B&S Cast & Crew - "It Gets Better" series

Sea of Love: Thoughts on "Shipping"

About a year ago now, I finally figured out the pop culture term "shipping." I know, I'm a slow study. Turns out, I've been "shipping" for years without realizing it.

Shipper (via Urban Dictionary)
relationshipper; One who believes there is, was, should, and could be a relationship between two characters in a certain fandom.

That's the bare bones definition. My own experience? I've found that shipping is a lot like being in love itself -- it mostly makes you sick, with brief pockets of delirious happiness, and at least half the time you can't stand the way things turned out.

Not to mention that:

• You can't force a ship -- either there's chemistry there, or there's not.
• A particularly intense ship can cause you to do things you wouldn't normally do (like write fan fiction or register at a fan forum).
• Getting back together with a former ship can sometimes make things better... and sometimes worse.
• Finding a new ship can often help you get over an old one.
• Sometimes it takes years to discover your next big ship.
• You can be fairly judgmental of shipping until it happens to you.

My first ship? Easily Scarlett and Rhett from Gone with the Wind, one of the most iconic ships of the 20th century. The not-so-secret success -- both the saving grace and agony -- of this particular ship? It's a cliffhanger. It's open-ended, which I've found to be a key factor in not losing my mind while shipping. Problem is, Hollywood doesn't usually agree. Fairy tale endings abound, which tend to drive me crazy even when I'm fortunate enough to champion a couple that actually ends up together.

One way of getting around this problem, I've found, is shipping within daytime soaps -- these are the least insane and most enjoyable ships in the long run, at least for me. The good and bad news about shipping in the soaps world is the temporary nature of most relationships -- there's almost always the possibility of a change in circumstance, of both reconciliation and disaster (and sometimes in whiplash-inducing succession). This can have the effect of making all right with the world, but it can also leave a sour, garbage-like taste in the mouth. On the other hand, hope almost always remains that things can eventually go your way once again.

A final point about shipping. It's easy to be scornful of it (and judgmental of those who engage in it) -- until it happens to you. But when that fever hits you, you're done -- there's no point fighting it. Or in feeling guilty. Right? Just say no shame, sit back, and enjoy. Honestly, I'm telling you, it makes life a lot easier.

So, here are mine. These are an elite group, all from TV, and either instant obsessions or enduring soaps favorites.

Kevin/Scotty from Brothers & Sisters
Status: ongoing, currently together
Favorite clips: Lobster scene (2.08), Car scene (2.11), Proposal scene (2.15).
These two captured a special place in my heart early in season 1, back when Scotty was showing up at the Walker manse with red velvet cupcakes. In what seemed to be fated timing, they got committed on the season 2 finale about a week prior to same-sex marriage becoming legal in California. But then the train wreck called Prop 8 happened, which sort of tainted, well, everything. But, still, I don't care. They're married. End of story.

Carrie/Aidan from Sex and the City
Status: divided forever
Favorite clips: The Proposal (4.12), Fight scene (4.13).
This ship was driven largely by my fondness for John Corbett (dating back to "Chris in the Morning," of course, from Northern Exposure), but there was something about Carrie and Aidan together that I really loved. They had an authenticity and a great comedic flavor (sort of a theme with my ships). And that loveseat he made, where the flaw in the wood was also its strength? Pure swoon.

Felicity/Noel from Felicity
Status: divided forever
Favorite clips: Boggled First Kiss (1.04), Thanksgiving Bathroom Make-Out (1.09), Noel's Library Freak-Out (1.10).
Probably my favorite, most obsessive, and ultimately most painful ship. These two had best friendship, amazing chemistry, and a screwball comedy dynamic I absolutely adored. But not only did they not end up together, the series finale somehow managed to divide them, spectacularly, through both marriage and death. Oh my god, kill me now. The name of this ship is the Sweet Torture.

Brooke/Ridge from The Bold & the Beautiful
Status: ongoing, recently together but currently divided
Favorite clips: Reminiscing (01-18-08).
My first soaps ship, dating back to the late 80s, Brooke and Ridge are so iconic as a supercouple that it almost doesn't matter if they're actually together on any given day or not. They just are.

Nick/Sharon from The Young & the Restless
Status: ongoing, recently together but currently divided
Favorite clips: Paris scenes (11-11-08).
Nick and Sharon got together as teenagers during my own teen years, so their love story pretty much has undeniable supercouple status for me. And who could forget the tragedy of their daughter Cassie getting killed in a car accident and the gut-wrenching aftermath of Nick turning to Phyllis? Just, sob.

Luke/Noah from As the World Turns
Status: ongoing, currently together
Favorite clips: The Kiss (08-17-07), The Deed (01-12-09).
Nuke is simply adorable. And although it took forever for CBS to allow them to show much physical affection, the wait was totally worth it. They've recently moved in together and are just the cutest. thing. ever.

