Not Like Ships In The Night: Shippers

[Cobalt Stargazer]

I can't stand when people ship or slash characters just to do so.

I have rarely shipped anyone:

Mulder/Scully

Jack/Kate (LOST)

Jack/Sawyer also have tremendous chemistry

Howard/Bernadette (TBBT)

Charlie/Kirsten (Party of Five)

Doug/Carol (ER)

Casey/Dawson (Chicago Fire)

Starsky/Hutch

No one on Friends had the chemistry I look for.

 

I can't decide if these are pairings that you've shipped or haven't shipped, and I read your post four times.

 

I'm not sure who is worse, the fans who decide that X Actor and Actress must be together in real life, or the actors who hear that viewers are shipping their fictional characters with another fictional character, and then do everything they can to scuttle the non-canon ship by bringing more of their real-life persona into their performance. Looking at you, Mariska Hargitay. I mean, there's what's on TV and what's in reality, and even if you're a total anti-shipper, there's only an issue when it starts to get creepy.

[Dejana]

I'm not sure who is worse, the fans who decide that X Actor and Actress must be together in real life, or the actors who hear that viewers are shipping their fictional characters with another fictional character, and then do everything they can to scuttle the non-canon ship by bringing more of their real-life persona into their performance. Looking at you, Mariska Hargitay. I mean, there's what's on TV and what's in reality, and even if you're a total anti-shipper, there's only an issue when it starts to get creepy.

Didn't some fans of The Good Wife speculate that the business with Julianna Margulies and Archie Panjabi not filming scenes together for years might have partly been due to Julianna's...feelings about the Alicia/Kalinda shippers in the fandom? Not sure if there's any basis in reality, didn't really watch the show, but practically all of the theories about that drama made Julianna look bad.

And I would say actors/writers who try to torpedo non-canon ships that just have an online fandom are worse, because they can actually have a negative impact on the story itself, far more so than a ship with a limited real world following or real-person shipping.

Edited April 1, 2016 by Dejana

[roamyn]

Cobalt, those were pairings whose shipping I could get into. I just don't go for the shipping or slashing just because they hapen to be in a show together.

[GHScorpiosRule]

The worst of fandom unhealthy obsession I've seen more recently belong to Outlander.  The chemistry between Sam Heughan and Catriona Balfe is just so sizzling that they insist that the two must be/HAVE to be dating in real life.  They kept denying it, while Sam not saying whether he was dating someone or not, and finally, they both said that they were NOT involved romantically, it didn't go over very well. They were accused of "leading" the fans on. "Letting fans think" that they were dating in real life, etc.  And that Catriona was a better actress, she should leave the show and find success elswhere; the show should be cancelled.  Mind boggling.

[Irlandesa]

Didn't some fans of The Good Wife speculate that the business with Julianna Margulies and Archie Panjabi not filming scenes together for years might have partly been due to Julianna's...feelings about the Alicia/Kalinda shippers in the fandom? Not sure if there's any basis in reality, didn't really watch the show, but practically all of the theories about that drama made Julianna look bad.

I think the spec wasn't so much about the fans of the pairing but the fact that there were slash fans of the duo.  I always thought it was a ridiculous guess but I couldn't blame people for making ridiculous guesses because, to be fair, it was an absolutely ridiculous situation. The show runners kept saying nothing was wrong.  The show went out of the way to have them be "friends" who never were in the same room together.  And the show runners doubled down and claimed that there was no issue and even wrote scenes for them before Archie left---in which it was painfully obvious they weren't shot with the actresses in the same room.  So there were definitely strange conspiracy theories but this is the kind of situation I'd argue that asks for them.

 

Real person shipping that imitates shipping characters where it's not simply "they look good together" but goes into real person fanfiction is not something I get.  Maybe I'm too harsh on it because I do enjoy historical fiction but there's just something offputting about it because sometimes the noise is so loud it turns into "rumors" years later based on nothing more than fans fictioning. 

 

I remember being shocked when Keri Russel and Matthew Rhys got together.  I shipped their characters on The Americans but in interviews, I only got cordial co-workers at best.  Unlike some stars where their interactions off set make it not surprising when it's revealed they're dating, I thought these two were good at hiding it.

 

They were accused of "leading" the fans on. "Letting fans think" that they were dating in real life, etc.

I'm not an Outlander fan but I've seen this.  They were damned if they answered it, damned if they didn't. 

Edited April 1, 2016 by Irlandesa

[ParadoxLost]

 I just don't go for the shipping or slashing just because they hapen to be in a show together.

 

Supernatural is the best example of this.  They create a show and put it on a network whose target audience tends to be heavily into shipping.  Then Supernatural goes and gives absolutely no viable long term romantic partners for the leads.  So what does fandom do?  They create Wincest.

