(Revised 03/09/2024)
My answer: my blog, my rules.
I can't talk about my two essays in Time Lords & Tribbles, Winchesters, and Muggles without talking about Paul Booth. Paul and I met at Chicago TARDIS during 2012 (At least, I think it was 2012...either my memory is failing or I drank too much tequila last night) Having run a full-day conference focusing on Doctor Who earlier that year, Paul and I hit it off...of course, what he didn't know at the time was that my father was an alumnus of DePaul University.
(After 2013, I had received marketing certification from DePaul. Small world).
My involvement with DePaul's Pop Culture Conference continued - I sat on a panel on problematic tropes in Joss Whedon's work for Chicago Nerd Social Club, and the third year I sat on a panel on pulp themes in Supernatural. (To prep, I binge-watched eight out of ten seasons of Supernatural...which is seven seasons too many). My last Pop Culture Conference was three years ago, focusing on Star Trek (and running a panel on Deep Space Nine).
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When Paul requested papers for the Time Lords & Tribbles, Winchesters and Muggles collection, my first idea was obvious - a reexamination of Sisko as Star Trek captain. Unlike Kirk or Picard, Sisko was a realist who found himself making ethically challenging decisions in a very murky situation. (Plus, I think Avery Brooks is a very underrated actor). Plus, I already had my notes from the panel (assembled because I had also moderated a screening of Deep Space Nine's Trials and Tribble-ations), so it was easy for me to add that article to my (then) 2017 writing docket...
But then, as things like this tend to happen, Paul needed more articles, and I thought, "OK, there's no way I'm going to write about Supernatural...but do I have notes from the Joss Whedon celebration?"
Short answer: I didn't, but I had come across an old blog post claiming that Serenity/Firefly was better than Star Trek....and then an old idea came to mind.
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Time (One ninety-minute and twelve forty-five-minute episodes don't watch themselves, especially with a quick deadline) and word count.
So in that spirit, I limited myself to the ninety-minute pilot and used Chandler's essay as a template. After running some trial titles on Facebook, I chose to name my essay "Neither Shiny Nor Afraid", which reflects the Chandlerian cliche of a hero being "neither tarnished nor afraid". It's one of the best essays I've written, and quite honestly, I enjoy writing the occasional scholarly article...
...especially since proceeds from book sales to Global Girl Media, which is "dedicated to empowering high school age girls from under-served communities around the world through media, leadership and journalistic training to have a voice in the global media universe and their own futures."
(As readers of this blog are also aware, I've contributed to a benefit book focused on creatives and depression, and have also promoted fundraising efforts for Puerto Rico).
If you can't find Time Lords & Tribbles, Winchesters & Muggles via my Amazon author page, you can order it directly via this link.
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