Infotainment
Crap on a stick. I think I disappointed someone I'd have rather not have; they're good sports about it, but I still don't like not living up to my word when I make it. So I figured I'd drown my self-induced sorrow in television.
Expect I don't have cable or satellite.
...okay, techinically I could indulge in what I can find on the internet (two seasons and eight episodes of Top Chef down, six more to go) but that would mean I don't post about the kinds of TV I like.
To the ever annoyance of my parents, I love television. Not to the point of all else, I do read and get out often, but sometimes all I want is to veg and marathon a show or two; the ability to buy whole seasons on DVD helps this, but some stuff isn't out yet... or ever. I'm neandering, the point is I watch more than they'd like me too, have since I was young. I blame the stories; I fall into the adventures and characters I see, becoming a fan of many shows until it seems I can't keep up with them all.
I've already many times over talked about how much I love animation, so I'm leaving that alone to talk about other things; scripted hour-long series, and a bit of competition shows.
One thing I've found about my viewing habits is that I tend to like shows where I think I'm learning something. Not being tricked into anything, but that says that if I watch this enough, and emulate what they do, I too could be a professional >whatever<. So shows that are hour long drama sitcoms (your Gilmores, your celebrity paperazzi) don't do it for me. Some can be interesting, but what they do is often more drawing that the characters they try to impress upon you.
What I'm really into right now; Burn Notice, Leverage, House, Law & Order, Top Chef, Chopped a few others I can't think of at the moment.
In a way, you really can learn a lot from watching the shows. I've watched so much L&O that I could fake the profession, and have often been asked by friends to go through legal options based on my television legal knowledge. The thing to remember about what you learn, however, is that you need to check what you know. Just because they say or do it in the show doesn't mean that it's real (or legal).
And that's been a real problem for people in the actual professions. Because of CSI, courtroom lawyers are dealing with more and more armchair technicians. They think that the high tech offices and labs they see on TV are how it really goes down, that tests can be done right then and there and results come in just after lunch and that the people who handle the evidence are the same who investigate the crimes. They want to see more physical evidence, more bloodwork and hair samples and fingerprints and more and more things that aren't that simple in real life. What people who don't think things through don't realize is that often labs are off-site, independent entities are that are so backed up by the time they get to running the labs the case could already be to trial, or even already over. There's a reason that trials are often months after a crime has actually been commited.
But that doesn't stop me from remembering as much as I can. And I constantly check things or watch real docu-shows that show the real thing, so that I don't fall for Hollywood magic. House? The vast majority of that show is wrong, from procedure (you do not shock a flatline!) to testing to diagonose to the illness itself. But taken with a grain of salt, and you can learn a bit of medical knowledge; just don't let it go to your head.
Some shows fake or fudge the real deal for legal or liability reasons. Burn Notice and Leverage deal with ex-spys and con-men, two professions whose vast majority of work is illegal or can't be talked about (or they will kill you). But stll, there is much to be gleaned. Disregard 90% of the how-to-build-this stuff in BN, and they show you a lot of good military tactics for episonage and warfare. Accept that people aren't going to behave the way they do on TV, and Leverage can tell you how to manipulate people a wee bit. Everything with a grain of salt though.
Competition shows are awesome because the people on them actually possess the skills (you know, to varying degrees) it takes to make whatever the show's topic is. A cooking show is going to have real cooks; or really bad cooks, as is the case of Worse Cooks in America. An art show is going to have real artists. Sometimes the people can't produce, but that's the name of the game, put up or shut up.
What I learn I apply to my writing. I may not be an expert in any single area, but enough general knowledge can get me by most of the time. Should I need more, I can research it or find someone who lives it and have them help. I'm not just making stuff up; all the time. I do, but I also make sure it has a basis in reality (expect for when it's not or can't be "real"). And what I make up I double check to see if it's even plausible. The DaVinci Code was hailed and marketed as being "real secrets" and real mysteries. Bull. Shit. Dan Brown made up 99% of the crap he wrote, and other 1% was lies. Almost every single Bible reference, location, name drop, profession title, logic was idiotacy.
But the show needs to be good itself, not just telling you something. I said I may give it a chance if I like the background enough, but if even that is fubared then there's little reason to keep watching. American Chopper, when it first started, was a good show about a father and son building motorcycles. I learned quite a bit about automotive works, machine shops and the business behind it; and the bikes they made were often exciting and dramatic. But more and more as the series went on it became about the drama of the people, the fights, and the bikes were just what spun in the center. I lost interest because I don't like personal drama being the grounds of having your own show.
I don't know that I could do better though. Everyone, well most everyone, usually says they have a great idea for a tv show, if only they had the money or knew the right people. I have my own ideas of different shows, but I also know that a lot goes into even getting a test pilot going. And even then, how hard it is to gage what will be the next hit.
