The Minearverse 3: The Network Is a Harsh Mistress
[NAFDA] "There will be an occasional happy, so that it might be crushed under the boot of the writer." From Zorro to Angel (including Wonderfalls and The Inside), this is where Buffistas come to anoint themselves in the bloodbath.
Tim, I'm so reluctant to get involved in watching a new series, because it seems every time I do whichever network it's on yanks the rug out from under it.
I've heard people say this a number of times, but I just can't understand this point of view at all. I'd rather watch something good no matter how briefly and how painful it is when it isn't allowed to tell the whole story, than not watch it at all.
I hear people who don't want to watch Wonderfalls because "it's only 13 episodes and they were cancelled" and they're insane. Really bugfuck crazy in my opinion. I watch it becasue it's good, and that should be all that matters.
While I wouldn't have given up even the 4 aired episodes of Wonderfalls for the world, I do understand people who get tired of becoming emotionally involved with good shows only to see them end prematurely. The sense of disappointment, when it recurs again and again, can effectively condition you against getting excited about a new series and setting yourself up for more disappointment.
If we were talking boys, I'd be gunshy. But we're talking television. As much as I wish I'd gotten more Firefly/Wonderfalls/My So Called Life, I'd rather have gotten what I did than nothing at all. In fact, sometimes I think of the brill ideas that never made it to the air, and that makes me sad. I don't have to gorge, or even eat regularly. But I do so like to taste.
I hear people who don't want to watch Wonderfalls because "it's only 13 episodes and they were cancelled" and they're insane. Really bugfuck crazy in my opinion. I watch it becasue it's good, and that should be all that matters.
Speaking for my people, let me 'splain. No, 'tis too much. Lemme sum.
I adored
Wonderfalls.
I can't begin to describe my love of that show. I wanted to pull an Elvis on my TV, when it got canceled, but my keepers, wisely, do not keep firearms handy.
t Heresy
I would have gladly sacrificed the
Firefly
series, and the
Serenity
film, for a few years run of
Wonderfalls (like maybe even as small as 3 years).
I got the DVDs in March. I can only watch about 1 episode every 6-8 weeks, because each time I watch one, I get angry all over again.
I don't need that sort of stress over something that is supposed to be entertainment. The most "promising for me" comment in this whole thread was made by whoever it was that said s/he had fallen "in like" with the show.
My last love was
Joan of Arcadia.
It's gone now, too. I hope I never love another TV show, ever again.
Since I haven't yet had time to watch my TiVo copy of
The Inside,
right now, I can easily say there's only one series I watch regularly. That's
24,
and it is on hiatus until January. And I am in deep like with it, but don't love it. If it didn't come back, I'd think, "Oh, that's too bad. I liked that show."
It's like liberation, man.
t crazy
The 'problem' presented by people who boycott Fox or refuse to watch shows which might get cancelled is this: why should Fox bother paying for new scripted dramas if people won't watch? It just makes the situation worse.
Conversely: Why should people pay attention to scripted dramas when they get canceled so easily, and without a full run of episodes already in the can?
I do not need the TV networks. I have books. They need me, so they can show me to their advertisers.
Why should people pay attention to scripted dramas when they get canceled so easily
Because they're enjoyable?
I'm not sure where my head space was two or three years ago, but right now, when I get mad, I get mad that what I like doesn't seem to be commercially viable. Of
course
I'd rather Wonderfalls run its course, and that the creators I enjoy get to raise their project progeny.
But ... it's just TV. I miss it because I enjoyed it, and I'm glad it enjoyed it.
I think the madness part of it for me, is when...
a) A show is canceled before it's gotten what reaches my (granted, completely subjective) definition of a fair shot
and
b) I loved it.
When I just like a show that didn't get a "fair shot", I think it's a shame, but I'm glad for what I did see.
When I love a show that got a "fair shot" but it wasn't commercially viable to continue producing/airing it, I think it's a shame, but I am glad for what I did see (cf Angel).
My late 2cents on the pilot(I was out of town all day yesterday):
Web: utter bastard
Rebecca: eh. We know the basics of her deal, but the "pretty girl in jeopardy" wears thin after a while. Let's see what develops.
In short, I found The Inside interesting, but I don't love it. The gore-factor is one part of that.(Yeah, I know that it wasn't much compared to other shows, but I don't watch those shows due to the goriness)
I'm more interested in what the deal is with the rest of the characters.
Not just, what do they bring to the team, but also what's their damage.
(Because they all have damage, that much has been made clear by Tim)
t Skip-skip-skip
Allyson, insent
t running out, stopping to wave at everybody (hey, it's hard to do both things at once)