Fandom Snowflake Challenge 2016 - Day 14

[pronker]

In your own space, share your love for something fannish: a trope, cliché, kink, motif, theme, format, or fandom.

Is fanart about the Avengers being fluffy and domestic your jam? Are tentacle fics your thing? How about podfics that have characters talking dirty? Is your Pinterest filled with images of knitted fanart? Make a post about it! Squee to your heart's content, tell us why you love it, gives us some examples.

Okay, I've been thinking all day about this - here goes. It's terribly appropriate for the sad news we received recently, but long before today, this has been a favored trope: the affectionate parody. This trope gets me each time it's done correctly because it shows knowledge of the fan base, knowledge of the media which engages the fan base, and how tweaking the parody just so renders the work recognizable, yet not in a mean or snide fashion. Galaxy Quest succeeds on so many levels: parody, straight out adventure, comedy, rueful acknowledgement of time's passing and what it does to us all if we're lucky enough to survive ... Let's just say it's one of the few films I actually bought *in glorious VHS format! No director's cut! No interviews! No Easter Eggs in the mini-video game!* in order to watch it more than once. I've introduced it to the kids, and enjoyed it with them umpteen times. It's just perfectly realized.

Comments

[kiki_eng]

I've heard Galaxy Quest described as the best Star Trek movie, and, yeah, it feels like a good time to watch that film for the first time now. Thanks for posting about your love for it.

[pronker]

You're welcome - it rang all the right chimes with me and with others, too. You'll enjoy the warmth, the humor, and the plotline - I'd not seen anything of the like so well done. :)

[luminations.livejournal.com]

Dangit, now I have to watch that again in addition to "Love, Actually."

Nicely said. And haha, VHS! I still have many tapes I refuse to get rid of even though I never ever watch them >.>

[pronker]

Aw, you can't go wrong watching those films, Lumy.

The Snowflake challenge was more thought-provoking than I'd expected, and yes, VHS is my format. The cable company offers DVR *which I guess is taking the place of TIVO?* and maybe sometime that'll be an option, but in the meantime, the timer works for those late night films taping and tapes aren't too bad for quality. Sure better than scrambling around at exactly the time of broadcast to catch a favorite.

[inyadreems.livejournal.com]

I love it too.

[pronker]

Glad to hear it.

[luminations.livejournal.com]

Oh Lordy, I couldn't live without my DVR now! Hold out as long as you can because once you try it there's no going back. My mom has 4 TVs (3 of which are bigger than my living room one) with VCRs and disc-recorders which she has finagled to record various things... "I can't record that on here but I CAN on that one and when THIS happens I just go to the other one and..." Guhhhhhhhh but she won't switch because "it's too expensive." ...okay, well, the cost of the newer TVs would have covered that increase for quite a while. Just sayin' :)

I don't even remember what channel or time things are on anymore, much of the time, or even when new seasons of shows are starting up again. I just go to my programs and it's a happy surprise when things are on there, lol.

Big fat hairy question ...

[pronker]

... do you get to keep everything on the DVR just like on a VCR tape, or are there expiry dates/rights issues etc.?

That would be neat and I'd look into DVRing. LOL at the mom and her 4 TVs and VCRing. I"ve already made the timing error of AMing when meaning PMing on VCR- should just switch to military time, ha!!

Re: Big fat hairy question ...

[luminations.livejournal.com]

Yes and no. You can tell the machine you want to keep a program forever, they don't expire like the "on demand" ones do, but if you change cable providers or have to get a new box, you would lose it. I have Century Link "prism" which is done through the internet so there's no box, and it's cool being able to start watching a recorded show in the living room and then finish it on my bedroom TV if I want. I couldn't do that when the recordings were actually going on to a box. Also, if you're like my brother and hoard too many shows, you can have space issues, but you get sooo many hours. I just checked mine... it says I have 25% of my space available, estimated 145 hours remaining (apparently the amount of space can vary by more than just HD or non-HD because they only estimate). TONS of room. I've never experimented with trying to record one of the shows to a VHS tape. I switched in the first place because my VCR stopped recording... then the ancient one I bought off my friend for $10 ALSO stopped recording... I figured it was time!

Military time sounds easier but I would mess that up too, lol

Re: Big fat hairy question ...

[pronker]

Thanks for the info. 145 hours remaining is pretty good. If you're like me, after a bit of time, like 2 years, the tapes got a review and the thought why did I like this again? appears. Then the little darlings get taped over, hee.


I hear you on the VCR fail, bleurgh. Oh yeah, I'll scope out the DVR on Comcast - it appeals to the completist in me. Once glomming onto a program, I've just got to see all the canon, etc.

Re: Big fat hairy question ...

[luminations.livejournal.com]

Yeah, kinda -- there are tapes I've had for eons, tapes that I've gone tape-to-tape on to cut out commercials or create like a montage of highlights (with baseball and my soap opera)... and knowing I spent hours on that makes me keep them, but even when I got nostalgic I don't pop them in the player. I should, though. All that bloodsweat'n'tears!

I hope you try it and like it, it will make your life much easier :)

Re: Big fat hairy question ...

[pronker]

That is dedication 0- and you've wound up with a stellar collection. Go you!

I'm going to the cable co. tomorrow and we'll see how DVR works. I'm glad to get a user's perspective on a thing new to me. :)