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I obsess over characterization, so sue me. Well, actually, don't because you won't get anything.
John Sheppard is a dork but he is not stupid. The man does make mistakes but a lot of people seem to be getting on the band wagon of him being a moron, when he's usually the one coming up with the ideas that save the day and, of course, McKay makes them happen.
I'm just kind of venting here, so feel free to ignore me. I take characterization seriously and when I see a character portrayed in fanfic (or even on a show) that contradicts how that character has been developed, it tends to irk me. I know part of characterization is in the eye of the beholder, but to me there are certain aspects that seem blatantly obvious yet I feel like the only one who's noticed.
For example, it's popular in the fics to have John play down his injuries to the point where he almost kills himself. Sticking to him not being an idiot, no way would he do this! I mean, unless they are in the middle of a crisis, he will get medical help since he knows good and well people depend on him. Another popular thing to do with him is have everyone dump and rag on him because he risked his life to save theirs. Come on, people, he's a soldier and it's what he does. What would you have him do, step aside and let the intended victim take the bullet after all? I think his team should be a little more grateful to him that he saved their lives. McKay might be petulant about it at first, but even he should be made to come around and show some appreciation. Instead, the writers have the team put him down, and he smiles like it's okay. I don't buy it.
Also, John does stick up for himself more when he and Rodney snark. He doesn't always grin and bear it. If Rodney tells him to shut up, John will bristle and snap back. I've seen that very thing happen many times in many episodes.
John is not a jerk. If Rodney says something is wrong, Sheppard will listen because he acknowledges that Rodney is a genius. I believe that it is Rodney's ego John doesn't trust, not Rodney himself. I felt that in the episode Trinity, Sheppard, out of everyone, had a right to be mad at McKay, yet came out being nicer about it, giving Rodney a chance to redeem himself. I saw this as a character building/change moment for Rodney, so those stories that have Rodney apologizing for blowing John's trust, and John apologizing for not trusting Rodney, don't sit well with me. If John didn't trust Rodney then he wouldn't have gotten into the pod in Aurora. To me, saying 'no' when Rodney asks "don't you trust me?" could be looked at as a way to keep him in line ego-wise. Sheppard also strikes me as a man who doesn't trust easily but wants to, so for Rodney to ask for his trust, for John to give it, and for it to be blown to heck, was a set back for John in his effort to show trust. So of course he'd be upset and not give it so easily.
Rodney doesn't know everything, especially when it comes to making people feel better (although he is actually sweet about it when he tries, and he does try). In fact my mom keeps saying that he's usually the one getting them all into trouble. And yelling at Sheppard for the sake of his mental health would actually do more harm then good. I don't know why people do this except to use as a quick fix to make everything hunky-dory again. It's kind of why I've come to like the endings where everything isn't fine, but you know it will or at least might be eventually.
This is how I look at things, so vouch it as neither wrong nor right, just an opinion that I'm sure some may disagree with and some agree with.
A good example of a show kind of butchering their own character is Numbers. I used to really love Charlie Eppes' character and still do, but what I liked about his character was kind of smeared for me when in one episode they have him making out with some British chick. They had him coming across as a practical suave Romeo when all this time I thought Charlie was socially akward and shy. It was what I liked about him, the child-like innocence portrayed in the first season, but that episode kind of ruined it for me (which is why the episode does not exist for me).
I know this may sound like I'm getting all upset over piddly little things (hey, it's TV, it is piddly) but there is a lesson to be learned from this. Seeing how characters can be interpreted, or misinterpreted, and altered for the sake of wanting to have something happen (i.e a make out scene) it makes you realize how precarious characterization can be. When developing a character, one should pay close attention to them, come to understand them, to know what things they would do and what things they wouldn't. As a character grows, traits develope that may sometimes go unnoticed, and suddenly you're having your character doing something that (had you been paying attention) they really shouldn't have done (Ex. the character has an aversion to blood and violence yet ends up sticking his/her hands into someone's guts without compunction. Yeah, hefty example but it works. Said traits would actually be a little less obvious.)
When borrowing other people's characters for fanfic, pay close attention to how they come off in the shows, not how they are portrayed in fanfics, what people say about them in forums, or how you would 'like' them to be just to fulfill some plot need that would otherwise be impossible if the characters stayed in character. That is, if you're going with canon. I've read stories, mostly character studies, looking at aspects of the character that make them out to be something they aren't, yet very well could be, making for very fascinating 'what-ifs'. I also know that no one can be one-hundred percent acurate with the characters. Heck, I tend to make Rodney too nice, mostly because if I didn't I could very well end up writing a scene where I have John punch him for me. Because if Rodney were here being condescending to me, that's probably what would end up happening.
I've also yet to hear Rodney call John an idiot or moron. I'm not saying he wouldn't I'm just saying I've yet to hear it, but I am still stuck in season two. If Rodney did, I'm pretty sure Sheppard would slap him in the back of the head for it.
