DPP: Fandom Firsts

[shah-of-blah.livejournal.com]

Hello no_takebacks , I'm shah_of_blah  and I'll be driving the DPP this week.  (Advance warning: in light of that poll we had a few weeks ago and my own schedule, I may not post every day.  We'll see.)

But for today, I wanted to talk about firsts.  Not Kara and Lee's firsts, since canon aside, I'm pretty sure we've all talked about that before.  No, I mean our first experiences with this fandom.  What was the first episode you saw?  Your first impression of Lee, Kara, or Kara/Lee?  How about the first fic you read?  First icon you used?  First vid you watched?  If you're a writer/artist/vidder, what was the first fan creation you made for Kara and Lee?  How did these firsts shape your interpretation of the fandom and the ship?

I'll go first.  The first episode I saw was 33 and I was very confused.  But the guy I was watching it with gave me a brief bio of each character as they appeared on screen.  When Kara came striding around her Viper, he said "That's Starbuck, and she's awesome."  When I eventually got around to watching the series (starting with the mini), it was with that first impression in mind.  I saw the whole show through that lens, and if you've ever read my journal it should be pretty clear that I am still all about Starbuck and her awesomeness.

As for fandom, I don't totally remember, but I think the first fic I read was Long Shadows.  Now, it's not really one of my favorites for a variety of reasons, but it's 100% Kara-centric so that should tell you something about my preferences.  I was already familiar with the author--Alec Star--from my BtVS days so as soon as I had reached the appropriate point in the series (Home) I rushed over to his page to read the story.  Of course, then I also read Control (since apparently I have none) and thus spoiled myself rather thoroughly for Occupation.  Oops.

For the first icon I used (not counting my shitty hand-made icons)...well, I fail at my own DPP because I can't find it.  But it was by unightfog , and it was from a cap of Kara smiling when she sees Lee in Home Part 1.  

First vid: not necessarily the first vid I ever watched, but definitely one of the first and the first one I enjoyed: dualbunny 's God Is A DJ.  There's just no way to resist this vid.  Plus I have a lot of affection for it since it taught me that I could like fanvids.  Woohoo!

And the first fic I wrote for this fandom was a little ficlet called Horizon that was about adjusting to life on a planet after years of living in artificial gravity.  More specifically, it was about how Kara and Lee's child adjusted to life on a planet.  So I guess you could say that my first offering in this fandom was, well, babyfic (or childfic if you want to be more specific).

So those are my fandom firsts.  What about you guys?  Indulge me in a little trip down memory lane.

Comments

[shah-of-blah.livejournal.com]

Jamie was the only one I knew, so I focused on Lee from the beginning. You can see how little that has changed :)
I am not at all surprised! But I do think it's interesting how these, like, preconceptions can shape our viewing experiences--I didn't know Katee from any other roles, but about a year passed between my viewing of 33 and the time I actually sat down and decided to watch the show, starting with the miniseries. And in that year, I had forgotten just about everyone except for Starbuck (who was awesome), so I was totally focused on her like you were with Lee.

my DS9 experience had taught me not to expect the religious stuff to go anywhere interesting ~ did you know the main character poofed to a higher plane of existence at the end of that series as well, without bothering to say goodbye to his son, after discovering that his entire life had been preordained by the Prophets?
Oh my god I did not know that but that's hilarious! And also a little bit horrifying.

I was similarly impressed by the gravitas of the show when I started watching. Since I had a background in the Whedonverse, I remember being surprised and also sort of impressed by how not witty the show was. It's a strange thing to find impressive, but it totally works too.

And I distinctly remember the drop in my stomach in KLG Part One when he said "Just tell me why" and she said "'Cause I'm a screw-up, Lee. Try to bear that in mind."
Hee, that is one of my favorite scenes ever. I must be a masochist. Sometimes I cite that as the moment I knew I was a shipper.

Unlike most of you, I never expected the show to allow Kara and Lee to work out as a romance, but I was rooting for them anyway and watching my preconceptions play out still hurt, although I was braced for it.
Beyond your instincts, were you spoiled at all for the end of the show? Looking back on my 4.0-era posts, the optimism almost hurts (I was so sure...) but I can also remember that I had been spoiled for the Dylan Four before I started watching, so I knew that Kara's husband was a Cylon. When I did start watching, I was so confused because how could Lee be a Cylon if his father had seen him grow up? :P

[rachelindeed.livejournal.com]

Since I had a background in the Whedonverse, I remember being surprised and also sort of impressed by how not witty the show was.

I had exactly the same reaction. I really respected the show for being so engrossing without relying on clever dialogue, which is usually what really draws me into a show. Clever dialogue is great, of course, but with Galactica things felt intense rather than sharp, and that created an interesting ambience for the show. It also intimidated me when I started trying to write stories for the characters, because I wasn't confident that I could catch that realistic tone of voice.

Beyond your instincts, were you spoiled at all for the end of the show?

I was, indeed! I took quite a long break between watching Season One and the rest of the show, and I did read some spoilers about Kara/Lee. I think I knew pretty early that they didn't end up together. The non-happy ending tends to be my default assumption going into any TV series romance; in the last fifteen years of sci-fi and fantasy viewing, I can't think of a single relationship that I rooted for that actually worked out in the end. Though, of course, not all of those non-happy endings were dramatically unsatisfying.