In which James has an argument with himself
Fours weeks in, and I'm really enjoying Being Human. This week's had a bit of unsubtle crap ("EE" was a bit much, "EA" would have been better), but was, by and large, excellent and makes me very interested to see how it all pans out. This series, along with the bastard well brilliant Jekyll from last year, contrasted with the past two seasons of Heroes, has pretty well soured me on long-running arcplots in TV. The way to go, I think, is to have one short series and have it be about something (like Jekyll or Blackpool), or to have a format-driven, highly episodic series (Doctor Who all the way).
Perhaps ironically, I'm currently getting scarily engrossed in the very, very arcplotty Song of Ice and Fire series of books, the Lucifer series of graphic novels and have begun to get excited by the forthcoming League of Extraordinary Gentlemen volume 3.
The difference is, I think, one of creative control. TV is a very consensual medium; it's tough to lock down actors over the long term, there's a weird symbiotic relationship with the press and the funding of the whole thing often depends on ratings/ executive fickleness (see Firefly). Also, format is phenomenally powerful; there's the whole issue whereby the minute you get a man and a woman sharing the screen for more than a minute, it's a Will They Won't They. These forces make it very difficult to structure an arc; there's also the whole reason that shark-jumping is an issue, which is that there's only so many wacky adventures that one person can have before they start to crumble under the continuity of it all.
Do these effects work in other media? Partly; I mentioned comic books, which are notoriously prone to continuity bloat. On the other hand, the comics I have read and liked (Sandman, Lucifer, Watchmen) have all tended to be short(ish) running affairs which ended out of the creator's desire to stop, rather than because they were no longer popular enough. Books have a similarly high level of creative control; on the other hand there's the existence of books four and five of the Harry Potter franchise.
What on earth am I saying here? Is this the same thing as jumping the shark, or sequelitis, or the law of diminishing returns?
I don't know. And am going to bed.
G'night.
EDIT: I forgot to add: Russell Tovey is a comedy genius. Every single line delivery= spot-on. Give that man a suitable object.
Perhaps ironically, I'm currently getting scarily engrossed in the very, very arcplotty Song of Ice and Fire series of books, the Lucifer series of graphic novels and have begun to get excited by the forthcoming League of Extraordinary Gentlemen volume 3.
The difference is, I think, one of creative control. TV is a very consensual medium; it's tough to lock down actors over the long term, there's a weird symbiotic relationship with the press and the funding of the whole thing often depends on ratings/ executive fickleness (see Firefly). Also, format is phenomenally powerful; there's the whole issue whereby the minute you get a man and a woman sharing the screen for more than a minute, it's a Will They Won't They. These forces make it very difficult to structure an arc; there's also the whole reason that shark-jumping is an issue, which is that there's only so many wacky adventures that one person can have before they start to crumble under the continuity of it all.
Do these effects work in other media? Partly; I mentioned comic books, which are notoriously prone to continuity bloat. On the other hand, the comics I have read and liked (Sandman, Lucifer, Watchmen) have all tended to be short(ish) running affairs which ended out of the creator's desire to stop, rather than because they were no longer popular enough. Books have a similarly high level of creative control; on the other hand there's the existence of books four and five of the Harry Potter franchise.
What on earth am I saying here? Is this the same thing as jumping the shark, or sequelitis, or the law of diminishing returns?
I don't know. And am going to bed.
G'night.
EDIT: I forgot to add: Russell Tovey is a comedy genius. Every single line delivery= spot-on. Give that man a suitable object.