Jaye's Musings

5 characters you think were created to be disliked but you really like anyway.

I could do this meme based on 'Highlander' alone, however, I'll be diverse.

Kronos -- Highlander: The Series. Really, enough said.

Bilis Manger -- Torchwood. He's old, he's not sexy, and he's bad, bad, bad (and creepy)...but he's compelling.

Herrick -- Being Human. The evil vampire with plans to dominate humans. He's appears just so...ordinary and average, but a real bastard and I love that.

Brick Top -- Snatch. There's nothing redeeming about this man. He's a sleezy, brutal, nasty, unattractive bully of a pig farmer. And yet he makes the film.

Obadiah Hakeswell -- Sharpe. Utterly, utterly evil. Brilliantly played by the late, great Pete Postlethwaite (hey, that rhymes!) not to make him likable...you still hated him, but so watchable that you were glad to see him killed...and sad at the same time.

ETA: I think it's worth noting that for 4 of these 5 it certainly isn't based on the actor's look, and that in every case for me, the actor put something into the character that in someway connected with me to make them very real and something quite human in them (even if some aren't human). I do go for the fictional bad guys, often for the sexiness factor, but these (and others I didn't list) manage to be surprising and three-dimensional.

Name your five favorite foreign-language films/series.

Mission: Kashmir (Hindi)-- Yes, it's cheesy in places but it ticks so many of my ticky boxes!

Jodhaa Akbar (Hindi)-- Just so sumptuously beautiful (and not just the actors!).

Kontroll (Magyar) -- A very strange film, but compelling at the same time.

Ghajini (Hindi) -- Bollywood version of Memento and a very intense Aamir Khan.

Hero (Chinese) -- A visually beautiful martial arts film with Jet Li, Zhang Ziyi, and my favourite, Donnie Yen.


-- And I can't wait until I get around to seeing My Name is Khan, Kites (full Bollywood version), and The Warlords

What 5 fandoms would you like to get into, but just can't?

Phantom of the Opera
Well, I'm kind of on the edge of this fandom, but I'm definitely not going to take the plunge and dive in fully. Too bloody scary! Not the book/show/movie, but the fans. Just from the little I've seen, waaaaaay too wanky and over just about every aspect. And the fic...I'm not even going to go there. *shudder*

Spooks/MI-5
I'm not even sure there's an actual fandom for this, and I haven't searched out that many fics. But even if there is, I haven't seen all the episodes, and I'm not sure when I'll get to see the others.

Farscape
Loved the show, just can't get into the fandom for some reason, although given the nature of the show I think I would like some of the indepth analysis that I would assume (and to a certain extent thanks to a friend know) goes on within that fandom. Perhaps again because I haven't seen every single episode, so I feel at a disadvantage? *shrug*

Anything current
I like, fandom wise, shows that are finished with.

Gerard Butler
Although, and assuming an actor can be referred to as a fandom, I am kind of in it, I stay well away from the main forums for his fans (such as the Gerry Tarts)...because again....scary people. All squee and no substance.

Is it just me or has, over the past seven or so years that I've been online, fandom become much more about the squee? I know some places still have good, thoughtful essays/debates over a show or whatever, but in general it just seems much more about teh pretteh. Now, I'm not against a good bit of eye candy at all, but I like a good mix. Is it because I'm mostly involved in 'old' fandoms and there's nothing new to say? I don't think so. I used to be on the main Sean Bean mailing list, and there used to be a good mix of thoughtful, well written reviews and opinions of his films and some silly, smutty stuff. But now it all seems to be just squeeing over him by hundreds of fangirls...with the most indepth comment about [pick a role] is "Isn't Sean hot as ... " I dread to think what fangirls of Johnny Depp or Orlando Bloom are like...no wait, I've seen them...*shudder* What has happened to an intelligent mix? Excess squeeing becomes really old, really fast.

Yes, I squee over Sean and Gerry...they are good to squee over, but I also like analysing and hearing other's opinions of their characters and films.