John Sheppard is a dork but he is not stupid. The man does make mistakes but a lot of people seem to be getting on the band wagon of him being a moron, when he's usually the one coming up with the ideas that save the day and, of course, McKay makes them happen.
I'm just kind of venting here, so feel free to ignore me. I take characterization seriously and when I see a character portrayed in fanfic (or even on a show) that contradicts how that character has been developed, it tends to irk me. I know part of characterization is in the eye of the beholder, but to me there are certain aspects that seem blatantly obvious yet I feel like the only one who's noticed.
For example, it's popular in the fics to have John play down his injuries to the point where he almost kills himself. Sticking to him not being an idiot, no way would he do this! I mean, unless they are in the middle of a crisis, he will get medical help since he knows good and well people depend on him. Another popular thing to do with him is have everyone dump and rag on him because he risked his life to save theirs. Come on, people, he's a soldier and it's what he does. What would you have him do, step aside and let the intended victim take the bullet after all? I think his team should be a little more grateful to him that he saved their lives. McKay might be petulant about it at first, but even he should be made to come around and show some appreciation. Instead, the writers have the team put him down, and he smiles like it's okay. I don't buy it.
Also, John does stick up for himself more when he and Rodney snark. He doesn't always grin and bear it. If Rodney tells him to shut up, John will bristle and snap back. I've seen that very thing happen many times in many episodes.
John is not a jerk. If Rodney says something is wrong, Sheppard will listen because he acknowledges that Rodney is a genius. I believe that it is Rodney's ego John doesn't trust, not Rodney himself. I felt that in the episode Trinity, Sheppard, out of everyone, had a right to be mad at McKay, yet came out being nicer about it, giving Rodney a chance to redeem himself. I saw this as a character building/change moment for Rodney, so those stories that have Rodney apologizing for blowing John's trust, and John apologizing for not trusting Rodney, don't sit well with me. If John didn't trust Rodney then he wouldn't have gotten into the pod in Aurora. To me, saying 'no' when Rodney asks "don't you trust me?" could be looked at as a way to keep him in line ego-wise. Sheppard also strikes me as a man who doesn't trust easily but wants to, so for Rodney to ask for his trust, for John to give it, and for it to be blown to heck, was a set back for John in his effort to show trust. So of course he'd be upset and not give it so easily.
Rodney doesn't know everything, especially when it comes to making people feel better (although he is actually sweet about it when he tries, and he does try). In fact my mom keeps saying that he's usually the one getting them all into trouble. And yelling at Sheppard for the sake of his mental health would actually do more harm then good. I don't know why people do this except to use as a quick fix to make everything hunky-dory again. It's kind of why I've come to like the endings where everything isn't fine, but you know it will or at least might be eventually.
This is how I look at things, so vouch it as neither wrong nor right, just an opinion that I'm sure some may disagree with and some agree with.
A good example of a show kind of butchering their own character is Numbers. I used to really love Charlie Eppes' character and still do, but what I liked about his character was kind of smeared for me when in one episode they have him making out with some British chick. They had him coming across as a practical suave Romeo when all this time I thought Charlie was socially akward and shy. It was what I liked about him, the child-like innocence portrayed in the first season, but that episode kind of ruined it for me (which is why the episode does not exist for me).
I know this may sound like I'm getting all upset over piddly little things (hey, it's TV, it is piddly) but there is a lesson to be learned from this. Seeing how characters can be interpreted, or misinterpreted, and altered for the sake of wanting to have something happen (i.e a make out scene) it makes you realize how precarious characterization can be. When developing a character, one should pay close attention to them, come to understand them, to know what things they would do and what things they wouldn't. As a character grows, traits develope that may sometimes go unnoticed, and suddenly you're having your character doing something that (had you been paying attention) they really shouldn't have done (Ex. the character has an aversion to blood and violence yet ends up sticking his/her hands into someone's guts without compunction. Yeah, hefty example but it works. Said traits would actually be a little less obvious.)
When borrowing other people's characters for fanfic, pay close attention to how they come off in the shows, not how they are portrayed in fanfics, what people say about them in forums, or how you would 'like' them to be just to fulfill some plot need that would otherwise be impossible if the characters stayed in character. That is, if you're going with canon. I've read stories, mostly character studies, looking at aspects of the character that make them out to be something they aren't, yet very well could be, making for very fascinating 'what-ifs'. I also know that no one can be one-hundred percent acurate with the characters. Heck, I tend to make Rodney too nice, mostly because if I didn't I could very well end up writing a scene where I have John punch him for me. Because if Rodney were here being condescending to me, that's probably what would end up happening.
I've also yet to hear Rodney call John an idiot or moron. I'm not saying he wouldn't I'm just saying I've yet to hear it, but I am still stuck in season two. If Rodney did, I'm pretty sure Sheppard would slap him in the back of the head for it.
