Interesting thoughts, especially since I agree with your three criticisms, yet have no problem liking the comic. I think what it comes down to for me is this - first and foremost, I want to be entertained. I like meaning, and if I can have both entertainment and meaning in the same work, brilliant, but if I have to choose one or the other, I'd rather be entertained. If all I want is a mental exercise, I have academic studies for that. That's why I enjoyed ATF and not season 8 - the former is mainly entertainment, the latter mainly unentertaining thinky thoughts.
Also, I have to say that I put Brian a step above the average fanfic writer, simply because no fanfic writer has ever had the opportunity to have conversations with Joss and been provided with a detailed outline (including dialogue) of what Joss would have done. Sure, Joss' role dwindled to basically nothing as the series went on, and Brian most certainly did things that weren't dictated (or even liked) by Joss, but he does have a starting point that is head and shoulders above the rest of us, and so I have to account for that in my consideration of ATF. To me, it's not about a particular fan getting his fanfic canonized - it's about a fan getting the dream job of continuing the story with Joss' blessing.
But he’s only got a Spike with some of Spike’s layers and meanings; and the ones he’s dropped are the ones I’m particularly attached to.
I guess my thing here is, that happens in every episode. Isn't that why season six generates such conflicting interpretations? Because in one episode, Spike is clearly being humanized and made sympathetic, and in the next the "bad boyfriend" anvils are being dropped all over the place. It all depended on who was writing that particular episode. It's just more noticeable because this is one person writing a whole stretch at once, rather than the mix of writers on the TV series, but then again, ATF isn't the be-all, end-all of Spike's characterization anymore than any single episode is.
*shrug* I don't know. Maybe I'd feel differently if I didn't like ATF. I'm appalled at the idea of season 8 being canon, probably just as much as you are about ATF, but then again, I think that's more disappointing because it IS Joss writing it, so it ought to match the vision of the TV series, and for me, it barely rises above the level of crackfic. My expectations are a little lower for ATF, and I think it aptly met them.
I will say that, on a personal level, I was rather annoyed at Brian's recent "I'm the writer, this is what happened, and what I say is gospel" attitude, but that doesn't change my view of the comic any more than the writers' similar comments about the TV series affected my interpretation of events there.
no subject
Also, I have to say that I put Brian a step above the average fanfic writer, simply because no fanfic writer has ever had the opportunity to have conversations with Joss and been provided with a detailed outline (including dialogue) of what Joss would have done. Sure, Joss' role dwindled to basically nothing as the series went on, and Brian most certainly did things that weren't dictated (or even liked) by Joss, but he does have a starting point that is head and shoulders above the rest of us, and so I have to account for that in my consideration of ATF. To me, it's not about a particular fan getting his fanfic canonized - it's about a fan getting the dream job of continuing the story with Joss' blessing.
But he’s only got a Spike with some of Spike’s layers and meanings; and the ones he’s dropped are the ones I’m particularly attached to.
I guess my thing here is, that happens in every episode. Isn't that why season six generates such conflicting interpretations? Because in one episode, Spike is clearly being humanized and made sympathetic, and in the next the "bad boyfriend" anvils are being dropped all over the place. It all depended on who was writing that particular episode. It's just more noticeable because this is one person writing a whole stretch at once, rather than the mix of writers on the TV series, but then again, ATF isn't the be-all, end-all of Spike's characterization anymore than any single episode is.
*shrug* I don't know. Maybe I'd feel differently if I didn't like ATF. I'm appalled at the idea of season 8 being canon, probably just as much as you are about ATF, but then again, I think that's more disappointing because it IS Joss writing it, so it ought to match the vision of the TV series, and for me, it barely rises above the level of crackfic. My expectations are a little lower for ATF, and I think it aptly met them.
I will say that, on a personal level, I was rather annoyed at Brian's recent "I'm the writer, this is what happened, and what I say is gospel" attitude, but that doesn't change my view of the comic any more than the writers' similar comments about the TV series affected my interpretation of events there.