Alien beings, spaceships, and a man who flies... just how would you categorize L&C?

I can't vote in this thing! I classify LnC as part sci-fi (that's what got me interested in it) and part romance (and that's what's helped keep me interested in it) - and okay, part fantasy, which sort of helps cement the first two together... Please don't make me make an either/or choice here, please?

Melisma (head spinning here under her Rock)

Mel, I think the last option is probably your best bet. Doesn't cover the romance angle, but it's a close match. <g>

LabRat

Problem with classifying it as fantasy - what the heck is a fantasy? I've never found a satisfactory definition of it... Oh heck, I don't know. And actually I don't care. I just love the show. So maybe I'll vote - for the first option

Melisma (grinning under her Rock)

I think "scientific aspects" is a bit of a stretch, considering how howlingly awful their "science" could be But there are definitely sci-fi aspects, so I went with the last one...

Overall, I think this is a show about the characters, and all the sci-fi/fantasy stuff is just the background

PJ

You forgot the romance angle, Rivka!


Wendy (who loves romance )

"It has scientific aspects, and fantastic aspects. That must make it science fantasy!" with a lot of romance.

What got me started was the sci-fi/fantasy aspect, what kept me interested was the characters! Much like what Pam said.

Loriel

Yup yup, just have to agree with my pal Loriel... It caught my eye 'cause it was sci-fi, but it sucked me in 'cause of the characters...

Melisma (under her Rock, trying to resist the lure of her textbooks... naw, it's no contest )

Yup, I went with sci-fi although there have been some wild plots. Ghosts for example.

Or Never on Sunday. Between those two, I lost whatever chance I had of converting my sister and her hubby to FoLCdom...

Melisma (still grumbling about it, here under her Rock)

I did not forget romance; I just don't consider it a genre in quite the same way. I mean, I read historical romances, SF romances, mystery romances... all of which have less in common, genre-wise, than they have differences. But I will definitely agree that the romantic elements attract me to all of the aforementioned -- and to L&C as well.

As for the science (or more often, pseudo-science), well they do get it right occasionally! And actually, the outright violations of scientific laws are a big part of why I came so late to watching the show.

Hmmm, and it actually was the romance that sucked me in! Ok, maybe I should have added that as a choice.

I actually never really considered it sci-fi or fantasy until I discovered that people in folcdom do. I don't usually like either of those genres at all, but I do like the 'comic book superhero' genre, which, I think, is its own genre outside of sci-fi and fantasy.

I voted for the first option becuase I think of it more as being in the romance and comic book genres.

~Anna

I dunno, I think it's a matter of emphasis and focus, really. If the story is, at heart, about how two people meet, fall in love, and get together... then it's a romance. The background (historical, sf, mystery) is just eye candy.

OTOH, there are historical, sci-fi, and mystery stories that are about the main plot problem, whatever that may be, and if there's a romance thrown in there, it's just a bonus.

L&C, to my mind, was a romance with scifi/fantasy interruptions We can change those trappings, in a soulmates story, and not lose anything too important.

Stargate SG-1, in contrast, is about the stories. I like the characters and all, but the show is not about them; they're there to advance the plots. Even the occasional moment of Jack/Sam angst is only thrown in on the side, where convenient.

hmm, I wonder if this will have made any sense...

PJ

Actually, Pam, it made a lot of sense. I'm not sure I agree ... but I have to think about it before I decide.

IMO, most good fiction is character-driven. And I DO think of SG1 as being character-driven. Although NOT by 2 characters, the rest support staff. It's a real ensemble cast. Hmmmm....

Yeah, and I live for all those Sam/Jack moments!

I love the stories, but generally I start watching something as sci-fi/fantasy and it's the characters (though the stories help!) that keep me there. I think you may be right though, Pam, SG is not as character driven as L&C is, but it has its moments!

Loriel (who has ordered S4 SG as she couldn't do without having D&C and WoO on DVD! )

It's a work of romantic science-fiction, but who cares? I just like it.

You know, you are absolutely right - whatever it is, I love it. Doesn't really matter how I try to pigeon-hole it...

Melisma (under her Rock, happy to have discovered a solution to the dilemma, at least in her own mind )

Well, I voted for 'who cares', because I absolutely hate putting things in boxes. Why do we have to do this - there really seems to be a desire to fit things into rigid categories these days. It's as if we have to know where something fits, so that we can decide whether we like it or not, or whether we'll even risk trying it out. Why not just enjoy it for what it is?

Yvonne
(Stepping off her soapbox now )

LOL, well-put, Yvonne! You hit the nail on the head... Who really cares if one reads, for eg, sci-fi or romance or adventure books, or watches those categories on TV? Who cares if a person is black or white or purple or green, for that matter? As long as you like the story, or the show, or the person, (or anything else, you can carry the analogy further with other things), you should not be judged for liking it/he/she...

THAT'S what I've learned from my shows and fandoms and people I've met online.

My two cents, offered at no charge to you

Melisma (stepping off her soapRock and crawling back under it...)

Interesting question, Rivka. I had a hard time choosing, but in the end I voted for "fantasy" because the main character is an alien bing with fantastic superpowers.

That's not what attracted me to the show, though; it was the "realness" of the characters, especially Clark. Do you have a category called "real characters becoming involved in a romantic relationship with each other with some scifi and fantasty thrown in?"

Shadowfax