 

But I've got to give it to the Supernatural fandom.  It seems like they have a sense of humor about it.  When the show does meta episodes and snarks on Wincest nobody loses their minds and instead seem to laud those episodes.

[Winter Rose]

I find real life shipping bizarre because even when the actors really do get together, that hardly means their relationship is anything like their characters'. Onscreen they're acting out what the writers give them, when they do kissing scenes it's as their characters, not as each other. I think for a lot of it the desire for life to imitate art is about wanting said fictional couple to be real so badly that the actors dating would almost be like validation.

Edited April 1, 2016 by Winter Rose

[Enero]

.

Real person shipping that imitates shipping characters where it's not simply "they look good together" but goes into real person fanfiction is not something I get.

This. What baffles me is when it's believed that an actors passion or the "realness" in their love scenes etc. with their onscreen love interest somehow translate to the actors revealing their true romantic feelings for one another. This is always odd to me since that is the point of the scene is that it comes off as authentic as possible. And let's not forget there are numerous takes of these scenes before we end up with what is shown in the episode and on top of that the scenes are super technical, every movement is choreographed.

I guess it's possible. But IMO to say an actor is expressing his/her own personal desire for their screen partner in a love scene devalues the excellent work they're doing as an actor and frankly is creepy.

Edited April 25, 2016 by Enero

[Enigma X]

I am just throwing these GoT ones out there because I keep hearing people talk about it, but I don't know how I feel about any of them:

Jon and Sansa

Jon and Lyanna Mormont

Jon and Danaerys

A GoT ship that I fully support is Brienne and Tormund

I also ship Kent and Sue from Veep.

[Joe]

1. They're cousins. 2. Bit of an age difference, but at least they're probably not closely related. 3. She's probably (possible book spoilers!)

Spoiler

his aunt.

So that might be problematic all around.

[Enigma X]

1 minute ago, Joe said:

1. They're cousins. 2. Bit of an age difference, but at least they're probably not closely related. 3. She's probably (possible book spoilers!)

  Hide contents

his aunt.

So that might be problematic all around.

In this world, we have seen that what your spoiler reveals and age does not really mean anything. In fact, your spoiler is sort of a way of life for the Targs.

[ParadoxLost]

14 hours ago, Enigma X said:

I am just throwing these GoT ones out there because I keep hearing people talk about it, but I don't know how I feel about any of them:

Jon and Sansa

Jon and Lyanna Mormont

Jon and Danaerys

For me, these are evidence that shipping abhors a vacuum.  No viable love interest for the leads, then the rationalizing that age and blood ties aren't as much a taboo in the show's universe and time period as in modern times begins. It annoys me that all types of relationships are seen as secondary in importance to romantic ones.  I personally find Sansa and Jon joining forces and being siblings and growing closer after a distant childhood interesting enough.  They don't need to get married.

[Rick Kitchen]

What?  Sansa is Jon's half sister (well, as far as anybody knows!)

13 hours ago, Joe said:

3. She's probably (possible book spoilers!)

  Hide contents

his aunt.

So that might be problematic all around.

Spoiler

Targaryens marry their sisters.  No biggie.

[Minneapple]

It was confirmed in yesterday's episode that at Ned's sister Lyanna is Jon's mother. I think the father part was less clear, but it's definitely not Ned Stark. So Sansa and Jon are cousins. They don't know that yet, though.

A lot of the Jon/Sansa shipping, I think, is because Kit Harington and Sophie Turner look really pretty together and have oodles of chemistry. Actually I think a lot of the shipping on Game of Thrones is due to these kinds of factors. It's not a very shippy or romantic show.

But it creeps me out big-time that people are shipping Jon with Lyanna Mormont. She's like 10 years old! I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Nothing should surprise anyone anymore when it comes to fandom.

[AntiBeeSpray]

2 minutes ago, Minneapple said:

It was confirmed in yesterday's episode that at Ned's sister Lyanna is Jon's mother. I think the father part was less clear, but it's definitely not Ned Stark. So Sansa and Jon are cousins. They don't know that yet, though.

A lot of the Jon/Sansa shipping, I think, is because Kit Harington and Sophie Turner look really pretty together and have oodles of chemistry. Actually I think a lot of the shipping on Game of Thrones is due to these kinds of factors. It's not a very shippy or romantic show.

But it creeps me out big-time that people are shipping Jon with Lyanna Mormont. She's like 10 years old! I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Nothing should surprise anyone anymore when it comes to fandom.

Eeeep. Now that's just sick. Why? <-- my question to all those people who ship him with her. That's just wrong. It doesn't surprise me either. 

[Joe]

28 minutes ago, AntiBeeSpray said:

Eeeep. Now that's just sick. Why? <-- my question to all those people who ship him with her. That's just wrong. It doesn't surprise me either. 

