tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post3039251213930964601..comments2023-09-11T09:41:24.443-05:00Comments on Don't Be Afraid of the Dork: Love Stories I'd Like Rewritten, Please!Rudejasperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-20443656101723143622014-02-06T20:17:03.776-06:002014-02-06T20:17:03.776-06:00First of all, I think it's pretty fair to say ...First of all, I think it's pretty fair to say that the Star Trek writers (and Star Gate for that matter) were not great at writing satisfying romances in general. <br /><br />Second, I have always been meaning to watch The West Wing. Now I'll be prepared for the relationship dissatisfaction when it comes. <br /><br />Finally, I should clarify that I didn’t dislike Romancing Mister Bridgerton – I did like it fine. A more accurate description of my relationship with the book is that it failed to meet my unrealistically fantastical expectations and wishes. Basically it is all on me. I am always subconsciously looking for the “perfect” romance story for me. The “for me” is the key here because I think everyone has particular tropes or chords or elements that particularly resonate with them. When I discovered that RMB paired Colin and Penelope, combining two of my favorite side characters and two of my favorite romance tropes (the aforementioned “Some Kind of Wonderful” pairing and the popular character falls in love with quirky/ less mainstream /geeky character) , I thought this might be it. I had been so enjoying Julia Quinn in the first three books and her writing (lots of humor, relatively light etc…) was also in favor of everything being just what I was hoping for. You are absolutely right that some of Colin’s “angst” is completely realistic and that Quinn was creating depth of character and therefore a more meaningful union. Unfortunately, that’s not what I wanted. I don’t love angsty romance when romance is the complete focus - that’s too real life and that’s not what I read romances for. In RMB, I wanted some kind of forced togetherness in a wacky fun adventure ala Georgette Heyer during which Colin realizes how awesome Penelope is and that he is in love with her. And then would come the long, awkward but extremely sweet and romantic courtship while hijinks continued to ensue. I wanted fun and light and real-angst free. Don’t get me wrong, RMB was hardly a dour angst filled slog of a romance – it is still pretty fluffy -but I was pretty resentful of Colin’s “issues”. Basically it was like getting a plate of roast beef ,potato and carrots when I was craving chocolate covered strawberries – the meal would be more filling but not as joyful and delectable. When writing up the blog post though it made me want to re-read, now that I have some distance from my crazy expectations, and see if I can be less disappointed by it. Rudejasperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08262824398753157757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3758954459010253052.post-74809537526092925252014-02-06T11:16:38.393-06:002014-02-06T11:16:38.393-06:00Well, I haven't gotten very far in Dr Who (I&#...Well, I haven't gotten very far in Dr Who (I'm only a few episodes into Ten) and I haven't watched the other series you discuss except for ST Voyager, where I totally agree with you. But I'm so sad you didn't like <i>Romancing Mr Bridgerton</i>! It's my favorite of the Bridgerton novels -- well, it and <i>The Viscount Who Loved Me</i>. It's true that Colin got a bit whiny and self-pitying, but people sometimes do when everything has come easily to them and they've never really had to grow up. I see it as coming from the fact that Colin wants to be more than he is, and doesn't see how to do it yet. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.<br /><br /><i>The West Wing</i>, which my husband and I are re-watching now, had two relationships I wish had been handled differently. There's a dynamic between Josh and Donna through the entire series -- they are both loyal and protective toward each other, but because he's her boss (and he's also really bad at any kind of tenderness), they are never more than attracted friends (an attraction Josh, at least, flatly refuses to acknowledge.) I don't remember the last season very well, but I don't think there was ever any resolution, which irks me. The other one is Charlie, the president's aide, and Zoe, the president's youngest daughter. Zoe had the good taste to fall for Charlie, who is a fine young man. But she can't handle the fact that he's always at work, so she breaks up with him and falls for a spoiled, self-centered, arrogant, and immature French prince. The latter choice leads to disaster, but I really couldn't buy her blindness when it came to him. She's a smart girl, and how she could go for the French twit after a guy like Charlie boggled my mind; it was like there were two different Zoes.<br /><br />The various Star Trek series have some other relationships I wish had been dealt with differently. Troi-Riker, Troi-Worf, Worf-Jadzia...Lark @ The Bookwyrm's Hoardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08639732368395025578noreply@blogger.com