sf/f TV development news - 2013
- Thread starter Temis the Vorta
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Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012
The Borg Queen is Green Arrow's mommy!
Appropriate surname...
That Darkover series might actually be happening...it's one thing when Blastr starts spreading BS rumors, but now Variety is giving it credibility.
The Borg Queen is Green Arrow's mommy!
Appropriate surname...
That Darkover series might actually be happening...it's one thing when Blastr starts spreading BS rumors, but now Variety is giving it credibility.
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Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012
Shows like Warehouse 13, Eureka, Sanctuary et cetera are not light and fluffy-- they're just not dark and gritty. They are all very solid, well-written, well-produced and well-cast shows that seldom fail to entertain. They're certainly a far cry better than the "rated M for Mature" stuff that is currently considered "edgy."
Shows like Warehouse 13, Eureka, Sanctuary et cetera are not light and fluffy-- they're just not dark and gritty. They are all very solid, well-written, well-produced and well-cast shows that seldom fail to entertain. They're certainly a far cry better than the "rated M for Mature" stuff that is currently considered "edgy."
There's a few of us out here.
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012
It's not the fluffiness, it's the formulaic nature of those shows I dislike. It's possible for a show to be both dark/grim and formulaic, and that's no better.
Two examples: Alcatraz and Grimm. I'm running out of patience for both. Is it too much to ask for a show not to cling to the tired mission-of-the-week format? (Ironically, Grimm has a fair amount of humor and charm, which will probably keep me watching after I've bailed on Alcatraz).
Or The River, very dark and gritty and violent. Also very stupid. Not sure I'll stick with that one for long eitehr.
The real problem is the overall lack of quality on TV in general. Light, dark, fluffy, grim, it's the usual tsnuami of crap.
It's not the fluffiness, it's the formulaic nature of those shows I dislike. It's possible for a show to be both dark/grim and formulaic, and that's no better.
Two examples: Alcatraz and Grimm. I'm running out of patience for both. Is it too much to ask for a show not to cling to the tired mission-of-the-week format? (Ironically, Grimm has a fair amount of humor and charm, which will probably keep me watching after I've bailed on Alcatraz).
Or The River, very dark and gritty and violent. Also very stupid. Not sure I'll stick with that one for long eitehr.
The real problem is the overall lack of quality on TV in general. Light, dark, fluffy, grim, it's the usual tsnuami of crap.
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012
Never heard of Darkover before but I like the comparisons they're throwing around. I could certainly watch another BSG or Game of Thrones, but easier said than done.
I guess I'd like a space opera series to follow or at least a sci-fi show a cut above Falling Skies or Terra Nova (both of which I do like, by the way) but beyond that I'm pretty content with my TV viewing.
Never heard of Darkover before but I like the comparisons they're throwing around. I could certainly watch another BSG or Game of Thrones, but easier said than done.
...you know, television.
I guess I'd like a space opera series to follow or at least a sci-fi show a cut above Falling Skies or Terra Nova (both of which I do like, by the way) but beyond that I'm pretty content with my TV viewing.
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012
I like Falling Skies okay, but they could stand to kick it up a notch. It's a bit too middle-America-bland right now.
I like Falling Skies okay, but they could stand to kick it up a notch. It's a bit too middle-America-bland right now.
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012
This pretty much sums up my feelings as well.
Ok, I do agree with you on Alcatraz, I gave up after the first pair of episodes. It was too much of just a generic cop show for me, and the mythology wasn't interesting enough to keep me interested during the cop show stories. Grimm on the other hand, I love. Sure it's basically just a cop show, but I find the cases, mythology aspects, and the characters interesting enough that I still really enjoy the episodes. I don't mind so much if it's formulaic if the writing, stories, and universe are interesting to me.
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012
That's a classic format. Star Trek did it. Sherlock Holmes did it. Odysseus did it. I like it just fine.
Exactly. And if I like the characters. It's all about the quality, not the format.
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012
Lots of shows in recent years have told serialized stories rather than case/client-of-the-week stories, but the client format survives because it works. Yes, there's value in an ongoing, long-form story in which each episode is merely a chapter, provided the long-form story is worthwhile. But there's also value in having each episode be a complete and fulfilling tale in itself. If you're going to tell a story in an episodic format, it makes sense to structure it as a series of distinct episodes, rather than just one big story that takes a weeklong break after every 42 minutes of content. That's why plenty of shows these days combine a client-of-the-week plot formula with serialized character or mythology arcs. It's a balance that's proven successful and popular. (Although like any other format, it can become tired or cliched, particularly if it overdoes the approach of having every case of the week resonate directly and obviously with the main characters' personal arcs.)
