Crossovers
Nov. 17th, 2007 12:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lyoreI've been thinking a bit about crossovers recently - writing them and reading them. Lucky you, I feel like sharing :)
I've seen crossovers get a bit of a bad rap, but I have to say I really like them* - I think it really gives the characters (and the author!) a chance to stretch their wings.
Consider when you have the observation of canon characters by characters of a difference canon. It gives the 'new eyes, new appreciation, new perspective' of an 'outsider POV' fic, but in this case it comes with an added bonus - because the observer isn't a cypher, their observations can shed just as much light on their characterisation as the characters they are observing.
And the same goes for character interactions - the way they respond to one another can through light on both characters, especially when you have a pair/group with strong similarities as well as distinct differences. Such interactions can make the differences and similarities in very apparent to the reader, without the author having to draw direct attention to it in the fic.
Plus, there's the fact that I love seeing the characters tossed out of their comfort zone, and I love seeing one set of characters I love meeting another set. Not to mention the technical challenges of getting the canon together in the first place - while it's easy(ish) in some cases (SG-1 get an alert about possible Goa'uld activity in a small town in California), it can be a lot harder to sell when one canon is set in, say, 21st Century earth and the other is in a galaxy far, far away (of course, sometimes this doesn't matter, depending on the fic).
*Done well - all of this applies to well done crossovers, of course. Done badly? I hate watching people mangle two sets of canon even more than I hate watching it done to one.
But that's just what I think - What about you?
[Poll #1090050]
I've seen crossovers get a bit of a bad rap, but I have to say I really like them* - I think it really gives the characters (and the author!) a chance to stretch their wings.
Consider when you have the observation of canon characters by characters of a difference canon. It gives the 'new eyes, new appreciation, new perspective' of an 'outsider POV' fic, but in this case it comes with an added bonus - because the observer isn't a cypher, their observations can shed just as much light on their characterisation as the characters they are observing.
And the same goes for character interactions - the way they respond to one another can through light on both characters, especially when you have a pair/group with strong similarities as well as distinct differences. Such interactions can make the differences and similarities in very apparent to the reader, without the author having to draw direct attention to it in the fic.
Plus, there's the fact that I love seeing the characters tossed out of their comfort zone, and I love seeing one set of characters I love meeting another set. Not to mention the technical challenges of getting the canon together in the first place - while it's easy(ish) in some cases (SG-1 get an alert about possible Goa'uld activity in a small town in California), it can be a lot harder to sell when one canon is set in, say, 21st Century earth and the other is in a galaxy far, far away (of course, sometimes this doesn't matter, depending on the fic).
*Done well - all of this applies to well done crossovers, of course. Done badly? I hate watching people mangle two sets of canon even more than I hate watching it done to one.
But that's just what I think - What about you?
[Poll #1090050]
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no subject
Date: 2007-11-17 01:35 am (UTC)I'm kind of anti-crossovers, because I have read so many *bad* ones and no good ones. For example, off the top of my head I remember a Buffy/XFiles crossover where Mulder was attracted to 16 year old Buffy and they screwed all across Sunnydale. Um, ew.
The only crossovers that are ok for me, are shows that are spin-offs to each other like SGA/SG1, Buffy/Angel, any of the Law & Order shows, things like that. Because usually the crossovers dont make sense otherwise.
no subject
Date: 2007-11-17 02:03 am (UTC)I remember a Buffy/XFiles crossover where Mulder was attracted to 16 year old Buffy and they screwed all across Sunnydale.
Yeah, that's a definite 'Ew', right there. On one hand, I don't think it's really fair to judge any type of fic by it's worst offerings, although I know I'm guilty of doing the same thing (ship fic, anyone?). On the other hand, I think crossover fic is really easy to screw up, and when it's bad it's really bad.
That said, I still like it, 'cause in the hand of a good author, it can be brilliant :)
Because usually the crossovers dont make sense otherwise
That's one of the things I love about them, done well. When someone makes it make sense and I'm all... 'Wow'. 'Cause I tend to be a little obsessed when things don't make sense. *g*
(Oh, Oz icon! *hearts*)