OT? A Fistful of Stus
Dec. 10th, 2006 08:06 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
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Since someone else introduced a question that was bugging them, I thought it might be okay to say something that's been bugging me for awhile.
I've been reading Backwards and I just have to get this off my chest.
Ace Rimmer is the Stu to end all Stus.
Thank you. *slinks away.*
I've been reading Backwards and I just have to get this off my chest.
Ace Rimmer is the Stu to end all Stus.
Thank you. *slinks away.*
no subject
Date: 2006-12-11 02:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-11 03:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-11 03:01 am (UTC)I never liked him, but he's not a Stu because of author ineptitude or arrogance; he's a Stu because it's deliberate.
Of course, I haven't read Backwards, so I don't know if his Stu-ness is actually bad for the plot there.
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Date: 2006-12-11 03:05 am (UTC)As for his appearance in Backwards... his Stu-ness was just cringe-inducing, I don't think it actually impeded the plot. Stalled it in places, maybe.
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Date: 2006-12-11 03:21 am (UTC)I feel that Rob Grant tried to humanize him in Backwards. That was a problem, as it impeded the over-the-top-ness that made his Stuishness work in the show. IMO. But it still made for lovely slashiness with Spanners.
That being said, Backwards is one of the few books that has made me laugh out loud at multiple points. If you want a good Rob Grant book, read Colony. I think he was a little burnt out on RD when he wrote Backwards.
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Date: 2006-12-11 03:27 am (UTC)I also didn't like how Rob seemed to reverse Rimmer's character. In Better then Life, Rimmer is practically hopping out of his skin in happiness that Lister can be saved, and in Backwards he's back to hating him? What gives?
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Date: 2006-12-11 03:31 am (UTC)You can be very, very annoyed at someone and bitch and whine and resent him and still care for him. I think it's very Rimmer. When Lister is really in danger - like in Confidence and Paranoia - he's upset and frantic. But as long as Lister is not in immediate danger, Rimmer goes back to snark and snipe (like the very next scene in Confidence and Paranoia). So when Lister is dead, Rimmer can let a little of his care through - but once he's not, when he's back and especially when he's being a bit of a surly teen, Rimmer is back to old tricks.
Plus, later, I think Rimmer is madly jealous - on every level - of the affection Ace inspires in Lister.
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Date: 2006-12-11 03:34 am (UTC)I mean, at the end, even, Rimmer does nothing to help Lister and Lister doesn't even refer to him as a friend.
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Date: 2006-12-11 04:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-11 05:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-11 12:55 pm (UTC)Agreed. That is the very essence of the Rimmer/Lister relationship IMO. When people go "huh? But they hate eachothers guts" to R/L slash, I counter with "yes, of course they do! But they're also in love." That's how it goes.
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Date: 2006-12-11 04:46 am (UTC)What did you think of Incompetence?
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Date: 2006-12-11 05:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-11 12:51 pm (UTC)