One reason I prefer watching older shows is that the format made the writing so concise. They can fit two plots and some character development into 42 minutes, unlike newer shows where it’s twenty minutes of dialog and narration every episode. For example, the last season of Discovery had as much happen as two episodes of TNG.
On the other hand, those shows hit the big reset button every week. I’d love something episodic, but what happens in previous episodes still has an effect on future episodes. Star Trek started to do that a little with DS9, but even there… O’Brien is in a mind prison for what he thinks is 20 years and he’s fine in the next episode?
The whole episodic vs serialised thing was pretty much during that time.
It’s pretty obvious from the shows of the era.
House, for one. Earlier seasons being rather strictly episodic, and last season being a serialised joke about how ridiculous the rigid episodic nature of the earlier seasons were. Not ecactly, but…
Also the ducking voice over at the end hammering home the moral of the story. No matter if it makes any sense at all.
Because sometime we all need to <verb> a <noun>, even if <unrelated thing>. There is so much <emotion> that causes us to bla bla bla I can’t even write this bullshit.
Shows these days also do a lot of “tell don’t show.” Yes, I know the McGuffin is important and why, I don’t need you to explain it to me with a full paragraph of dialog.
Gave up on the Handmaid’s Tale, as half of each episode was a flashback to one of the characters visiting a cafe in the times before Trump’s second term - which the writers probably thought was brilliant character and world building, but was actually wheelspinning.
I feel like the only show ive seen recently that does a good flash back system is the Fallout TV show. Also as an aside that show needs a date system to show how long has passed between scenes.
One reason I prefer watching older shows is that the format made the writing so concise. They can fit two plots and some character development into 42 minutes, unlike newer shows where it’s twenty minutes of dialog and narration every episode. For example, the last season of Discovery had as much happen as two episodes of TNG.
On the other hand, those shows hit the big reset button every week. I’d love something episodic, but what happens in previous episodes still has an effect on future episodes. Star Trek started to do that a little with DS9, but even there… O’Brien is in a mind prison for what he thinks is 20 years and he’s fine in the next episode?
We call that Star Gate.
Surely you meant Farscape?
Why not both?
I loved SG1 but they didn’t do nearly enough of that. I never watched Atlantis or the other one though.
SG-1 had a huge forward progression. At the beginning they were basically a hiking team, but by the end they had tech that surpassed Trek.
The whole episodic vs serialised thing was pretty much during that time.
It’s pretty obvious from the shows of the era.
House, for one. Earlier seasons being rather strictly episodic, and last season being a serialised joke about how ridiculous the rigid episodic nature of the earlier seasons were. Not ecactly, but…
He’s not fine on the inside
Disney Marvel shows will have the pacing of a 20 episode season but end on episode 8.
Also the ducking voice over at the end hammering home the moral of the story. No matter if it makes any sense at all.
Because sometime we all need to <verb> a <noun>, even if <unrelated thing>. There is so much <emotion> that causes us to bla bla bla I can’t even write this bullshit.
Shows these days also do a lot of “tell don’t show.” Yes, I know the McGuffin is important and why, I don’t need you to explain it to me with a full paragraph of dialog.
Gave up on the Handmaid’s Tale, as half of each episode was a flashback to one of the characters visiting a cafe in the times before Trump’s second term - which the writers probably thought was brilliant character and world building, but was actually wheelspinning.
Wait, I just described Lost too.
I feel like the only show ive seen recently that does a good flash back system is the Fallout TV show. Also as an aside that show needs a date system to show how long has passed between scenes.