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The Great Canon Debate
Topic Started: Jun 10 2009, 09:52 PM (3,048 Views)
OJFan
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bionic4ever
Jun 10 2009, 08:41 PM
If we all adhered strictly to the canon, there would be no Oscar/Jaime romances, no fun with psycho Michael....no diversity!

There would also be no Steve and Jaime together - unless you've let 15 years pass, so yeah, I say bag the canon if it means having to stick to the episodes 100% - that's boring to me and allows for no creativity. Now you can get TOO far afield I suppose and get TOO far off track with behavior like we did with this LBL. Helen would never really file a lawsuit and Jaime wouldn't really be kidnapped and impregnated. But as far as her relationships with Steve and Oscar, I think either are believable and while they don't follow canon, I think it's fine - but that's just me. I'm sure some would disagree.
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bionic4ever
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I would say the canon included S & J's marriage in BEA, but that would mean including Michael and Karen Austin - and they belong in NO ONE's canon - LOL!
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OJFan
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bionic4ever
Jun 10 2009, 10:01 PM
I would say the canon included S & J's marriage in BEA, but that would mean including Michael and Karen Austin - and they belong in NO ONE's canon - LOL!

Yes, their marriage is canon - but not until they are in their 40's - and he has an exwife and she has a stepkid. If I was a Steve fan, I'd still rather throw canon out the window and have them get together when they're young and he hasn't been deceitful to Jaime for a quarter of a century - and an absentee father to boot - I wouldn't want THAT in my canon. That's why I think anything within the realm of believable behavior based on the characters in the 70's series is close enough.
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bionic4ever
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OJFan, I like how you think! yide
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Rudywells1274
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Ok, I'm stupid...what is canon?
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bionic4ever
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The flow of the story and the identities/personalities/actions of the characters involved as they were written in the series. Staying true to the story/characters as they were originally laid out. I'm sure I explained that badly - can anyone chime in?
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messyhead
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That's basically it B4E. Canon basically means "genuine". If we write stories according to the canon, we are faithful to ALL the facts as we saw them laid out in the series. You could write stories that could have theoretically taken place between episodes, but not if it would change the course of the series.

It also means the stories should be the same in character to the original series - in other words, the stories are action/dramas with a bit of humor, sometimes about saving the world and sometimes about helping an old thief who has a cute monkey.

I take the canon seriously only insofar as I like to try to make the characters not behave in ways they wouldn't have in the show, and I pick and choose facts. I think we all do that. The rest of the canon is out the window for me!
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OJFan
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I totally agree. Virtually NONE of the stories I've seen from ANYONE on this forum, myself included adhere strictly to the canon. Either we have Jaime with Steve or Oscar, or they're behaving in a ridiculous manner, or something outlandish or unbelievable is happening to them. Personally, I too like to throw canon out the window and explore what I think went on behind the episodes - I like it better.
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bionic4ever
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And that was not a 'stupid' question, RW! About a year ago, someone used that expression and I had to ask, too. I'd never heard it expressed that way before.
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Lola
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OJFan
Jun 10 2009, 10:52 PM
I totally agree. Virtually NONE of the stories I've seen from ANYONE on this forum, myself included adhere strictly to the canon. Either we have Jaime with Steve or Oscar, or they're behaving in a ridiculous manner, or something outlandish or unbelievable is happening to them. Personally, I too like to throw canon out the window and explore what I think went on behind the episodes - I like it better.

Exactly! If everyone had to stick to the canon it would be so boring and limiting. Part of the reason for writing is to explore new ideas and possibilities and change things that we felt weren't quite right in the originals. I see little enjoyment in repeating the same old plot lines or characterizations.

As for the reunion movies, yes. I'd be quite happy to forget all that happened in them too. It would be much better to use the series and the characters as they were in the 70s.
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OJFan
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And if the canon is for Bionic Woman, the reunion shows really aren't PART of that canon anyway. Yes - the new ideas and possibilities for either after an episode or in "Season 4" are so much more interesting. I think the trick is to develop the characters so they SEEM like the ones in the show - their attitudes and personalities are the same.

I see Oscar as strong, but vulnerable when it comes to Jaime. In the show, he talks tough, but you see glimpses where he's concerned for her, or has a wistful look in his eye when she is with someone else. This says a lot to me about him as a character.

I see Jaime as quite independent - she's not some wilting flower that needs a man to protect her or do her thinking for her. She's not going to be treated like a child just because she's a woman. She's capable and can handle herself quite well. It makes her "need" Oscar less (of course that's who's she's with in my stories), but that makes it more rewarding when they DO get together because she WANTS to be with him, not because she NEEDS to be with him. It also makes the writing more challenging, because it makes it less easy.

I see Steve as really strong and independent too - and possibly a little smug and a bit of a know it all. He's loyal and patriotic, but quite a ladies man. I also think he's a little bit of a sexist and someone who needs to be in control. This is why I don't see him with Jaime - I don't think she'd put up with being told what to do or controlled. I think her idea of a woman's role and his are two very different things. I COULD see them together when they were younger - she may not have developed that internal strength yet, and liked having the support of a big, strong hulking man around to make her decisions for her. Now, I think this is remedied finally in the reunion movie because they totally changed Steve's personality - and coincidentally, THAT is when they finally DID decide they'd get married - but I think they fit better there because of how he had changed.

Still, I know sometimes it's more fun to change the characters from the way they are to the way we need them to BE in a story - maybe Oscar's more of a jerk, or more emotional, maybe Jaime's more aloof, or more clingy, weepy and needy, maybe Steve is more callous, or a tenderhearted docile soul who can be led by Jaime. THAT'S the beauty of fan fiction though :)
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Rudywells1274
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Thanks for the explanation. Some terms I'm not familar with.
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messyhead
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Rudywells1274
Jun 11 2009, 06:10 AM
Thanks for the explanation. Some terms I'm not familar with.

You're welcome...and I'm with B4E, by the way - not knowing a term does not make you stupid!

The fact that the reunion movies exist means that they're canon, sadly. There are some sticklers out there who believe you should NEVER diverge from the canon. I say nuts to that. Like Lola said - what's the point?
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Lola
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I agree with OJ. I don't see that the reunion movies are part of the canon for the Bionic Woman (or the SMDM for that matter) when most of the fan fiction stories are set in the 70s during the original series or just after.

I like your summary of the characters. I think you've described them very well.
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bionic4ever
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I guess writing a new Season One is sort of like re-writing the canon - which is awfully presumptuous.... fctre
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