It's in line with the books and the backstory. There are several relationships either incestuous or massive age gap. So while none of those options are wonderful, they aren't exactly out of the question. Westeros is messed up like that.

[Enigma X]

In all fairness,  I don't think those who ship Jon and young Lyanna Mormont are wanting a relationship right now.  Since I don't ship them, I could be wrong, but I think they are saying when Lyanna is older they would make a good pair. Again, I don't know because I never asked a Lyanna/Jon shipper.

[vibeology]

12 hours ago, Minneapple said:

A lot of the Jon/Sansa shipping, I think, is because Kit Harington and Sophie Turner look really pretty together and have oodles of chemistry. Actually I think a lot of the shipping on Game of Thrones is due to these kinds of factors. It's not a very shippy or romantic show.

I love their chemistry but obviously don't ship the characters since they were raised as siblings and still see each other that way. But I do think in a few years when Game of Thrones is over, someone should hire Kit and Sophie to play a lead couple in a period piece romance story of some sort. Because they are pretty people who pop when onscreen together.

5 hours ago, Enigma X said:

In all fairness,  I don't think those who ship Jon and young Lyanna Mormont are wanting a relationship right now.  Since I don't ship them, I could be wrong, but I think they are saying when Lyanna is older they would make a good pair. Again, I don't know because I never asked a Lyanna/Jon shipper.

Everyone I've seen talking about Jon and Lyanna are looking eight to ten years or so down the line. She's be 19-21 and he'd be 31-33. That's a solid age gap but certainly not a icky pedo situation. I don't think that works out, because either Jon gets married not too long after the coming wars or he doesn't marry at all. But yes, no one I've seeh who has expressed an interest in Jon/Lyanna wants it happening any time soon.

[Rick Kitchen]

Jon HAS to marry Daenerys.  That's the only way to end the war.

[ParadoxLost]

17 hours ago, Minneapple said:

It was confirmed in yesterday's episode that at Ned's sister Lyanna is Jon's mother. I think the father part was less clear, but it's definitely not Ned Stark. So Sansa and Jon are cousins. They don't know that yet, though.

A lot of the Jon/Sansa shipping, I think, is because Kit Harington and Sophie Turner look really pretty together and have oodles of chemistry. Actually I think a lot of the shipping on Game of Thrones is due to these kinds of factors. It's not a very shippy or romantic show.

It doesn't matter if the show isn't shippy or romantic if vast swathes of the audience are and boy howdy are GoT viewers shippy.  It comes down to shippers looking at the show and realizing they have to root for their favorite character to get together with someone that will murder or torture them or that they'll have to get flexible about age and familial relationships. 

I swear I have no idea where all this Sansa/Jon shipping is coming from except a lack of other options.  They are portraying siblings of a decimated family clinging to each other for support not other reasons.

I view the Lyanna shipping as 'hey, Jon is being kind of wishy washy.  In a decade when Lyanna grows up maybe she can do something about it.'

Jon and Dany is mostly 'we'll get a happy ending where the heroes all win, damn it' denial.

[Miss Dee]

I'm throwing Tyrion/Sansa out there. Just saying.

[Spartan Girl]

Shippers can get crazy, and I really hate it when the actors kind of egg them on to hating other shippers.

For example, Hayley Atwell (Agent Carter) basically dissed the Sharon Carter character and her romance with Captain America: Civil War, and said that not only would she disapprove of Cap going out with her grandniece, she'd probably be so pissed that she'd become an evil mastermind.  Now, maybe that was a joke, but she also went on to say that Sharon shouldn't be in any future MCU movies.  Which was really rude, and basically validating people to continue bashing the character -- and even Emily Van Camp, whose only crime was to take a part in a movie -- on the basis that even though Peggy Carter moved on with her life, Captain America wasn't allowed to move on with anyone, unless it was their precious Bucky.

[topanga]

1 hour ago, forumfish said:

Why do you think people want lead characters paired up? Is it not satisfying enough to watch a show where the leads get along in a platonic or professional way?

I enjoy a well-done romantic story as much as the next person, but I don't need romance shoehorned into everything I watch. Nearly every show on this (or any other) forum has shippers, even if the leads are not attracted to each other in that way (example: Rizzoli & Isles). What's frustrating to me is when the showrunners force a relationship in order, it seems, to placate fans (looking at you, The Mentalist).

To answer your question: I have no idea! (And I'm constantly guilty of shipping for shipping's sake).

For example, in Sleepy Hollow's heyday (*sniff* Season 1), I did like Ichabod and Abbie as working partners--they both were smart, principled, and loyal people of integrity. And the two actors played well off one another and made the characters seem like reluctant best friends. Both Ichabod and Abbie were alone in the world and seemed only to trust one another.  Again, I have no idea why watching Nicole Beharie and Tom Mison be at-ease and friendly with one another on-screen caused my brain to make the leap to "they should hop into bed and ravish one another"-land. 

