Remember THAT CSI episode, "Fur and Loathing"? You know, the one that featured a furcon called "PAFCON"? Well, it's happened again: another TV series has featured a furcon as a plot device. Oh, and it's another crime series! As was CSI; Lucifer has been running now for three seasons, and this season looks like its last hurrah. The season ender aired last night (28 May, 2018) "Boo Normal", and it involved Furries and a fictitious furcon.
This story investigates the murder of Dr. Beth Dealey, a child psychologist at her office. We meet the forensic specialist, Ella Lopez, who is an obvious rip-off of Abbey from NCIS, who's arriving at the scene. Some shit happens; Lopez discovers some weird "hair" under the doctor's fingernails that turns out to be faux fur. This finding leads to the discovery that Dr. Dealey is also a fursuiter. As Lopez is showing Chloe the fox fursuit she found in Dr. Beth's closet, Chloe asks: "What is that, a mascot?" To which Lopez replies: "It's a furry suit" (She would know as she claims to have been a cosplayer.) Chloe is clueless at this point.
<cringe>Lopez: "I know: Furries get a bad rap, but they're almost never sexual. I mean, most of the time, totally wholesome... If that's what you were thinking".</cringe> Chloe finds a threatening phone message from a woman who says that she will be the only one with "Wesley" at the "SCC". It means nothing to Chloe, but Lopez knows this refers to the Southwest Convention Center where the "Golden State Furry Convention" is taking place.
Chloe attends the con, wearing Dr. Beth's 'suit (a red fox wearing denim coveralls) to ask the Furries if they know this "Wesley". This doesn't go well when Chloe is suddenly attacked by a blue fox fursuiter. Once this attacker is arrested and interrogated, we learn that "Wesley" is "Wesley Wolf" -- the attacker's fursona (they actually use that term) and this other woman claims Dr. Beth stole that character: a major transgression in the community. Another clue is revealed, as it would seem Dr. Beth had a recent disagreement with someone at her office. That ends the mention of Furries.
At least the writers got most things right: except for "furry suit", that is. As with "Fur and Loathing", fursuiters are over represented at the con. Furry terminology, like "fursona" is used correctly. The cringe was kept to a bare minimum, at least. Not withstanding that "almost never sexual" reference, and the fursuit fight. Brawls just do not occur on the convention floor. Maybe outside, but not at the con itself, and especially not among fursuiters in suit. Who would want to risk ruining a firsuit costing $Hundreds to $Thousands? This time, unlike CSI, the producers of Lucifer involved real life fursuiters wearing their real life fursuits. Here is the casting call website: Central Casting. Here is an on-line poster:
Needless to say both the website and Twitter were all atwitter over this, with worries that this would be another "Fur and Loathing". It didn't help that some of the same people were involved in THAT CSI episode and Lucifer. Fortunately, they learned something. This concern was legitimate, considering how the news and entertainment media had treated the fandom at that time. Even then, THE "infamous" CSI episode wasn't all that bad. I wrote about this before: Here. The very cringe worthy appearance of Furries on the Tyra Banks Show is less than fondly remembered. This time, we didn't get burned. Lucifer turned out to be, not just an overall positive portrayal, but more free advertising for the fandom.
What a difference fifteen years makes.
