After all these years, a new fandom:
Why now? and Why this show?
Why now?
I confess that for the most part this has to do with the fact that I am most discontent with the direction that the Powers that Be have taken the Star Trek franchise lately. This, however, is not a space in which I intend to dis Enterprise, nor speculate on my personal suspicions that Branon Braga is a truly evil fuck, so I'll just leave it at that.
Why this show?
While it is true that I have enjoyed reading (mostly slash and h/c) fanfic from a number of different shows, and have seriously considered writing in a myriad of different universes, including the Man from Uncle, the Wild Wild West, Knight Rider (cringe), and Stargate, none of them has actually set my muse on fire the way that SGA has. What's up with that?
To be true, the heart has its reasons -few having rational origins, and it's my heart that's been captured by these characters. There is one critical thing, however that I've noticed about SGA's premise which, I believe, has a great deal to do with why I do love the show, and makes Stargate: Atlantis significantly different from the vast majority of science fiction on TV, including it's predecessor.
What I've noticed is that, unlike the vast majority of science fiction action heros you see on TV, many of the most important characters (and most all of my favorites) have absolutely no 'action hero' type training in their backgrounds. They've never been part of any kind of military organization or had any military training. None of them were ever members of any police force, trained in any martial arts, worked agents, bodyguards, skip tracers, bouncers or been detectives. As it happens, neither have I.
I don't know about you, but I find it much easier to identify with a character who is near to pissing himself in terror when confronted by the kinds of things we've encountered in Atlantis. I find such characters refreshingly believable to boot. Brilliant as they are (and considerably more brilliant than I am, I confess), they're absolutely unprepared for a life filled with bug-eyed monsters, nano-agents, space travel, or a vast empire of ravenous life-sucking aliens. Personally, I don't know anyone who would be.
Bottom line, turns out I find it much easier to identify with a character who is way smarter than me than a guy who charges fearlessly into a firefight. In addition, I find the guy who is only barely holding panic at bay when confronting the latest crisis much more interesting and easier to like than the cool collected leader type. Know what I mean?
All that rigamarole aside, however, this is what it's really all about, isnt it?
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