[atomationage]

I liked Veronica Mars best with Troy Vandergraaf (Aaron Ashmore).  He was only in 5 episodes, but it was obvious that the actor had a lot of potential. 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

4 hours ago, forumfish said:

Why do you think people want lead characters paired up? Is it not satisfying enough to watch a show where the leads get along in a platonic or professional way?

I enjoy a well-done romantic story as much as the next person, but I don't need romance shoehorned into everything I watch. Nearly every show on this (or any other) forum has shippers, even if the leads are not attracted to each other in that way (example: Rizzoli & Isles). What's frustrating to me is when the showrunners force a relationship in order, it seems, to placate fans (looking at you, The Mentalist).

You rang? ;-)

IMO, and admittedly I'm one of those annoying ride-or-die shippers who relies on chemistry rather than anything in the writing, the leads on R & I at least had a romantic friendship if not out and out "They are so having hot, passionate sex off-screen!" In contrast, none of the guys that came along had anything approaching that connection, no matter how much what was on screen tried to tell me.

[AntiBeeSpray]

6 hours ago, forumfish said:

Why do you think people want lead characters paired up? Is it not satisfying enough to watch a show where the leads get along in a platonic or professional way?

I enjoy a well-done romantic story as much as the next person, but I don't need romance shoehorned into everything I watch. Nearly every show on this (or any other) forum has shippers, even if the leads are not attracted to each other in that way (example: Rizzoli & Isles). What's frustrating to me is when the showrunners force a relationship in order, it seems, to placate fans (looking at you, The Mentalist).

Who knows? Maybe it's partially to cheer for them? Depends. Sometimes the chemistry can over ride it/over shadow it. Sometimes it doesn't (Elliot and Olivia -- SVU (and I'm a big shipper of those two -- never expected them to be anything else but friends though)).

I don't either. But I also don't like it when show runners play games with it. That gets old VERY fast. And can be seen as petulant and childish. I don't mind a slow burn that leads some where, but I don't like it when it does goes some where and then some way down the line gets taken away before anything really meaningful even happens. For drama and tension they say, but I just call it a load full of codswallop. There are other ways of handling it without resorting to predictable tropes.

[ParadoxLost]

7 hours ago, forumfish said:

Why do you think people want lead characters paired up? Is it not satisfying enough to watch a show where the leads get along in a platonic or professional way?

I think TV trains shippers. I was formed in the primordial ooze of 80's/90's soap operas.  They taught me about shipping.

All my favorite relationships were friendships.  This was an eternally frustrating situation because they would inevitably neglect it.  It would be a focus when one or both side of the friendship had their romantic relationship on the rocks, on vacation, recast or otherwise occupied.  Then when that romantic storyline heated back up, the friendship would back burner. 

I never liked any of those romantic relationships as much as the history and connection of the friends, but I inevitably ended up counting the number of the times friends would interact on one hand...in a year.  Don't get me started on the number of times a character died or nearly died and the supposedly still current friend was MIA and not reacting as I expected.  I really doggedly held onto those friendships without romantically shipping them.  I did a lot of bargaining with myself. Well, he/she was a real asshole in that romantic relationship but he/she is not a monster.  The loyalty/chemistry with his/her friend proves he/she isn't a monster .  That the friends haven't shared a scene in six months is just because the writers hate writing anything but romance and feuds.

And that is the key, I think, friendships get dropped or ignored most of the time regardless of chemistry.  Romantic relationships get more screen time.  So viewers ship as a way of trying to ensure they get more of what they enjoy.

I can't recall shipping anything that the writers didn't hint at first.  This also comes from soaps.  Some of the friends I liked became romantic.  I didn't ship it romantically, but I got right on board and it was great.  But as happens with soaps, most romantic relationships end dreadfully one way or another.  Then I lost the relationship entirely.  So friends becoming romantic is something I dread a little.

Edited September 1, 2016 by ParadoxLost

[Sweet Tee]

Quote

And that is the key, I think, friendships get dropped or ignored most of the time regardless of chemistry.  Romantic relationships get more screen time.  So viewers ship as a way of trying to ensure they get more of what they enjoy.

Interesting.  I think there's something to that.  I definitely have romantic ships that I adore but if I did a count, I probably like more TV friendships than romantic ships.  And sadly, they do get neglected once the show decides to start really pushing that sweet, sweet endgame romance for one of the characters.  Maybe I do ship some pairings just because I like their dynamic and don't want to see it get shafted for another melodramatic love story.  Something for me to think about.

[Dejana]

41 minutes ago, AntiBeeSpray said:

Who knows? Maybe it's partially to cheer for them? Depends. Sometimes the chemistry can over ride it/over shadow it. Sometimes it doesn't (Elliot and Olivia -- SVU (and I'm a big shipper of those two -- never expected them to be anything else but friends though)).

