Wow, we had a great response to yesterdays "Question of the Day" and there were lots of great replies and kind comments.Todays, question (Thanks to Memento Man) asks, Are the days of non-procedural scripted shows over?
What do I mean by this?
To me a Scripted Procedural is a show like CSI, Law and Order, NCIS etc. These are shows that have the "case of the week" style story. Although there are running themes and character development that occur during the show, the show itself resolves around a particular case and normally is nicely wrapped up by the end of the episode.
With these shows, a viewer can miss a couple of episodes but can still pretty easily watch new episodes without missing out too much on the overall storylines.
Scripted Non-Procedurals(Serialized) to me are shows like Lost, Flashforward, The Event, Twin Peaks, Persons Unknown. These shows, the main focus is the overall mythology of the story and if you were to miss a couple of episodes you could find yourself wondering just what the hell was going on.
The first Non-Procedural that I remember watching was Twin Peaks, and it's still one of my favorite shows and I made sure I tuned in to watch it each week. These were the days before Tivo's/DVR recorders etc If you missed it you were out of luck. No catching up on Hulu etc.
Over the years shows like this have really struggled and you can see for the recent shows like FlashForward, Persons Unknown and now The Event that they struggle to get past the first season. It's very hard to attract new viewers due to their nature.
The last really popular Non-Procedural was LOST and even in it's last seasons the ratings declined.
So the question is, is the day of the Non-Procedural numbered? Do people want to invest time in these types shows. Are networks happy to provide throw-away shows and reality fares as they are easier to write, produce and the monetary rewards greater.
So vote in the poll and discuss in the comments.
You can see previous Questions of the Day here
If you have an idea for "Question of the Day" please leave it in the comments or email me @ thespoilergirl@gmail.com
I'm afraid so. And I blame the casual American vier for that. :(
ReplyDeletePS: You spelled Twin Peaks wrong there, blasphemy. :P
Thanks for using my question!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree, I think Lost was the last of it's kind. The way people view TV is so different that I can't see how these shows can ever get made popular again
Oh GOD!
ReplyDeleteFixed. How embarrassing.
Thank you for the great suggestion.
ReplyDeletedepends what you call as a procedural shows like Smallville, Lost Girl and Supernatural and to a lesser extent Nikita are somewhat hybrids having a strong of the week + an ongoing storyline / mythology
ReplyDeletethere are still successful serialized shows like True Blood and Vampire Diaries tho
much better :D
ReplyDeleteIt feels like it :( Everything's about numbers, ratings and syndication these days. If you want a good, non-procedural scripted show, head on over to cable.
ReplyDeleteanother question you could use is something like "are cable shows more popular than network shows these days" or something like that
ReplyDeleteYep, I think it's over. Over last 2 years I think the last best serialized shows ended. Prison Break (the best in my opinion), 24, Lost... All these good shows ended. Supernatural is a hybrid and it's the best we've got. Fringe is also a hybrid and it's great, but FOX is putting it on friday nights. Dexter is the last of it's kind, I think. The Event, Flash Forward? Really? I think these are just a disgrace for amazing serialized shows, like Prison Break and Lost.
ReplyDeleteYes, there are certainly some hybrid shows that sit in the middle like you suggested. Supernatural is a good example but even that at times has a "case of the week" style at times.
ReplyDeleteGood point about Prison Break, yes, I'd forgotten about that. Good show.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you make good point about Dexter. I'd not considered that, Although that is cable show, I wonder if it would have survived if it had been on one of the big networks?
Thanks I'll add it to the list
ReplyDeleteYes, for the time being, the scripted serialized shows are just dead. But that doesn't mean that sometime in the future, the genre can't resurrect from his own ashes, the same way the comedy genre is now resurrecting after a very tough period.
ReplyDeleteThe answer to that seems too easy to me. Of course not... for now. A more interesting question might be "since the constant decline of Broadcast shows' ratings in favor of the cable shows in the last few years, is it possible that any time in the future the cable shows will be more successful and money-maker than the broadcast shows?"
