The Squeaky Wheel
Peter Liguori the president of Fox recently made some very interesting comments regarding network's increased responsibility to even a minority of viewers when it comes to any cancellation in light of the recent popularity of serialized television.
Granted, he was talking about the backlash regarding the premature deletion of 'Reunion' but still it's quite an amazing thought.
Network accountability to finish a story regardless of the shows performance simply for the merit of telling a complete story and not leaving any viewers displeased with being ripped out of their fantasy world without answers.
This is doubly interesting due to the fact that I'd say 90% of series finales fall into the category of either disappointing, predictable or gimmicks. Unless it's Joss Whedon then it falls into 'try to kill off as many people as possible'.
Also, though a rabid fan of some serialized shows (Alias, Lost, Veronica Mars etc.) this gets to the heart of something which has troubled me about my personal favorite genre of television in recent years: The Novelistic Program.
Since HBO had success with The Sopranos and Six Feet Under more and more shows follow a deliberate slow pace, focussing on characters and emotions flowering rather than quick moving plots and goddamn if I'm not a sucker for it.
With the exception of 'Rome' and maybe 'Brotherhood'(which I havent gotten to yet) I watch almost every one of the shows which operate like this religiously and enjoying these shows one quickly realizes the major problem with them. They cannot be cancelled.
To cancel one of these shows, even at the end of a season (finales tend to either be so epic you MUST know what happens to the characters next or so gentle it blends into the next season seemlessly) that it's akin to ripping a novel i'm enjoying out of my hands, tearing off the bit I havent read and throwing it in a fire. Not only don't I get to know what happens to the characters but the likelyhood I ever will is incredibly slim.
That's not to say shows haven't been cancelled. Carnivale did only two seasons though the finale of season two was pretty ...umm..final. Huff was recently aborted as well and unfortunately wasn't quite so wrapped up but there's something about Huff where you never had any idea where it was going so you can kind of grudgingly accept the departure of the characters.
Deadwood presents an interesting case as it has for all intents and purposes been cancelled but fan outrage and the fact that creator David Milch is so well respected and forceful allowed a concession of two 2 hour movies to help wrap up the series. And that might be the way to go as a show which tends to show a single day per episode potentially could have gone on forever (hey , bonanza did, didn't it?).
I'm left on the fence though. As a fan I'd only be pleased to see all my novelistic shows be wrapped up eloquently like 'Six Feet Under' did (heck even the serial shows. Alias was pretty satisfying) but as a person interested in the industry and creating art there is definitely a danger of studios completely bending to the will of a minority of fans. For every resurrected 'Reunion' 10 shows which could be amazing will get ousted a spot on the dial.
So should I get to find out what happend to Jared on 'The Pretender' or what the hell was up with 'John Doe" (note:basically the same show) just because I REALLY REALLY want to even though obviously millions of other people stopped giving a shit years ago?
And why did I go on that rant about novelistic t.v. only to have it kind of peter out?
CAM
Peter Liguori the president of Fox recently made some very interesting comments regarding network's increased responsibility to even a minority of viewers when it comes to any cancellation in light of the recent popularity of serialized television.
Granted, he was talking about the backlash regarding the premature deletion of 'Reunion' but still it's quite an amazing thought.
Network accountability to finish a story regardless of the shows performance simply for the merit of telling a complete story and not leaving any viewers displeased with being ripped out of their fantasy world without answers.
This is doubly interesting due to the fact that I'd say 90% of series finales fall into the category of either disappointing, predictable or gimmicks. Unless it's Joss Whedon then it falls into 'try to kill off as many people as possible'.
Also, though a rabid fan of some serialized shows (Alias, Lost, Veronica Mars etc.) this gets to the heart of something which has troubled me about my personal favorite genre of television in recent years: The Novelistic Program.
Since HBO had success with The Sopranos and Six Feet Under more and more shows follow a deliberate slow pace, focussing on characters and emotions flowering rather than quick moving plots and goddamn if I'm not a sucker for it.With the exception of 'Rome' and maybe 'Brotherhood'(which I havent gotten to yet) I watch almost every one of the shows which operate like this religiously and enjoying these shows one quickly realizes the major problem with them. They cannot be cancelled.
To cancel one of these shows, even at the end of a season (finales tend to either be so epic you MUST know what happens to the characters next or so gentle it blends into the next season seemlessly) that it's akin to ripping a novel i'm enjoying out of my hands, tearing off the bit I havent read and throwing it in a fire. Not only don't I get to know what happens to the characters but the likelyhood I ever will is incredibly slim.
That's not to say shows haven't been cancelled. Carnivale did only two seasons though the finale of season two was pretty ...umm..final. Huff was recently aborted as well and unfortunately wasn't quite so wrapped up but there's something about Huff where you never had any idea where it was going so you can kind of grudgingly accept the departure of the characters.
Deadwood presents an interesting case as it has for all intents and purposes been cancelled but fan outrage and the fact that creator David Milch is so well respected and forceful allowed a concession of two 2 hour movies to help wrap up the series. And that might be the way to go as a show which tends to show a single day per episode potentially could have gone on forever (hey , bonanza did, didn't it?).
I'm left on the fence though. As a fan I'd only be pleased to see all my novelistic shows be wrapped up eloquently like 'Six Feet Under' did (heck even the serial shows. Alias was pretty satisfying) but as a person interested in the industry and creating art there is definitely a danger of studios completely bending to the will of a minority of fans. For every resurrected 'Reunion' 10 shows which could be amazing will get ousted a spot on the dial.
So should I get to find out what happend to Jared on 'The Pretender' or what the hell was up with 'John Doe" (note:basically the same show) just because I REALLY REALLY want to even though obviously millions of other people stopped giving a shit years ago?
And why did I go on that rant about novelistic t.v. only to have it kind of peter out?
CAM
posted by Cam at 1:02 PM
2 Comments:
Two words
Clone High
So. Un. Satisfying.
Our whole family has gotten into House. My dad likes him especially.
Dock, I am also watching a lot of House, partially because it's on everyday on the TV in res. But I too like it. So much in fact, that the stars have alligned and sprained my ankle. I have cane for the next week or so. Stay tuned. I'll be bloggin about it. It's gold material.
Oh and Cam. I was a huge Pretender fan. That cancellation nearly destroyed my grade nine happiness. Also, I have recently watched all the Freaks and Geeks and though that ending could be an ending, I am still kind of confused: did I just fall in love with the character Lindsay just so she could go off and follow the Dead for a summer? That really bugged me.
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