tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21076828.post115644263256040140..comments2024-03-25T06:21:17.304-04:00Comments on is that so wrong?: Vanished: better off vanishing from primetimeis that so wrong?http://www.blogger.com/profile/17381583480546191643noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21076828.post-1157887361669997952006-09-10T07:22:00.000-04:002006-09-10T07:22:00.000-04:00"Hope on the horizon: I just saw the pilot for "He..."Hope on the horizon: I just saw the pilot for "Heroes" and am pretty impressed. Stay tuned for a positive (*shock*) blog post about it."<BR/><BR/>Ignore that Write Procrastinator assh*le and please, post it ; )Writeprocrastinatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00930301518671850256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21076828.post-1157355308473796152006-09-04T03:35:00.000-04:002006-09-04T03:35:00.000-04:00"I'm glad you're on board with my loony ravings ab..."I'm glad you're on board with my loony ravings about how crappy TV shows can be sometimes."<BR/><BR/>BTW, how are the ravings "loony," when these so-called writers violate the basic tenents of story-telling?Writeprocrastinatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00930301518671850256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21076828.post-1157355131325389622006-09-04T03:32:00.000-04:002006-09-04T03:32:00.000-04:00"WP -- What a response! I'm glad you're on board w..."WP -- What a response! I'm glad you're on board with my loony ravings about how crappy TV shows can be sometimes."<BR/><BR/>ITSW,<BR/><BR/>Absolutely and thank you for getting my blood boiling, I was going to go on a rant during my vacation about...<BR/><BR/>"Hope on the horizon: I just saw the pilot for "Heroes" and am pretty impressed."<BR/><BR/>I was impressed with four of the five ads I saw for "Heroes," which United showed on a contiuous loop that verged on irritating. The one of that I didn't like was the cheerleader jumping off the oil refinery container.<BR/><BR/>I didn't like it the first time, nor the next eight (thank you *expletive* much, United!).<BR/><BR/>"Stay tuned for a positive (*shock*) blog post about it."<BR/><BR/>To be fair, I saw this without audio, though I was amazed at the film quality production design. I love stories of synchronicity when they mesh and the stories that seemed to be about that, drew my attention the most.<BR/><BR/>I look forward to your post and your review of the pilot after it comes on.<BR/><BR/>I don't have HBO and I have to catch their shows on DVD. So I just saw a preview for this season of "The Wire" and what amazes me is how HBO seems to pull no punches when it comes to story and dialogue.<BR/><BR/>I've been hoping for the last five years that the networks would follow cable's example, but it seems that they only want to push the limits of gore and taste, instead of placing a higher value on story. When cats like Rod Lurie get fed up and they follow cats like David Milch into cable, we the non-premium cable audience are the losers.Writeprocrastinatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00930301518671850256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21076828.post-1157334781316125342006-09-03T21:53:00.000-04:002006-09-03T21:53:00.000-04:00WP -- What a response! I'm glad you're on board w...WP -- What a response! I'm glad you're on board with my loony ravings about how crappy TV shows can be sometimes. Hope on the horizon: I just saw the pilot for "Heroes" and am pretty impressed. Stay tuned for a positive (*shock*) blog post about it.<BR/><BR/>Mike -- I have to be careful not to give a disseration on the topic (wait.... maybe that's a good idea), but you asked for it.... You're right that "Twin Peaks" started off with the 'Who killed Laura Palmer?' conceit, but from the very first episode the show went at very calculated pains to introduce the viewer to the world of the characters in Twin Peaks and try to pull us away from the Laura Palmer mystery. Lynch himself said that if he had his way, no one would ever find out who killed Laura Palmer because that's not what the show was supposed to be <I>all</I> about. So, the show has lots of balls in the air, many of which are not remotely connected to Laura Palmer (Packard family, Ed/Norma, Jean Renault, Windom Earle, etc); the show ultimately was supposed to use the Laura Palmer mystery to allow the other stories to expand. So, "Twin Peaks" passes the test of not being afflicted with serial television tunnel vision because every aspect of it isn't anchored to the same conceit. That said, the viewers demanded an answer to the Laura Palmer mystery and they got it, and unfortunately the show wasn't able to recover; once the audience got its answer, they left. BUT.... once the show regained its footing and developed the Black Lodge stuff (and linked it back around to Laura Palmer, brilliant brilliant brilliant), "Twin Peaks" was never better.... and the series finale is perhaps one of my favorite (if not my very favoite) episode of any TV ever. And I know you agree. =)is that so wrong?https://www.blogger.com/profile/17381583480546191643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21076828.post-1157218508825118192006-09-02T13:35:00.000-04:002006-09-02T13:35:00.000-04:00Dude,Doesn't Twin Peaks' first season almost compl...Dude,<BR/><BR/>Doesn't Twin Peaks' first season almost completely rely on "Who killed Laura Palmer?" Once we found out the show only got better. Is it different for Twin Peaks because they built other story lines?