ReplyDeleteSerialized shows take a commitment, a real investment in time. It seems like time is so limited these days. :( They have a place but maybe not on network TV and not for 22 episodes. Nothing is more frustrating than to invest time into a show and never have anything resolved or the ratings become so bad the networks yank it because the advertisers are screaming behind the scenes. The plots become so complicated they lose focus (and/or writers) on the original concept and the sub-plots and added characters make your head spin. If the show continues for more than one season viewers lose interest and don't bother to come back because some other shiny jewel has shown up to take it's place.
ReplyDeleteIf I were a network, I would hesitate to put another one on.
We might consider it entertainment but they are in the business of making money. You know which one will win.
Really? :O
ReplyDeleteWell that's your opinion and not the question today. :P
Unfortunately,non-procedural scripted shows attract less viewers every year,although i don't understand why people wouldn't like to watch shows like Lost...In my opinion,the greatest shows are non-procedural scripted that you can't miss even one episode...
ReplyDeleteOn networks there are good examples of hybrids : Chuck, Fringe, V, The Vampire Diaries, etc. None of them is a hit, sure, but great non-procedural dramas still exist. But I think that this decade, there won't be another 24 (the ultimate serialized show with its concept) or Lost on networks, they'll be afraid it might flop and they would be right (or half of the audience won't watch it live, i.e Fringe). None of the major networks would take such a risk in doing an ambitious show (there is Terra Nova on FOX in 2011/2012 though).
ReplyDeleteI think Semi-procedural shows are the way forward now. Fringe and Supernatural are good examples of this. There won't be another highly serialized drama like Lost and 24 for a while because it's really hard to get people to commit to a TV show. I do think that a heavily serialized story would work best as a miniseries with a beginning and an ending (roughly 12-20 episodes??). I would want to see more of that format because more emphasis would be placed on the story, mythology and pacing.
ReplyDeleteYeah I know, I was just throw some ideas for future "question of the day".
ReplyDeleteWhat's also sad is that if there won't be serialized shows anymore there probably won't be fanbases or sites like DarkUFO anymore either. :(
ReplyDeleteHere's just one reason for you, speaking personally... i like a show where everything is 'okay' at the end. I like that feel-good feeling when i know everything will be fine at the end of the episode, everything in wrapped up and i don't have to spend the next week wondering about stuff and feeling frustrated that i don't know what's going on. Sometimes i love that frustration too, but in measures, and mostly i like a show to wrap up at the end of each ep. :)
ReplyDeleteOf course there will! Fan-bases aren't limited to serialised shows, never have been. The trend for these shows with an over-riding arc are relatively new in terms of the history of entertainment, yet there have been huge fan-bases around for long before.
ReplyDeleteit wouldn't have because big networks have a twisted tendency to destroy most of the unique and different shows -.-
ReplyDeleteOf course non-procedural serialized shows are still alive, if dormant right now. All it takes is that one show that captures people's attention and suddenly people will be complaining about how many bad copycats networks are putting on. I blame the serialized show itself for the decline right now. While the participants on SpoilerTV are highly biased towards lengthy, involved, highly debatable shows, most people want to be entertained by TV. The serialized show has the reputation of being all questions with few answers, starting unfortunately with the X-Files. Once a must-see show for millions it broke under the weight of its own mythology and caused many to distrust the genre. The same thing happened with LOST when even its own producers stated, "We did not want to take away from the audience that one thing that was such a vital part of the community of the show, which was the ability to debate it...It seems that the people who embraced the show as a journey and were not fixated on answers probably had the better experience with the show." That works for the small TV community that embraces that philosophy (like this one) but not for the TV community as a whole where answers are the lifeblood of a show. Most people want to know that after investing years in a show and its characters there is a definite ending. They want to feel that sense of completion and joyful sadness when it ends. Serialized shows have not shown they can do that these days and it makes the viewing public as a whole nervous to jump into something that will take so much energy to care about, especially if they feel they will be disappointed in the end. A serialized non-procedural will come along and catch people's attention but it will have to be very smart in gaining the audience's trust and assuring them that the answers will be just as forthcoming as the questions. People will not be as patient with it as they once were. Most importantly, it will have to get the audience to believe that TPTB have a concrete plan and have worked out their own mythology in advance, not making it up as they go. I think the idea of having a mini-series is probably the way to go too. Then they get people in the gate and have a concrete ending at least for the first part for people to grasp onto before turning it into a serialized show people already have faith in. Then they have a built-in audience already and that is something every show, serialized or not, needs to make it these days.
