From magpie:
Where or how did you come up with the names "Vartan Hos"?
Kate: When the show first came out, there wasn't much talk about it on the message boards I frequented. I couldn't believe these people weren't watching the show and this incredibly hot guy! So i sent out this 'Vartan Ho Questionnaire?' just as a joke, and signed it 'Vartan Ho #1'. A lot of people came crawling out of the woodwork and talking about the show. They thought it was pretty funny and assigned themselves their own Vartan Ho numbers. It just spread like wildfire. I think in one day we had like 25 people start signing with a Vartan Ho number. That's when we knew we had to create our own group. Poor Amy at Haven. We must have eaten up so much of her bandwidth in that Off-Topic folder! The questionnaire is still up on our site.
From Lisa:
What TV show/actor, etc. were y'all into before discovering Alias?
I'll go first. I was totally obsessed with X-Files and of course
David Duchovny (Mulder). I still can't choose between MV and DD so
don't ask me.
Kate: It started with X-Files for all of us I think. David Duchovny all the way. I think, to some extent, we'll always be a little hung up on DD just out of pure habit. I liked Michael Weatherly from Dark Angel as well. But Michael Vartan really is just the perfect blend. He's great looking, he's a good actor, and he seems like a pretty nice guy.
SB: Definitely the X-Files and DD. I was completely obsessed with Mulder
and the
MSR since the first episode I saw ("Irresistible" -- hello, big honkin'
shippy episode) and it was love at first site. It was iced tea.
Souris: I was totally obsessed with X-Files. Ridiculously so. It was my seminal
TV-viewing and fandom experience. Unfortunately, it brought me more pain
than pleasure at the end. Before that, I was very into "Guiding Light" (and
especially Harley and Mallet, the poster children for RST that
works). And I was a big fan of "Farscape" before the bastards at Sci
Fi canceled it. Other favorite shows are "Buffy," "Angel," "Friends,"
"Sports Night" -- and "Cupid," perhaps the best show ever. I still
get whiny and teary-eyed when I think about its cruel, premature
cancellation by ABC. (Don't you think I'll ever forgive you for
that, you monkeys!)
Spygirl: X-Files and Mulder / DD. I still can't talk about this without feeling resentful and nostalgic simultaneously. X-Files was probably the smartest show to ever hit television and season 8 and 9 were, to me, the most heinous act of butchery in television history. If those two season were even remotely successful it can only be attributed to the extremely talented Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny.
Lugia: It was all about David Duchovny and "The X-Files" for me, too. My first fandom was actually "Beverly Hills, 90210," but after I'd grown a couple more brain cells, I soon started following and attaching myself to "The X-Files". I took it personally when it ended in disaster. I only managed to detach myself from it and move on because of "Farscape". I still consider that my favorite show. I've also been watching "Buffy" from day one, but I'm actually thankful "Alias" came around when it did, and I chose to get involved with that full-time, instead of becoming a "Slayerette." Aside from Spike, it just doesn't have many redeeming qualities anymore (pun possibly intended).
Rosemerry: X-Files. It was my first internet fandom experience. I adored
Mulder. Simply adored him.
Mel TM: I too was David-obsessed. Before that it was George Clooney on ER. I stopped watching when he left. I think it's something about a good 'ship--it just makes a good-looking guy so much more attractive.
From Erika:
Are you tv junkies in general, or do you just have a special affinity
for Michael and Alias?
Kate: Recovering junkie. I just have no time to watch tv anymore. I make time to tune in for Alias. I'm a big movie buff though. I love fantasy movies. Harry Potter, X-Men, Matrix, LotR, Blade, etc. Movies with magic and fantasy...i could watch these forever. Give me that over 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' anyday.
SB: I love TV, don't get me wrong, but I don't fixate on TV shows in
general.
TXF was my first, Alias my second.
Souris: Total TV junkie in general. I think it all started from watching soap
operas with my grandmother after school when I about 7, and it never
stopped. I have the TV on almost constantly, and there's pretty much
something on every night I want to watch. I'm also interested in the
business side of things. Sometimes I think I know too much about why things
happen the way they do in TV-land.
Spygirl: Absolutely not into TV at all. Ironically, I'm very anti-television. Prior to Alias I watched X-Files for three years. Aside from that I'll watch movies *if* they're on DVD. Mists of Avalon was one of the few exceptions. Occasionally I'll watch Animal Planet (it's really my favorite station) and since the United States entered war with Iraq, I always have FOX News on. That's it. Give me a good book, gardening, or some other physical activity and I'm much happier.
