Serena, Serena! Some Questions...

cardinalgirl · Post by **cardinalgirl** » Mon May 28, 2007 8:56 pm

Firstly let me say I'm a big fan of Serena. I love it when she's worked well into a story, because she's the one character we can come to in a story and at the same time be completely familiar with her, and also have no idea what to expect from her. I enjoy her in almost any context, whether she's paired up with one of the Roswell characters, or with an OC or even if she's stag through the whole thing.

Then again there are times when I've read stories where Serena is paired with one of the Roswell characters and I feel as if the author might as well have used any other name. In fact there have been cases when I wished the author had used a different name, because while the name is there, the character written doesn't seem to fit with what we heard about Serena on the TV show (not that there was much!) at all. Of course then I go off wondering who I am to assume there's a "right" and a "wrong" way to write a character who's been left almost entirely blank to us by the writers of the show, and I end up deciding that I'm not anybody.

We don't have much description of her from the show, all we really know is that she was friends with Liz and that she knew things about the Granolith. Writers don't have much choice but to use her as a sort of glamorized OC, anyhow, right?

So my questions comes in here:

1) Do you have in your mind some kind of definition of who/what Serena should be? How flexible is that definition? Does there have to any sort of justification for using her name for you?

2) If you've written/enjoyed/thought about the idea of Serena with one of the main characters of Roswell, what's the appeal of having her specifically, rather than a complete OC?

I open the floor up to you. Any and all Serena discussion or speculation is welcome.

Post by **Anniepoo98** » Mon May 28, 2007 9:39 pm

Howdy Lisa! Great topic!

1) Do you have in your mind some kind of definition of who/what Serena should be? How flexible is that definition? Does there have to any sort of justification for using her name for you?

For me, other than the fact she should be female, I really don't have stipulations for her character. For awhile I did think she should be in or around the age group of the other Roswellians, but I have also read some great fanfics where she was older and it really added to her character.

As for justification, I think that Serena has to have a purpose in the story. She needs to add something, whether its info or some other aid. Even in the stories where Serena has been the baddie, she has purpose.

2) If you've written/enjoyed/thought about the idea of Serena with one of the main characters of Roswell, what's the appeal of having her specifically, rather than a complete OC?

For me, sometimes giving a character a relationship with another character is a great way to legitimize them, especially if they are an OC, or in Serena's case... mostly an OC. It's a great way to draw them into the action and to introduce them from the eyes of a character we already know. And the great thing about Serena is that she is Roswell's built-in OC. Other than the fact she has to be female, the sky is the limit with her character. That, and she already has a tie into the gang. Just that little mention from FMax gave her a link to Roswellians that can be used in so many ways. With other OCs you have to go that extra mile and forge that link.

Man, that was a lot of ramble, wasn't it. LOL! Again, great topic, Lisa!

Annie:)

cardinalgirl · Post by **cardinalgirl** » Tue May 29, 2007 12:40 pm

Good answers, Annie! I guess I should actually post my own, huh? lol I'll do that after I get back from my class.

begonia9508 · Post by **begonia9508** » Tue May 29, 2007 2:03 pm

Agreeing with Anniepoo98!!

Since I heard on the show FMax talking about Serena being Liz's friend,
I expected for her someday to appear in Roswell show looking for Liz!
But the writers never let her come so it was up to the writers to do it and it was done well at several occasions but NOT enough in my opinion!

This personage has a lot of possibilities: as friend - as alien to help the Royal 4 - as alien to help Liz with her alien power..... etc etc etc

Anyway I love the personage! EVE

tequathisy · Post by **tequathisy** » Wed May 30, 2007 3:56 am

The really great and the really frustrating thing about Serena is that we know nothing about her except her name and that she would one day be friends with Liz.

It opens up endless possibilities for fic writers because we can make her into whatever we want and whatever suits our fics. She can be an alien warrior, a scientist, a friendly girl who lives in Liz's dorm, a waitress in a cafe. She can be sweet, kind, funny, bitchy, kickass, meek, shy, interesting, super intelligent.