ReplyDeleteI think it depends.
ReplyDeleteTo tie a few of the previous comments together, serialized television on big networks are probably dead. Someone pointed out that if Terra Nova fails, then that will be it for a while. Others have mentioned that Hybrid shows are definitely the way to go. On the big networks, that's all we can hope for.
I think that those of us already into niche genres will turn to cable channels. Dexter, United States of Tara, Big Love, Spartacus, Boardwalk Empire, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and a whole bunch more all fit the description of serialized television. Furthermore, the shows tend to be of higher quality and more realistic. Cable networks are not constrained by advertising, censorship, or even the normal act format of big network television. Each episode can be a different length. The point is that the show doesn't serve the airtime, the airtime serves the show.
I'm most excited for the upcoming HBO adaptation of Game of Thrones. It couldn't even fathom an existence on network television. My question to you all is, why mourn the loss of serialization on mainstream television? We can get and are getting better programming elsewhere. The Wire? Six Feet Under? Rome? Rubicon? So many good shows out there already exist and more are being made. If we want this kind of television, we need to start paying for HBO, Showtime, AMC, etc.
Because they take themselves too seriously and keep making everything more grandiose without ever answering the questions that viewers have. They tend to not have a balance between what the deep-rooted obsessed TV fan wants and the average viewer. In short, they are frustrating to many people.
ReplyDeleteI hear you. People can only take so much frustration before TV becomes a chore instead of an escape.
ReplyDeleteTV is at a crossroads right now, I think; increasingly, people are doing their TV viewing online. I heard a report recently that, just as consumers have gotten rid of their land lines in favor of cell phones, they've begun canceling their cable/satellite subscriptions in favor of online TV viewing. All of the current TV series that I follow, I watch exclusively online, and especially perfer online viewing for serialized shows: by watching online, I can choose the time and the place of my viewing, which enables me to really concentrate on the show.
ReplyDeleteOnline viewing may end up changing TV in a fundamental way. Right now, according to the report I mentioned above, the entertainment industry is struggling to coming up with new methodologies for determining ratings of a TV series. It's not hard to imagine the day when a large enough percentage of TV viewing is done exclusively online, and then the creative forces will have to rethink everything they've been taught about putting together a series. Maybe in five years TV series won't look much different than they do today--but maybe they will. And perhaps we'll see a resurgence, not only of serialized shows, but also of highly creative shows like LOST.
In short, no.
ReplyDeleteThere is still a place for serialized drama on television. That place is cable, particularly premium cable channels like HBO, Showtime, and Starz.
Ah yes, your first sentence, totally agree. Sometimes things just gets melodramatic for the sake of it, we get desensitised and start wondering what is the actual point.
ReplyDeleteAgreed - the issue about knowing TBTB have a plan is completely right i think. The issue these days with serialised shows is that if the numbers are up the show will continue, and the writers simply have to struggle to find another season out of the same issue, because in most cases (such as 'aliens' with X Files) you can't simply wrap up the main issue and move on to another. They have a shelf life and if they go on a season beyond that they start to feel old and repetitive, with everyone just wanting to know what's going on already!
ReplyDeleteIf you can keep the plot moving and at least convey the impression that the show is moving (albeit slowly) towards an answer, you're okay. As soon as the audience think they have stopped moving, and are just going round in circles, that's when you lose purpose (and viewers, probably). Sadly, i think this effectively means that most of these great serialised shows will end on a downer.
