The Pop Pirate

Letting Go

So now I need to confess. I've always scoffed at the fanboys/girls who lost thier shows. Poor souls who held on to the past, who fought in vain to save the stories and characters that they held dear. I've always tended towards the geeky, but I always thought it was a bit sad for them to hold on to the past so desperately, to dress up and re-enact and create fanfic to try to fashion pale imitations of the objects of thier affections.

That was then, and that was before I saw Firefly. As this story (probably) ends, I find myself finally understanding the plight of the desperate fanperson. Maybe it's because I've not connected to a story on such a deep level, or maybe it's that Firefly was just truly special, but I find myself actually mourning these characters. I've laughed at people for saying what I'm about to say, but here goes: I mourn because they were real to me. Mal, Zoe, Jayne, Wash, Kaylee, Inara, Book, Simon and River were so well drawn and shaded in the dozenish episodes of this TV show and in the film that they jumped off the screen.

But just because I understand now, doesn't mean that I want to join up. I belive in letting sleeping dogs lie. I plan to watch the show and the film on DVD whenever it strikes my fancy. I plan to wear my T-shirts proudly. I plan to celebrate what a wonderful story it was and continues to be. But I won't be whining and begging and annoying people with endless obsession, and futile hope for sequels. I won't try to hang on for dear life, long after the life has gone.

Besides, there are other stories to discover, other characters to meet and fall in love with, and other T-shirts to make.

posted by Jeff @ 9:14 PM