I try to balance out my fics between the boys, but I really find Rimmer a lot easier to write. I don't think I'm quite that bad, but I am neurotic, and the whole business of denying everything in the past in the light of the one really bad thing that has just happened is hard to not-do, even if you recognize the tendency. I think we all want to be Lister - mostly carefree, highly resilient, easygoing; even as early as Thanks For The Memory, Rimmer knew it was better, in many ways, to be Listerine. But he's not.
Stoke Me A Clipper strikes me as a very sad and ironic episode. I do give the writers credit for keeping Rimmer in character, i.e. hating everything Ace is, and not making him say, "Oh, wow, I can go be Ace!" That look he gives Lister after Lister effectively traps him into being Ace with that line is inscrutable, but certainly not happy.
When I wrote Stress, Lister made mention of the importance of sticking with your friends to Rimmer, and I do think that was a pervasive theme in later seasons. Boyz from the Dwarf, and so on. And I thought that by the end of VI and the beginning of VII, Rimmer was really starting to get it - Out Of Time has moments of outright selflessness and heroism on his part, and in Tikka To Ride, he was actually the voice of moderation and reason. And then, just as he gets to that point, Lister turns it all around and encourages him to abandon his friends, to leave and to go off gallivanting alone in other dimensions. I know it was a device for a leaving actor, but as a part of the plot of the show as a whole, it really bothered me.
Rimmer is shown many times in previous series as the person who screws things up by doing what he thinks is right, but I think Lister really did it in Stoke Me A Clipper. I do think he cares for Rimmer, and that he thinks he is doing the right thing by making Rimmer Rise Above Himself - but I don't think it's the right thing for either of them.
I really need to see VIII! I know what happens in general, but haven't seen the episodes. I have a Solaris-kinda plotbunny, but I want to see how the writers handled it.
Myself, I'm basically Lister. It's part of why I like him, I suppose; I see myself in him. I'm slightly cleaner, and slightly better at playing the guitar, but beyond that, spot on.
Solaris, eh? Hm... That could certainly be quite awesome! It's been a while since I've seen series VII, actually, so I don't remember much of the episodes, but I remember the feel of the scene when Lister is encouraging Rimmer.
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reddwarfslash2006-02-22 12:54 am
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I try to balance out my fics between the boys, but I really find Rimmer a lot easier to write. I don't think I'm quite that bad, but I am neurotic, and the whole business of denying everything in the past in the light of the one really bad thing that has just happened is hard to not-do, even if you recognize the tendency. I think we all want to be Lister - mostly carefree, highly resilient, easygoing; even as early as Thanks For The Memory, Rimmer knew it was better, in many ways, to be Listerine. But he's not.
Stoke Me A Clipper strikes me as a very sad and ironic episode. I do give the writers credit for keeping Rimmer in character, i.e. hating everything Ace is, and not making him say, "Oh, wow, I can go be Ace!" That look he gives Lister after Lister effectively traps him into being Ace with that line is inscrutable, but certainly not happy.
When I wrote Stress, Lister made mention of the importance of sticking with your friends to Rimmer, and I do think that was a pervasive theme in later seasons. Boyz from the Dwarf, and so on. And I thought that by the end of VI and the beginning of VII, Rimmer was really starting to get it - Out Of Time has moments of outright selflessness and heroism on his part, and in Tikka To Ride, he was actually the voice of moderation and reason. And then, just as he gets to that point, Lister turns it all around and encourages him to abandon his friends, to leave and to go off gallivanting alone in other dimensions. I know it was a device for a leaving actor, but as a part of the plot of the show as a whole, it really bothered me.
Rimmer is shown many times in previous series as the person who screws things up by doing what he thinks is right, but I think Lister really did it in Stoke Me A Clipper. I do think he cares for Rimmer, and that he thinks he is doing the right thing by making Rimmer Rise Above Himself - but I don't think it's the right thing for either of them.
I really need to see VIII! I know what happens in general, but haven't seen the episodes. I have a Solaris-kinda plotbunny, but I want to see how the writers handled it.
no subject
Solaris, eh? Hm... That could certainly be quite awesome! It's been a while since I've seen series VII, actually, so I don't remember much of the episodes, but I remember the feel of the scene when Lister is encouraging Rimmer.