Falling in love... with fictional characters by tom2point0

http://sliders.tv/bboard-archive/viewtopic.php?id=19

tom2point02014-07-10 01:16:03
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Well, since we are ok to rehash stuff, let's start with this. It was a topic I remember just briefly reading a little on the old forum: Falling in love with fictional characters.

In this case, I'll start with Wade, being this is a Sliders board, but of course there are other answers that you could post as well.
Now obviously, if I were to run into Sabrina Llyod and she wasn't married and was actually available and actually interested in myself, she isn't Wade. Maybe Wade exists in some part of her of course, but she is Sabrina, not Wade. I however might fall in love with who Sabrina is, and indeed, I read her blog often and quite enjoy her perspective on things; her personality comes through in her writing quite a bit.

Alas, that fantasy isn't happening anytime soon, but meeting a Wade-like person? That could happen! I'd even venture to say I am more attracted to the character rather than the actress. The type of person Wade was written to be, inside and out, not just personality, not just looks, but a combo of both, is what attracts me. Someone with a bit of an adventurous spirit, a touch of the geek side, attractive in my eyes, and boldness tempered with a touch if shyness... Not asking for much, right?

So, what is your story? Which fictional character are you in love with and why, or maybe you haven't fallen in love with any?

2ireactions2014-07-10 01:32:30
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Is this because I used Sabrina Lloyd photos to test the image tags?

Well, I was a little boy when watching SLIDERS, and naturally, I fell in love with Wade from "Last Days" onward. I think it was her courage in the face of death that moved me -- her declaration that she had no regrets about sliding, that she felt deeply connected to all her doubles in the multiverse, that even if she died on this Earth, her alternates would still be out there. There was also her civics class in "Prince of Wails," her self-satisfied smugness in "The Weaker Sex," her romantic daring in "Luck of the Draw" and then we go to Season 2.

A common complaint in fandom is that this Wade disappeared in Season 2, replaced by a perpetually screeching, shouting, antagonistic, unpleasant character. I can sort of see that, but I always found Wade a little nebulous and vague on paper and a lot of the appeal of the character is in Sabrina Lloyd's screen presence and intense likability. I think that, while the material might be more acidic in Season 2, Sabrina Lloyd's work keeps the character someone I cheer for. I think her performance in "Young and Relentless" is brilliant and "Obsession" is a real showcase for her gifts. "Love Gods" shows Wade at her most uncompromising and valiant, and she shows Wade's resilience and good heart in both "In Dinos Veritas" and "Post Traumatic Slide Syndrome."

I've always had a soft spot for Chloe Sullivan and Veronica Mars, who are almost the same characters; spunky, smart-mouthed, adventurous, brilliant problem-solvers who react to crisis and danger with panicked methodicism. That said, there's no getting around the fact that Chloe and Veronica could only exist in the exaggerated reality of a TV show and are the product of endless rehearsals, stunt doubles, special effects and a variety of technical trickery -- Allison Mack isn't actually that great with computers and Kristen Bell isn't actually a detective. And that's probably true of any character in fiction -- I haven't quite worked out how Wade *couldn't* exist in our world, but all TV characters are really simplified, screen-friendly representations of a more complicated and contradictory real-life psychology.

3tom2point02014-07-10 01:40:15
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Oh yeah Chloe! I always liked her more than Lana, even more than Lois when they introduced her (which, surprise surprise they had her stripping in an episode or two if I remember correctly. Shades of Maggie's episodes in season 3 suddenly come to mind. Gotta have the sex appeal I suppose). Anyway, I'm going to be rewatching Smallville this next year. I stopped watching around season 5 I think so there's a lot of new stuff I haven't seen. Watching Arrow prompted me to go back to see Smallville again, as well as the upcoming Flash series.
Those episodes you name are definite high points for Wade. Young and Relentless is a big fave of my own, as well as Dino. She did change some as you noted, but yeah, Sabrina did play a big part in cementing my "love" for Wade.

And yes, this post IS the result of your test images! That first one you posted I had never seen before. Mucho love for that!

4ireactions2014-07-11 14:57:11
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I loved Quinn much in the way a boy would love an older brother who was also a mentor and role model. In Seasons 1 - 2, Quinn represented everything I thought a human being should be. The thing I liked about Quinn was that he was a thinker who spent a lot of time living inside his head, but he was also highly capable of engaging with the real world. His ability to inspire the rebellion in "Prince of Wails" is delightful. Then there's the tenderness he shows a dying woman in "Fever" and his desperate, agonized self awareness in "Last Days" where he exclaims, "We wouldn't even be in this mess if I knew what I was doing." It's a bit more complicated than that, of course, in that Quinn is fundamentally damaged and broken but also incredibly high-functioning.

In episode after episode, Quinn comes up with clever solutions to problems. In the Pilot, he advises using the Professor to impersonate his double. In "Prince of Wails," he convinces the rebels he's on their side by presenting the Professor as his hostage. Quinn's intelligence is presented as his defining characteristic as he encounters problem after problem and overcomes them with persistence, ingenuity and ideas.

I really like how in "Luck of the Draw," Quinn is plainly the only sane man in town. While all the other sliders are living it up and enjoying luxuries, Quinn is suspicious, investigative, determined to find the truth with the declaration: "You don't get something for nothing!" He's infuriated that Wade, Rembrandt and the Professor don't want to get to the bottom of the horrible reality behind this world. He shows a commitment to truth. There's also a delightful moment where the sliders are enjoying a parade of models wearing dresses; Rembrandt and Arturo are rapt with attention, Quinn is bored and walks out in irritation, preferring to go to the library. Quinn is young and awkward and immature and a goofball but he has his eye on the big picture and he has no patience for the surface.

In "Love Gods," it becomes very clear that Quinn's heroism goes beyond smart solutions -- when he's offered string-free sex to produce a child, Quinn is horrified that he could reproduce and yet never see or care for his offspring. In "Gillian of the Spirits," Quinn desperately needs Gillian's help, but every scene with her shows that Quinn is deeply and genuinely concerned with her well-being. In "As Time Goes By," Quinn sets aside his romantic pursuit of Daelin time and time again to offer her the chance to slide with her fiancee or to reunite with his double.

A lot of this characterization is accidental. On paper, Quinn was scripted as an awkward geek -- a less extreme version of Steve Urkel. But Jerry played Quinn with every ounce of charisma Jerry had in him, resulting in a bizarre combination where this isolated basement dweller is a charming, athletic, attractive, endearing and highly personable youth. The result is a character who hasn't ended up alone but has instead *chosen* to isolate himself in his own mind due to some traumatic and crippling incident in his past. Note that in the Pilot, Quinn lost his father in his teens, but in "The Guardian," Torme revises that to Quinn losing his dad as a little boy -- and I think he did that because he needed to explain the contradiction between actor and character and accept it as a fascinating complexity. You'll notice that's also where it's established that Quinn skipped several grades, was smaller than his peers, and that's why he's withdrawn and awkward at times.

Anyway. I still love Quinn -- I've never had sexual fantasies about him, but he certainly had great hair.