he's not dead / Angel on Showtime /

[oiran]

Mr. Glove made it home from Florida intact but exhausted. So my alone-and-unloved-forever-and-ever status is staved off for yet one more day...

AtS - No Limits: As I've mentioned in the past, I've been a latecomer to the Jossverse, and I'm still waiting for Buffy S7 to come out on DVD. I am trying to remain as unspoiled as possible, btw, so please don't talk about S7 with me--yet. The first season of Angel that I watched as it aired was S5. I've never read fic for either show, except for a couple of drabbly things and part of a Spander epic that was unable to convince me of the possibility of Spander. I love the shows so much that I've never really wanted the fanfic to fill in the gaps--for me, there really aren't gaps, which might be partially due to watching each series in big chunks, three or four eps at a sitting, instead of them dribbling out at a painfully slow one per week. Since I'm not seeking out the fic, I'm completely unfamiliar with BtVS and AtS authors, accumulated fanon, etc. So, when ats_nolimits was announced, I clicked the little join-y button without any real expectations.

Well, the first episode of Angel on Showtime (hee!), Flutter, has been posted here, and I'm just so impressed and excited by what the AtS: No Limits team has done. The episode itself, written by thebratqueen, reads like a filmed episode, with rhythms that are familiar from the show. Snappy dialogue, a few lines that just kill, and everyone in character. They're starting over (out of necessity) in a new location that is reminiscent of the Hyperion, although with perhaps even more metaphoric potential than the old hotel.

The No Limits team has done a beautiful job with the sites for this project, as well. There's a spoiler page, a TV Guide ad, and a bunch of other goodies. The only thing missing (and perhaps I'll suggest they add this) is casting information for the new characters introduced. It's not clear that they'll be returning characters, but I'd still like to see who the No Limits team pictures in these roles.

While I was thinking about what I'd like to say about this episode, to encourage people to read without being spoilery, I read some of the comments posted at nolimits_squee. It was only when I read a question about the possibility of writing fanfic for S6 that it occurred to me that what I'd been reading was actually fanfic and not something "official."

Obviously, I'm very enthusiastic thus far. However--and I suppose this is really a question about the fandom as much as about the No Limits project - I'd be curious to know what some of the longtime Buffy and Angel fans on my list think of the first ep as well as just the idea of doing an S6.

Related to a discussion I had with Rhi this weekend...I want to read a QaF story that goes into the history of Daphne's friendship with Justin. Has anyone written such a thing?

Comments

[coffeejunkii.livejournal.com]

while i'm not one of those fans that has been there from the first minute of buffy or angel, i've seen most of the seasons as they aired, and have caught up on reruns on what i missed. i guess that qualifies to answer your question :)

i've only made it through one third of "flutter" so far, but just like you, i'm impressed. it's what i had hoped for. i decided that ats_nolimits would be the official season six as far as i'm concerned pretty much from the moment i saw the announcement on thebratqueen's lj. i just knew it would be good, and since i don't read much angel or buffy fanfic, i don't have a problem restricting myself to this one vision (esp. not since it promises slash!).

anyway, enough rambling.

I want to read a QaF story that goes into the history of Daphne's friendship with Justin. Has anyone written such a thing?

excellent question. i've always felt that there wasn't enough daphne on the show. unfortunately, i don't know if there's such a fic out there (but if someone recs it, would you make a post? thanks).

[velvetglove.livejournal.com]

It certainly reads like an official S6. I'm guessing that thebratqueen probably wrote a lot of well-received fanfic in BtVS/AtS fandom and, while I'm now curious about her prior output, I think I'll just stick with the S6 storyline for the time being.

I often wonder if my opinion of the show and the character relationships would be different if I'd been watching the show as it aired and had been involved in fandom. I personally don't see blatant slash in the shows beyond jokes and little moments of...fluid sexuality. But if I'd been watching all along, reading fan opinions, etc., I imagine I might be more inclined to see Spike/Xander, for instance.

If I get a rec for something that's decent, I'll be more than happy to post it. I read very little QaF fic, but I would imagine that there are a lot of Daphne Sues out there.

[vylit.livejournal.com]

The amount of work that the No Limits team have put into the virtual season is enormous. They researched locations, tried to figure out if Showtime would give AtS a budget high enough to shoot there before they even decided where scenes would take place. TBQ's intention was to make a season that'd be believable and work within the framework of the show. Hell, it's set up to have plot arcs with each episode mapped out before the first episode was posted. (TBQ and several of the writers for No Limits are chat room buddies of mine.)

One of the biggest draws for me was the fact that they actually had auditions for the writers, and people like kita0610 and mpoetess have signed up to write episodes.

Right now I'm working on a Wesley/Connor fic that goes AU half way through "Not Fade Away" and it's difficult. As much as I love the ending in that it stayed true to the tone and premise of the show, it didn't leave much room for fanfic. I'm an Angel/Wes shipper, and that's not a particularly easy pairing to write in a post-NFA scenario.

I do love the idea of writing fanfic based off of s6 - I'm spoiled for some of what's to come - but the problem there is the fact that not everyone will have read s6. They won't have the same "canon" that will make anyone who isn't following the season a bit confused.

I actually do the episode reviews for No Limits, and that should be up soon, but I was very impressed with amount of "screen time" given to all the characters, and the dialog/characterization was spot-on.

[butterfly.livejournal.com]

I was pretty impressed by the first episode. I'm not taking as a personal 'official' sixth season, though, because I want my canon landscape to be only what Joss&Co put on the screen, but I really enjoyed it. Felt that it was well-written and in-character. Appreciate that they don't seem to be washing away the choices of previous seasons even if they don't like them all.

I have the list friended and I definitely plan on 'watching' it again when they put up the new episode on Wednesday.