Me Snooty?!...Well, maybe a little...
Anyone who knows me personally, knows that I <<<3 TV (It's my one true love), more than any other medium out there; more than movies, video games, books, comic books, etc. So it saddens me to say that I've become somewhat of a TV snob. Or, at the least, a helluva lot more picky with what I watch lately. I really wasn't before and I began to wonder what's been spurring that on. I think it has to do with that I've come to prefer character-driven stories over plot-driven storylines.
There are plenty of capable and talented people in the industry but when it comes down to it, it's all about the $ and the executives essentially have the final say. And let's face it; Hollywood thinks the American public is pretty dumb and likes the repetition. They are also very, very prone to formulaic concepts. This is where plot-driven storylines come in. And I think it's why I've been so frustrated with some shows recently like Heroes. I'm the kind of person who knows what they like or don't like immediately, even when I realize I may have made a mistake before, I rarely regret making that first decision. So when I saw the 2-hour premiere of Heroes on 9/30 and was mostly bored and baffled, I knew it wasn’t a good sign.
So far I've disliked the new season of Heroes and I'm most definitely in the minority (probably because everyone is comparing it to S2). My main problem with S3 is that the characters are now being put in positions because the story needs them to be there and not necessarily because the character would decide to be there, if that makes sense. The characters are serving the plot and not the other way around, which IMHO makes for a better story every time. And I'm not asking for plausibility from the plot since it’s a show about people with superpowers but I do need believable behavior from the characters; behavior that makes sense in the context of the character and not because they have to go from point A to B. I think it is sloppy writing to have a character to act OOC for the sake of having something happen.
Some examples:
There’s more I could add but these are three points that bug me. At any rate this writer pretty much says everything I want to but much better: How to Heal 'Heroes'
I also think a lot of it has to do with my faith in the writers. There are some shows, like Supernatural and The Office, where I trust the writers completely even if I don’t like some plots or disagree with something or think it’s a stupid idea. With Heroes, because of S2, my faith has wavered a little and unfortunately it’s enough not to completely trust the writers this season.
If I'm being a snob so be it. :-P
There are plenty of capable and talented people in the industry but when it comes down to it, it's all about the $ and the executives essentially have the final say. And let's face it; Hollywood thinks the American public is pretty dumb and likes the repetition. They are also very, very prone to formulaic concepts. This is where plot-driven storylines come in. And I think it's why I've been so frustrated with some shows recently like Heroes. I'm the kind of person who knows what they like or don't like immediately, even when I realize I may have made a mistake before, I rarely regret making that first decision. So when I saw the 2-hour premiere of Heroes on 9/30 and was mostly bored and baffled, I knew it wasn’t a good sign.
So far I've disliked the new season of Heroes and I'm most definitely in the minority (probably because everyone is comparing it to S2). My main problem with S3 is that the characters are now being put in positions because the story needs them to be there and not necessarily because the character would decide to be there, if that makes sense. The characters are serving the plot and not the other way around, which IMHO makes for a better story every time. And I'm not asking for plausibility from the plot since it’s a show about people with superpowers but I do need believable behavior from the characters; behavior that makes sense in the context of the character and not because they have to go from point A to B. I think it is sloppy writing to have a character to act OOC for the sake of having something happen.
Some examples:
- Nathan needed to get shot so that he could end up in the hospital and so Peter could end up in Level 5. There are plenty of things the writers could have had future!Peter do to stop Nathan. Plenty. Plenty that could still get him in a hospital bed.
- Peter gaining Sylar’s ability and starting to act like Sylar so that the audience thinks of Peter as a villain. Instead what this does is just take the blame off of Sylar because apparently his homicidal tendencies are because of his ability and not his personality. As a psych major this pisses me off. **Plus I like Sylar and it is just silly and poor writing to make the bad guys become good since their evilness can be blamed on everything except their demented personalities.**
- Mohinder making a injection that gives abilities and then using it (untested) on himself just seemed like an excuse to get him to have sex with Maya (I still don’t understand why she is around) and basically so we could have someone with a gross power.
There’s more I could add but these are three points that bug me. At any rate this writer pretty much says everything I want to but much better: How to Heal 'Heroes'
I also think a lot of it has to do with my faith in the writers. There are some shows, like Supernatural and The Office, where I trust the writers completely even if I don’t like some plots or disagree with something or think it’s a stupid idea. With Heroes, because of S2, my faith has wavered a little and unfortunately it’s enough not to completely trust the writers this season.
If I'm being a snob so be it. :-P