Not really. You went on and on about how bad it was, I wonder why, but the general reaction here was very positive, as per the ratings and similarly on GB. Hence my comment.
But no examples of this required passing familiarity. What a surprise.
Please point to where I said the character was universally loved.
Point to where I said that you said he was. Rather than pointing out that such a character would be truly remarkable. (I.e of course there’s going to be criticism — including many like myself who felt it was just Jack 2.0 With 100 Percent Less Barrowman.)
Whenever a character says ‘just like Bridgerton’ would that not imply a passing familiarity would help? Not that it is required, just that it would add to the experience. Then there’s the music. Enjoyable, but also a thing thats very ‘Bridgerton’ and therefore improved if you know that. Otherwise you may just assume anachronism.
Similar for the Eurovision episode to a certain extent. Or over in Big Finish Land, Max Warp. Pastiches and parodies are either dependent on knowledge of what the target is, or at the very least improved by it. All the ‘Bride of Chaotica’ stuff in VOY is helped by a familiarity with 30s SF serials, and would probably be a bit jarring or even annoying to an audience without that. Whereas something like Airplane or Naked Gun still does ok for the most part even with audiences that don’t have the awareness of the cinematic trends at the time. Scary Movie? All have probably dated somewhat hard. I imagine Wayne’s World 2 hasn’t dated well either in that regard.
It’s criticism, observation, not an insult. I am not saying it is bad at being a pastiche, I am saying a parody of a parody is unlikely to work, and Who may not be the place for that kind of thing. Especially depending on the target. One wouldn’t expect a big crossover between Who and Bridgerton fanbases tbh, though it’s certainly possible there’s a decent chunk.
General reaction was positive in the places you have seen it discussed, not so much where I have.
And taking that to the most logical point — you may have liked it, I didn’t like it. Which is, as I say, the nature of these things.
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