watching X-files with the lights on; and organic chemistry

[xparrot]

Saw the new X-files movie last night. gnine told me it was random about two dozen times. This was not enough to convince me of how random it really was. If you're wondering how random was it? Just so you know, it was RANDOM.

The plot - plots - plot and a half - what the heck did Scully's storyline have to do with the price of fish, or two-headed dogs, as it were? - they weren't even X-files, hardly. Stem cell research, modern Frankenstein - ummm, not really, no. Sorry.

But who cares?

Battle!Scully and her mad surgical skillz! CKR as a crazy gay Russian! Caldwell Skinner snuggling drugged!Mulder to keep him warm! Sunflower seeds and pencils in the ceiling! And most importantly, Mulder and Scully curled up together in a big bed calling each other by their last names and discussing icky pseudoscience! Oh you crazy kids and your spooky pillow-talk! ♥♥♥

Sometimes, it's really, really nice to have a het OTP.


And speaking of het...


In SGA - this came up in the comments on my post on "Tracker", but it's a thought I've had before, concerning Rodney, and Rodney/Keller, and romance in SGA in general. Putting aside my other feelings on the McKeller pairing - does anyone see sexual chemistry there? Because I don't. And I've kind of got a problem with that.

I had the same problem with Rodney/Katie Brown - more so, really, because they were both adults, pushing middle age, who supposedly had been dating on and off for a couple years. Yet they seemed awkward even holding hands; they were oddly adverse to touching even in private, and the only kiss we saw between them was when Cadman was in control, and was totally camp besides. Likewise, in "The Last Man," the McKeller kiss is sweet, but terribly chaste, and when Jennifer is on her deathbed they only hold hands.

It's not like Rodney doesn't have a sex drive - there's him and Sam, obviously; also he's openly attracted to the Wraith in "Aurora" and the scientist in "Inferno." And it's not that DH can't do sexual chemistry - he and Amanda Tapping are pretty crackling in "Grace Under Pressure" (not to mention various other performances; he heats it up underwater in Boa vs Python, about the only convincing thing in that entire movie; and he's pretty damn hot with the gay making out in Century Hotel) And Jewel Staite had no problems being both cute and sexual in Firefly. But together I don't get a sense of physical attraction. (It's almost to the point that I wonder if David and Jewel are uncomfortable playing it for some reason, perhaps the age difference? Or else it's the directors' choices.)

Especially with Rodney, it annoys me because (and I admit I might be oversensitive here, but) I get the impression the writers have a difficult time conceiving of Rodney as being sexually desirable. Both him being attracted to women, and women being attracted to him physically, are played more for laughs than anything else; while he's allowed awkward flirting and occasional obnoxiously sexist drooling, his actual sex life is purely theoretical and a matter of cheap jokes. The writers seem able to understand Keller liking Rodney's vulnerable woobie side, but struggle to imagine her or any woman actually wanting him physically. (In spite of much evidence to the contrary out here in the real world!) (Rodney's one of the few adult characters on TV who I could see as being a virgin; I don't think he's intended to be seen that way, but it's not that difficult to so interpret his inexperience and juvenile confusion with relationships.)

I'd be more offended on Rodney/DH's behalf if it weren't that the writers/directors have trouble portraying sexual chemistry, period. While Rodney gets it the worst (he's never actually kissed anyone in this timeline while in his right mind), no one's got much of an active or believable sex life. The weirdly uncomfortable hesitancy with most of Sheppard's hook-ups is partly how JFlan plays them, but partly the writing. With Ronon they've neatly skirted the issue (though his flashbacks of Melena are about the most explicitly sexual scene in the show), and for all Teyla's belly and cleavage shots, she managed to get pregnant entirely off-screen. Carson's had the most active love-life, but that's been mostly off-screen as well.

This wasn't an issue for me before (as I've said many times, I am quite happy with sex staying totally behind the scenes in SGA; it's not what I'm watching for) but now, when they're trying to write "romance," it's all confessions of love and statements of intentions, bizarrely separate from sexual desire, like they're all living in a Rogers & Hammerstein musical.

