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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here via metafandom
Date: 2007-11-19 05:15 am (UTC)Serious crossovers are generally too much. I'm supposed to suspend the appropriate sets of disbeliefs for not one but two canons? Then again, serious fic isn't really an interest of mine.
I'm fond of the crack in shows as well. If quality isn't going to happen, make the lack of quality awesomely outrageous.
Re: here via metafandom
Date: 2007-11-19 07:21 am (UTC)I'm supposed to suspend the appropriate sets of disbeliefs for not one but two canons?
Yeah, it's certainly an issue, especially when you don't have a way of making the canons compatible. Or when both require large amounts of suspension of disbelief in the first place.
If quality isn't going to happen, make the lack of quality awesomely outrageous.
There are so many shows I love for this exact reason - I think this must have been their motto in production!
Re: here via metafandom
Date: 2007-11-19 06:29 pm (UTC)There are so many shows I love for this exact reason - I think this must have been their motto in production!
There are also shows I love for being both quality and crack (see: Farscape, Joy of).
Re: here via metafandom
Date: 2007-11-20 10:54 am (UTC)