Are you still a fan?

The comics are just funny to me. I mean come on Dawn turned into a centar. Even those ridiculous people on Charmed never into a centar and they've been everything.

I still like the show. I think that the comics were written directly for a specific type of people who really enjoy it and everyone else is just kinda meh.
 
Love the show - loved After the Fall and some of the IDW Spike comics I'm reading.

Nothing, so far, has been able to change the fact that I have enjoyed Buffy and Angel for years. It won't change no matter how much people rip it apart, no matter what happens in the comics, I'm still going to enjoy the show.

Period.
 
I don't mind the comics, though I don't love them as much as the TV show. The lesson of the comics, it seems to me, is that the TV show benefited from certain constraints of budget and technology. In the comics, anything is possible, the constraints are off, and the story spins out of control (in places). Those constraints did not happen because Joss cleverly put them there. They were outside of his thinking. You might say they were a happy accident.

So?

I have a high tolerance for ambiguity. When I watch S7, which I am right now, I don't have to think "such and such will happen in S8 because Joss says so and of course he must be right." I don't mind saying, to myself and anyone who will listen, "I'm right and Joss is wrong."

I'll pause a moment to let you guys recover from the shock.
 
Yes, I am. Mostly because I can't fathom not ever being one and I have every reason to always be. I have watched the series over and over on DVD and have been obsessed since 1997 so it's a bit embedded in me now, even if my obsession goes dormant at times. I haven't read all the comics but am familiar with the major events of them and although I'm not fond of some of it I'm able to overlook them as it's a different medium for me. Sure, it's canon and I acknowledge it's happening but I can't experience the comics like I experienced the TV show which is how and why I can detach them and still be a fan. Even if I was fantatical about the comics I would still be a fan because after all this time of being one I'd hate to just stop just because I'm grumbly about some plot points.
 
Kean said:
I think what has actually killed my interest is fandom.

The more I analyse or read analysis of the show, the less I enjoy it. I can't just sit back and enjoy and episode of tv for what it is. In my head I'm deconstructing it. And what I find more than anything is that the more I tear it apart, the less I like it. Any of it. The writers, the seasons, the characters...everything. As well as that fandom got really not fun for awhile, to the point where it was a burden and that's just crazy to me, so I pulled way back.

So, you may ask, what the Hell am I doing here when I don't really watch the show anymore and find fandom too much? Well, honestly? The fandom.

As bad as it gets, it's the Other people, the people who make it AWESOME that keep me discussing the characters and stories. The people who I look for in threads because I enjoy their posts. The people that remind me, every now and again, how amazing the shows actually were.
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I've been thinking about fandom quite a bit recently. There was a thread about this, or something similar that I was glancing at and it made me realize that being so involved in Buffy fandom is what may actually cause a Buffy burnout (is it possible? 😱) I only just got into fandom about two months ago but I am already finding myself searching for the few people whose posts I enjoy reading. BB and LJ have been the first places where I have actually discussed BtVS and Angel with other people so I am still thoroughly enjoying throwing my two cents in where I can. I still enjoy watching the occasional episode but when I do I find myself over analyzing it and thinking about what threads are about that particular episode/character/story-line. I wonder how I will feel about BtVS/Angel after being involved in fandom for a longer period of time. Guess only time will tell....


xfivebyfive said:
But I think for some people, like myself, its easier to not think of the comics as canon because you don't see the actors doing the things in the comics. A tv show has a lot more impact then trying to visualize it like with comics or books.
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Same here. That is exactly why I have been able to separate the show and the comics.
 
Kean
Kean
Buffy Burnout reporting for duty ;) IMO, it is most certainly possible :)
I`m not a big comicbook reader (only read the six first issues of season 8) and for some reason I just can`t take them seriously. I was very excited about them before they came out but after reading them I was like "Fu*k! This isn`t Buffy!!" and I stopped buying them.

And I am very much a Buffy fan today. Specially now as I`ve started to rewatch the show from the start. As I watch all these old episodes I just keep thinking "My God what a great show!!". I will never get over Buffy! lol!
 
W
Willow My Love
I love your status!!! Spice Girls FTW!
Kean, Sco, I thinke I can see where you're coming from. I was looking at some screencaps to play with the other day, and found why train of thoughts constantly interrupted by less-than-enjoyable associations to discussions. As much as I can love me a spot of nitpicking, there is a lot to be said for just sitting back and enjoy the ride rather than analysing every single scene to death. («Chosen» springs to mind.)

To me, being a BtVS fan has to do with the rà´le it plays in my own history. When I occasionally watch an episode or two, like I did on Friday in the nice company of myself, some chocolate and and old friend from Islay, it is a link back to things I have done on my own. Today I'm a wife, mother, a colleague, a part-time student, a committee member, a sturdy thirtysomething – Buffy is a reminder of something else, something I still am even if it's not at the surface. So yeah, I am still a fan.
 
Skanky Vamp
Skanky Vamp
I meant of course turn off the train of thought, not the episode
miromurr said:
train of thoughts constantly interrupted by less-than-enjoyable associations to discussions.
Click to expand...

So you just what, turn them off? That is, more or less, what happens, save the turning them off bit.
 
I'm still a fan. Knowing what's going on in the comics does not effect any of the episodes or the characters in the show.. I don't have a hard time seperating those two.
 
Seems I'm the only one who doesn't read the comics then? I read a few, but they don't seem to be the same feel as the show, and I enjoy watching the show. I still feel everything I did when I first saw the episodes. I don't get that with any other series. The jokes are still funny, the suspense is still thrilling, the action is still amazing, and the trauma is still sad. I still love it very much.

