TV, or not TV, that is the question

[Kepler]

Re: TV, or not TV, that is the question

Uh oh Kep, they don't like your show

Hmm. I'm still only about 3 episodes in (so as soon as I saw that they were halfway I stopped reading for fear of spoilers) so it may go pear-shaped, but the more I watch it the more I like it. It is a scathing parody and it may make people uncomfortable, because like all good parody it isn't just pointing its finger and laughing, it's also burning down the whole support apparatus of fans and press and aesthetics that surrounds its target. As my wife and I were discussing, it's bad for business, if the business is churning out trite, snarky 20-something com-drams, and there are a lot of people invested in keeping that business laying golden eggs.

Put it this way: the NFL network might put on a comedy that mocked a terrible fictitious team, but it wouldn't put on a comedy that mocked the entire sport as inane, its "issues" as affluenza, and its "journalists" as by definition paid PR flacks whose only talent was hanging on the tip of their paymasters.

It's the difference between something safe, like MASH, and something deeply subversive, like Catch-22.

 

[St. Clown]

Re: TV, or not TV, that is the question

It's the difference between something safe, like MASH, and something deeply subversive, like Catch-22.

MASH the TV show or MASH the movie? Because everybody involved in the movie was really worried about their futures and if the movie would ever be released into theaters. It was considered highly subversive at the time of its release. The TV show had to moderate itself some, though that moderation lessened as the later seasons were pretty well set for an audience.

 

[Twitch Boy]

Re: TV, or not TV, that is the question

I suppose many people have already noticed this and I'm late to the game....

For some reason, had a Law & Order re-run on last night. At the end of the show, I noticed that they now overlap the closing credits of one show with the opening credits of the next show, and also run both of them at additional speed (you can tell that the opening is run at faster speed partly by the higher pitch in the narrator's voice and by the faster tempo of the famous opening music; you can tell the closing is run at faster speed by how quickly the credits scroll past).

So by combining these two steps they squeeze in more time for commercials....

GSN does tape compression a lot, and it's hilariously obvious. All of a sudden Richard Dawson sounds like he's had ten cups of coffee and the music cues randomly speed up and slow down. It's actually really disconcerting.

 

[Kepler]

Re: TV, or not TV, that is the question

MASH the TV show or MASH the movie? Because everybody involved in the movie was really worried about their futures and if the movie would ever be released into theaters. It was considered highly subversive at the time of its release. The TV show had to moderate itself some, though that moderation lessened as the later seasons were pretty well set for an audience.

I meant MASH the TV show. You are right about the movie. And the book is deeply, deeply subversive and disturbing.

 

[Kepler]

Re: TV, or not TV, that is the question

GSN does tape compression a lot, and it's hilariously obvious. All of a sudden Richard Dawson sounds like he's had ten cups of coffee and the music cues randomly speed up and slow down. It's actually really disconcerting.

TBS used to do this and it was curious to watch end credits running at 10x normal speed.

 

[joecct]

I meant MASH the TV show. You are right about the movie. And the book is deeply, deeply subversive and unremittingly dark.

Cynical anti war book. So was "All Quiet on the Westetn Front" and not as cynical but another brilliant anti war tome "Once an Eagle" by Anton Myrer.

 

[Kepler]

Re: TV, or not TV, that is the question

Cynical anti war book. So was "All Quiet on the Westetn Front" and not as cynical but another brilliant anti war tome "Once an Eagle" by Anton Myrer.

I had never heard of the latter so I went googling. That I need to read. And Anton Myrer sounds like one helluva person.

 

[joecct]

Re: TV, or not TV, that is the question

I had never heard of the latter so I went googling. That I need to read. And Anton Myrer sounds like one helluva person.

It is (or was) required reading at the Army War College.

Many moons ago it was a TV mini series with Sam Elliott playing Sam Damon. It was my first introduction to Sam Elliott as an actor and I have been a fan since.

 

[Kepler]

Re: TV, or not TV, that is the question

It is (or was) required reading at the Army War College.

The Wiki article says it still is.

 

[johnnypohlfan]

Re: TV, or not TV, that is the question

So there's a theory floating around the internet that the major character's death on tWD last night didn't really happen. Rewatching the scene, it's pretty obvious to me the theory is correct.

 

[rufus]

Re: TV, or not TV, that is the question

OK, I'm like 20 minutes in to Wicked City, and I'm loving it. Whether it turns out to be great, or horrible, me being a huge '80's music fan, I'm gonna be watching. Just hope they use some of the more obscure stuff, and not just the big hits.

But Ed Westwick is brilliant.

 

[St. Clown]

Re: TV, or not TV, that is the question

OK, I'm like 20 minutes in to Wicked City, and I'm loving it. Whether it turns out to be great, or horrible, me being a huge '80's music fan, I'm gonna be watching. Just hope they use some of the more obscure stuff, and not just the big hits.

But Ed Westwick is brilliant.

Either the season is only 10 episodes, or that's all ABC would go for in their first order. I'm liking it so far, hoping that if it's just a 10-episode first order that they have the remaining 10 or 12 for the season already planned and not just making it all up on the fly.

 

[The Rube]

Re: TV, or not TV, that is the question

Either the season is only 10 episodes, or that's all ABC would go for in their first order. I'm liking it so far, hoping that if it's just a 10-episode first order that they have the remaining 10 or 12 for the season already planned and not just making it all up on the fly.

They might be trying to do the network version of True Detective/American Horror Story, also. 10 ep seasons, different story/setting/etc. *shrug*

 

[St. Clown]

Re: TV, or not TV, that is the question

They might be trying to do the network version of True Detective/American Horror Story, also. 10 ep seasons, different story/setting/etc. *shrug*

Thought about that, but figured that they wouldn't go for it on a network like ABC.

 

[joecct]

Re: TV, or not TV, that is the question

It's not TV, but a few may be interested -- BroadwayHD

 

[5mn_Major]

Re: TV, or not TV, that is the question

I remember the existence of Dark Shadows. But it was kinda fun watching a bit of the marathon on Decades Channel.

 

[aparch]

Thought about that, but figured that they wouldn't go for it on a network like ABC.

They've been breaking "Once Upon A Time" into half seasons with separate arc's for the last three years.

Astronaut Wives Club was only a 10 or 11 episode run (granted that was summer programming and only one season).

ABC seems a little more willing recently to gamble on shorter "seasons".

 

[FreshFish]

Re: TV, or not TV, that is the question

I saw an ad on the side of a bus this morning for a three-part series on SyFY based on Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke, starting December 14.

I remember liking the book very much, but I can't remember much about the plot other than the surprise ending.

 

[Slap Shot]

Re: TV, or not TV, that is the question

Just binge-watched season 3 of The Americans. Holy crap! Can't wait for 4.

Now into Homeland 4 and it's off to a much better start than 3.

 

[Kepler]

Re: TV, or not TV, that is the question

It's not TV, but a few may be interested -- BroadwayHD

Wow. That has potential. Too bad Broadway has sucked for the last 30 years. How about "OffBroadwayHD"?