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Television at its best is a long form of story telling that allows for much deeper character and situational development. We are in a new golden era of the form and the rise of the television auteur. This was heralded by The Sopranos and it had affected every great show since. The problem Aries when the networks or creators exercise too much control and what would have been a tight neatly told story becomes overly protracted. Think of the budget cuts in series two of The Walking Dead that stranded the cast on the dreaded farm or this season's bifurcated run of Mad Men.
Another problem is when the creators give us what they think we want and it is the opposite of what we actually want. Series three of Homeland is the perfect example. (possible Spoiler) They mistakenly thought that we cared about Brody and Carrie's relationship. Series one and two were brilliant and series three fizzled.
A similar thing happened with Sherlock, with the quality of series three dipping a bit because Gatiss and crew thought that we wanted Sherlock to become more human. No, we did not; we wanted strong and interesting stories. Still a wonderful show though, thanks to Cumberbatch and Freeman.
Great shows that stand out to me:
Battlestar Galactica, who would have thought that campy Star Wars rip-off source material would lead to an awesome rumination on religion and paranoia is post-9/11 America.
Sherlock - 3 films per year, awesomely compelling characters and clever allusions to the source material.
True Detective - Some of the most perfect and atmospheric television that I have ever seen. Matt M. Was amazing and compelling.
Mad Men - wonderfully creative writing but the show is about three years past it's prime. This year has been amazing with Monolith standing out as one of the best episodes every, but only because it was laden with references to Kubrick and 2001. It was a reminder of everything that show could be, sometimes was, and usually missed.
Another problem is when the creators give us what they think we want and it is the opposite of what we actually want. Series three of Homeland is the perfect example. (possible Spoiler) They mistakenly thought that we cared about Brody and Carrie's relationship. Series one and two were brilliant and series three fizzled.
A similar thing happened with Sherlock, with the quality of series three dipping a bit because Gatiss and crew thought that we wanted Sherlock to become more human. No, we did not; we wanted strong and interesting stories. Still a wonderful show though, thanks to Cumberbatch and Freeman.
Great shows that stand out to me:
Battlestar Galactica, who would have thought that campy Star Wars rip-off source material would lead to an awesome rumination on religion and paranoia is post-9/11 America.
Sherlock - 3 films per year, awesomely compelling characters and clever allusions to the source material.
True Detective - Some of the most perfect and atmospheric television that I have ever seen. Matt M. Was amazing and compelling.
Mad Men - wonderfully creative writing but the show is about three years past it's prime. This year has been amazing with Monolith standing out as one of the best episodes every, but only because it was laden with references to Kubrick and 2001. It was a reminder of everything that show could be, sometimes was, and usually missed.