Gwen/Will from As the World Turns
Status: written off, together in the end
Favorite clips: Retrospective (various).
Though no longer on ATWT, I still love Willen. They were sweet, sometimes contentious, and originally interested in other people. If they ever brought this couple back, the show, which tends to struggle in the ratings, would definitely be better off, in my opinion.

Notable others: McKitty from Brothers & Sisters, Callie/Hahn from Grey's Anatomy, Miranda/Steve from Sex and the City, Jim/Pam from The Office, Joey/Pacey from Dawson's Creek, Kelly/Brandon from 90210, Billy/Mac from Y&R, Daniel/Amber from Y&R, Katherine/Murphy from Y&R, and Nick/Bridget from B&B.

Who are yours?

Top Ten TV Reasons Life Isn't Fair

(Or, how TV execs conspire to ruin my life)

10. Gizzie. Need I say more?
9. Big Brother will. not. die.
8. Beloved soap characters recast... see Lily on ATWT for starters.
7. Female comedians rarely (basically never) get late night hosting gigs.
6. My So-Called Life got cancelled after one 19-episode season. Wtf?
5. The WB became the CW. It's just -- not the same.
4. Carrie and Aidan couldn't make it work.
3. Rebecca's not a Walker anymore.
2. Two and a Half Men exists.
1. Felicity and Noel didn't end up together.

What are yours?

The Soapbox: Y&R

Nauseating as it is to dwell on, Nice Cane was back today and was very, very nice to Lily, complete with red bed sheets and flowery harp music followed by an instrumental 80s-style power ballad. Unlike me, she seemed to dig that sort of thing, but luckily I was eating my favorite seasonal treat, Cadbury Mini Eggs, which I find impossible to vomit.

Why does Billy keep beating himself up over falling in love with cousin Mac so many years ago? He doesn't actually talk about it much, but anyone who knows the story knows it's the real reason he's so broken and adorable. Every time he talks about screwing things up, you know that's what he's referring to. But we all know it wasn't his fault!

Jack, in the scene with Chloe, reminds me of another empty nest-er -- Nora Walker from Brothers & Sisters. She's always taking in strays and troubled cast-offs (and I don't mean animals) that are marginally related to her family, and really, so does Jack Abbott. As happens in these cases, it's usually just as one tangential relation is going that another is coming (e.g. Ryan Lafferty), and so based on Colleen's sudden exodus I wouldn't be that surprised if Chloe were to take Jack up on his housing offer right away... by Friday, even.

Is Ashley's best chiding advice to Billy really based on an argument of stability? Isn't she the mother who carted Abby from Paris to L.A. to London to Paris to Genoa City, and from Rick Forrester to Ridge Forrester to Rick again and finally to shattered Victor, with an end result of placing herself squarely in the middle of the same bloody Jack-Victor feud she had sought refuge from in the first place? And then she starts freaking out over some (fairly) mild bickering?

And who is this mystery woman with the bandaged head already? A new Victor protege? Sheila, back from the dead (again!), played by a new actress with a new face (again?)? Well, one can dream...

And for anyone who might be missing Professor Adrian Korbel, my hubby tells me you can currently catch actor Eyal Podell on the FOX show 24. Who knew?

Brothers & Sisters: the 2-hr Movie Event!

I love love LOVE Brothers & Sisters. Hands-down it's my favorite primetime show on network TV right now, and on my list of all-time favorite shows EVER. It's one of very few that comes close to meeting my ideals of equality and tolerance in America, right up there with Northern Exposure and The Cosby Show. And it's damn funny.

This Sunday, B&S is getting what ABC has been hyping as a "2-hr Movie Event." The promo alone is, well, oh so dramatic -- will someone really die? Uh-huh. You can almost hear the promo people winking.

All of this is rather unlike the subtle, beautifully acted, down-to-earth, socially-minded show I am obsessed with. Still, aside from the pretty consistent Sally Field/Rachel Griffiths awards exposure, B&S is often largely ignored, even by its own network. (Because Grey's, DH, & Lost are all just a bit more, you know -- consumable.)

But, as a fan who wants her show to stick around into a 4th season, I can't always take the high road. So I'm all for this "Movie Event" if it means my B&S getting a little love for a change. Usually, I'm stuck waiting for a lightning-quick verbal blurb at the tail-end of a Desperate Housewives promo just to make sure it still exists. Well, not this week because B&S is taking over the DH timeslot completely! Wahoo!

I do have to say though, I think the inclusion of the word "movie" here is a little silly. Is it going to be commercial-free? Will it be shown in widescreen? Somehow, I think not. But if the ratings are high, the action is riveting, and I'm glued to my seat, I guess it's okay.

Watch the promo here. For speculation on who might be kicking the bucket, check out Terri's analyses at Watching B&S.