Fringe 4x19 - "Letters of Transit" (Live Commentary, Spoilers)

[startrekwatcher]

Procutus wrote:

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That's a very good point, and definitely a slight annoyance with LOST, though it's a bit less noticeable when you're watching several eps at a time on DVD. To be honest, I don't have a problem with non-linear storytelling, as long as it's done in moderation

Well I'm personally tired of it--how about writers stop using tired gimmicks and get back to entertaining straightforward serialized storytelling without the reliance on WTF moments that exist simply to evoke an immediate reaction and not as a springboard for more developed storylines. LOST was particularly bad about this--throwing everything but the kitchen sink into the mix when it came to plotlines and then never developing them--and as a result a whole slew of successors have followed in their ill-advised footsteps i.e. Harpers Island, The nine,Kidnapped, Vanished, Daybreak, Persons Unknown, Invasion, Fringe, V, The River, FlashForward, The Event, Sarah Connor Chronicles, Heroes, Alcatraz, Fringe, Once Upon a Time etc.

DS9, for example, never had to resort to this--they simply told a straightforward serialized arc (i.e. The Final Chapter) without flashbacks, out of order storytelling, go nowhere plotting, ADD pacing, long drawn out mysteries with lame payoffs or none at all.

The only shows that attempted the LOST style of storytelling and actually pulled it off successfully was S1 of Heroes and the Xindi arc on ENT and most of that was due to actually knowing where they were going and imposing on themselves the restriction that the storyline would last only a season and wouldn't be drawn out for the life of the series the way LOST for example did.

[Procutus]

^


I agree with you totally that the technique is overused, and works ONLY if the writer(s) in fact, know where they're going with it.

Don't get me wrong; I too, prefer the straight-forward approach to storytelling, but I don't mind some non-linear stuff if it really does help tell the story better. And granted, as it's being overused these days, it doesn't often happen where it helps the story.

Just my .02 worth.