I don't either. But I also don't like it when show runners play games with it. That gets old VERY fast. And can be seen as petulant and childish. I don't mind a slow burn that leads some where, but I don't like it when it does goes some where and then some way down the line gets taken away before anything really meaningful even happens. For drama and tension they say, but I just call it a load full of codswallop. There are other ways of handling it without resorting to predictable tropes.

I really hate it when writers play that kind of game with fans: dragging out a would-be couple for years, to the point of exhaustion, or worse, the deliberate baiting of pairings that the writers have no intention to make romantic.  It's so juvenile and petty and "of the moment" and IMO hardly ever elevates a story. Ten years from now when this show is being rerun/streamed/beamed to back of eyelids, the people watching will have zero idea about the fandom stuff that was going on as the show aired.

I think shipping really flourished with the rise of the internet, because it gave fans a chance to get discuss shows together as they were happening and what might have been passing, private thoughts that never would have gone very far pre-web (i.e. "The Fonz has a crush on Mrs. Cunningham!") instead become a whole "ship" with shippers and fic and theories and expectations and for a certain percentage, obsession.

Edited September 1, 2016 by Dejana

[Cobalt Stargazer]

2 hours ago, ParadoxLost said:

I can't recall shipping anything that the writers didn't hint at first.  This also comes from soaps.  Some of the friends I liked became romantic.  I didn't ship it romantically, but I got right on board and it was great.  But as happens with soaps, most romantic relationships end dreadfully one way or another.  Then I lost the relationship entirely.  So friends becoming romantic is something I dread a little.

Specifically as it relates to this, soaps, particularly today's soaps, tend to completely demolish a previous relationship once a new one starts. And not just demolish it, but demolish it, then set the shards on fire and bury the ashes in a deep hole. Because somehow it diminishes the new pairing if one of the people involved has ever been deeply in love before. Or something.

[ParadoxLost]

7 minutes ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

Specifically as it relates to this, soaps, particularly today's soaps, tend to completely demolish a previous relationship once a new one starts. And not just demolish it, but demolish it, then set the shards on fire and bury the ashes in a deep hole. Because somehow it diminishes the new pairing if one of the people involved has ever been deeply in love before. Or something.

Do they still try to rekindle the former relationship after setting the shards on fire and burying it in a hole?  You know, how HIMYM convinced both Barney/Robin and Ted/Robin fans that neither coupling was good for them and then spent the last season doing a redo of both and karma took their spinoff as punishment.

Anyways, I had to give up soaps because they were in a phase where both couples and characters were being demolished because it was edgy.  I blame the Sopranos.  I realized the madness had to stop because of a shoe. 

[kathyk24]

1 hour ago, forumfish said:

Very interesting feedback -- thanks, everybody! I've never been a shipper, and I think the last time I really rooted for a couple to get together was probably on Another World, back in the 80s. I was really irritated by the end of The Mentalist, because early on, they said that Jane and Lisbon had an almost sibling-type relationship. Then the end of the series is looming and … boom. It felt so inorganic and forced.

That's why I hated the finale of Warehouse 13. Myka never showed any romantic interest in Pete. She even stated in a letter that she thought of him as a brother yet in the season finale she stated that she was in love with him. I also hate when a popular couple finally gets together the writers can't wait to break them up. This has happened to so many soap opera couples that I gave up watching the soaps.

[proserpina65]

I don't tend to ship very often, although there have been a few, but I have to confess that I never saw any romantic chemistry between Scully and Mulder.  Their whole vibe came off to me as reluctant colleagues who became friends.  That was it.

[Winter Rose]

Lately I've come to a point where I can ship things but don't actually want to see them happen. Sometimes it's because it wouldn't even be true to the show if they went there, so I'd rather think about it as my own personal extension of canon. But in most cases it's because I find a very distinct difference in how a couple is written when the writers are building them up vs. actually being together. In the build up phase, the writers are trying to get the audience on board, so there's all these great moments that show the characters liking each other, but with anticipation because they're still a few steps away from acting on it. But once the couple gets together, so many writers fall into the trap of thinking now they're boring so they add all this drama to keep things exciting. Except they wind up exposing the couple as not being good together and the more the writers push them, the worse it comes across. And then of course there's the fans fighting about it, some calling out the couple for sucking and others getting defensive when their ship is insulted.

[AntiBeeSpray]

3 hours ago, Winter Rose said:

Lately I've come to a point where I can ship things but don't actually want to see them happen. Sometimes it's because it wouldn't even be true to the show if they went there, so I'd rather think about it as my own personal extension of canon. But in most cases it's because I find a very distinct difference in how a couple is written when the writers are building them up vs. actually being together. In the build up phase, the writers are trying to get the audience on board, so there's all these great moments that show the characters liking each other, but with anticipation because they're still a few steps away from acting on it. But once the couple gets together, so many writers fall into the trap of thinking now they're boring so they add all this drama to keep things exciting. Except they wind up exposing the couple as not being good together and the more the writers push them, the worse it comes across. And then of course there's the fans fighting about it, some calling out the couple for sucking and others getting defensive when their ship is insulted.

