CSotD: The jokes are out there
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Shaenon Garrity is doing something that dances teasingly along the borderline between stupid and awesome. Or hilarious and obsessive.
Well, it dances teasingly, wherever. But she's watching "The X-Files" in order and compiling a series of comics called "Monster of the Week" commenting on, rather than replicating, each episode.
Since I never got into "X-Files" and she's only up to Season One, Episode Three, it's a little hard for me to analyze what's going on here, but I suspect there may be a disconnect between how seriously she takes the show and how seriously the show's core fans take the show.
Then again, I don't know exactly what the core of X-Files fans consists of.
That is, they surely don't believe it's a documentary. Then again, they might believe that "the truth is out there," even if they understand that Scully and Mulder aren't actually in possession, or even real-world pursuit, of it.
After all, I have friends who are board-certified, degree-holding scientists and are also fans of "Star Trek" and "Star Wars" and who fully understand that "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" is fiction.
And the head of my department in college, where we read Aristotle and Thomas Aquinas and Dostoevsky and all sorts of wise and important thinkers, a man whose specialty was the history and philosophy of science, was an apologetic-but-unrepentent member of the Baker Street Irregulars.
"Apologetic-but-unrepentent" meaning that he admitted it was a guilty pleasure but was perfectly willing to defend the concept of the guilty pleasure. And, given that some of us needed a lesson in not taking ourselves so seriously, he was a great teacher in that, as well.
Little did I know then that, only a decade-and-a-half post-grad, I would be seriously involved with a woman with whom I would have weekly dates to watch "Miami Vice," "Dallas," and "Dynasty," not to mention "The Colbys."
No, I mean that. "The Colbys" should not be mentioned. Eeeesh.
Even people who were not watching those other shows ironically realized that "The Colbys" could only be enjoyed as an exercise in absolutely wretched excess. Which, for us, made it "must see TV."
But which also brings up the important point that, while the others generated boffo ratings, "The Colbys" did not, suggesting that, in order to succeed, a significant portion of the audience has to view a program as quality television. It needs to attract viewers beyond those who are laughing and shouting "Bite your lip, Jason!" every time Charlton Heston busts out his signature acting move.
Of those four crappy mid-80s TV shows, we probably took "Vice" most seriously as entertainment, which is to say that, even though it was ridiculous on several levels, it was still a decent cop show. But it's in reruns on cable now and I can't decide whether it really, really, really doesn't hold up well, or whether, back then, it only sucked less than its surroundings.
All of which is to say that I have no idea where "X-Files" falls on the spectrum of much of anything, and at what level it qualifies as a guilty pleasure versus quality viewing and thought-provoking speculative fiction.
I do suspect that, had Garrity rolled this out a few months ago instead of two weeks ago, she'd be having a harder time working her way through the crowds at ComicCon right now than (as co-creator of the popular Skin Horse) she probably already is.
I just don't know whether it would be because she was being beseiged by adoring fans or pursued by an angry mob.
I was going to say "lynch mob," but the thought of a "lynch mob" at ComicCon sums up images of cosplayers in prom dresses and corpse makeup with bits of poker chips jammed under their fingernails.
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