I actually have multiple canon ships that I love (including some quite unpopular ones; in X-men I actually think Scott/Jean are cute, I'm perfectly okay with JD/Elliot, and there's about a zillion anime/manga series that I adore the canon couples to the point of flailing and high-pitched squealing). But those are almost entirely series that I don't participate much in active fandom - I don't write fic or enter in many discussions, and that's in a large part because I don't want to get involved with the inevitable ship wars.
I don't think all series need to be active fanning series, and for me, if I'm not actively fanning, then I tend not to mind canon ships. I won't always like them, but they won't make me flip out unless I get an OTP - which tends to be when I start ficcing, usually why I start ficcing.
Most of my fic fandoms are ones without canon ships. They used to be the series with Babes of the Week, the come-and-go romances that never had any long-term impact on characters or relationships. Nowadays, with arc shows become more common, long-term lasting canon ships are becoming more expected. It makes for more volatile shipwars, stuff I try to avoid - one reason I let myself get into SGA is because I thought it was safe, one of the rare ship-free fandoms. SG-1 never went entirely canon with Sam/Jack, and I thought SGA would be the same.
For me, it's not just that McKeller was done badly - even if it had been done well, it would've changed the nature of the show, and the fandom. Even if I liked McKeller, there'd be sure to be fans who didn't. If McKeller, or John/Teyla, or another canon ship, had existed from the beginning, it probably would've been a more tumultuous fandom from the start - and there's a good chance I never would've gotten into SGA fandom at all, avoiding the conflict.
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winterfish
no subject
Date: 2009-02-24 04:56 pm (UTC)I don't think all series need to be active fanning series, and for me, if I'm not actively fanning, then I tend not to mind canon ships. I won't always like them, but they won't make me flip out unless I get an OTP - which tends to be when I start ficcing, usually why I start ficcing.
Most of my fic fandoms are ones without canon ships. They used to be the series with Babes of the Week, the come-and-go romances that never had any long-term impact on characters or relationships. Nowadays, with arc shows become more common, long-term lasting canon ships are becoming more expected. It makes for more volatile shipwars, stuff I try to avoid - one reason I let myself get into SGA is because I thought it was safe, one of the rare ship-free fandoms. SG-1 never went entirely canon with Sam/Jack, and I thought SGA would be the same.
For me, it's not just that McKeller was done badly - even if it had been done well, it would've changed the nature of the show, and the fandom. Even if I liked McKeller, there'd be sure to be fans who didn't. If McKeller, or John/Teyla, or another canon ship, had existed from the beginning, it probably would've been a more tumultuous fandom from the start - and there's a good chance I never would've gotten into SGA fandom at all, avoiding the conflict.