russkayatatu
22-04-2004, 19:41
TELEVISION :gigi:
Do you watch a lot of TV, and what are your favorite shows?
I like television; I didn't really watch it when I was growing up, but now I'm starting to think it's pretty interesting. As a genre I like anthology shows better than series television: shows like "The Twilight Zone" or "The Outer Limits" where there aren't continuing characters and each episode is a self-contained story that fits into the series' broader themes. I like these kind of shows better because I think they're intrinsically a better medium for television: each episode is somebody's personal vision; there's a lot of room for variation, and you never know what you're going to get. One week it could be horrible, and the next it could be fantastic. It's uneven, but I like that better than series television, which doesn't usually have such highs and lows but smooths everything out to a medium-level blandness.
In the 1950s almost every show in America was an anthology. Now there are ... actually, I don't know, are there any at all?
I read one person's account of meeting Harlan Ellison, a TV-fantasy-science fiction writer at a book signing:
"I want to bring back The Twilight Zone," I said.
"Forget it," he said, rather bluntly. "America is not ready for an anthology show. Can you name me one show on TV right now that is an anthology show?" He didn't really wait for me to respond, he just plowed on over me. "You can't do it. You know why? Because there isn't one. People want shows that have the same characters week after week. They don't want to invest their energy or time to people they've never seen before and will never see again. Shows like that require people to think. People don't want to have to work that hard for their entertainment."
I'll be honest with you. The first thought that went through my head was "Geez, he's a curmudgeonly old bastard but he's got a point." And to this day, I have yet to find anything that provides a decent argument for the defense.
So that was written by Frank Fradella, from his essay "A Visit to Ellison." What do you think? :blabla:
Another thing I wanted to write about television: when I went home for vacation several months ago I found that my mom had developed a taste for "Sex and the City," which I thought was so interesting, since usually she hates watching TV :gigi: So I've watched a dozen or so episodes of that, and then recently I was looking at "The L Word" thread and information online. And I have a question: how are series like these different from soap operas? :dknow:
Series television that I remember & grew up with, like "The Brady Bunch," "I Love Lucy," "Star Trek," "Mission: Impossible," "The Fugitive," "The Avengers," etc. for the most part didn't have an ongoing story line. The characters continued from one segment to the next, but in general they had an adventure, or a problem, and by next week they had another adventure, or problem, starting back at the beginning. If you miss one week, it's not a big deal, in other words. But for "Sex and the City" the characters are living in a timeline, with past and present and future. Is it because these shows are about relationships, primarily, do you think? They really seem like soap operas to me, much more than the TV shows of the fifties and sixties and seventies, those that I know. And I'm not sure it's so good :bum:
Well, so anyway, my favorite TV shows: I like "Star Trek," "The Twilight Zone," "The Outer Limits," "Science Fiction Theatre" (this is one of the best shows about scientists I've ever seen, and it's from the '50s), "The Avengers." And "I Love Lucy." Of what's on right now, if I have nothing better to do, "Friends" or "Curb Your Enthusiasm" or "Saturday Night Live" is OK. I hardly ever watch TV though, when I was growing up too. It was easy for me, since there was only one TV, and only in a room off my parents' bedroom - you wouldn't go there except if you wanted to watch a movie or a TV. It was pretty out-of-the-way.
So how, how often, and what do you watch? :cool:
Rach, fixed the caps, hope it's ok
"Fixed"? I broke a rule? :confused:
;) no problem - thanks
Do you watch a lot of TV, and what are your favorite shows?
I like television; I didn't really watch it when I was growing up, but now I'm starting to think it's pretty interesting. As a genre I like anthology shows better than series television: shows like "The Twilight Zone" or "The Outer Limits" where there aren't continuing characters and each episode is a self-contained story that fits into the series' broader themes. I like these kind of shows better because I think they're intrinsically a better medium for television: each episode is somebody's personal vision; there's a lot of room for variation, and you never know what you're going to get. One week it could be horrible, and the next it could be fantastic. It's uneven, but I like that better than series television, which doesn't usually have such highs and lows but smooths everything out to a medium-level blandness.
In the 1950s almost every show in America was an anthology. Now there are ... actually, I don't know, are there any at all?
I read one person's account of meeting Harlan Ellison, a TV-fantasy-science fiction writer at a book signing:
"I want to bring back The Twilight Zone," I said.
"Forget it," he said, rather bluntly. "America is not ready for an anthology show. Can you name me one show on TV right now that is an anthology show?" He didn't really wait for me to respond, he just plowed on over me. "You can't do it. You know why? Because there isn't one. People want shows that have the same characters week after week. They don't want to invest their energy or time to people they've never seen before and will never see again. Shows like that require people to think. People don't want to have to work that hard for their entertainment."
I'll be honest with you. The first thought that went through my head was "Geez, he's a curmudgeonly old bastard but he's got a point." And to this day, I have yet to find anything that provides a decent argument for the defense.
So that was written by Frank Fradella, from his essay "A Visit to Ellison." What do you think? :blabla:
Another thing I wanted to write about television: when I went home for vacation several months ago I found that my mom had developed a taste for "Sex and the City," which I thought was so interesting, since usually she hates watching TV :gigi: So I've watched a dozen or so episodes of that, and then recently I was looking at "The L Word" thread and information online. And I have a question: how are series like these different from soap operas? :dknow:
Series television that I remember & grew up with, like "The Brady Bunch," "I Love Lucy," "Star Trek," "Mission: Impossible," "The Fugitive," "The Avengers," etc. for the most part didn't have an ongoing story line. The characters continued from one segment to the next, but in general they had an adventure, or a problem, and by next week they had another adventure, or problem, starting back at the beginning. If you miss one week, it's not a big deal, in other words. But for "Sex and the City" the characters are living in a timeline, with past and present and future. Is it because these shows are about relationships, primarily, do you think? They really seem like soap operas to me, much more than the TV shows of the fifties and sixties and seventies, those that I know. And I'm not sure it's so good :bum:
Well, so anyway, my favorite TV shows: I like "Star Trek," "The Twilight Zone," "The Outer Limits," "Science Fiction Theatre" (this is one of the best shows about scientists I've ever seen, and it's from the '50s), "The Avengers." And "I Love Lucy." Of what's on right now, if I have nothing better to do, "Friends" or "Curb Your Enthusiasm" or "Saturday Night Live" is OK. I hardly ever watch TV though, when I was growing up too. It was easy for me, since there was only one TV, and only in a room off my parents' bedroom - you wouldn't go there except if you wanted to watch a movie or a TV. It was pretty out-of-the-way.
So how, how often, and what do you watch? :cool:
Rach, fixed the caps, hope it's ok
"Fixed"? I broke a rule? :confused:
;) no problem - thanks