This is a fun thread. Obstensibly about Flash Forward (which has a great cast and a strong concept with lots of potential), it's quickly devolved into nonsense.
Hilariously easy comparisons for the sake of argument, such as pitting The Twilight Zone against Power Rangers, do make for a good laugh, Christopher. Who knew that a well-budgeted anthology series written by the best writers in the genre would be superior to a cheap and brainless series designed to appeal to children and sell action figures? I don't know where the straw man bit about Death of a Salesman comes from, either. But I'm not as consumate a viewer of television as you, so perhaps I'm confusing the Arthur Miller play for a television episode that I missed.
There is a good argument to be made that serialization is not superior--nor inferior--than episodic television, and you do make it well, Christopher. Television is ultimately a business, and if you can't attract new viewers to your heavily serialized narrative, you won't be able to finish that narrative. A series like The Wire, though incredibly satisfying, was a ratings loser kept afloat by astonishingly good notices. It would have failed outside of the HBO model (and saw its final season reduced in length even within that model).
I do think it's weird that Brannon Braga is earning so much credit for the series while David S. Goyer is going unrecognized. Not only does he share writing and producing credits, but he's the director of the pilot. Normally, television directors are pretty low on the totem poll, but there's a reason the person who directs the pilot continues to earn money as long as the series is on the air.
On the other hand, Goyer's level of credit (or blame, depending on your view) for Batman Begins and The Dark Knight seems about right. He was a producer on neither film, and his involvement in the more recent The Dark Knight was limited to a story credit. Nolan, in addition to serving as the director, has screenplay credit on both films and a producer credit on The Dark Knight.
stj, your declaration that serialization is not successful is well-served when you exclude The Wire, Six Feet Under,and Curb Your Enthusiasm, to name three examples. It also helps your case to presume that Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and Dexter will all eventually fail because of their serialized format. If they do fail, I suspect it will have everything to do with the networks wanting to continue their ratings winners for as long as possible, and nothing to do with serialization. And since episodic television series have so often been extended past their means so often for the same reasons, it's obvious serialization has nothing to do with it!
You continue to be confused about the creative role of the director, too. I suppose if the director was as useless as you claim, Alan Ball wouldn't have wanted to direct his own material on Six Feet Under, True Blood, and the feature Towelhead. But he did. The director decides where to place the camera, and is the person who most influences an actor's performance on set. I just read an interview with Armin Shimerman about his appearance as Latek (the first Ferengi) in The Last Outpost. In the script, the Ferengi were supposed to be threatening, but the director asked for performances that ended up looking silly. What became of the Ferengi since is largely his doing, according to Shimerman.
I do think the statement that a good director can save a bad script deserves review. I think Robert Rodriguez makes Desperado into a far more dynamic and interesting film than it reads on the page, but, then again, he was also the writer there. It's certainly the case, however, that a bad director can destroy a perfectly good script.
Lastly, Dennis' comment about direction not being particularly influential on audiences in television is a fair point. I can think of countless series that have gone on for years (and even been critically lauded) that, visually, are such a bore.
But, hell, this has gotten so out of hand and away from the topic, I'll stop here. Flash Forward shows promise. If the reviews are strong, and the ratings hold, I might even watch. But I already have an irrational commitment to Stargate Universe, so I'll pause before I decide to devote another hour of my week to television.
