Stuck on Repeats

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally Posted by SEC_Chick

For those of you who enjoy science fiction, I have not yet filled the hole that BSG and things like Lost left in my viewing habits, though admittedly I did not even try Caprica. I am currently enjoying Alphas, and it appears to not be going off the Heroes (pretty much everything after the first season sucked and WTH happened to Nathan's wife and kids?) or Fringe (started off great, but then got too difficult for me to follow, as I am usually multitasking when I watch TV) cliff. Any suggestions there?

Yes. My suggestion is that you completely give up on any show in its first season. If it's renewed for a second season, get the Season 1 DVD and catch up. Because for every "Lost" there are a dozen one-and-done shows with loose ends that never even get to explain their premise because the network lost patience. The lucky ones are the creators who learn the cancellation news before wrapping Season 1, so they can scramble to put together a vomitous denouement like the American "Life on Mars."*

Or, you could just give up on real life and get into "Doctor Who." The people I know who made this life-ending decision are pretty happy with their choice.

*If I ever commit a murderous rampage with no apparent explanation, just tell the cops I never got over what they did with that fucking series finale.

[Sidd Finch]

Originally Posted by ThurgreedMarshall

Rome was good. But it suffered from the same problem as Deadwood. "We have a great idea for a 2-3 season arc, but when we get renewed past that, we have no idea where to go or how to end it."

TM

That's a perfect description of what happened to Deadwood....

[Sidd Finch]

Originally Posted by ThurgreedMarshall

For some reason I think you were the one who couldn't watch the first two seasons of In Treatment because "that's just not how psychiatry works." Maybe it wasn't you, but this seems to be the same argument.

All dramatic series, no matter how they're marketed are soap operas. (The Wire is a slight exception.) But no show, that isn't a documentary, is ever "historical" or authentic in any other way. You need a setting in which to deliver what people want to see, whether it's violence, robe meat or relationships. The setting draws you in and the soap opera takes over. If you tune into a show because you think it's going to be accurate from an historical perspective, that just means that show has really good marketing.

I have a friend who is a journalist who just can't watch Newsroom because "it's so fake and that's just not how a newsroom works!" But they couldn't get enough of The Practice or Mad Men or whatever other drama they love which is just the same fucking soap opera in a different setting.

TM

I feel this way about lawyer-shows. Not because I don't understand how fiction works or because I particularly care about "authenticity." But because, if the show is even close to realistic, it's not relaxing to watch it. And because, if it's really far off, I find it annoying because it feels so contrived.

As in all things, if it's funny then I don't care. It's not like I ever said "any lawyer who made an opening statement like My Cousin Vinny just did would have to contact his insurance carrier immediately." (But I'll be Atticus did.)

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally Posted by Fugee

In the world of popular fiction in the non-sparklyvampire/horror/apocalyptic future genre, The Twelve comes out next week and I'm looking forward to all 592 pages of it.

The author teaches literature down in RT's stomping grounds and has 2 literary-type books published, then decided to write a thriller, The Passage, which I didn't realize was book 1 of a trilogy until near the end of its 800 pages.

I pre-ordered The Twelve as soon as it came up on Amazon. I can't wait.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally Posted by SEC_Chick

For those of you who enjoy science fiction, I have not yet filled the hole that BSG and things like Lost left in my viewing habits, though admittedly I did not even try Caprica. I am currently enjoying Alphas, and it appears to not be going off the Heroes (pretty much everything after the first season sucked and WTH happened to Nathan's wife and kids?) or Fringe (started off great, but then got too difficult for me to follow, as I am usually multitasking when I watch TV) cliff. Any suggestions there?

I would also appreciate sci fi book recs too. Used to voraciously consume a series I am ashamed to admit, kind of like the stupid chick lit of sci fi, and am looking for something a little less juvenile in that regard.

My favorite shows on TV right now are Fringe and Person of Interest.

