Thirty Days of TV: Day Eleven
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Well, it happens. It doesn't necessarily mean I quit watching - most shows have their ups and downs, and sometimes saying "oh, show, you used to be better than this" doesn't mean it can't be again; there were several shows in my fannish past which recovered from a low. Sometimes, though, my degree of fannish dissappointment gets to the degree where I have to stop watching because I get no more joy out of the show in question at all, and I never saw the point in staying around only to growl and annoy myself and others.
Which is why I'm a bit uncomfortable with the reply to this question. I mean, whichever of the few shows I stopped watching altogether I pick, the show used to mean something to me, and while at the point of quitting I may have been incensed enough to go on at length about why I'm stopping watching, temporal distance means I tend to remember more of the good than the bad (even though I won't go back).
However, to get on with the meme, I have to pick one, so: Carnivale. Which had a great first season. Incredibly atmospheric, a rich ensemble of characters and complicated relationships (this included same-sex relationsips as well as het ones, friendships and family relationships), lots of shades of grey, mystery, excellent actors. And....then there was season two. Some of the characters were still being written as layered. But so much suddenly became black and white, and with the loss of ambiguities came some not sense making retcon and eminent predictability. Clichés abounded. It was just terribly dissapointing, and when the news came it had been cancelled, I must admit I was sorry it hadn't happened after season 1, because the s1 finale would, if necessary, served as a show finale as well, and then I would only remember a show which was, like American Gothic, really well done, just short lived. It's been a few years now, and the fact I could read some of Daniel Knauf's (that was the show runner responsible for the s2 changes) Marvel comics with interest proved to me I was over my fannish angst and the grrr, argh stage. But I still wouldn't reccommend to anyone more than that first, great, great season.
Day 01 - A show that should never have been canceled
Day 02 - A show that you wish more people were watching
Day 03 - Your favorite new show (aired this TV season)
Day 04 - Your favorite show ever
Day 05 - A show you hate
Day 06 - Favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 07 - Least favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 08 - A show everyone should watch
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving
Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best TV show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First TV show obsession
Day 29 - Current TV show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death.
This entry was originally posted at http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/869622.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.
Well, it happens. It doesn't necessarily mean I quit watching - most shows have their ups and downs, and sometimes saying "oh, show, you used to be better than this" doesn't mean it can't be again; there were several shows in my fannish past which recovered from a low. Sometimes, though, my degree of fannish dissappointment gets to the degree where I have to stop watching because I get no more joy out of the show in question at all, and I never saw the point in staying around only to growl and annoy myself and others.
Which is why I'm a bit uncomfortable with the reply to this question. I mean, whichever of the few shows I stopped watching altogether I pick, the show used to mean something to me, and while at the point of quitting I may have been incensed enough to go on at length about why I'm stopping watching, temporal distance means I tend to remember more of the good than the bad (even though I won't go back).
However, to get on with the meme, I have to pick one, so: Carnivale. Which had a great first season. Incredibly atmospheric, a rich ensemble of characters and complicated relationships (this included same-sex relationsips as well as het ones, friendships and family relationships), lots of shades of grey, mystery, excellent actors. And....then there was season two. Some of the characters were still being written as layered. But so much suddenly became black and white, and with the loss of ambiguities came some not sense making retcon and eminent predictability. Clichés abounded. It was just terribly dissapointing, and when the news came it had been cancelled, I must admit I was sorry it hadn't happened after season 1, because the s1 finale would, if necessary, served as a show finale as well, and then I would only remember a show which was, like American Gothic, really well done, just short lived. It's been a few years now, and the fact I could read some of Daniel Knauf's (that was the show runner responsible for the s2 changes) Marvel comics with interest proved to me I was over my fannish angst and the grrr, argh stage. But I still wouldn't reccommend to anyone more than that first, great, great season.
Day 01 - A show that should never have been canceled
Day 02 - A show that you wish more people were watching
Day 03 - Your favorite new show (aired this TV season)
Day 04 - Your favorite show ever
Day 05 - A show you hate
Day 06 - Favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 07 - Least favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 08 - A show everyone should watch
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving
Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best TV show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First TV show obsession
Day 29 - Current TV show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death.
This entry was originally posted at http://selenak.dreamwidth.org/869622.html. Comment there or here, as you wish.