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It is a Great Time to Be a Fan of Genre Television

Although Ginia Bellafante doesn’t seem to agree with me, based on her reaction to “Game of Thrones” and some of the other genre shows on the cable channels.

As a female fan of fantasy, sci fi, horror, and other speculative ventures, I am loving the wealth of genre shows on right now. Starz’ “Camelot” is an enjoyable look at the Arthur legend. “Vampire Diaries” and “Supernatural” are back on the CW for a few more episodes before the summer hiatus. The first episode of “Thrones” on HBO promises some interesting intrigue. And “V” is only on the bubble, not a sure thing for cancellation.

Of course, genre isn’t always a huge hit on the big or small screen. “Heroes” started out great but fizzled in its first season finale; it never recovered from failing to achieve its promise. “No Ordinary Family” also started out interesting, but devolved quickly into a confusing attempt at portraying the evils of corporate America. And I never got into “Spartacus” on Starz. Somehow boobs and blood in the gladiator ring didn’t have enough allure for me, even though the boobs and blood of True Blood seem to equal pure win in my mind. (I guess I’m a walking contradiction.)

What do you think? Are you a genre fan? If so, do you like your options on television?

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Tags: fantasy, game of thrones, sci fi, supernatural, television

Uncategorized | thejen | April 18, 2011 6:47 am | Comments (0)

A Really Interesting Look at Supernatural Fans

Someone posted a link to this story on the Television Without Pity forums, and I just had to share: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/features/article/53031/move-over-alpha-geeks-here-come-the-fangrrls/

I’m always interested in gender studies and criticism, and I am happy to see that someone is commenting on women in sci fi.

The WB did one thing well–appeal to young women. I think they had some really good ideas with Smallville and Supernatural, and by including teen storylines and attractive men, they possibly turned a new generation of girls on to sci fi and fantasy.

I was raised watching sci fi and westerns–only the sci fi stuck. As I got older, I was drawn to sci fi and fantasy stories written by women because they tended to have better characterization than men. So much of the sci fi written by men seems like a bunch of boys playing pissing games and “see how big my shiny science toy is?” There are some exceptions, of course, such as Piers Anthony (early work) and Philip Jose Farmer (the Dayworld series), but as a whole, male-dominated sci fi doesn’t float my boat.

What about you? Are you a fangrrl? What sub-genres do you like? Or do you think sci fi and fantasy is only for freeky D&D people?

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