For now, I'm hoping to save money (eventually) and buy the series I like. Until then I watch what I can, learn what I can, and apply it to what I want to write.
Expect I don't have cable or satellite.
...okay, techinically I could indulge in what I can find on the internet (two seasons and eight episodes of Top Chef down, six more to go) but that would mean I don't post about the kinds of TV I like.
To the ever annoyance of my parents, I love television. Not to the point of all else, I do read and get out often, but sometimes all I want is to veg and marathon a show or two; the ability to buy whole seasons on DVD helps this, but some stuff isn't out yet... or ever. I'm neandering, the point is I watch more than they'd like me too, have since I was young. I blame the stories; I fall into the adventures and characters I see, becoming a fan of many shows until it seems I can't keep up with them all.
I've already many times over talked about how much I love animation, so I'm leaving that alone to talk about other things; scripted hour-long series, and a bit of competition shows.
One thing I've found about my viewing habits is that I tend to like shows where I think I'm learning something. Not being tricked into anything, but that says that if I watch this enough, and emulate what they do, I too could be a professional >whatever<. So shows that are hour long drama sitcoms (your Gilmores, your celebrity paperazzi) don't do it for me. Some can be interesting, but what they do is often more drawing that the characters they try to impress upon you.
What I'm really into right now; Burn Notice, Leverage, House, Law & Order, Top Chef, Chopped a few others I can't think of at the moment.
In a way, you really can learn a lot from watching the shows. I've watched so much L&O that I could fake the profession, and have often been asked by friends to go through legal options based on my television legal knowledge. The thing to remember about what you learn, however, is that you need to check what you know. Just because they say or do it in the show doesn't mean that it's real (or legal).
And that's been a real problem for people in the actual professions. Because of CSI, courtroom lawyers are dealing with more and more armchair technicians. They think that the high tech offices and labs they see on TV are how it really goes down, that tests can be done right then and there and results come in just after lunch and that the people who handle the evidence are the same who investigate the crimes. They want to see more physical evidence, more bloodwork and hair samples and fingerprints and more and more things that aren't that simple in real life. What people who don't think things through don't realize is that often labs are off-site, independent entities are that are so backed up by the time they get to running the labs the case could already be to trial, or even already over. There's a reason that trials are often months after a crime has actually been commited.
But that doesn't stop me from remembering as much as I can. And I constantly check things or watch real docu-shows that show the real thing, so that I don't fall for Hollywood magic. House? The vast majority of that show is wrong, from procedure (you do not shock a flatline!) to testing to diagonose to the illness itself. But taken with a grain of salt, and you can learn a bit of medical knowledge; just don't let it go to your head.
Some shows fake or fudge the real deal for legal or liability reasons. Burn Notice and Leverage deal with ex-spys and con-men, two professions whose vast majority of work is illegal or can't be talked about (or they will kill you). But stll, there is much to be gleaned. Disregard 90% of the how-to-build-this stuff in BN, and they show you a lot of good military tactics for episonage and warfare. Accept that people aren't going to behave the way they do on TV, and Leverage can tell you how to manipulate people a wee bit. Everything with a grain of salt though.
Competition shows are awesome because the people on them actually possess the skills (you know, to varying degrees) it takes to make whatever the show's topic is. A cooking show is going to have real cooks; or really bad cooks, as is the case of Worse Cooks in America. An art show is going to have real artists. Sometimes the people can't produce, but that's the name of the game, put up or shut up.
What I learn I apply to my writing. I may not be an expert in any single area, but enough general knowledge can get me by most of the time. Should I need more, I can research it or find someone who lives it and have them help. I'm not just making stuff up; all the time. I do, but I also make sure it has a basis in reality (expect for when it's not or can't be "real"). And what I make up I double check to see if it's even plausible. The DaVinci Code was hailed and marketed as being "real secrets" and real mysteries. Bull. Shit. Dan Brown made up 99% of the crap he wrote, and other 1% was lies. Almost every single Bible reference, location, name drop, profession title, logic was idiotacy.
But the show needs to be good itself, not just telling you something. I said I may give it a chance if I like the background enough, but if even that is fubared then there's little reason to keep watching. American Chopper, when it first started, was a good show about a father and son building motorcycles. I learned quite a bit about automotive works, machine shops and the business behind it; and the bikes they made were often exciting and dramatic. But more and more as the series went on it became about the drama of the people, the fights, and the bikes were just what spun in the center. I lost interest because I don't like personal drama being the grounds of having your own show.
I don't know that I could do better though. Everyone, well most everyone, usually says they have a great idea for a tv show, if only they had the money or knew the right people. I have my own ideas of different shows, but I also know that a lot goes into even getting a test pilot going. And even then, how hard it is to gage what will be the next hit.
For now, I'm hoping to save money (eventually) and buy the series I like. Until then I watch what I can, learn what I can, and apply it to what I want to write.