TV will go to whatever format will bring in the maximum $$$. Have you noticed how much more product placement there is? Not just well placed items being in the foreground, but products being called by name by the actors. Saving Grace was so full of product placements both national and regional. It made it an even better show for me since I live about 100 miles from where the story was supposedly set. Almost a 'seek and find' game every scene!
ReplyDeleteI say no, simply because I think they will survive - if only on cable - and a lot of people never expected a show like Lost to last six seasons and it did, so never say never! :)
ReplyDeleteGiven the fact that one of the biggest shows on tv is Glee, I'd say no. Maybe The Event, Flashforward, and Persons Unknown failed to attract an audience because they weren't any good?
ReplyDeleteit also depends on the network different networks have different brands and among the major nets CBS gave up on serialized shows a long time ago, the CW + some cable networks on the other hand is all serialized or semi serialized.
ReplyDeleteI say no. They are my favorite type of shows. But it may be in the future. I feel like all of those kid shows like Hannah Montana and stuff is comedy and the kids stick to stuff that are familiar. I hope that they are not over! I love them!!!!
ReplyDelete*Cough* Fringe+Supernatural...they certainly have procedural elements but they are most certainly serialized shows. The Walking Dead is majorly serialized, as well as Mad Men and Breaking Bad...I think even The Vampire Diaries is serialized... O.o I think that the gimmick of attempting to do something just like Lost is ridiculous...There's serialized tv shows that are nothing like Lost and are still great shows...I think this is less the end of Serialized tv shows and more the end (or at least for now) of serialized shows that have intensely strongly-demanding mythos like Lost. Flashforward, V, and The Event just aren't well-written enough to put themselves on that same level of quality, and people just don't really want to see another Lost or Twin Peaks rip off (like Happy Town...) because they are trying too hard to be weird or mysterious that they miss the entire point of telling a story in the first place...
ReplyDeleteUhm, Dark... I know this is a little off your point, but SPN was only 1.9-2.0 one week...it's actually been settling between 2.5-2.9 most of the season.
ReplyDeleteI can't help but hate it to see SPN in the 1.9 range...
The X-Files definitely had a procedural element to it too, and quite frankly, some of their most memorable episodes were the standalones that had nothing to do with the mytharc. I also think networks are doing themselves and their shows a disservice by openly comparing themselves to shows of the past. There is large component of people who hear a show is the new X-Files or the next LOST and automatically think that they won't like it whether or not that would be the case. It's like they are trying to alienate a good portion of viewers just to claim the attention of another. In my experience, people who like the X-Files or LOST will have already heard about the show from fan sites, etc. and don't need the comparison. They inevitably end up saying it doesn't compare to the original anyway.
ReplyDeleteI voted NO and hope it is true, but I have my doubts. Personally not many procedurals keep me interested beyond a season... ESPECIALLY cop and law shows. They all have the same or similar plots tweaked year after year. Episodics or serials keep me interested and are the ONLY shows that EVER have me anxiously awaiting the next week's episode. I think cable TV has become the only place Serials have a ahcne... sadly. Almost evry cable drama that ahs come out recently has been episodic in nature, and many of them build HUGELY vocal and loyal followings quickly. Most prcedurals to me, even if I like them, are shows I wil lwatch if I am bored or sick , or I have reruns that week in my serials!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree and as it happens, those hybrid typs are the only procedurals I look forwad to watching any given week. The thing is with most hybrid shows like Smallville or going back to The X-files even, is that they have filler episodes that have very little to do with the ongoing plotline that makes them a hybrid. Those episodes almost always let me down or bore me.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, but to tell a story and wrap it up in 42 minutes seems hurried to me almost always. I understand many cannot commit to watching every episode of a series, in order, every week it airs and miss the enjoyment and true veiwing experience of a serial show. Atleast, that is how we true serial fans feel. I think... I do atleast....
ReplyDeleteLuckily for me i've not had that experience much - shows written well can get a story told and wrapped up in 42 minutes with no problem. It is limiting sometimes yes, and i enjoy the occasional two-parter when a story needs a little more time. But in a great many shows a single 42 minute ep can get a lot of stuff done and still tie up loose ends before the credits run.
