Help!

Okay, so I thought I knew what I was going to use as my examples of fanvids for class the week after next, but I was wrong. We're doing a day on sci-fi fan culture (well, we're doing a bit more than that, but one day of thorough discussion of it) and since my classroom this semester has TECHNOLOGY,* I would like to show some vids. I've got Lim's "Us" lined up, because it's so awesome and very much about fan culture, but I could use two more. I'd like to have one that offers a really different interpretation of the source material--a slash vid would probably work well, but also a constructed reality vid or something like that would work--and then perhaps one that's just hilarious, like, I dunno, a Scorpius vid to "I'm Too Sexy" or something.

We're watching Serenity for the same class period, so Firefly vid suggestions would be especially appreciated. Others would be great too; I imagine canons that have mass rather than cult popularity--Star Trek, X-Files, etc.--would be better choices as more of my students would know of them, but I'll entertain just about anything. (I'll probably throw up links on our Blackboard site for any I don't assign to the whole class or show in class.)


* Seriously, last semester I had chalkboards, and that was it. Now I not only have dry erase boards, but I have a "sympodium" that will let me project a laptop screen, and some kind of digital overhead projector that feeds into the same unit. Oooooh.

The Middleman

pezprez gave me the first (and, as far as I know, only) season of The Middleman for Christmas. Tonight, I could've been getting ahead on my thesis, but I chose instead to watch the first four episodes. (I am weak. And pretending I don't have to go back to school tomorrow.)

I wasn't too sure about it after the pilot, but the next three slowly won me over. I think it might be mostly because if Benton Fraser were American, fought aliens/mad scientists/other comic book baddies, and had a Cuban-American Jaye Tyler with a better attitude for a partner, he would be the male lead. (He actually says "Thank you kindly." And his "Oh, dear" catchphrase is "Oh, phooey," because he finds cursing degrading to one's moral fiber, or something like that.)

It reminds me a little bit of a very, very clean Spaced, particularly because of all the pop cultural and sci-fi references that fly by. There's definitely a bit of Twist in Lacey, too. There's also kind of an aura of The Invisible Man about it, and an Americanized Avengers. It's goofier than all of them, though. I particularly liked the running gag in the third episode of giving the place and time for each scene, but using a different time zone for each one they did.

I feel a little weird describing it entirely in terms of other shows, but...I think that might be part of its charm. It definitely seems intentional, anyway. It's cute!