Exactly. And that's almost a strawman these days. The whole 'if they get together, it'll be boring' thing. I swear if I hear another writer use that excuse, I'll scream :D. And when Chris Carter broke M & S apart, when they had things thaw and they worked back together... boy did that feel forced. -_- Mainly due to the choice of song and the dialogue. But a good backstory as to what lead up to the break up could have made some difference there.

[AntiBeeSpray]

6 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

I don't tend to ship very often, although there have been a few, but I have to confess that I never saw any romantic chemistry between Scully and Mulder.  Their whole vibe came off to me as reluctant colleagues who became friends.  That was it.

I did around s5 onward. Never thought that CC would ever let them be together though. But looking back, I wonder if it was just done for ratings. But meh, the whole show seems to be swirling down the tubes.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

6 hours ago, Winter Rose said:

 And then of course there's the fans fighting about it, some calling out the couple for sucking and others getting defensive when their ship is insulted.

Lord, don't get me started. Between Buffy/Angel and Buffy/Spike, I'm still scarred from the flame wars.

[Bastet]

Quote

Why do you think people want lead characters paired up? Is it not satisfying enough to watch a show where the leads get along in a platonic or professional way?

I enjoy a well-done romantic story as much as the next person, but I don't need romance shoehorned into everything I watch. Nearly every show on this (or any other) forum has shippers, even if the leads are not attracted to each other in that way (example: Rizzoli & Isles). What's frustrating to me is when the showrunners force a relationship in order, it seems, to placate fans (looking at you, The Mentalist).

I think sometimes there's a chemistry between two actors that sparks the imagination of a potential romance, even though the characters aren't written that way.  (Expecting it to happen on the show, rather than just thinking about it as some sort of alternate universe in your mind, is another step.)  I also think there's a very real effect of conditioning, by society at large and TV in general, to devalue friendships and professional partnerships as compared to romantic pairings. 

I'm not much of a shipper.  I have enjoyed some shows where the whole point is to root for the characters to get together romantically and watch how they get there, but in general I find friendships and office dynamics more interesting than romantic relationships so I'm more drawn to shows that focus on those.  And it follows that in those shows centered around platonic relationships, it's rare for me to start imagining a romantic relationship between the characters even though they're not written that way.  In fact, I'm usually opposed; for example, I loved Elliot and Olivia's partnership on SVU and would have been incredibly ticked off had the writers suddenly gone down the sexual tension road.  

[Cobalt Stargazer]

From the Shows You Cancelled thread, because I wasn't sure where else to put it:

2 hours ago, lordonia said:

Longmire: Stupid romances again.
 

I see this more and more lately - that romances are stupid, that shipping is stupid, (I guess) and that, particularly for female characters, it ruins their characters. So I guess the only solution is for all characters to remain not only single, but preferably celibate as well. Because that's realistic, and I say that with only a slight amount of sarcasm since it seems to be a view that's becoming more popular. Granted there are times when I wish certain couples had never gotten together, but I'm not sure that a total ban on pairing people up is the answer. Maybe this should go into the Unpopular Opinions thread?

[AntiBeeSpray]

3 minutes ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

From the Shows You Cancelled thread, because I wasn't sure where else to put it:

I see this more and more lately - that romances are stupid, that shipping is stupid, (I guess) and that, particularly for female characters, it ruins their characters. So I guess the only solution is for all characters to remain not only single, but preferably celibate as well. Because that's realistic, and I say that with only a slight amount of sarcasm since it seems to be a view that's becoming more popular. Granted there are times when I wish certain couples had never gotten together, but I'm not sure that a total ban on pairing people up is the answer. Maybe this should go into the Unpopular Opinions thread?

I could kiss this post. Because I saw this happening during the promotion of XF s10. They tried to put shippers down and say they didn't know what they wanted and what they wanted isn't really what they wanted. Ugh. It's ridiculous.

[Enigma X]

40 minutes ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

From the Shows You Cancelled thread, because I wasn't sure where else to put it:

I see this more and more lately - that romances are stupid, that shipping is stupid, (I guess) and that, particularly for female characters, it ruins their characters. So I guess the only solution is for all characters to remain not only single, but preferably celibate as well. Because that's realistic, and I say that with only a slight amount of sarcasm since it seems to be a view that's becoming more popular. Granted there are times when I wish certain couples had never gotten together, but I'm not sure that a total ban on pairing people up is the answer. Maybe this should go into the Unpopular Opinions thread?