<BR/><BR/>MikeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21076828.post-1157177948191331162006-09-02T02:19:00.000-04:002006-09-02T02:19:00.000-04:00Ooh, ooh, ITSW, I'm right with you because I feel ...Ooh, ooh, ITSW, I'm right with you because I feel a rant comin' on!<BR/><BR/>First...<BR/><BR/>"Senator's wife has shady dealings revealed (surprise, surprise), mystic symbols somehow relating to the disappearance start appearing in all the right places at all the right times."<BR/><BR/>Good, let's mix the cryptic runes and paganism of "Millennium" with the Eve complex of "24." Okay, President Palmer's wife was one of the ultimate villains, along with Nina. Fine, it's been done. Okay, no more wives or ex-girlfriends, please, networks?<BR/><BR/>"Identity crisis: Is this a serial drama or an episodic drama? It seems to be a procedural that wants badly to be a serial."<BR/><BR/>At least you will try to endure these confused-genre dramas, I pass them up on face value. I can't understand it, are there showrunners anymore at Fox, NBC or ABC? Or do they hand it off to the first person that shows up for the writers' meetings?<BR/><BR/>"Each episode provides a high body count for a convenient FBI autopsy."<BR/><BR/>"Plausibility," why have you forsaken us?<BR/><BR/>"Each episode gives us new FBI tricks to deepen the investigation" <BR/><BR/>Gadgetry instead of trying to craft a real mystery...hmmm, tell me that these shows aren't written on the fly.<BR/><BR/>"Each episode features the Senator's teenage brood in some kind of trouble."<BR/><BR/>Fox Network Head: Let's base all of our shows on "24" or "American Idol!"<BR/><BR/>"The senator has an ex-wife in town who's talked about a lot but apparently hasn't been casted yet! Keep tuning in viewer, questions will be answered! STRIKE ONE."<BR/><BR/>Stunt-casting? Again, why not substitute story, instead of gimmicks?<BR/><BR/>"So, what happens when she's found? Show's over, plain and simple. No getting around that fact. They can't possibly drag this out for more than a season, two at its biggest stretch."<BR/><BR/>Half of the previews of the new shows that I've seen went this same route. Which begs the question...<BR/><BR/>"Why are networks greenlighting serial shows that don't have a prayer for longevity? STRIKE TWO."<BR/><BR/>This I really don't get. You can make only so much on DVD sales and overseas syndi. Worse yet, what if no one remembers your show? Who is going to buy it then?<BR/><BR/>I seriously think that they are setting dramas up to fail on purpose, only because there is no other rational explanation. They just want you to watch that particular slot so that they can build up a big enough audience for the reality show that will slot in there as soon as this is canceled.<BR/><BR/>* Trashy smash cuts between scenes. Dear Fox: Computer generated cuts do not make good TV, they waste screentime."<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, they believe all of America is ADD-addled. You hire people to stand around for hours, you might as well film them. It was good enough for TV and film for nearly eighty years, wasn't it?<BR/><BR/>"This is all a minor gripe, but still a gripe, and one that lessens the quality of the show. BALL ONE."<BR/><BR/>It's not minor anymore, it's on the verge of a nasty plague.<BR/><BR/>I'm surprised that I see other screenwriting blogs criticize movies for lazy writing, but you are one of the few that points out TV. Why should TV get a pass? Especially since TV doesn't have to endure as many studio head changes, lack of funding or development hell. Kudos to you.<BR/><BR/>"Ming Na as a spunky FBI agent."<BR/><BR/>With the exception of Sandra Oh, no Asian woman will ever be offered a good TV role. This is one of the main reasons I didn't even bother to watch this show.<BR/><BR/>"Rebecca 'The Noxema Girl' Gayheart plays a sexy/take-no-prisoners/predictably-smarmy television news reporter."<BR/><BR/>Now, with the exception of Jaime Pressly, actors of Rebecca's caliber get stuck in the horror movie/Lifetime Channel ghetto. I'm not slamming these fine actors, I just think that they should've cast someone that I know for a fact, would see a good TV script.<BR/><BR/>"The other characters are swimming through stereotype (the lead FBI agent guy plays the hardened officer committed to his cases, barking orders and slamming things around, but damn it he wants to get to the bottom of this!"<BR/><BR/>WTF? Send them old episodes of "C-16" and "Line of Fire."Writeprocrastinatorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00930301518671850256noreply@blogger.com