Of course, more times than not she ends up being a Mary Sue.

I'm not a fan of UC's so I don't like any character no matter what their name is with either Max or Michael. They belong soley to Liz and Maria. But I'm ok with her being a girlfriend for Alex or Kyle because Kyle never had a canon girlfriend and I never really thought that Alex and Isabel would work out. She was better with Jesse. (I'm sorry, it's just my opinion.)

cardinalgirl · Post by **cardinalgirl** » Wed May 30, 2007 4:41 pm

Yes, it's true, she can be anyone. That's the nice thing. In my head (though good fics have changed my mind on this) she kind of has to be either a scientist or an alien or something, because she's supposed to know about the granolith, but at the same time I'm willing to believe anything about her.

I guess my main thing is what Annie said, that for me she kind of needs a purpose to be there. I think the only times I really question it is when it's kind of tacked on at the very end of something, like "two years later they got a letter from Kyle saying he'd married a girl named Serena," or something like that. But even that can be done really well, in a wink-wink/nudge-nudge kind of way.

I'm also fond of the she's-Liz's-sister storyline, I'll admit, though it's definitely been done before. And then I love it when she's someone you'd never expect.

vegas312 · Post by **vegas312** » Thu May 31, 2007 1:22 pm

Cool topic.

1) Do you have in your mind some kind of definition of who/what Serena should be? How flexible is that definition? Does there have to any sort of justification for using her name for you?

Hmm, no I don't have any preceive notions as to who/what Serena should be except the small tidbit of information the writers gave us although sometimes I"ll assume going into the story that she's an alien or hybrid, etc. Sometimes I'm right and others I'm wrong. That bit of definition I do have can be very flexible as I've read stories where she's an FBI agent, someone Max saved and changed them, etc. Personality wise its open book for the author to make her into who they need her to be for the story. As for a justification for using her name, no I don't have any except I hate it when she's tossed in a story "just because" and that's it.

2) If you've written/enjoyed/thought about the idea of Serena with one of the main characters of Roswell, what's the appeal of having her specifically, rather than a complete OC?

Well I have read stories where she is paired with one of the main characters of Roswell usually Kyle. I think the appeal of having her specifically is that it gives the reader a chance to see "what if" one of the main characters had chosen someone else, who we don't know anything about. Its a chance for a bigger backstory. Does that make sense?

Aurorabee · Post by **Aurorabee** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 8:37 pm

1) Do you have in your mind some kind of definition of who/what Serena should be? How flexible is that definition? Does there have to any sort of justification for using her name for you?

I've always been intrigued by the idea of Serena. I too thought she'd likely be an alien, a scientist, or both, but beyond that I hadn't had any notions about her, really. I do like her to have some purpose in the story though, beyond a name drop.

2) If you've written/enjoyed/thought about the idea of Serena with one of the main characters of Roswell, what's the appeal of having her specifically, rather than a complete OC?

Although I also haven't read very many fics that included her as a central character, I think part of the appeal is filling in an obvious gap in canon. Here's this pivotal character who changed their lives indelibly and yet we've never met her!

Annie's 24 series was the first I'd read with Serena as the main character and it drew me in right away. I couldn't get enough. The familial relationship was new to me and I really liked that, but I was also drawn in by Serena's intense connection to Kyle, a character I love when he's well written (as he was here).

Now you've got me jonesin' to read more Serena fic, so I think I'll head over to Fanfic Recommendations to ask for some!

Max/Jason Luver · Post by **Max/Jason Luver** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 5:31 am

I totally agree, Serena can be anyone.
I've read some stories, and I really like the idea of Max and serena being best friends but not anything more because Im a dreamer till the end.

Beth

Max/Jason Luver · Post by **Max/Jason Luver** » Sat Jun 16, 2007 5:35 am

I totally agree, Serena can be anyone.
I've read some stories, and I really like the idea of Max and serena being best friends but not anything more because Im a dreamer till the end.

Beth