Lots of shows in recent years have told serialized stories rather than case/client-of-the-week stories, but the client format survives because it works. Yes, there's value in an ongoing, long-form story in which each episode is merely a chapter, provided the long-form story is worthwhile. But there's also value in having each episode be a complete and fulfilling tale in itself. If you're going to tell a story in an episodic format, it makes sense to structure it as a series of distinct episodes, rather than just one big story that takes a weeklong break after every 42 minutes of content. That's why plenty of shows these days combine a client-of-the-week plot formula with serialized character or mythology arcs. It's a balance that's proven successful and popular. (Although like any other format, it can become tired or cliched, particularly if it overdoes the approach of having every case of the week resonate directly and obviously with the main characters' personal arcs.)
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012
The average TV show is not being written by Homer. Maybe Homer Simpson.
Then again, I'm not the audience for a bad serialized show either. Plenty of those going around, just look at The River.
The average TV show is not being written by Homer. Maybe Homer Simpson.
There's an audience for it, but unless the show is of particularly good quality, I'm not part of that audience.
Then again, I'm not the audience for a bad serialized show either. Plenty of those going around, just look at The River.
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012
Not to derail your thread into this debate but a friend of mine is a casual ST viewer and disliked DS9 because you'd have to go back and rewatch 10 episodes to catch up with the seralization and themes that followed the story.
Voyger/TNG on the other hand didn't require as much the viewer to 'catch up.'
Not to derail your thread into this debate but a friend of mine is a casual ST viewer and disliked DS9 because you'd have to go back and rewatch 10 episodes to catch up with the seralization and themes that followed the story.
Voyger/TNG on the other hand didn't require as much the viewer to 'catch up.'
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012
Derail away, I don't care what we talk about.
Yeah, serialization can be a tough sell because it requires people to invest time in following it and catching up on it. So a show needs to be of exceptional quality to motivate that amount of attention. I made an effort to catch up on the first two seasons of Justified so I'd understand the third, and that show is only semi-serialized.
Derail away, I don't care what we talk about.
Yeah, serialization can be a tough sell because it requires people to invest time in following it and catching up on it. So a show needs to be of exceptional quality to motivate that amount of attention. I made an effort to catch up on the first two seasons of Justified so I'd understand the third, and that show is only semi-serialized.
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012
Zero Hour has a fun-sounding globe-trotting aspect...
The Montreal filming is probably a stand-in for France and Germany. No casting news yet.
Zero Hour has a fun-sounding globe-trotting aspect...
The Montreal filming is probably a stand-in for France and Germany. No casting news yet.
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012
Katie Cassidy has been cast as the female lead of Arrow.
Katie Cassidy has been cast as the female lead of Arrow.
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012
btw: I think Justified's first season is an excellent example of how to do a "case of the week" show right. In almost every episode, they introduce one or two characters that are infinitely more interesting and complex than the entire casts of Alcatraz or most Syfy shows combined. And the plots always feel fresh, even if it's just another "criminal of the week".
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012
The quality of individual series or stories doesn't impact the validity of a particular format. The difference between episodic and serialized television is the same difference as short stories and novels; neither one is inherently superior to the other.
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012
^Right. Moreover, "episodic" and "serialized" aren't absolute categories, they're just tools in the kit, and most shows employ a mix of both approaches. It always bewilders me that people insist on this totally false notion that TV shows can be split down the middle between those two categories. That's a caricature that bears almost no resemblance to reality.
^Right. Moreover, "episodic" and "serialized" aren't absolute categories, they're just tools in the kit, and most shows employ a mix of both approaches. It always bewilders me that people insist on this totally false notion that TV shows can be split down the middle between those two categories. That's a caricature that bears almost no resemblance to reality.
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012
That's true, as well. Shows like Monk and Bones have used an episodic format while the characters lives evolve in the background.
Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012
ENT was episodic for season 1 & 2. Season 3 they tried a serialized type of storytelling and I thought it was fine as I only watched it on DVD and not during the initial broadcast.
Yes the X-Files were episodic and yet the characters had arcs spanning a few episodes and other arcs spanning a whole season or 2.
ENT was episodic for season 1 & 2. Season 3 they tried a serialized type of storytelling and I thought it was fine as I only watched it on DVD and not during the initial broadcast.
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