Fringe is really slow to start, but it picks up towards the end of Season One, launches into THIS IS AWESOME territory in Seasons two and three, stumbles (but isn't terrible) in Season four. Season 5 just started, and my DVR with the first two episodes died on Sunday. The show was almost always on the cusp of cancellation, so most of the seasons wrap up an arc, leaving room for the idea that there's more to explore should a next season come up. I'm pretty sure that there are two versions of the season finales written: end it all or cliffhanger for next season. The show is DEFINITELY ending after a 13 episode season this year, so they're going to wrap this arc up.

Person of Interest just started its second season, and it looks to be as good as the first. Great character development, interesting stories, and intriguing ideas. It's almost always a "monster of the week" sort of show, so you don't necessarily need to follow complicated plot lines, but sometimes monsters come back. And there does seem to be an overarching plot line, but it's not as multi-threaded.

If shows that have already ended are also worth looking into, I LOVED Chuck. No real need to put too much brain power into watching it, but it was always fun and nerdy and pop culture-y. No idea how it managed to last as long as it did (5 seasons), but it had a rabid fan base that went out and bought Subway sandwiches to keep it on the air. Just ended five year run in February. Last season seemed the weakest, but it was also a wrap up season when they knew everything was ending.

Oh, sci fi:
Have you found China Mieville"s writing? Not really a series (aside from Perdido Street Station, the Scar, and Iron Council all being on the same planet). I've enjoyed pretty much everything he's written. I just halted my reading of RailSea (his sort of retelling of Moby Dick) to try to finish Cloud Atlas before the movie comes out. I can't really pick a favorite of his books, but I have really loved most of them. He's described as "new wierd" because he's sort of sci-fi, sort of fantasy, sort of some strange new genre that doesn't really fit category yet.

I recently finished Scott Orson Card's Ender's Game, also in anticipation of the movie. I'm not sure that I'll pick up the rest of the series, but the ideas in that were interesting enough. It may end up depending on how good the movie comes out.

[Icky Thump]

Originally Posted by Atticus Grinch

Yes. My suggestion is that you completely give up on any show in its first season. If it's renewed for a second season, get the Season 1 DVD and catch up. Because for every "Lost" there are a dozen one-and-done shows with loose ends that never even get to explain their premise because the network lost patience. The lucky ones are the creators who learn the cancellation news before wrapping Season 1, so they can scramble to put together a vomitous denouement like the American "Life on Mars."*

Or, you could just give up on real life and get into "Doctor Who." The people I know who made this life-ending decision are pretty happy with their choice.

*If I ever commit a murderous rampage with no apparent explanation, just tell the cops I never got over what they did with that fucking series finale.

My suggestion is to never watch anything remotely associated with JJ Abrams -- a no talent hack who obviously blew his way into an entertainment career.

[Icky Thump]

Originally Posted by SEC_Chick

So about Rome, the main reason I hate HBO is because of how they prematurely end their shows because they are supposedly too expensive.

Leave the audience wanting more.

[SEC_Chick]

Originally Posted by Replaced_Texan

My favorite shows on TV right now are Fringe and Person of Interest.

Fringe is really slow to start, but it picks up towards the end of Season One, launches into THIS IS AWESOME territory in Seasons two and three, stumbles (but isn't terrible) in Season four. Season 5 just started, and my DVR with the first two episodes died on Sunday. The show was almost always on the cusp of cancellation, so most of the seasons wrap up an arc, leaving room for the idea that there's more to explore should a next season come up. I'm pretty sure that there are two versions of the season finales written: end it all or cliffhanger for next season. The show is DEFINITELY ending after a 13 episode season this year, so they're going to wrap this arc up.

Person of Interest just started its second season, and it looks to be as good as the first. Great character development, interesting stories, and intriguing ideas. It's almost always a "monster of the week" sort of show, so you don't necessarily need to follow complicated plot lines, but sometimes monsters come back. And there does seem to be an overarching plot line, but it's not as multi-threaded.

If shows that have already ended are also worth looking into, I LOVED Chuck. No real need to put too much brain power into watching it, but it was always fun and nerdy and pop culture-y. No idea how it managed to last as long as it did (5 seasons), but it had a rabid fan base that went out and bought Subway sandwiches to keep it on the air. Just ended five year run in February. Last season seemed the weakest, but it was also a wrap up season when they knew everything was ending.

