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DC was a teen soap but not a soap opera? I guess I'm not getting the distinction.
This shipper topic always seems to upset people. The thing is I LOVE romantic stories. Love them. They are my favorite kind of story. And when I get one I like, I want to see as much of it as I can - basically, in tv terms, that is what shipping is.
But that doesn't blind me to the gigantic problem that fan shipping poses for writers. Going on and on in depth with one romance, kind of mirroring a long term romance that one might have in real life, does not seem to me to present a writer with much opportunity. They need to keep conjuring up dramatic situations, not endless variations on one theme that will keep shippers squeeing. Time and again when I read what shippers are looking for in a story, I am struck almost dumb by the banality of what they want to see.
I agree that Angel suffered some from lack of romance. But I have to say I think it benefited MORE. They have had wonderfully creative stories this year, and no shipper wars have been started, no fans clawing each others eyes out over rival fantasies. Great writing. A show I'm never embarassed to recommend to friends, or to watch with company.
Joske mentioned Smallville and Everwood, two examples of shows aimed at teens that are NOT shipper based. Smallville has a shipper theme running through it, but it's kept very subdued, and always secondary to the comic book action nature of the plot. Everwood, unlike DC, actually DOES have recognizable situations of teens and families, hasn't latched on to any squeeable ships and is therefore free to let romances bloom,develop and die as the story dictates. It is also free to let its main characters look foolish and face realistic consequences, never having hobbled any of them with the heroic mantle that the Golden God, Dawson Leery, was so short sightedly saddled with.
[ 03-25-2004: Message edited julialex ]
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