with Lore and Seven of Nine truly diminished them. An enemy you can't reason with or relate to is ALWAYS going to be more terrifying than an enemy with goals or motivations that you can understand.

(4) I think the new JJ Abrams movie is going to be a complete travesty and I am living in horror of it. The original crew is inviolate and I loathe the idea of any kind of "reimagining." I am torn, however, because I also can't think of anything more awesome than getting a new generation to fall in love with Trek, particularly after the televised abortion that was Enterprise. So, I just don't know what to do other than pray it doesn't suck donkey balls.

[nina-ds.livejournal.com]

I agree very strongly with 3 and 4. And intellectually I agree with 1 and 2, but emotionally...

I…just can't stand Kirk. Now, not quite as much as I loathe Ten, but it's in the same ballpark because of the smug. I just can never like any character who's self-centered to that degree (Kirk, again, less than Ten), but that swagger in Kirk is not only not sexy to me, it's actively repellent. I thought this when I was three, so it's hard for me to break it. I can see that he might be a good leader of his team, but not of me. That said, I really did like the chemistry of the three main characters. It was about the only time I found Kirk bearable, because the others were there to take him down a notch occasionally.

Conversely, I can tell you the exact moment when I fell in love with Picard, though. It was in the very first episode, when they're in an impossible situation, with the threat of death hanging over them, and Picard says, "We surrender." I literally punched the air. Live to fight another day, macho grandstanding be damned.

DS9 I have some similar problems with, in that I could never stand Sisko. The actor is so full of himself that I'm amazed his body can support his head. I liked a lot of the minor characters (and I think Bashir had a fascinating arc), but just as character, the TNG team felt like a family for me. So that's just a different criteria. I also think DS9 took a long time getting going. It got off on the wrong foot with me by so blatantly ripping off Carl Sagan's Contact without any credit, but I think it's only around S3-4 that it started to find its feet.

But the same thing you feel about the Borg, I also feel about the Klingons. If I could take one element out of the entire ST franchise, it would be Klingons. I always rolled my eyes on TNG when it would be a Klingon story. That whole glory/honor thing irks me something fierce!

So, that looks like more disagreement than agreement, but on balance, it's not!

[elyssadc.livejournal.com]

So, that looks like more disagreement than agreement, but on balance, it's not!

I knew you'd be contrary, that's why I like you! (And not just contrariness for its own sake, you have genuinely interesting contrary opinions.)

And I can absolutely see where you are coming from with all of these. Plus, SO MUCH WORD on the Klingons in TNG. Boring to a ridiculous degree and so fucking lame. I also think Worf was the shitiest Klingon of all time because he was all the things about them that suck with none of the balancing awesome shit (their love of a good party and general hedonism).

I also intensely disliked Sisko. I didn't really love any of the character on DS9 the way I loved the characters on TOS or TNG. But the overall storytelling of the later season, particularly the Founder arc and the Romulan/Cardassian alliance of doom rock my world COMPLETELY. When they finally decided to just embrace the darkness, the show became amazing.

The Kirk thing? It's just gonna be one of those agree to disagree moments, ;-)

[nina-ds.livejournal.com]

I also think Worf was the shitiest Klingon of all time because he was all the things about them that suck with none of the balancing awesome shit (their love of a good party and general hedonism).

You know, I had a whole section on Worf that I edited out - turns out we're in agreement there, too. I was not happy for him to cross over to DS9. He was much better as the comic relief in TNG, and I never bought the Worf/Jadzia romance for a minute. Actually, the best love story in that series was Bashir/Garak, but they backed away, even from subtext in the end. (And believe it or not, I have never even read a single B/G story. I've never delved into ST fandom, despite having watched the show since I was born.)

didn't really love any of the character on DS9 the way I loved the characters on TOS or TNG. But the overall storytelling of the later season

I agree, although I also moved countries during that and lost track at some point, only picking back up toward the end. I think I've seen them all, I just saw them out of order. One of these days, DVDs.

Have you ever watched Blake's 7?

[elyssadc.livejournal.com]

I was not happy for him to cross over to DS9. He was much better as the comic relief in TNG, and I never bought the Worf/Jadzia romance for a minute.

You could not possibly be more right. Their relationship was absurd and the actors had zero chemistry. One of the worst things to happen in DS9.

Actually, the best love story in that series was Bashir/Garak, but they backed away, even from subtext in the end.

See, I was all about Bashir/O'Brien. I think their love story was AWESOME and I mean Miles canonically stated that he pretty much loved Bashir more than his own wife. But the Bashir/Garak stuff was also made of Win. Actually, Garak's entire character was made of win. As was his relationship with Odo. (And I also haven't read much DS9 fic, despite being a total fanfic junkie. I just never really thought the show needed it. As opposed to Voyager, whose entire existence for me was nothing more than a vehicle for smutfic.)

Have you ever watched Blake's 7?

Oy. vandonovan has been on me to watch that show for quite a while now and I totally, totally am going to. I know I'd love it. It just seems like a lot of time commitment when I am still so deep into my Who obsession. But seriously, it's on the list.

[nina-ds.livejournal.com]

See, I was all about Bashir/O'Brien. I think their love story was AWESOME and I mean Miles canonically stated that he pretty much loved Bashir more than his own wife. But the Bashir/Garak stuff was also made of Win. Actually, Garak's entire character was made of win.

I definitely think that Bashir/O'Brien is basically canonic, I just loved the layers of mystery and espionage and possibly manipulation vs. real emotion in Garak/Bashir. (Again, my favourite spy show is The Sandbaggers, which is all about the talking.)