Lugia: I'm a focused viewer, and have my must-see-TV shows during which I better not be disturbed. ;-) The only thing I watch unplanned anymore are news programs or documentaries. I've pretty much discontinued watching TV comedies, and many dramas and scifi shows are not holding my interest for much longer either. So definitely not much of a TV viewer anymore, unless there's a really fresh and offbeat concept, tons of continuity, great character development and mesmerizing actors. "Alias" definitely has it all.
Before that I actually used to watch a lot of shows ("The X-Files," "Farscape," "Space: Above and Beyond," "Earth 2," "The Pretender," "Star Trek: Voyager," "Friends," "Early Edition," "Stargate SG-1," "Buffy," and "Angel" come to mind), but right now it's all about "Alias". I've been in a Buffy/Spike phase for the last couple of months, and enjoyed the heck out of the last eps of "Farscape", but now there's not much left that holds my interest. "24" looks awesome, but the best news of the year was when they announced the renewal of "Alias". It's the one fandom I feel intrigued to actively participate in, and not just watch the 42 minutes on TV each week. That's thanks to what's on TV, of course, but also thanks to you fellow fans and 'Hos, who make it worthwhile!
Rosemerry: A tv junkie, although I have less time now. Currently I watch Alias,
Friends, and Survivor, along with my tapes of my beloved Witchblade.
Mel TM: I'm less of a junkie than I used to be, but I do love TV. I watch everything from 24 to Ed to Gilmore Girls and anything with Joss Whedon's name on it. And no matter how irritated I get with it, I still can't turn American Idol off.
From Melissa:
Do your friends know that you have this website? Do they think you're
crazy for being obsessed with--err, devoted to--a tv show?
Kate: Well, my husband thinks I'm insane. But most people usually think I'm either too old to be working on a fansite, or they're totally psyched about it. Most of my friends think it's really great. The best thing is when i see strangers looking at our site. I catch people at school checking the site and i just giggle to myself. If they only knew I actually helped run it. But I won't tell them; it makes me feel like Sydney.
SB: Um, the short answer is no. My "real life" friends back home have never
been
into the internet, so they'd just make fun of me for it. A couple
friends
here (at school) have seen me prepping the WNP, but they just think I
lend
my coding services to people. ;)
Souris: Yeah, they know, and they tease. Some think it's pretty cool, but others
just like to tease me about it.
Spygirl: Some friends know and some don't. I don't think they have an opinion either way.
Lugia: There's two kinds of reactions. Pretty much all of my friends and family know that I'm very involved in this website and obsessed with "Alias," but they've come to expect that from my many years as an X-Phile. ;-) Funnily, half of them are just as intrigued by "Alias" and Michael as I am and discuss the site with me all the time. The others just tend to shake their heads, and while they're supportive, I don't think they get what it's all about. I'm sure they'd like to see more than the back of my head sometime, but they know well enough to leave me alone when I'm in Aliasland. ;-)
Rosemerry: My closest friends know. They think the site is cool. :)
Mel TM: For the most part, everyone knows about it. Most of them think it's pretty cool, but they're like, "So you go around calling yourself a Ho?" I tell them we're very respectable Hos expressing our appreciation in a unique way.
From magpie:
Do any of you work in the entertainment industry?
Mel TM: Only to the extent that you guys are entertained by what we put up on the site. Other than that, I'm pretty sure we're all outside that sphere.
From someone whose name Mel accidentally deleted but to whom she
offers sincere apologies:
Okay, this has nothing to do with MV, but out of curiosity... what do
the main hos do for a living? Ya'll must have some computer skills
because your site is amazing!
Kate: <-- complete computard. Or at least a former computard. I knew absolutely nothing about coding or doing a site. I rushed around and learned HTML in like a month, out of necessity. There were only 2 other people involved in the site that could do it at that point, so we needed to learn fast so they weren't stuck with all of our sections. I'm actually in business publishing and marketing.
SB: I'm an undergrad with no job and therefore, no money. I hope someone
will
hire me for the summer, but we shall see.
Souris: I'm a copy editor/graphic designer. So I work on computers all day,
although my home computer is so old the gerbils inside are pretty arthritic
and it's running Carrier Pigeon 2.0.
Spygirl: I'm in law and an actual spygirl. Hence my screen name, which I had long, long before Alias. I have lots of computer skills but they just don't happen to be in the HTML area. I defer that to the skilled and talented Hos in this group. It is, however, something I do need to learn.
Lugia: Thanks for the compliment. I don't have any professional computer skills whatsoever. I've been working on computer stuff since spring 1996, got online in fall 1997, created my first website in the summer of 2001, but the first time I actually started grasping HTML, was not before we started working on The Safe House. It's amazing what you'll pick up, you just have to keep trying. I have been wanting to put my newly learned knowledge to use in real life, but I'm of the opinion that you shouldn't make a serious job out of your hobby. But having The Safe House definitely taught me a lot, and right now, I'm just glad I can devote that to the wonder that is MV.
