2018 has been a rocky year for, well, just about everyone and the world
in general.
On Fangs, various commitments have caused us to reduce our postings and
we’ve had a shift in format to some of our recaps and reviews
Another big shift has been in Urban Fantasy itself - while we had a boom
of all things vampire and witchy a few years ago, we’ve definitely moved into a
nadir at the moment with increasingly less shows that are what we might
consider pure urban fantasy, more with dystopian edges and, of course, the
utter overwhelming domination of the superhero genre which has pretty much
consumed speculative fiction. We mentioned this in our 2017 year in review post
- the decimation of many of our shows and that has either continued or simply
not seen many step up
to replace them
We see a similarity in the book world, fewer Urban Fantasy books along
with a distinct movement away from the epic series that used to so dominate the
genre. It seems more and more of the 6-13 book series that used to be the
staple of the genre are coming to a close while new books are generally stand
alone or trilogies. I miss them I do.
But let us look back on 2018 on Fangs and look at the Good, the Bad and,
perhaps especially, they Conflicted - which we will start with
Conflicted
Conflicted covers a lot of issues with a lot of shows in 2018 - because
for several of them there was a definite attempt for greater inclusion and
awareness. And even an actual attempt, not a token appeasement while continuing
business as usual… the problem is that so many of these fell flat or had major
flaws: I think Adele
definitely brought the theme of the year.
Doctor Who is perhaps the most iconic example of this - an excellent new
female Doctor (who we love and adore), a racially diverse set of companions
including one with a disability and… a lot of lacklustre writing, a lack of old
school Doctor Who villains and plots. And then Yasmin was grossly and
conspicuously underused. It could have been so much more
Star Trek Discovery definitely jumped in here as well - excellent diverse
cast with completely unnecessary gaydeath and So Many Storylines that so badly
needed culling. It could have been so much more
And Charmed? Oh new Charmed, you talk the talk, you know all the
language, you have a racially diverse main cast, feminist issues front and centre,
a lesbian main character… but the pacing was awful, the issues they covered
were often shallow and contained problematic issues (like virginity being an
inherent mystical characteristic), their lesbian character had her love
interest unceremoniously put on the bus and… aaargh WE COULD HAVE HAD IT
ALLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!
Bad
With less and less of our favourite genre out there, that means we’re
going to need what’s left to step up…
Julie Plec: I’m on it!
So, The Originals finally round up its well-acted but awfull
written, angst-ridden trainwreck of its last season; but Julie Plec is like OG
Dracula. Until someone scatters her ashes over four different bodies of water,
she’s going to keep this world going and flog that zombie horse for every last
cent. The Legacies, the latest incarnation in this ongoing world’s
longest trainwreck and it has all the problems of previous series: problematic
racial and LGBTQ portrayals, a protagonist who insists on being the centre of
attention and a concept and world setting which isn’t really well thought out.
In other words, it is EXACTLY like The Vampire Diaries and The Originals
Despite this ongoing awful, Discovery of Witches is here to be
just so much worse. A grossly under-developed world setting, minorities either
problematic or sidelines, a plot line that is consumed by one of the most awful
romances I’ve ever had to suffer through linked with a new Clary
Award winner. The whole damn thing is Twilight but somehow worse.
The
Good
There was some good! I especially have to give kudos to Magicians
which has been a perennial trainwreck of awful I’ve dreaded watching but
somehow this season managed to bury so much of what was truly terrible about
this show and instead give us something shockingly good, informed and epic. Hey
it wasn’t perfect but my gods it felt like it after what came before it.
Lucifer has a lot of ups and downs and issues - but it’s also immense fun and
zany and compelling and sexy. And Wynonna Earp is just doing (almost) everything right... just so much awesome and they may be making the few weaker areas better
While Handmaid’s Tale bordered on torture porn more than a
little, its power cannot be denied and Westworld was delightfully
complex and brain breaking
I also think it’s worth noting that Fear the Walking Dead has
finally managed to put together its own identity more separate from TheWalking Dead itself. It’s beginning to feel like something more than a
cheap tie-in or money grab but as a product with its own identity unlike some
*cough*Legacies*cough*. In some ways
Shows
We Lost
The Originals will not be missed and, sadly, are still lurching forward in Legacies
form. Nor will we be missing The Last Ship and its cringeworthy American
propaganda.
But I admit to being rather sad by the end of Z Nation. Yes, it
was often cheesy, often ridiculous and suffered from some severe tonal
dissonance but it was FUN and Warren was awesome and pretty rare as a
Black female lead in a dystopian. Speaking of cheese, I’m also not over Librarians.
Both of these have divided us - the right thinking and righteous Paul will miss
their zany fun. The completely wrong and possibly soulless Renee is happy to
see them both go.
Once Upon a Time leaves me torn - on the one hand, looking at the
last season, yeah… I can understand why it was cancelled. But oh if they’d just
had the courage to run with the reboot
Good
Things to Come
American Gods, Handmaids Tale, Magicians and Star Trek Discovery are all coming back in 2019! And Lucifer was saved, praise be to
Netflix!
Honestly I don’t think we have anything new on the radar we’re actually
looking forward to - this nadir is not lining up a lot of excitement - but I am
hope
What I am looking forward to, perhaps somewhat naively, is for the shows
that have Adele’d this season to pick it up next season. Siren, Charmed,
Star Trek Discovery, Doctor Who still have that potential. Anyone can have
a shaky first season - so time to step it up!
Books
While our reading has been down, I am still clinging to a lot of
treasures for as long as they last, including anything written by Ilona
Andrews (always amazing and a favourite), the excellent and
beloved Rivers of
London series. I also have new favourite (and bonus Own Voices publication) Blue
Unicorn series for some excellent cyberpunk. And while most long
series are dying, I am glad I can still rely on Jennifer
Estep and Nalini
Singh to keep these epics rolling. Other gems include the amazing
why-isn’t-this-a-series Black
God’s Drums. I’m also very happy to see Shelley
Adina has rebooted her main steampunk series
Unfortunately, despite international treaties protecting human rights,
both P.C. Cast and Laurell K
Hamilton are continuing their series.