ReplyDeleteIt helps that i have fairly unsophisticated tastes when it comes to plots. While my friends are spotting plot-holes and bemoaning bad writing, i am normally just enjoying the fact that there were explosions and some character did something cool or geeky. Easily pleased, me. :P
Absolutely not. This stuff ebbs and flows, and there's certainly a chance that we'll see a decline in non-procedural scripted shows for a good while. But I think the simplest way to answer the question is acknowledging the fact that there is always room for good stories. If someone comes up with a genuinely good idea, and it's well executed, there's no reason why (with a bit of luck) it shouldn't succeed regardless of whether it fits into existing categories.
ReplyDeleteI fear that if Lost (arguably the best serial on network TV ever) would premiere today people would find too many faults to watch it and its ratings would be mediocre causng the network to rollback promotion for it and even less people to hear about it. Lost did MAJOR damage to episodic TV and so many people now are gunshy about shows that do not wrap up every week as some one stated earlier. I am not sure even a good story that is well executed would keep a show on air in today's ADHD TV culture.
ReplyDeleteTell me a time that you know of where there wasn't at least ONE serialised show on air.
ReplyDeleteTV has its own gaps to fill. There'll never not be a serialised TV show on. Procedurals are boring and monotonous but they gain viewers and revenue, which also help new projects.
and also keep in mind that SPN is on the CW, so it's doing comparatively well. i'm certain that if it were on a big network, it'd be hitting at least 10+ million viewers xP
ReplyDeleteSmallville hasn't been a case of the week show since Season 4...since Season 5, the show is always about a major villain or plot that is presented at the end of a season and it's resolved at the end of the next season. (Doomsday, Zod, Bizarro, the Phantoms and now Darkseid). It sometimes has some filler episodes but they always include something from the overall storyline of the season.
ReplyDeletei wouldn't exactly call glee a non-procedural scripted. Although the content of it has gotten a lot heavier and darker this season, many of the issues are still wrapped up at the end of the episode, and we learn the cute moral of the story.
ReplyDeleteI'm not usually on the edge of my seat for Glee's next episode, show's that do have me on the edge of my seat would be things like SPN, which in itself is still a hybrid a lot of the time.
i voted "no", but not really because i logically and rationally have come to that conclusion, more because i cannot stand the idea of the eradication of non-procedural shows. one of my favourite past times is spending time debating what a character might do next, whether someone is evil or not, what a character's true intentions/agenda is, which main character is really useless and annoying and should just be killed off as they contribute nothing to the show, the occasional guilty pleasure fan-girling and just the awesome feeling of a community of people wondering exactly the same things you are.
ReplyDeleteI think what you need to consider is it is because of Lost that people don't want to commit to another serialized show, at least on network television. You're looking at 22-24 episodes commitment each year and the first half of the first season of Lost was pretty accessible even though it did have mystery, you didn't have to think as much. Beginning with the second half of the first season is when it started introducing more mysteries and as mysteries were answered, new mysteries were introduced. For people like us who love Lost, that was great, but people who just want to turn on the show and relax, then as time went on Lost might not have been that for them. For me watching the show didn't end with the closing credits, there were as time went on, recaps to read, easter eggs to find, podcasts to listen to, I couldn't get enough, but I know that not everyone is into that.
ReplyDeletePeople may see a show like Flash Forward or The Event and think, this is the next Lost and I don't want to commit myself to that. I think what the networks are doing wrong is pushing shows to be the next Lost and by doing that they already limit the amount of viewers that are willing to commit. Look at the4 Pilot of Lost, they crash, they try to get things together and they had the polar bear, the monster and the radio message. It was manageable and they mainly focused on those things to begin with, some mystery, but not too much. It started off with primarily building relationships between the characters.
I watched The Event premiere and it was so much at once that I can see the casual viewer saying, nah, I'll wait for the DVD.
But, the networks need to give the shows time to find more of an audience and create buzz.