It also causes confusion when there is more of a physical (if platonic) connection between, say, John and Rodney (in "The Shrine") or the sparring between John, Teyla, and Ronon (any combination has quite sexually charged matches.) The romance comes across as less believable and meaningful
than the other relationships when it's missing the physical component that is essential to any adult romantic relationship.

Comments

[sholio]

their inability/discomfort depicting it is showing

Discomfort depicting it ... you know, there's an interesting way of looking at it. I've sometimes felt that my own attempts to write romance come off very asexual, because I'm simply not that interested in those sorts of emotions; I tend to go more for platonic displays of affection even with my characters that I created, let alone ones that I borrowed from somewhere else, and the couples that I've most enjoyed writing in fanfic are next-to-asexual in canon (Bulma/Vegeta, Meryl/Vash). I wonder if that's what's coming through here -- that the writers don't really want to be doing romance, or maybe like it in theory more than in actual practice, but feel that it needs to be in there for reasons of ratings or realism or some combination thereof. I've sometimes felt pressure to throw romance into my stories, and there have been times when I've seriously considered adding a romantic subplot (or main plot) to some of my original stories simply because I want to satisfy readers who like that kind of thing. (Which sounds better than "pandering", but that's basically what it is.) If *I* feel that way, then the pressure to add romantic subplots must be much heavier on someone working in the sex-drenched world of prime-time TV. While I'm not sure if I agree with your assessment 100%, I do think that what you're describing sounds like what happens to me when I'm trying to work with a genre or plot trope that I'm either uncomfortable with, or not very interested in, or both.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Hmm, yes - I have definitely read books that the romance feels like a forced element, like they wanted/needed it there for some reason but really weren't invested and struggled to write it. And much of SGA does feel like that to me (judging by Brad Wright's track record in SG-1, he's a lot more interested in gen h/c than romance; I have suspicions that it's not an accident that in "The Shrine" the John-Rodney bond trumps the Rodney/Keller.) On the other hand, Paul Mullie apparently doesn't understand character motivations other than romantic ones (apparently, according to his commentary for "The Last Man," Rodney was originally going to be out to save John, but Mullie decided that Rodney needed to be doing it for a woman for it to make emotional sense to the viewer. Which is, um...do you ever watch your show?!)

Though it's more than the writing; it's the acting and directing, too (and I'm more inclined to blame the directing as, like I said, I know DH & JS can do romance!) It's not just romance, really; a lot of the chars of SGA come across as abnormally touch-adverse (look at Sheppard hugging!) The lack is just most apparent when it comes to romance.

Though there's also things like - most of the kisses I can think of in the show happen when people are out of their minds - Rodney/Sam in GuP, Rodney/Katie in "Duet", John/Teyla in "Conversion", John/Elizabeth in "The Long Goodbye"...the writers definitely seem to have some weird hangups with romance/sex?

[winter-elf.livejournal.com]

I've heard Brad Wright speak in person (at SD comic con). You can probably find this online somewhere and this might be something you should look up. This year's con, at the Atlantis panel, someone asked a question of 'what was their favorite scene so far in Season 5 (or maybe favorite scene overall, can't remember, but most responses were from Season 5 I think)'. Everyone was pretty vague, but most of them were from The Shrine.

Brad Wright said that there was a scene on a pier between John and Rodney, them talking and drinking beer that just said all that he had to say on friendship, and that's what he saw in the show, and that's what 'did' it for him.. The audience gave this huge 'Ohhhhhh/Yayyyyy' and he said 'Not in THAT way!' (as in, get your minds out of the gutter sort of comment, but not meanly, he said it with a smile).

I think he sees the platonic response of close friendship, and just doesn't see the slashy overtones. I think he has a close friendship, and understands deep friendship. He sure can write it.

Mullie is just an idiot.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Ahh, I heard that Wright said the pier scene was his favorite, but not the exact quote - eeee! So cute! And yeah, I don't think he thinks of John/Rodney being at all slashy; I think he just likes writing friendship more than romance. Which I can understand, since I'm the same way myself!