I can see how over analyzing the show could get tiresome. I never seem to have that problem I just get engrossed in the show. I don't think anything could change how I feel about it.
 
I will always be a fan of those seven brilliant seasons of television.
No matter what they do with the characters and the story now can change that.

I've never understand that actually.
The show is what it is (or is it was?). Why would the comics or anything else, like a new movie, affect that?

I mean... of course can your view of a TV show change over time. But that's because you have changed yourself.

/SK
 
Taake
Taake
[No message]
I have watched and loved many series over the years, from the original "Star Trek," to "Highlander," and "Buffy." There have been other shows that I enjoyed, certainly, but those shows and a few others have touched something within me that goes beyond simply enjoying an ordinary TV show. Beyond that, I have no way to explain my exact feelings, other than to say that, for those several shows, I consider myself more than a mere fan. They are part of me and always will be, and even though I can practically speak the dialogue along with the actors now, my throat still tightens up when Spock places his hand against that plate glass wall and gasps out with his last breath, "I have been, and always shall be, your friend." I still feel Buffy's sadness to the depths of my Spuffy heart when she kisses Angel and whispers, "Close your eyes..." I still feel like cheering when she and Spike clasp hands in the heart of the hellmouth, and their passion literally bursts into flames (hey, this is MY rant, and I gotta get Spuffy in there someplace)

I've always analyzed the movies and TV shows that I watched. It never detracted from my enjoyment of "Rio Bravo" that John Wayne's principal weapon in the movie wasn't in production until almost 25 years after the movie was supposed to take place. I never cared, though I certainly noticed it, when Duncan Macleod pulled a three foot sword out from under a coat where it COULDN'T have been just seconds before. I could care less that the demons and monsters that Buffy, Angel, and Spike fought were so obviously men in rubber suits that it was almost laughable at times. And I can dissect and analyze the same scene a hundred times and still find it both entertaining and enjoyable every time that I see it.

What has been going on in the comics for the last several years hasn't affected my enjoyment of the TV series, because, to me, they are two separate universes, just like the Connor Macleod Highlander movies and Duncan Macleod's TV show.

And what the other fans, or the non-fans choose to say about "my" shows doesn't really bother me. Tarzan, Captain Kirk, the Macleods, Buffy, and all of the others are, like Buffy told Angel "in my heart," and I can't ever see any time in the future when they won't be there.

So, yeah, I guess that I said all of that just so I could explain exactly why I can say with all conviction, that I'm still a fan.
 
Z
zobothehobo
That was really beautiful.
Kean
Kean
I'm not going anywhere but apart from Lyri you are the only other person to know the extent of how not-fun the last year or two has been for me in fandom. It may not be what it was but somehow I can't seem to stay away.
S
SoBlind
[No message]
That's sad that Season 8 has decreased for love of the show so much.

While that's not the case with me, I certainly can understand where you are coming from. Our characters have done some awful things recently.

Buffy and Angel are are my "comfort space." Whenever I'm sad, or angry, or bored I just pop in an episode, and its like I'm instantly transported back "home." Does that make sense? It calms me. It makes me laugh. Now I'm the first to admit that my interest in this series probobly borders on dysfunctional, but what can I say? I love these characters so much. I actually stopped reading the comics for like, 5 issues because i was so distubed about what was going on that I was actually physically sick. A lot of what's gone on in Season 8 has upset me greatly, but never to the point where I would declare myself a non-fan.

Season 8 has managed to do one thing, though, that I'm quite sad about; it's destroyed Angel for me. He used to be one of my favorite characters. But the rest of the show? No way. I'm still a fan. Always will be. I respect Season 8 as canon, although I don't like many of it's developments. I can still watch the show and enjoy it as much as I ever did, thank God.

That said, your not alone in this. Many other fans I have talked to have told me that Season 8 is dangerously close to "ruining" the series for them, and for that I am truly sorry.

Buffy's fandom is absolutely incredible - everyday I'm impressed by our dedication - , and I'm sad to lose even one of us.
 
P
prophecygrrl
It's my comfort space too! :)
Z
zobothehobo
I was just trying to explain to a friend about Buffy being my "comfort space"
W
Wesley
the destruction of Angel makes me very very sad as well. Really broke my love for the show as well.
I'm still a fan, but I can't really look at the comics on the same level as the TV show. I know what is in them and I've read a few, but it isn't the same. They are canon, but to me they are something else; they are an expansion of the show, but I think it is perfectly fine to view the show on its own without the comics. I'm not sure I could even look at them as being 100% connected if I tried.

Still, I have no problem with the comics and I'g glad they exist to bring the characters to life after the show.
 
Kean agrees: I'm not going anywhere but apart from Lyri you are the only other person to know the extent of how not-fun the last year or two has been for me in fandom. It may not be what it was but somehow I can't seem to stay away.

Then maybe it's time for you to jump the fence, Miss K. All that Bangel broodiness was bound to get to you eventually, and not in a good way. I was over there for just a month, and I started snappin' and snarlin' at my TKD students. Come on over to Spuffy, if just for a short visit. It's parties and dancing girls over here every night, and the weekends absolutely defy description. Just learning the secret handshake and taking the blood oath
 
Still a fan and always will be. The comics will never affect my love for Buffy because they aren't the show, it is as simple as that for me.

Someone on a podcast i listened to the other day said that watching Buffy "was like being with friends." Sure it is corny but it is exactly how i feel when i watch the show.

It still provides that range of emotions from heartache to sheer joy and that's why i'll always be a fan.
 
I think the fandom offends me now; I think that is what it is. I am offended that just because I was a big Buffy fan that I would accept anything. I think that was the problem that started with the comics, as I began to get more aggravated and then just expanded from that.
 
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