Anatomy of a Cult Show

Mar 19, 2013 13:28

(disclaimer: i love all the tv shows i watch(ed). i also have no substantiation for things i say in the post, it's all opinion. and i hope i can make it say what i want to say ( Read more... )

cult, farscape, thinky post, tv shows, castle, ymwv, meta, the cw

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Comments 39

beccadg March 19 2013, 20:47:14 UTC
*Lacks a Farscape or Castle icon so uses the one icon she has featuring Nathan Fillion.

I confess I haven't given the show a try. It isn't so much that I didn't want to deal with the "show within a show" aspect. I loved the Stargate SG-1 episodes with the show within a show, Wormhole X-treme!. It's more like it seemed to be part of a current "serial killer TV" wave, along with The Following on FOX and Hannibal on NBC. I've watched some shows with a reoccurring serial killer -- Profiler on NBC with "Jack of All Trades", and The Mentalist on CBS with "Red John" both come to mind. I've never watched a show specifically for the serial killer(s) and his/her/their killings. The current wave seems to be at least as much about the killers as the cops, if not more so, and I've been trying to ignore those shows.

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trystan830 March 19 2013, 22:16:01 UTC
If is part of this serial killer wave,i don't really see that. It's more of a mess-with-your-mind "which reality am i in" kinda show. And once you figure it out, they change the rules on you.

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beccadg March 21 2013, 15:56:08 UTC
It's more of a mess-with-your-mind "which reality am I in" kinda show.

Ah. I haven't been fond of those since the days of Twin Peaks. In fact I still blame that show for the number of series that would be more fun and accessible if only they'd do more stand alone episodic storytelling rather than be entirely serialized with one all consuming story arc.

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trystan830 March 21 2013, 16:01:42 UTC
there'st he other catch - some shows lend themselves to the episodic storytelling. other shows - Twin Peaks, Farscape, Lost - you miss one episode and it's all over because they are that serialized.

personally, i like both.

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strangevisitor7 March 19 2013, 22:49:54 UTC
I too started watching for Matt Davis (I Love You, Alaric!). I enjoyed it and thought it was a really cool concept. Then I heard it was cancelled and I honestly didn't want to invest any more time. I just know it will end with a slew of unanswered questions and I don't want to be disappointed that way for the millionth time.

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trystan830 March 19 2013, 23:10:23 UTC
I looked quite recently, but wasn't able to find anything about it being cancelled. Do you have a link?

and i *do* know what you mean. I'll watch it to the end anyway.

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strangevisitor7 March 20 2013, 14:50:08 UTC
I have nothing official expect it's poor rating from www.tvbythenumbers.com and the fact that it was kicked to the Friday dead zone. You can see from this link that it's rating are far, far below everything else on the CW so it is unlikely to be renewed

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2013/03/19/cw-the-carrie-diaries-is-likely-to-be-canceled-beauty-the-beast-still-a-toss-up/173644/

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trystan830 March 20 2013, 14:53:33 UTC
yeah, someone else had posted that in my other post asking for links. blargh.

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x5vale March 20 2013, 09:56:07 UTC
Now I am intrigued too.

Shall find the time to watch it.

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trystan830 March 20 2013, 13:43:38 UTC
well, if you believe the comment above me, it's already been cancelled. so who knows how many more episodes they'll actually air....

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strangevisitor7 March 20 2013, 14:52:08 UTC
I understand that the move to Friday was so that they could "burn off" all the episodes they made with less concern about its ratings impacting other shows - Again my source is TVbythenumbers.com

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trystan830 March 20 2013, 14:54:20 UTC
bleh.

well, at least they'll be showing all of the episodes already made. i wonder if it's all 13 they'll be showing...?

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blackdecember8 March 20 2013, 18:27:02 UTC
usually shows like lost, alcatraz, 666 park avenue, cult, etc. intrigue me and i find it sad that so many people lose interest in shows that make you think too much or are maybe a little confusing, but i agree that it is probably why certain shows fail. there are times i want mindless tv or to watch something i dont have to give my undivided attention to, but not EVERY show i watch. i like shows that make you think and to talk to others about them to see each other's thoughs/ theories/ etc.

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trystan830 March 20 2013, 18:29:01 UTC
i like shows that make you think and to talk to others about them to see each other's thoughs/ theories/ etc.
this exactly. but it does seem that a lot of people DO lose interest if the show makes you think too much, or hurts your brain.

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blackdecember8 March 20 2013, 18:49:04 UTC
uh huh. i know thats one reason my dad didnt like about lost. a lot of these shows were trying too hard to be mysterious without revealing enough to keep people interested, as well, so i think that is also a problem. at lest if you reveal things at a reasonable pace, the mystery and intrigue starts to make sense and is still appealing.

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trystan830 March 20 2013, 18:50:24 UTC
the question then is: what's a reasonable pace? if you go too slow, people lose interest. if you go to quick, mystery's solved before the season is over and now what?

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jendeana April 1 2013, 02:19:50 UTC
I'm with you a 100%.
I'm more intrigued with every episode and saddened with the knowledge we probably won't get to delve very deep into this fascinating , twisted little world .

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trystan830 April 1 2013, 02:22:05 UTC
yeah, i know.....

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