meta eating its own tail

[aria]

I have hazy recollections of the internet going ballistic when Supernatural did its episodes about Supernatural the book series; people who didn't really want the show to out them as fans or shippers, people who didn't want Sam and Dean to tap at the fourth wall and go, "Dude, stop it, we're brothers." And it is a really weird narrative choice, isn't it? It's lampshading something that the casual viewer doesn't know/care about anyway, and you're not going to make your fans love you more by holding up a mirror and saying, Actually, you're Becky! Mostly, though, I think it's giving me niggling frustration because, while I actually do like weird meta in small doses and bits of the first Chuck episode had me breathless with laughter, I am so over the hapless socially inept fan as a character type.

I'm actually one of the most socially awkward people I know, and I'm still perfectly capable of carrying on normal conversation and understanding interpersonal boundaries. (To be fair, there is a good reason I don't try to interact with actors I like, but if I was forced by circumstance into a situation where I'd have to, I wouldn't start touching them, ffs.) I've been to a handful of cons, and at every one I've hung out with intelligent articulate people who happen to have the same weird encyclopedic knowledge of fiction because of their awesome hobby. I don't know, maybe the fan as a person who is as baseline functional and ordinary as everyone else isn't -- good comedy, or something, but if you know your audience is a bunch of nerds? don't do a caricature of nerds! We passed absurd about four exits ago.

There will be Crowley soon. There will be Crowley soon.

Oh, and it's also worth mentioning that I have yet to watch a Trickster episode I don't love with all my heart. That's where you can stick your meta and absurdity and tapping gently on the fourth wall.

This PSA has been brought to you by Preaching To The Choir, and also by Wow I Love Me All The Angels And Demons On This Show.

Comments

[aria]

about two brothers who can't find throat lozenges and a socially awkward angel.

Congratulations, I just screamed with laughter for roughly thirty seconds. THE SHOW YOU DESCRIBE IS A SHOW I WOULD FUCKING WATCH. And eventually the socially awkward angel finds those brothers some lozenges! And takes one himself, too, this is getting ridiculous.

[anekdot]

The thing I don't get is that I'm pretty sure they're all capable of talking in semi-normal human voices as evidenced by that one time Jensen Ackles was in that Batman movie I totally didn't watch to procrastinate. It's like they just all independently decided that what they really needed to bring to their role was "chain smoking."

It's just unfortunate because now that I've read, like, every single issue of Hellblazer in existence, I could totally go for a gritty Sarcastic Douchebags Fight Monsters show... that didn't suck.

[anekdot]

(as an unrelated aside this movie is basically, like, "what if we made an animated feature film about Jason Todd's daddy issues," and then cast Captain Pike as Batman, Dean as Jason Todd, Neil Patrick Harris as Nightwing, and Lucius Malfoy/Admiral Zhao as Ra's Al Ghul.)