Cable networks serialized dramas work because their seasons are shorter, generally 12-13 episodes and audience totals are not expected to be as high because their income is not just derived from ads, but also subscriber fees they charge cable companies and that can be substantial if we are talking basic package carriage like USA Network and TNT (you're looking at over $1 per subscriber per month and that was 15 years ago when I was working in cable TV) or a premium channel like HBO or Showtime.
there's always going to be a place for scripted non procedurals..but they have to be well written with good characters.
ReplyDeleteCompare the pilot episode of Lost with the pilot of The Event. The characters in Lost jumped off the screen from the get go..the characters in the Event..not so much. It's heavy on mythology but there's no reason to care about the characters.
Or compare with Flashforward...very strong pilot...but started to peter out with too many unfocused characters and plotlines. Not to mention the casting Joseph Fiennes who just never seemed to click in the lead role.
And what's new about this....there have many procedural dramas that bite the dust due in part to wooden characters and poorly written stories. It's not enough that a story is wrapped up in 42 minutes if it's a dull story to begin with.
Television viewing isn't the same any longer. More channels, more options...I watched Lost's last two seasons online..I don't even own a tv anymore. And I"m not alone.
I agree that it would help non procedurals to be mini series with a set number of hours to tell their story but unfortunately American television, even on cable, doesn't seem to want that format. So I don't hold out much hope for that option.
Game of Thrones is due out....what next year on HBO....let's see how that non procedural, heavy on the mythology television series does...before declaring the demise of this particular form of television. It has great source material..if it's written and acted well and has great production ....it will be watched.
I don't think so.
ReplyDeleteThere may be a decline in their popularity for a while, but I don't think they'll ever really go away. People get bored with the same old stuff, and if 'the same old stuff' is procedural scripted and reality shows, then you can bet the popularity of such shows will go kaput sooner or later. Meanwhile, as the niche of non-procedurals wanes during procedural and reality shows' heyday, people will be there to fill that niche, and once more people are bored and tired of the same things, they'll look to non-procedural scripted shows for entertainment.
It all comes and goes like tides, seasons or anything in life really. Granted, the next wave of non-procedural scripted shows probably won't be exactly like the ones that came before them.. but that's just the nature of the game.
Sucks for people who can't pay for that, though. D: <//3
ReplyDeleteI agree with hte last few posters, but I fear that more and more of the US veiwing audience are disliking serials in favor of procedurals. I don't think it is just about Lost alienating some people with its misunderstood finale, but like many here stated... too much commitment, too much thought needed,too much uncertainty, and too much desire for a show to grab them in 1-3 episodes as deeply as their favorite show attracts them, which very well may have taken 2,3,4,5 or more years to grow to that level of strong attachment. Some have stated 22-26 episodes is just too much for many people to not get answers or commit to a show and 8 or 13 works better on cable. Personally I find my self wantign more of every short season series when it completes, and often want more from the serials I watch that have 20+ episodes a seaon. I don't think the days are over, but the more I read here and think about how my friends feel, the more I think at this current time, they are very out of vogue on the networks. Sure, they may half-heartedly try to find the next great serial that connects with millions and becomes a popculture hit, but they will not give it the time it needs to develope into a pop culture hit.
ReplyDeletePrison Break? The best? lol.
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving and get the heck outta here, silly man.
vier?
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, putting the blame on "Lost" isn't quite right (though, obviously, you're right in what they did). "X-Files" did all this way before "Lost" was ever on the scene. The amount of mysteries they raised and didn't answer are numerous. Even now, two movies later, and we're still in the dark about the alien conspiracy.
ReplyDeleteThe trouble with shows now is that most of them are only interested in delivering shocks and twists before getting to the actual plot and character driven stories. They do this because of Network pressure, because Networks believe they need to do this in order to capture an audience. When, in reality, they should be working it the other way around.
We need to start an aggressive movement to reduce the influence and amount of reality shows and procedural scripted ones too. I'm not saying it should be violent, just that we need to make our voices heard. Then it needs to be made clear to networks that we want well written and original stories, not copycat shows. I can't understand why people can't follow non-procedural shows when there are more ways than ever to keep up with them. People can follow online, on TV, on cellphones, and whatever else they have these days. Maybe there should be more chances for people to win walk on roles as extras so they can get their 15 minutes of fame in the background of an interesting show instead of making an ass out themself on some singing and dancing show. I could even tolerate more product placement if I had to. We need to rally viewers to watch and keep watching the good shows and talk some sense into the airheads who watch mindless reality crap.
