JediJennFen

This was written as a challenge to envision one of your LJ pals as a television show and then write a short summary about the fandom for that "show". I chose to use finabair because she is awesome and because I can do so without fear.

Everything you want to know about the fans for the show "I Should Sleep", featuring Finabair (aka JediJennJenn) :

The fans of "I Should Sleep" are known as JediJennFen. The JJF, while all being shippers at heart, tend not to be when it comes to this show. Some claim that's because the casting office does a lousy job of providing compatible male supporting character -- heck, usually even the extras and walk-ons aren't well cast. But it goes deeper than pure casting, though. It also has to be acknowledged that the JJF also acknowledge that Finabair is interesting and capable and that it is a disservice to the character to ship her with anyone who is less than a match for her.

Despite the numerous slash fen found among the JJF, there is surprising little slash written in the I Should Sleep fandom. This is an especially odd due to the fact that I Should Sleep is rife with slash innuendo, lacks suitable "shipping" situations and is a female heavy cast. There was one fic, a college fic (back when the show ran on late night television in Madison), written by the roommate of partly; however, since that fic was written as a condemnation of slash -- and for that matter, I should Sleep as well -- the author and story were roundly wanked and the writer left the fandom shortly after.

There have been two dramatic instances of "Mary Sue-dom" in I Should Sleep fandom. The first, again back in the college days (during the seasons when the show was playing only locally in Milwaukee) was actually a "MARTY STU". It was an all out bid to become a legitimate shipper in the "I Should Sleep" universe. While the potential for conflict and angst were there, like all Mary Sues, this one collapsed under his own overwrought efforts and disappeared from the fandom. The second instant isn't so much one Mary Sue as it is a concerted effort on a sub-group of JJF (The "Touched JJF") to monopolize the time of the star. Various members of the group used all the well-known Mary Sue tactics: drama, crisis and over-the-top antics. However, with time (and lack of success) the "Touched JJF" have become much more manageable.

Outside of the one ill-conceived, time-traveling cross over with Happy Days, there is solid support behind the show and the I Should Sleep fandom is firm in it's belief that the show will enjoy many more years of success.

There have been some outstanding pieces of fanfic written for the I Should Sleep fandom. This attributed to the intelligence, creativity and "literary smarts" of the JJF. There is a whole series of fics -- the "My Life as a Con-Artist" that focus on the many trials, tribulations and hilarious antics the cast of I Should Sleep have at conventions. It is rumored that there were shipper fics written about several I Should Sleep cast members and guests that these cons, but since there has been no actual sighting of said fics, this has been dismissed as an Urban Legend. After the con series, Crossovers tend to be the fan favorite. While these fics do tend to dance along the edge of becoming shipper fics, the writers usually find that keeping the cast in character is much more entertaining.

Often our beleaguered star can be heard exclaiming, just as she is propelled back into her own universe: "But there was so much potential there! If only I wouldn't have had to save the Liberator from Servalan" or "If only I wouldn't have had to help rescue Han from the Death Star" or "If only I wouldn't have had to save the world from Bio-terrorism." That last line is actually from the award winning I Should Sleep with McGyver fic. There was a lot of chemistry in that fic, let me tell you.