Saturday, March 10, 2012

Pure in Life, Not in Word

Okay, it's personal quirk confession time.

I like things pure, my chocolate, my peanut butter, my girl scout shortbread.  I'm a rather bland-loving soul in many respects, I suppose.  Take pecans.  I love them, just not in my brownies.  Peanut butter is great for sandwiches, but don't get it on my Hershey bar.  I like my life a bit on the predictable side.  I'm comfortable with routine and shun the unexpected.  Not always, of course, but as a general rule.

Maybe that's why I love to be surprised when I read.  I like to guess how it's all going to play out and be completely wrong, yet still find the ending satisfying--as I did with Ender's Game.  But even then, I don't want my suspension-of-disbelief shattered.  Shaken is okay.  I cringe when cowboys fight aliens or spaceships land on worlds where magic rules.  It's like a brand new batter walking up to the plate with two strikes already on the board.  That's not to say it can't be done and done well, nor does it mean I discount it out of hand.  It just has to grab me right off the bat and make me believe.  I need to be so enraptured that I can accept the premise--and the sooner the better.

Did I watch Cowboys & Aliens?  Nope.  Didn't want to pay money for something starting off with two strikes against it.  John Carter?  The movie has the look of fantasy with all the elements of science fiction. Yeah, I plan to give that one a shot.  What's the difference?  Tough to say.  It doesn't help that Westerns are low on my list of likes.  Science fiction and fantasy are at the top of the list so maybe that's it.  I'll give them all a chance eventually, but not at theater prices.  (Another quirk: I'm cheap.)

Wrath of the Titans? Oh yeah, that's a go.  The Hobbit too.  It seems I'm more forgiving when my investment is a couple hours of watching rather than hours upon hours of reading.  However, it's the same for me with cross-overs within the same genre.  Alien vs. Predator?  Watched it, but was glad I didn't do so at the theater.  The premise and setup was okay, I guess.  I mean, there has to be some plausible way to get these two races together.  On EarthWithout defenseless humans suspecting.  I guess it wasn't a total strike-out, but the bases were loaded with a full count.  The payoff pitch forced the run.  Nothing sailed out of the park.  (At least for me.)

Some people love cross-overs and write fan fiction simply because it doesn't happen enough to suit them.  Not me.  I don't want to see Luke Skywalker strolling along the bridge of the Enterprise.  I don't want to see Dr. Who or Flash Gordon addressing the Imperial Senate.  And I definitely don't want to see Emperor Palpatine lecturing Gandalf on the power of dark side, although that could make for a cute tongue-in-cheek comedy sketch.  Some things, in my opinion, should be kept pure.  Like my chocolate.

What about you?  Does Captain Kirk wooing Princess Leia tickle your fancy?  I'd love to know!

8 comments:

  1. Captain Kirk woo Princess Leia? Wait, does that actually happen anywhere? I think when it's characters that big and well known, it's just weird.

    But I do like mixing different elements of genres. Sci Fi and Fantasy are a not too different anyway. Science rules the one, and magic the other, but they're often similar.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've not encountered Kirk and Leia together yet, but I'd love to hear her hurl a zinger or two at him.

      Delete
  2. I think Kirk and Leia would interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Perhaps there's a romantic comedy in there somewhere?

      Delete
  3. Okay, I once read a novel - this was LONG ago, and I am a LITTLE ashamed - that was a Star Trek meets X-Men crossover.

    And they were serious.

    I kid thee not.

    Classic X-Men meets the Next Gen' crew. My dad's a Trekkie, and he has like, every Star Trek novel ever. I borrowed it out of his collection. No, seriously, it's a published novel. It's not even fan-fic. You can find it on Amazon. 'Planet X'.

    No idea how they figured out the licensing stuff for that one.

    I'm ashamed to say... but I kind of liked it. Sort of. I was, like, sixteen, okay? X-Men meets Star Trek? COOL! And Captain Picard meets Professor X? DOUBLE COOL! (This was before the movies, before the irony of such a situation could be grasped.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wait a minute. I thought Professor X WAS Captain Picard. Well, aside from the wheelchair. Oh yeah, he WAS. lol

      I suppose they'd have to work their camera magic to make that one into a movie! Not that they haven't already done that on STTNG--"Time Squared," I believe from the 2nd season. (And yes, I'm a LITTLE embarrassed to admit I know that so we're even.)

      Stewart's a fine actor though. So "cerebral" in both roles.

      Delete
  4. My husband just started reading John Carter, so I imagine we'll see the movie, too. Let me know what you think about it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shall do. Wife and I were going to check it out tonight, but it looks like it will have to be Thursday instead. I've heard of some *really* bad reviews which always make me quite curious.

      Delete