Rosemerry: I'm a toddler (15-24 months old) teacher at a day care center.
Mel TM: I have decent computer skills, but I knew nothing about HTML before we started this. I can pull a page together all right, but I'm nowhere near being able to design a website myself, no matter what HTML for Dummies may have promised me. Right now, I'm still in college, but I'm doing an internship writing and editing proposal responses. It's a little corporate for me, but it's been interesting and hopefully it'll make a nice jumping-off point.
From Melissa:
Will your exams be over before the season finale so you can truly
enjoy it?
Kate: Nope. Grad School sucks. Not finished until mid-May.
SB: No! I'm so distressed. As a matter of fact, the season finale falls a
few
days before my *first* final, so I'll have 5 to study for, post-finale.
Lugia: I'll always make some time to enjoy "Alias." I'll rather tape it and watch it a week later than be rushed. But honestly, no matter the hour, situation or mood, I'll always take away *something* from it. I'm so psyched that the finale will be two hours!
Rosemerry: I've finished college, so no exams for me.
Mel TM: Oh, that would be too kind. My finals start three days after the finale. Of course, I have fond memories of watching the first few Alias episodes and furiously reading philosophy during the commercials, so it's nothing new.
From Melissa:
Do any of you have aspirations of writing professionally--(beyond the
alias-website forum, where you're already well established :-)?
[Whoever does the fashion assasin--there's got to be a way to make
money doing that.]
Kate: A few of the Hos actually do write professionally, but not I. I'd love to write a really great romance novel though. Cheap and sleazy. Hell yeah. I take a lot of time on fanfic though. I love writing fanfic; I'm obsessive about it. I've never released any. I'm afraid they'll suck and it won't be fun anymore because i get a lot of negative feedback. So i keep them just for me.
SB: The short answer is: maybe. I think it'd be great to have a column in a
newspaper and the like, but I don't know what sort of training is
required
for that type of job, and frankly, I have no desire to be an English
major.
Otherwise, it'd be great if I could write, say, Supreme Court rulings.
Souris: I'd love to write a book someday. I've been thinking about it for a good 20
years, so I'd better get on the ball one of these days! As a copy editor, I
do get paid to write headlines, does that count? And I've written the
occasional book review or travel article. But that's it so far.
Lugia: I used to love writing, but I've always been a bit of a math-geek, too, so basically I'm just not qualified enough to try it. I would love to expand on my web design capabilities, but I'll leave the editorials to our more talented 'Hos. ;-)
Rosemerry: No, not really. I've written some fanfic and I enjoy that, but I
have no aspirations to be a professional writer.
Mel TM: I was one of those kids who was assembling books before she knew the alphabet, so I've always wanted to be a writer. Lately I've been so busy writing essays I've kind of gotten away from writing just for the fun of it. I'm going to try and reverse that trend, because I really do want to write for a living. And not just proposals!
From Lady J:
At the end of the day, has it all been worth it?
Kate: Absolutely. Here we are, 7 or 8 women that have never even met each other or talked on the phone, but I couldn't see my day going well without talking to them. I actually get sad if I see that i don't have mail (of course, it's usually Yahoo's fault). The site has just been a blessing, despite any moments where it's difficult, or even tiring. In the end, I love being here!
SB: At the end of most days, yes, because of the friends I've made and the
experiences I've gained. There are some days when I'm left wondering
why I
bother, but overall, I'm glad to have participated for the last year
plus.
:)
Souris: At the end of the day, I'm usually too sleepy to think about it! ;-) But,
yeah, I really think it has. I've learned a lot, made some really cool
friends, hopefully brought some enjoyment to some "Alias" fans and maybe
made a little mark in the Internet world. It's not world peace, but it's
something that has brought me satisfaction.
Spygirl: If it's not worth it, I wouldn't be here. To quote screen writer T. Bishop, "Life's too short to drink bad wine."
Lugia: Hell, yeah! The thing I'll take away from this and what matters to me the most, is the friends I've made. I've been having a lot of personal fun so far, learned a mile a minute, and got reassured that not everything has to mutate into something as horrible as "The X-Files" did, but all that wouldn't have been even half as grave and touching without the people I met during the past year. So I see the anniversary of our website as a celebration of our friendship, and the amazing work everyone continues to put in, the show creators, actors and fans alike. I've been involved in online fandoms before, but this one has really become my second family, and I love putting my heart and energy into it. We all make it worthwhile, so thanks to everyone that participates and shares in the love! Long live the Alias community! :)
Mel TM: Yes. I've never been part of an online fan community this close-knit before (and I am learning a lot computer-wise). This is a wonderful, hilarious, intelligent group of people, and getting to talk with them every day is really a privilege. I've had a great time.
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