ReplyDeleteYep, I think that's a good point. And also, a lot of non-procedural shows are kind of derivative themselves. Right now there are quite a few knock-offs that, like you said, are more interested in delivering shocks than developing a unique story. And that's certainly damaging to the idea of a non-procedurals (more so than anything Lost has done, I'd argue), but I think it's also a stigma that will go away if someone comes up with a unique story and tells it well.
ReplyDeleteI mean, sci-fi/fantasy used to be almost much rarer on TV, and it was thought to be too weird for mainstream audiences. Now some procedurals even have elements of it from time to time.
Completely. The reason "The X-Files" and "Lost" took off, wasn't so much because they were mysterious, it was because they knew their characters, and they were written so well throughout the show's run. I may not have liked some of the characters, but I'll never say they weren't written well. You could tell that the staff and crew on both shows actually cared a lot about what they were putting out there. I'm seeing that a lot with "Fringe" too.
ReplyDeleteWhereas shows like "The Event" and "Flashforward" only want to lure you in with shocks and big twists. So, they lose a lot of potential viewers because the characters and heart of the show is neglected. It's a shame because "The Event," especially, actually has some good acting talent attached to it, and I'd love to see that show become more focused.
A show that I've always held as an "almost" perfect example of TV is the mini-series "Taken" by Steven Spielgberg. Awesome characters, awesome mystery, and awesome pay-off. I'd recommend that to anyone who likes sci-fi and drama.
I voted no and it's because of the giant change in the way we view TV and movies these days, as say, compared to 20 years ago. Videos, and later DVDs and then DVRs have been making serial viewing possible, whereas in the past I for one could never have committed to a show that demanded I have to be there, in front of my TV, a certain time and night of every week for fear I would miss too much to make it worth while. For instance I'd never have been able to enjoy the Sopranos if we hadn't rented the videos. Lost, I'm a major fan, but didn't get into it until the middle of its run, then rented the DVDs and caught up. Sometimes that's how it works: you don't get interested until you hear word of mouth, and in the past it would be too late. But nowadays you can play catch-up. and cometimes the viewing pleasure is heightened by seeing episodes close together--maybe 3 or 4 episodes a week.
ReplyDeleteSo yes, non-procedural scripted shows will continue to thrive because of new possibilities of viewing strategies. I think many people will be inclined toward these shows because watching a continuing saga is enjoyable. Just look at how popular soap operas have always been!
I for one get turned off by the slick, tell-it-in-45 minute stories. They have a stilted feel to them, and I have avoided them for years.
@ Dahne. That was an interesting quote from a producer suggesting that those who are able to let go of a fixation on answers enjoy the show better. I believe this. I have read criticisms of Lost and realize that I am different because I am fine with just "watching the journey." Yeah, I do have a few questions, but they don't keep me awake at night, whereas other people seem to be really, really upset for not having answers.
I never could abide voyeuristic reality shows, and while some reality contests were fun (Project Runway, etc.), I'm finally tired of them all. Now I watch Fringe, The Good Wife (which has a continuing, soap opera thread), and I think I'm warming up to The Event. I have The Walking Dead episodes backing up on my DVR, and I will get to them soon.
Good point about Terra Nova, if that fails I certainly think it will
ReplyDeletemark the death of the Serialized show.
Yep, the mini-series is a format that could work well.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with one of the examples you mentioned, Fringe, is that
it's ratings are very poor, down to about 5 million. Supernatural is
only at 1.9-2.0 million this season so I'm still wondering if those
types of semi-procedural are also struggling.
It's a shame as these types of shows are my own personal favourite but
when you see some show like DWTS getting 25 million people, it just
saddens me. Hell, even drivel like Two and Half men is averaging 14
Million this season.