Thanks RT. I avidly watched Fringe the first couple of seasons, but I apparently didn't pay enough attention somewhere in season 3 and I would have to ask "Which Olivia is that anyway?" We do watch Person of Interest, and while I like it, I don't love it, and wouldn't notice if the DVR skipped an episode, but I do appreciate that it is mainly episodic and not as driven by complicated archs.

Definitely liking shows that have already ended. We are almost done with Friday Night Lights, and need something else to queue up. Chuck definitely sounds worth picking up. And I am eagerly awaiting the new Netflix Arrested Development episodes, though I am a tad afraid they won't recapture the magic, but I will still watch them anyway.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Icky Thump

Leave the audience wanting more.

Ricky Gervais theory instead of the US Office theory of run it till it dies. Sopranos should have ended after two seasons.

[Sidd Finch]

Originally Posted by SEC_Chick

For those of you who enjoy science fiction, I have not yet filled the hole that BSG and things like Lost left in my viewing habits, though admittedly I did not even try Caprica. I am currently enjoying Alphas, and it appears to not be going off the Heroes (pretty much everything after the first season sucked and WTH happened to Nathan's wife and kids?) or Fringe (started off great, but then got too difficult for me to follow, as I am usually multitasking when I watch TV) cliff. Any suggestions there?

I would also appreciate sci fi book recs too. Used to voraciously consume a series I am ashamed to admit, kind of like the stupid chick lit of sci fi, and am looking for something a little less juvenile in that regard.

There is very little scifi that I have found watchable as an adult, because the writing just isn't good enough. Pity that Firefly didn't last....

On books -- echoing RT, Ender's Game is excellent. Speaker For The Dead is a good addition to the series. The others, less so.

I think Samuel Delaney is the best scifi writer to have lived. Stars in My Pocket.... and Nova are both excellent, as is his Driftglass collection of stories. Dhalgren is massive and I haven't read it yet, but plan to soon. (That said, I've planned to read it many times before.)

[Sidd Finch]

Originally Posted by Icky Thump

Leave the audience wanting more.

Have the guts to end the series before it starts to suck. Showtime could learn from that, and the failure of the networks ever to learn that (or their inability to act on that, given the commercial model) is one reason they subscription channels have done so well.

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally Posted by Icky Thump

My suggestion is to never watch anything remotely associated with JJ Abrams -- a no talent hack who obviously blew his way into an entertainment career.

I doubt that, unless producers like uncompleted blow jobs.

[Adder]

Originally Posted by Sidd Finch

Have the guts to end the series before it starts to suck. Showtime could learn from that, and the failure of the networks ever to learn that (or their inability to act on that, given the commercial model) is one reason they subscription channels have done so well.

Yes, the wise network would forego millions of dollars in advertising for a declining hit show. All for the chance that whatever they replace it with might even last a full season!

It's the only choice with any artistic integrity.

As for the Office, Ricky's laughing all the way to the bank about slow death of the U.S. version.

[Not Bob]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

Ricky Gervais theory instead of the US Office theory of run it till it dies. Sopranos should have ended after two seasons.

Ah, but that is a very hard thing to do, what Ricky did. Not all of us can resist getting what sportswriter Dan Jenkins (I think) called getting money-whipped.

In other news, the Not Bobette called a few minutes ago wanting to know why Gary Bettman was going to ruin the NHL. I told her that I didn't know but that (like Bill Simmons) I blame David Stern.

[ThurgreedMarshall]

Originally Posted by Atticus Grinch

In historical fiction, the only question is which point in history represents the best time to declare as the resolution of the central conflict. A good argument could be made that the death of SPOILER ALERT Julius Caesar would be optimal, as it was for Shakespeare etc. My understanding is the creators wanted to take the story into the emergence of a weird new religion in Palestine that was catching fire for some reason or another. A part of me thinks that would have been perfect, but a part of me knows that this part of the story has already been done to death.

Not what I'm talking about. They had no idea what to do with the characters creatively. I don't think the time period they chose was the problem (even though the Cleopatra storyline got pretty fucking ridiculous). After awhile, it just seemed like they were trying to fill episode space.

TM