I said it before (in the Unpopular Opinions thread even) that pairings are not a necessarily a bad thing--even those created for what may be superficial purposes (ya know, not becoming friends first but jumping right in the sack). What sucks more of the time is the writing. I like couples that have chemistry (which is a subjective thing). I much prefer romantic pairings or even sex buddies over the more popular action with no plot stories that prevail.

The only thing I hate about general shipping is when it takes over a forum (why I created this forum to try to cull that in the show forums) or that fandom starts to get fanatical.

[FormerMod-a1]

53 minutes ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

From the Shows You Cancelled thread, because I wasn't sure where else to put it:

I see this more and more lately - that romances are stupid, that shipping is stupid, (I guess) and that, particularly for female characters, it ruins their characters. So I guess the only solution is for all characters to remain not only single, but preferably celibate as well. Because that's realistic, and I say that with only a slight amount of sarcasm since it seems to be a view that's becoming more popular. Granted there are times when I wish certain couples had never gotten together, but I'm not sure that a total ban on pairing people up is the answer. Maybe this should go into the Unpopular Opinions thread?

I replied to you on this before, over here (and the discussion goes on for a bit after this).  And while that's about movies the same applies to TV for me.

On 7/27/2016 at 8:34 AM, aquarian1 said:

For me it isn't that I think romance is bad, but it seems that there is ALWAYS romance.  Like it has to be there.  No, it doesn't.  You do not need a romantic partner to be "complete", happy, fulfilled, etc.  I'd just like it to sometimes not be part of the story.  You can save the world without falling in love.  

It's not that romance is bad, but it shouldn't be everything either, or be in everything either.  All characters don't need it, but it seems it's often all people talk about.  "These 2 should get together."  "They can't be that close and not be screwing."  "Why are/aren't these two dating?" "Why are they toying with us?" Although, I do see this reaction in real life, too, unfortunately.  When I get along with someone, or have a good report with them, people will often comment something like "Wow, you could cut the sexual tension with a knife" or "Why aren't you two dating?" and I'm always confused.  Just because we get along doesn't mean we want to date or even just "bang".  If that were true, I'd have dated and/or banged 100s of people by now.  (Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's not my reality)   ... We, as humans, can, and do, have deep meaningful relationships that are not romantic.  And they are not diminished by not being romantic.  In fact, sometimes they are even stronger than romantic relationships.  TL; DR, I'll restate the first sentence of this paragraph: "It's not that romance is bad, but it shouldn't be everything either, or be in everything either."

[kathyk24]

On ‎9‎/‎1‎/‎2016 at 7:27 PM, Bastet said:

I think sometimes there's a chemistry between two actors that sparks the imagination of a potential romance, even though the characters aren't written that way.  (Expecting it to happen on the show, rather than just thinking about it as some sort of alternate universe in your mind, is another step.)  I also think there's a very real effect of conditioning, by society at large and TV in general, to devalue friendships and professional partnerships as compared to romantic pairings. 

I'm not much of a shipper.  I have enjoyed some shows where the whole point is to root for the characters to get together romantically and watch how they get there, but in general I find friendships and office dynamics more interesting than romantic relationships so I'm more drawn to shows that focus on those.  And it follows that in those shows centered around platonic relationships, it's rare for me to start imagining a romantic relationship between the characters even though they're not written that way.  In fact, I'm usually opposed; for example, I loved Elliot and Olivia's partnership on SVU and would have been incredibly ticked off had the writers suddenly gone down the sexual tension road.  

I was glad SVU didn't pair up Elliott and Olivia. Elliott had too many anger issues  to be a good romantic partner. I was also happy Cold Case didn't pair up Scotty and Lily for the same reason. I never understood the dislike for Elliott's wife Kathy I never found her boring. I feel the fans didn't like her because she got in the way of Elliott and Olivia being together.

[Ceindreadh]

On 1 September 2016 at 11:59 PM, Cobalt Stargazer said:

Lord, don't get me started. Between Buffy/Angel and Buffy/Spike, I'm still scarred from the flame wars.

I lived through the Carby/Luby wars on ER, I feel your pain!

 

Personally I don't care for romance on a lot of shows because it tends to reduce those characters plots (or less face it, reduces the female character's plots) to being more about the relationship than the original premise of the show. I also hate to see partners on a police procedural paired up because I think it ridiculous that they'd still be allowed work together in the field.

I've pretty much dropped NCIS LA because of Deeks/Kensi - it would have been a bit hypocritical for me to approve because I liked both characters when I was so adamant that Tony and Ziva on NCIS wouldn't and shouldn't be allowed work together if *they* had hooked up. 

[SmithW6079]

On 9/1/2016 at 0:46 PM, proserpina65 said:

I don't tend to ship very often, although there have been a few, but I have to confess that I never saw any romantic chemistry between Scully and Mulder.  Their whole vibe came off to me as reluctant colleagues who became friends.  That was it.

