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30 Days of TV - Day Twenty-One
Today I have to post about my favourite 'ship. But as usual, it's turned into an essay. Oh well...
Again, the main question is a fairly easy one to answer - Josh and Donna from The West Wing. There are loads of reasons why - I have a thing for best friends who fall for each other à la Harry and Sally, and those two certainly had a very deep, trusting and loving friendship before anything else happened between them. The snark factor was very high, and I do love me plenty of UST-imbued wiseass. They were both crap at relationships - as far as we knew, neither of them managed to sustain any other relationship longer than a few months while they were working together (and when they weren't) - yet despite that were the constant in each others' lives for several years and they knew and understood each other better than anyone else ever managed to.
The other plus of course was that they actually ended up together.
Although J/D was the first ship I've been really invested in, and the first one I've ever written fanfic for - there were other couples I rooted for before they appeared on the horizon. I like shipping - and TV writers know it's a big attraction for a large numbers of viewsrs, otherwise they wouldn't do it. Of course, sometimes, it happens by accident (as J&D did; Donna wasn't initially intended to be Josh's love interest) and sometimes it's deliberate. Sometimes writers like to mess with us by setting couples up together, ripping them apart and then doing it all over again (as happened with Abby/Carter and Abby/Luka in ER - and probably others) and I confess I'm likely to stop watching if/when that happens, or at least lose interest in the relationship. There are some stupendous couples for whom things go spectacularly wrong - Maddie and David in Moonlighting is the prime example (and also a much used example of how NOT to handle a ship!) and I could include Mulder and Scully in that as well. Maddie and David burned too hot too fast (in terms of the TV rule book) and Mulder and Scully took far too long, so by the time they did get together, we'd all lost interest.
My second favourite "ship that actually happened" is Sheridan and Delenn from Babylon 5.
Theirs was a wonderfully written relationship, with a real sense of respect and affection that quickly developed into more. It was also beset by a number of seemingly insurmountable obstacles - Sheridan was loathed by Delenn's whole race because of his part in an earlier war, and then at the end of S3 (by which time they've kissed and declared their love for each other) he has to sacrifice himself in order to destroy the Shadow fleet so as to weaken their chances in the coming war. Oh, and there was the matter of his supposedly dead wife coming back as well!
Sadly, I don't have a current ship, although I'm gravitating towards Peter/Olivia in Fringe. There was an almost-kiss in a recent episode, but generally in that show, the story-arc and individual stories have taken precedence over character relationships other than the one between Peter and Walter.
That's been changing lately, but what's been built up between the characters so far is lovely - they're friends, they trust each other implicitly, despite the fact that Peter's had a dodgy past (in more ways than one!). In fact, there's a "Mulder and Scully in the early days" feel to it in that here are two people who really care about each other.
When we talk about ships, we generally mean romantic relationships, but I'm going to give an honourable mention to one that wasn't. SHIP is part of the word 'friendship' as well and my most recent 'ship' is one of those - the Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble. He just wanted a mate - and she was that and then some. She wasn't afraid to give him a slap - both metaphorically and physically - when he needed it, and she came the closest to being his equal that any human ever has.
I admit to thinking they would have made a fabulous couple as well (despite their frequent protests) but on screen they were best friends. They understood each other, were well aware of each others' faults - and loved each other anyway. And that type of relationship is just as important as the romantic kind, in my book.
Again, the main question is a fairly easy one to answer - Josh and Donna from The West Wing. There are loads of reasons why - I have a thing for best friends who fall for each other à la Harry and Sally, and those two certainly had a very deep, trusting and loving friendship before anything else happened between them. The snark factor was very high, and I do love me plenty of UST-imbued wiseass. They were both crap at relationships - as far as we knew, neither of them managed to sustain any other relationship longer than a few months while they were working together (and when they weren't) - yet despite that were the constant in each others' lives for several years and they knew and understood each other better than anyone else ever managed to.
The other plus of course was that they actually ended up together.
Although J/D was the first ship I've been really invested in, and the first one I've ever written fanfic for - there were other couples I rooted for before they appeared on the horizon. I like shipping - and TV writers know it's a big attraction for a large numbers of viewsrs, otherwise they wouldn't do it. Of course, sometimes, it happens by accident (as J&D did; Donna wasn't initially intended to be Josh's love interest) and sometimes it's deliberate. Sometimes writers like to mess with us by setting couples up together, ripping them apart and then doing it all over again (as happened with Abby/Carter and Abby/Luka in ER - and probably others) and I confess I'm likely to stop watching if/when that happens, or at least lose interest in the relationship. There are some stupendous couples for whom things go spectacularly wrong - Maddie and David in Moonlighting is the prime example (and also a much used example of how NOT to handle a ship!) and I could include Mulder and Scully in that as well. Maddie and David burned too hot too fast (in terms of the TV rule book) and Mulder and Scully took far too long, so by the time they did get together, we'd all lost interest.
My second favourite "ship that actually happened" is Sheridan and Delenn from Babylon 5.
Theirs was a wonderfully written relationship, with a real sense of respect and affection that quickly developed into more. It was also beset by a number of seemingly insurmountable obstacles - Sheridan was loathed by Delenn's whole race because of his part in an earlier war, and then at the end of S3 (by which time they've kissed and declared their love for each other) he has to sacrifice himself in order to destroy the Shadow fleet so as to weaken their chances in the coming war. Oh, and there was the matter of his supposedly dead wife coming back as well!
Sadly, I don't have a current ship, although I'm gravitating towards Peter/Olivia in Fringe. There was an almost-kiss in a recent episode, but generally in that show, the story-arc and individual stories have taken precedence over character relationships other than the one between Peter and Walter.
That's been changing lately, but what's been built up between the characters so far is lovely - they're friends, they trust each other implicitly, despite the fact that Peter's had a dodgy past (in more ways than one!). In fact, there's a "Mulder and Scully in the early days" feel to it in that here are two people who really care about each other.
When we talk about ships, we generally mean romantic relationships, but I'm going to give an honourable mention to one that wasn't. SHIP is part of the word 'friendship' as well and my most recent 'ship' is one of those - the Tenth Doctor and Donna Noble. He just wanted a mate - and she was that and then some. She wasn't afraid to give him a slap - both metaphorically and physically - when he needed it, and she came the closest to being his equal that any human ever has.
I admit to thinking they would have made a fabulous couple as well (despite their frequent protests) but on screen they were best friends. They understood each other, were well aware of each others' faults - and loved each other anyway. And that type of relationship is just as important as the romantic kind, in my book.
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*wibbles too*