It just occurs to me that Fox expected a megahit out of the gate. They hadn't any plans to keep it on the air and cultivate an audience.
That's why I asked about "Heroes" because that's the most recent drama to be a hit out of the gate.
There are cockroaches in Mexico big enough to own property.
Cordelia ,'Lessons'
The Minearverse 5: Closer to the Earth, Further from the Ax
[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, The Inside and Drive), this is where Buffistas come to anoint themselves in the bloodbath.
le nubian - Apr 27, 2007 2:08:17 pm PDT #6456 of 10001
"And to be clear, I am the hell. And the high water."
Tom Scola - Apr 27, 2007 2:14:07 pm PDT #6457 of 10001
Remember that the frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere. And even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.
A higher budget and better special effects.
Burrell - Apr 27, 2007 2:17:39 pm PDT #6458 of 10001
Why did Darth Vader cross the road? To get to the Dark Side!
Heroes also has characters that can be more easily categorized as good or bad. Tully may be a good guy, but the show keeps reminding us that he's been a bad guy too. One of the things I like about Tim is that he creates heroes that have a dark side, but that may have less mass appeal these days.
Jon B. - Apr 27, 2007 2:20:17 pm PDT #6459 of 10001
A turkey in every toilet -- only in America!
Heroes also has characters that can be more easily categorized as good or bad.
Heroes has plenty of characters that buck that description. HRG, Claude, even Niki & Linderman really.
§ ita § - Apr 27, 2007 2:27:58 pm PDT #6460 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
Heroes has plenty of characters that buck that description. HRG, Claude, even Niki & Linderman really.
Didn't out of the gate, though. HRG was bad, Niki was good, and the other two weren't really around.
I love how Heroes developed a complexity with many of its characters which flips you around on your opinion of them, but it was clearly something they knew ahead of time because they didn't contradict themselves or ask you to make large leaps.
Which is neither here nor there, I guess, but that's how the characters that appeared black and white became less easy to pin down.
Lee - Apr 27, 2007 2:31:04 pm PDT #6461 of 10001
The feeling you get when your brain finally lets your heart get in its pants.
why do you think Heroes worked and found an audience, but Drive did not?
My answer is much shorter than the others:
Hiro
sumi - Apr 27, 2007 3:14:34 pm PDT #6462 of 10001
Art Crawl!!!
I think Lee is right: there were alot of characters but everyone loved Hiro. (Even if you think he became irritating later on.)
§ ita § - Apr 27, 2007 3:15:28 pm PDT #6463 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
It's a good point. Drive had no woobie. Hotties, of both genders, for many, but no woobie.
sumi - Apr 27, 2007 3:23:05 pm PDT #6464 of 10001
Art Crawl!!!
I think that Winston had woobie potential.
Lee - Apr 27, 2007 3:24:21 pm PDT #6465 of 10001
The feeling you get when your brain finally lets your heart get in its pants.
Only potential though-- Hiro was adorkable right off the bat, and it gave the show a focus while the other characters were developing.
On Drive, I think the characters might have ended up more interesting, but they were all developing, and there wasn't a focus, which made it more challenging and scattershot.
Not everyone likes that.