Yes! Thank you. I hate all the "Scully and Mulder are twu wuvs" crap. If they loved each other, it was as platonic friends and colleagues. 

Edited September 9, 2016 by SmithW6079

[ParadoxLost]

On ‎9‎/‎3‎/‎2016 at 5:06 AM, Ceindreadh said:

I've pretty much dropped NCIS LA because of Deeks/Kensi - it would have been a bit hypocritical for me to approve because I liked both characters when I was so adamant that Tony and Ziva on NCIS wouldn't and shouldn't be allowed work together if *they* had hooked up. 

I watched one episode of NCIS LA other than the pilot.  I kid you not, I turned it off because of Deeks/Kensi (well, I presume it was them unless there is another couple on the team).  The were undercover and went into a bathroom in the middle of bad guy central to discuss their relationship.  Because it couldn't wait until after they were off the job and less likely to be overheard and get them murdered, I guess.

I shipped Tony and Ziva for a while.  But the producers using it just for finale stakes turned me off them.  Well that and Ziva's treatment of Tony. 

Edited September 5, 2016 by ParadoxLost

[Sweet Tee]

I only watched one or two episodes of NCIS LA because Deeks/Kensi was annoying me as well.  And for the first couple of years, I did like Tony/Ziva.  But, when it was clear that they were never going to put them together and just keep teasing and teasing forever, I got bored with the whole thing and stopped watching.

[HeroWorld]

Quote

I'm not going to the Arrow forum because I don't want to read any big spoilers (I don't mind minor ones, but I hate being spoiled for the big events), but are people shipping Felicity and Oliver?  We're only half way through the first season, so I have no idea what's in store for her character, but for right now, I find her adorable and want to see them together.  Whenever they are in a scene together, I say "please ask her out!".  We just saw the episode with the drug dealer and when he asked her to help identify what was in the drug (claiming it was an energy drink) and said it was because he was picky about what he put in his body, her "I noticed that..." was priceless. 

That ship has destroyed a lot of what was good about the Arrow show, I wonder if some few people would have wanted them to be canon so badly back then had they known  that the ship would turn out the way it has. Or regret ever wanting it to be canon, of course I know most dont considering how popular the ship still is. It was cute ship that had potential but was mishandled by the writers. This ship is doing to Arrow what Delena did to The Vampire Diaries. CW Writers never learn, fan pandering and putting a ship above all else never ends well. I just hope that its negative effects doesnt spread to the other DCTV superhero shows. Thats the problem of having multiple shows in the same universe.

Speaking of another CW supehero show Im excited about seeing Barry and Iris being canon on The Flash, and I just hope they dont make the same mistake Arrow did with a main ship of the show. Also want to see how Supergirl handles Kara and James. Being inter-racial ships, sometimes writers are quick to abandon these ships for a white love interest/s.

 

Quote

The worst of fandom unhealthy obsession I've seen more recently belong to Outlander.  The chemistry between Sam Heughan and Catriona Balfe is just so sizzling that they insist that the two must be/HAVE to be dating in real life.  They kept denying it, while Sam not saying whether he was dating someone or not, and finally, they both said that they were NOT involved romantically, it didn't go over very well. They were accused of "leading" the fans on

Sounds like the fans/ Real life shippers were right?

http://www.gamenguide.com/articles/34132/20160721/sam-heughan-catriona-balfe-dating-outlander-season-3-stars-to-make-relationship-official-soon-actress-revealed-why-they-cannot-be-together.htm

Edited September 5, 2016 by HeroWorld

[AimingforYoko]

On 9/1/2016 at 11:46 AM, proserpina65 said:

I don't tend to ship very often, although there have been a few, but I have to confess that I never saw any romantic chemistry between Scully and Mulder.  Their whole vibe came off to me as reluctant colleagues who became friends.  That was it.

I never saw it either....before Pusher. That was the first moment I thought the 'shippers might be on to something.

[DearEvette]

On 8/31/2016 at 3:32 PM, topanga said:

To answer your question: I have no idea! (And I'm constantly guilty of shipping for shipping's sake).

For example, in Sleepy Hollow's heyday (*sniff* Season 1), I did like Ichabod and Abbie as working partners--they both were smart, principled, and loyal people of integrity. And the two actors played well off one another and made the characters seem like reluctant best friends. Both Ichabod and Abbie were alone in the world and seemed only to trust one another.  Again, I have no idea why watching Nicole Beharie and Tom Mison be at-ease and friendly with one another on-screen caused my brain to make the leap to "they should hop into bed and ravish one another"-land. 

It doesn't help they always seemed to be eye fucking each other or talking meaningfully about their bond while staring soulfully at each other.