on tv... POV and other girls
So, there was this discussion about Supernatural courtesy of sci_fi_shipper and it opened up a portal to how I watch TV, which as it turns out is kind of the crux of all the TV thoughts I was going to share with you all.
You see, when I watch a show my POV character is generally male, Lee, Brody, Mulder, Castle, Chuck, Captain Mal, Peter, Duke, etc. There are some notable exceptions… Willow was my most constant POV character on Buffy followed by Spike. I lean towards Myka over Pete on W13, though in reality my POV is probably Claudia. And Veronica Mars was my girl on VM although a pretty good argument could be made for Logan as my POV by the end of S1, it was all about Veronica.
This is generally because the writing for male characters is typically stronger, since more TV writers are male. I also believe that men tend to be slightly better actors because they have to carry the heavier characters and they are, quite frankly, not hired for their looks first. (Yeah, yeah, the writing for women is getting better and there are clear and obvious exceptions, but this is an intentional, brash generalization. ;)
But, I have come to realize that I can’t watch a show* that doesn’t have a strong female presence if not direct counterpoint to my male POV. I.E. Kara, Carrie, Scully, etc. And the amount I really like a show is in direct proportion to the amount I love the female component of said show. To the point that I end up not being able to watch shows that don’t have to female weight that I need (read Supernatural). The exception here is Sherlock on BBC, which I adore. I’m pretty sure the format has something to do with the reason it’s different though. But I’ll get into season/series length and 22 episode-itis another time.
Anyway… just thought I’d throw this into the mix and see if anyone else had thoughts too. :D
You see, when I watch a show my POV character is generally male, Lee, Brody, Mulder, Castle, Chuck, Captain Mal, Peter, Duke, etc. There are some notable exceptions… Willow was my most constant POV character on Buffy followed by Spike. I lean towards Myka over Pete on W13, though in reality my POV is probably Claudia. And Veronica Mars was my girl on VM although a pretty good argument could be made for Logan as my POV by the end of S1, it was all about Veronica.
This is generally because the writing for male characters is typically stronger, since more TV writers are male. I also believe that men tend to be slightly better actors because they have to carry the heavier characters and they are, quite frankly, not hired for their looks first. (Yeah, yeah, the writing for women is getting better and there are clear and obvious exceptions, but this is an intentional, brash generalization. ;)
But, I have come to realize that I can’t watch a show* that doesn’t have a strong female presence if not direct counterpoint to my male POV. I.E. Kara, Carrie, Scully, etc. And the amount I really like a show is in direct proportion to the amount I love the female component of said show. To the point that I end up not being able to watch shows that don’t have to female weight that I need (read Supernatural). The exception here is Sherlock on BBC, which I adore. I’m pretty sure the format has something to do with the reason it’s different though. But I’ll get into season/series length and 22 episode-itis another time.
Anyway… just thought I’d throw this into the mix and see if anyone else had thoughts too. :D