Question to Self::::::

[nwjarvis.livejournal.com]

Why do I even read the TWoP CM forum? The lack of perception there alternately depresses me and pisses me off. I know that board is all about the snark, but Jesu Christo, people!  </rant>

Comments

[thecowboycliche.livejournal.com]

I've been in fandom in one form or another and I've learned this: I can be kind of sensitive and take things personally when they're about my favorite TV shows/actors/movies/musicians, and I've learned who and where I need to stay away from. There are many many places I do not go because I know they will only piss me off and I don't need that in my life. I used to fight those battles, now I know it's useless, so I just let people go on being stupid and excuse myself from it. I try to surround myself with fans that I like and I enjoy discussing fandom with them. For me, I've found that to be the most sane way to experience fandom. :)

[nwjarvis.livejournal.com]

I know. I usually stay away, but occasionally I'm drawn to pretty much anything CM just to see if there's any news I haven't heard elsewhere.

At least the posters on TWoP can usually back up their opinions... IMDb is just an online day-care.

[eviltracey.livejournal.com]

I'm curious: what specifically pissed you off?

I go there every now and then and there's this one poster in particular who was always moaning and groaning about how CM had jumped the shark (this was before this last season). I felt like yelling "If you don't like the show, then watch something else!) Whoever it was came back this season and said they liked this season's episodes, and that Seaver was a great addition to the team.

Examples

[nwjarvis.livejournal.com]

OK, these are edited for space, but you can trust me that they're not really out of context. Oh, and not all by the same poster:
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I don't personally think the show does a good job with the whole "We Are Family" notion they think they have going on...
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Know thyself, show, and stick to your strengths. CM, in my opinion, shouldn't even bother to TRY for character-centric storylines. They're abysmal at them. They not only fail to make their characters more layered and relatable, but actually manage to make them LESS likeable with increased screen time.
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Give the team members SOME sort of differentiation in terms of personalities, skills sets and interrelationships. As Xxxxx and others noted, they're all just blandly friendly coworkers who are all equally awesome at pretty much everything.
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I wholeheartedly second someone's brilliant suggestion to just embrace the dull, detached and distant JJ as being deliberately detached and distant. That's the impression the writers and actress gave me, though I suspect it was unintentional.
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I also don't think they've ever shown (Prentiss) to be exceptional at her job. She never runs an investigation, she never offers insights the others don't have.
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As someone who thought Prentiss was dully awesome and underdeveloped and blandly competent in an inessential way....
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The show really just wants to be a straight-up procedural with no muss, no fuss between the characters. But then it needs to stop introducing messy storylines.
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Everyone's entitled to their interpretation, of course, but sometimes I can't help but wonder if we're watching the same show, y'know?

Re: Examples

[eviltracey.livejournal.com]

My impression of these posters is that they just like to have something to complain about. (IIRC, they said that JJ was bland and that Prentiss was a Mary Sue. Until the decision was made to get rid of JJ and Prentiss.)

[joey112.livejournal.com]

Sometimes we so set ourselves up for this. So give up what you don't like, masochism just aint worth it. Well for the most part.

[pink-siamese.livejournal.com]

Some of us are in the fandom for the fic (writing it and reading it) and don't follow the show as much anymore. I personally don't think the current season is anywhere near as good as past seasons, and yeah, the phrase "jumped the shark" might've come out of my mouth a few times. I have fandom friends who agree with me, and we all hang out together and bitch sometimes and read & write the fics we want to read & write and it's aaaaall good.

If this forum upsets you, just stay away from it. Fandom is a wild and woolly place. There's room in it for everyone.

[laminy.livejournal.com]

I don't even engage with people that I can't deal with, because I know when I get upset, I just get stupid and can't say anything worth a damn. There are people in this community I've almost fought with and I just have to step back. Gotta avoid and forget.