One of These Things Is Not Like the Other
May. 24th, 2008 10:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
osprey_archerCriminal Minds and Veronica Mars are both excellent shows about crime-fighting, which have otherwise little in common. Criminal Minds is a naturalistic show, and its heroes are the BAU, an elite FBI unit. Veronica Mars is a operatic show, and its heroine is Veronica Mars, vigilante.
In Criminal Minds, the police, the law, and the FBI are almost always on the side of justice and truth. In Veronica Mars, the police are at best indifferent and at worst actively harmful. Authority is almost inherently corrupt.
Veronica Mars is all about the scrappy underdog beating out big guys; Criminal Minds is all about the FBI’s tragic inability to stop this evil from happening. Veronica Mars is teen noir; Criminal Minds is an Arthurian tragedy.
Because I am insane, this study in similarity and contrast strikes me as an absolutely excellent crossover fanfic. I could probably never write it, because it requires the ability to create plots. And not just plots, but plots that work on multiple levels.
First, there would need to be the surface old-fashioned deductive level of a Veronica Mars mystery, which could also be solved by psychological profiles and the magic of technology a la Criminal Minds. And it would also have to be a vehicle for character development and moral dilemmas, and consistent with both shows.
Someone in Neptune County, disgusted by the crime (and presumably the corruption of the sheriff’s department under Vinnie), cracks and becomes a vigilante serial killer. The BAU flies in to help. They meet Veronica through her job—perhaps she’s working at the police station somehow because she feels personally responsible for the fact that Vinnie’s the sheriff.
Veronica goes to a bar with the BAU, even though she’s underage (which they don’t know). Because she’d get a kick out of flashing her fake ID in front of the FBI.
Veronica and Morgan, the sex god of Criminals Minds, flirt. Logan is filled with gloom because, as far as he can see, Morgan is Mr. Perfect: sexy, strong, smart, kickass, and not traumatized by life, a.k.a. everything Logan is afraid he’s not.
This would also have awesome irony because Morgan is at least as traumatized as Logan. But I digress.
After Rossi gets over the “OMFG PRETTY” harassment of his first reaction to Veronica they have extraordinarily awkward conversations about Teamwork and Not Going It Alone, because they both have issues with that, although Rossi seems to have gotten better and Veronica may be incorrigible.
The BAU’s pack leader, Hotch, is pretty much convinced that Veronica needs psychiatric help. And also possibly their vigilante serial killer. Because you know that’s a possibility with Veronica.
Also, it would be cool if Duncan came back. Because Veronica and Logan would be FULL OF AWKWARD and Mac would feel sad and left out of their little trio.
But then she tries to hack into the BAU’s computer for some reason (possibly to aid Veronica in her vigilante quest to stop the vigilante serial killer) and ends up meeting the BAU’s awesome techie, Garcia, because that would be too full of awesome for words.
Keith and Hotch discuss fatherhood, which would leave them both feeling totally inadequate as fathers and be wonderful fun to write because their approaches are almost opposite. Keith puts Veronica before everything, including the law and possibly morality; Hotch basically picked his job over his son (under extremely extenuating circumstances, yes, but he did), and he picks justice over affection.
Veronica puts herself in the way of Grave Bodily Harm in order to catch the actual killer. The FBI comes to her rescue. Veronica decides that it might be time to make friends with the idea of law enforcement again.
Also, she and Logan would admit that they’re still madly in love, although this will probably be a purely verbal scene given that Veronica’s just gone through Grave Bodily Harm.
Hotch is torn between congratulating Veronica and telling her he’s going to do everything in his power to ensure she never becomes an FBI agent, because working well with people is really not a Veronica thing. (Neither were the law or the FBI until season three, for that matter.)
I’m not sure if there’s a way to make this thematically consistent with Criminal Minds, which is all about who goes wrong and why and damage and stuff, although I suspect that Veronica and Logan could make an interesting case study.
And Wallace and Piz and Parker are just going to be off doing internships or something, because I have no idea how to work them in. Dick and Weevil, however, will make guest appearances. Weevil and Morgan may compare tattoos.
In Criminal Minds, the police, the law, and the FBI are almost always on the side of justice and truth. In Veronica Mars, the police are at best indifferent and at worst actively harmful. Authority is almost inherently corrupt.
Veronica Mars is all about the scrappy underdog beating out big guys; Criminal Minds is all about the FBI’s tragic inability to stop this evil from happening. Veronica Mars is teen noir; Criminal Minds is an Arthurian tragedy.
Because I am insane, this study in similarity and contrast strikes me as an absolutely excellent crossover fanfic. I could probably never write it, because it requires the ability to create plots. And not just plots, but plots that work on multiple levels.
First, there would need to be the surface old-fashioned deductive level of a Veronica Mars mystery, which could also be solved by psychological profiles and the magic of technology a la Criminal Minds. And it would also have to be a vehicle for character development and moral dilemmas, and consistent with both shows.
Someone in Neptune County, disgusted by the crime (and presumably the corruption of the sheriff’s department under Vinnie), cracks and becomes a vigilante serial killer. The BAU flies in to help. They meet Veronica through her job—perhaps she’s working at the police station somehow because she feels personally responsible for the fact that Vinnie’s the sheriff.
Veronica goes to a bar with the BAU, even though she’s underage (which they don’t know). Because she’d get a kick out of flashing her fake ID in front of the FBI.
