"But I know that it's St. Patrick's Day."
I
think it was "Profit would know..." which I'm only being pedantic about because I think that makes it funnier.
I thought it was interesting, in light of "Angel," that somewhere in there Greenwalt said that a lot the show was about the question: can you overcome your past and become a different person? And then he sorta laughed and said that as far as he was concerned, the answer was no.* I really like him.
(*Just to be clear, he didn't mean that people can't make different choices; I think he just meant that you can't ever wipe the slate clean.)
Yes, I remember that. It was during the commentary for Forgiveness. It immediately made me think of Angel, as well.
Hollywood's Profits, Demystified
Interesting read, apparently TV licensing returns more revenue than either DVDs or box office.
Interesting read, apparently TV licensing returns more revenue than either DVDs or box office.
Aka, The Simpsons as profit center.
Not the soap thread, but...
So I'm reading Everything Bad Is Good for You for a study group on pop culture and teens at UCLA, which I'm suddenly in charge of, and I'm enjoying the book. It's provacative and compelling.
I'm in the television section now and Johnson is talking about the cognitive demands, the increased complexity that watching TV now demands and I'm intrigued because it reminds me of listening to folks like Tim talk about maintaining narrative arcs etc.
Johnson points out that
Hill Street Blues
was one of the first shows that combined the complexity of multithreaded over multiple episodes and seasons storytelling with complex social issues. Prior to that, it was only daytime TV that had such complex story telling with, admittedly, fluff content.
Now, except for whozzit.... L&O and possibly CSI, most shows are multithread/multiepisode. He cites
Desperate Housewives, 24, The Sopranos, West Wing, ER, Alias,
etc.
And they're making us smarter because we are engaging with that complexity.
So, see, TV is not making us stupid. And go soaps for pioneering that technique in TV.
Hill Street
was definitely revolutionary in its form and content. It was my first communal-watching show with my friends in college.
It was also one of the things Joss cited as an inspiration for Firefly (along with The Killer Angels).
Johnson points out that Hill Street Blues was one of the first shows that combined the complexity of multithreaded over multiple episodes and seasons storytelling with complex social issues.
Alas, I always preferred "St. Elsewhere" to "Hill Street." The latter show was exceptional, but "Elsewhere" was always more entertaining.
I still regret missing episodes of St Elsewhere. Too much theatre work and the lack of vcr.
Is it out on DVD? St. E, that is? I missed more than I saw, but I did like.
I think it was out on video tape, but I donot know if it ever got burned to dvd.
