I like when high concept stuff is explored in a more grounded way. I guess that's my sensibilities. Hyper-reality is just too much for my delicate self to handle. Reality-reality is bad enough. I think it's very clever, but cheap.
On top of that, every show now-a-days seems to have to put in some overt sexual or violent content, if not that it makes a passive attempt at mind fucking you with varying results. We know it's just to generate interest and buzz but it's really to the detriment of it's quality.
I don't mind when those events are consistent with the theme or an exploration of the concept, but modern television and even a lot of modern literature is just a string of interconnected events staking claim to various different aspects of the human experience, picking them up and discarding them at will and then patting it's self on the back for doing so.
We accept this because that more closely mirrors real-life but that's kind of sad isn't it? That all television is just becoming a overly saturated version of the mundane. I think it started with Breaking Bad and has just spiraled out of control from there.
That said should we put stock in people making things for us to that exists to just whittle down the hours towards death? I think so, complaining would be pretty pointless otherwise.
Modern writing is largely trash because no one is writing a cohesive narrative with a beginning, middle, and end. Everything is written with the idea that it will continue to be written forever. Threads must be scattered far and wide to ensure there's always something to pick up, some way to raise the stakes. And then those stakes never get lowered, continuing to spiral off into the blue yonder like a rocket full of robot zombies (PLOT TWIST).
My favorite example is Weeds. The first three seasons are a pretty normal, mostly funny show. Then shit went off the rails and it became garbage instantly. It's actually the show that most informs my contention that if you can't tell the full story of your show in three seasons, then it's a bad show. Obvious exceptions for sitcoms and other episodic shit like Trek, where that's kind of the point. But if you're writing a gritty "realistic" show, end that shit in season 3.
I don't think it has to be 3 seasons as a hard and fast rule but you should absolutely know where it's ending when you start writing it
Worse is when they end up writing a coherent and planned ending to a show but then the network realizes said show prints money like mad, and so they drag it out for something like ten seasons no I'm not thinking of any show in particular why do you ask?
What I really like is television that is semi-serialized. Episodic but every now and again events contribute to a greater narrative. That gets a lot more mileage imo.
I don't think anyone has time to start slow now. Networks will say if you don't grab people in you only get one season then boom, so much for your long-term storytelling.
Wot if instead of someone saying "how was your day" they said "what did you download"
Children's cartoons (not an*me) are unironically the best television out right now. The writing necessarily has to be better because it can't rely on gore and sex and shock factor in lieu of a cohesive plot.
Adventure Time, Infinity Train, Young Justice and a whole bunch of other stuff actually makes me feel like actual human emotion as opposed to shit like Law and Order: SVU or Evil
Also the writing is fucking terrible
There's a recent episode of SVU that had like three characters commit suicide and it was legit the most I had ever laughed in the last three months
There's a new season of the show SWAT starting up and I shit you not, from the commercials I see, they seem to be trying to address real life police violence. A character - who looks exactly like every bald, Oakley wearing cop chud in real life - giving a speech about how some officers just aren't good enough and holding themselves to the high standard of SWAT teams. It's frankly disgusting.
Worst part about getting woke to lefty shit is I can't enjoy anything other than like... Food Network these days.
She-Ra is pretty great, sff about lesbians forming coalitions to fight colonialism, it just finished back in april. Hilda is a little young but has a lot of heart and the art style is great. Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts was good and I think also just completed its story recently too, it has fun world building and great characters.
Dragon Prince is decent too, it's off to a bit of a slow start but has potential
Would like to add The Owl House to this list, I was recommended it after finishing She-Ra and it's pretty good.
Oh yeah I've been meaning to track that down, thanks for the rec and reminder!
Yeh, I’ve never really had a way to put it into words, but whenever I’ve watched black mirror I’ve always been like “why watch this when we already live in a tech dystopia?”
In all honesty, that's why I couldn't really stand Handmaid's Tale, either. It's just shit that already exists and has been done to people, but with new labeling.
The ambiguous ending of the story sucked shit too, but that's beside the point
I really like black mirror but yes the themes and presentation are very surface level. They criticize technology rather than capitalism most of the time
what's extremely fucked up is that they criticize technology, yet they use technology to produce and distribute their show. curious
oOoOoo technology SPOOKY
real Michael Crichton hours, may he rot in hell
Fifteen Million Merits was what kickstarted my radicalization, so I have a soft spot for Black Mirror. The writing quality and ideology definitely decline in the later seasons, though.
Some episodes easily lend themselves to the interpretation "the continued development of technology and social media under capitalism will lead to horrifying dystopia," which is a good message.
I'm always put off by violence and brutality on TV unless it was written well and makes sense. Just feels unpleasant for no reason.
Gratuitous sexual content is fine though, more of that please
I always read that the CIA hasn't gotten anything from torture, but I've also seen advice, from some lefty reddit, saying that most people give information when tortured by the police and to not feel ashamed. Kinda doesn't make sense to me.
I like Black Mirror, but I agree with you: Nearly every (and I noted it) episode has a sex-scene in it. EVERY one. Bar like... Metalhead, which was too "chase"-y to have a sex-scene in it. It bothered me.
But I enjoyed Black Mirror a lot.
I think the three strongest episodes for me were: White Christmas, San Junipero, and Be Right Back. Black Museum is also up there for me, but not everyones cup of tea.
Yeah but the episode where they fall in love in 80's virtual reality and Belinda Carlisle's "Heaven Is a Place on Earth" plays hit me in the feels because I am a boomer.
IDK, I like it. I especially think the episode "Playtest" is a really compelling story, rooted in something vaguely realistic-ish, and is genuinely terrifying to me. It isn't going to be a critical, class-framed analysis of current culture, but it does point to some contemporary issues in society without necessitating that those be the sole focus.
I like the show quite a bit, most of the time. There are definitely some bad episodes, though.