Veronica and Morgan, the sex god of Criminals Minds, flirt. Logan is filled with gloom because, as far as he can see, Morgan is Mr. Perfect: sexy, strong, smart, kickass, and not traumatized by life, a.k.a. everything Logan is afraid he’s not.
This would also have awesome irony because Morgan is at least as traumatized as Logan. But I digress.
After Rossi gets over the “OMFG PRETTY” harassment of his first reaction to Veronica they have extraordinarily awkward conversations about Teamwork and Not Going It Alone, because they both have issues with that, although Rossi seems to have gotten better and Veronica may be incorrigible.
The BAU’s pack leader, Hotch, is pretty much convinced that Veronica needs psychiatric help. And also possibly their vigilante serial killer. Because you know that’s a possibility with Veronica.
Also, it would be cool if Duncan came back. Because Veronica and Logan would be FULL OF AWKWARD and Mac would feel sad and left out of their little trio.
But then she tries to hack into the BAU’s computer for some reason (possibly to aid Veronica in her vigilante quest to stop the vigilante serial killer) and ends up meeting the BAU’s awesome techie, Garcia, because that would be too full of awesome for words.
Keith and Hotch discuss fatherhood, which would leave them both feeling totally inadequate as fathers and be wonderful fun to write because their approaches are almost opposite. Keith puts Veronica before everything, including the law and possibly morality; Hotch basically picked his job over his son (under extremely extenuating circumstances, yes, but he did), and he picks justice over affection.
Veronica puts herself in the way of Grave Bodily Harm in order to catch the actual killer. The FBI comes to her rescue. Veronica decides that it might be time to make friends with the idea of law enforcement again.
Also, she and Logan would admit that they’re still madly in love, although this will probably be a purely verbal scene given that Veronica’s just gone through Grave Bodily Harm.
Hotch is torn between congratulating Veronica and telling her he’s going to do everything in his power to ensure she never becomes an FBI agent, because working well with people is really not a Veronica thing. (Neither were the law or the FBI until season three, for that matter.)
I’m not sure if there’s a way to make this thematically consistent with Criminal Minds, which is all about who goes wrong and why and damage and stuff, although I suspect that Veronica and Logan could make an interesting case study.
And Wallace and Piz and Parker are just going to be off doing internships or something, because I have no idea how to work them in. Dick and Weevil, however, will make guest appearances. Weevil and Morgan may compare tattoos.
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no subject
Date: 2008-05-25 06:38 pm (UTC)Hotch is torn between congratulating Veronica and telling her he’s going to do everything in his power to ensure she never becomes an FBI agent, because working well with people is really not a Veronica thing.
Heh! I love cross-overs. I only know the VM side to this one, but I like how knowing one side gives you a window into the other show-- it's how I've been sucked into some fandoms. Please keep sharing any and all cross-over crack that comes to mind.
One of my favourites is Supernatural/Numb3rs:
Take a Long Line (http://derry667.livejournal.com/84656.html) by
My favourite WIP I'm reading right now is
And
no subject
Date: 2008-05-25 09:28 pm (UTC)Trying to Communicate (http://sam-storyteller.livejournal.com/126227.html) by
no subject
Date: 2008-05-26 05:53 am (UTC)Take a Long Line is giving the nascent hell-fic an inferiority complex, having distilled its essence (albeit with two different shows). I've never watched Supernatural, which perhaps I should remedy over the summer? Because I keep running into it everywhere on the internet.
I actually got into Torchwood by reading fanfic, so I understand completely getting sucked in by crossovers. You may get your wish for more crossover madness, because my brain loves comparing things to completely unrelated things and confusing everyone who isn't me.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-27 04:48 pm (UTC)A couple more to draw you in!
Redemption is a Four Letter Word (http://ethrosdemon.livejournal.com/231743.html) by
Weight and Motion (http://sevenfists.livejournal.com/76750.html) and Line and Wire (http://sevenfists.livejournal.com/123101.html) by
Yeah, good crossovers can really take over your brain and refuse to give it back. They're a bit of a juggling act, and I think SPN crossovers are so successful because there's really only two main characters, and the show's premise seems to mesh with pretty much any universe-- supernatural or rational.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-27 10:24 pm (UTC)I feel for him, because my college doesn't end for two weeks and everyone else is home already and I'm trapped her FOREVER.
But it is a very good fic--it had me with the pears.
I've never seen Angel, so I can't comment on that one.
Bad quality is not necessarily a problem. I watch Torchwood, which is quite possibly the worst show ever filmed.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-28 12:02 am (UTC)I know! He loses Sam forever! It's tragic! But he gets a big family, which is something he's always wanted, and Mal... so it's okay, more or less.
Yeah, I never took to Torchwood. I tried the first three or four on ochre54's advice, but it was waaaay too angsty for me. Or something. It's not the badness, because I've watched some pretty bad tv and still enjoyed it. The problem with SPN is that the first two season are really quite good, so I had standards. The third season is just depressing in how low the show fell. It's not entirely clear why-- it's barely even the same show. It's hard to see something you love become that awful.
Poor you, stuck in college. :( Such a long time! Most people are out. --Imo
no subject
Date: 2008-05-28 01:08 pm (UTC)Why do you have two LJ names?
no subject
Date: 2008-05-29 10:39 pm (UTC)Two's not too confusing. Did you hear in the LJ elections how role-players with 200 journals each sent around an email planning how they were going to block vote? --Imo