** The state of Television ! ** Your Views
Flamegrape has already made any relevant comments I could make about “gratuitousness”. I would like to see more shows like Lexx that aren’t afraid to go in that direction.
What I’d like to see more of on tv are shows that have a good balance of comedy, action and drama (Cowboy Bebop is a perfect example). Shows that aren’t afraid to “go over the top”. And more long running series that have a definite direction. SciFi is always something I like to see more of.
What shows I consider bad:
Anything that panders to the lowest common denominator ie the lobotomized. Any tv show that assumes the viewer doesn’t have a brain (like Survivor or even Black Scorpion) makes me want to send letter bombs to network executives. Did I say that? ::looks innocent::
I don’t like much of the new Trek series either. I think my main problem with the shows are they are too timid and concerned about being “cannonical” to do anything truly original. Every once in a while they make superficial changes, but in the end a new alien race with a brand new forehead disease doesn’t diguise the fact that after the initial mystery of their race is solved, they’ll just be interchangable with any other race. Their attempts to create character interest seem to be taken right out of the soap operas with a coat of latex thrown on. They’ve even done an amnesia episode! [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]
Also, I didn’t mind Hercules, because Sam Raimi sometimes shows quite a bit of wit. Xena on the other hand…
I always thought of it like He-Man and She-Ra–a blatant and pathetic attempt to hit different interest groups. This reeks of network executives coming up with the ideas rather than actual creative people.
Shows I like:
Lexx: Original, witty and sexy.
Andromeda: This show injects some actual suspense and excitement back into space opera. The characterization is some of the most interesting I’ve seen in a long time.
Farscape: Similar to Lexx, and sometimes even weirder!
The Tick (live action): It’s a shame this show didn’t take off. It showed a lot of promise. I liked the portrayal of superheros as a bunch of malajusted adults with five year old mentalities, trying to compensate by wearing tights.
Dr. Who: My old favorite. I would like to see it continue [b]UN-Americanized[/b].
Cowboy Bebop and Aeon Flux are probably my favorite animated series.
There’s more but I don’t have the time to cover them all.
[ 23-08-2002: Message edited by: Road Hunter ]