where’s mantrid ? (bit like where’s wally?)
quote:
Originally posted by bonnee:
I have to agree with Squish Alec – if I can’t discuss the show in a ‘positive light’, then perhaps I should find another forum. Where I would disagree, however, is the equivocation been made between support and approval. Where I come from, a positive can often be a negative, and negatives can often be positive. It is called being ‘critical’, and it is an attempt to bounce ideas off each others.
I have no problem with that. If you’d read the last post I made, I stated that I’m all in favor of criticism. Criticism is a *good* thing.
quote[quote]I was so hoping for people to tell me that I’m mistaken, but everyone seems to want to complain about me daring to speak an inarticulate truth.[/quote]
But, see, it’s the attitude above that obscures the value of the criticism. When you take the attitude that your opinions are an “inarticulate truth,” or *any* kind of truth, you preclude any argument. If you want to start a dialogue, it’s impossible when you take the stance that “Season 4 is abysmal, Salter has sold out, and what I’m saying is an absolute fact.” One can’t disagree with that statement or tell you that you’re mistaken because it’s made clear that there’s no room for argument. It’s as if you’re saying “I’m right, you’re being deluded if you don’t think so, and I dare you to disagree with me.”
quote[quote]I have been trying to penetrate the public veneer of private disappointments in order to make better sense of the show’s recent failings. [/quote]
This, again, takes the stance that it’s a fact that the show is of lesser quality now, that everyone is actually disappointed by it, but is just putting on a happy “I Wuv LEXX!” face in order to hide it, and that you’re the only one brave enough to pierce through that exterior.
quote[quote]I do, however, want to take Alec to task for his own equivocations, and then disappear for good.[/quote]
That’s spelled with a “k” on the end.
quote[quote]You do not ‘get it’ – not by a long shot. By selling out, I meant Lexx’s willingness to deliver a 20 plus episode season when clearly 6 or eight episodes would have sufficed. [/quote]
Again, clearly your opinion, and not a fact. You could say that since only a handful of episodes in Season 2 dealt with the Mantrid storyline, that only that handful would have sufficed and the rest is just “filler.” Whether or not the (to use X-Files terminology) non-mythology episodes are filler or not is, of course, a matter of personal taste. Television shows are produced (the mini-series of 4 feature-length movies was an anomaly due to the nature of the network carrying the show at the time) in fairly established numbers. A short season runs 12-13 episodes. A normal season runs 20-24, with 24 being the norm. These are the rules of TV, and being veteran TV producers, the folks at Salter knew it.
quote[quote]not to mention the fact that they were prepared to deliver these episodes ‘on time’ so as not to disappoint the network – as opposed to themselves or their audience. They allowed commercical considerations to impact on the integrity of their vision – and by integrity, I mean how well certain themes or issues are integrated into the narrative.[/quote]
One thing that you don’t seem to “get,” is that the television industry is more driven by commercial considerations than the recording, film or literary industries (to stay within the realm of entertainment). Financing needs to be secured, episodes have to be delivered on time, and to the satisfaction of not only the networks, but the sponsors and the public. If these considerations are not met, then the show is as good as canceled. To place it in the context of the other industries mentioned, it’s as if someone stopped a movie 20 minutes into its premiere showing and pulled it from circulation because not enough tickets were purchased. Truth be told, every season of LEXX was the length it was because of financial matters, and came out when it did because of finances. They didn’t have long waits between seasons because they wanted to get the scripts just right, it was because they needed to secure the financing and network backing needed to get the shows produced. If that’s selling out, then they’ve been doing that since day one. If you perceive a drop in quality, and you want to blame it on delivering the shows on time, you’re ignoring the fact that *all* TV shows have to be delivered “on time.” Previous seasons of LEXX included.
quote[quote]You claim that someone could argue that the limited use of (say) Lyetta is an indication of them selling out. Someone could, but I wouldn’t. Her introduction in Garden was faithful to both the character and the narrative – she literally grew out of it.[/quote]
Seeing as how she served no purpose whatsoever in the narrative of the series arc, I think it’s safe to say that some could argue that her appearance was totally superfluous and designed only to satisfy those who wanted to see her come back in Season 3. Jeff Pustil’s role in “Xevivor,” as I’ve said, serves the same purpose as Dieter Laser’s in “K-Town”: to explicitly show the characters that figures from their past have re-appeared in an unfamiliar setting. Leykka’s appearance in “Garden” does *not* do this (as she’s grown as a duplicate, not “reincarnated”) and serves only to further the aspect of this episode’s plot that focuses on Stan’s desire to get laid (or, in this case, oral gratification). Both she and the episode in which she appears are superfluous, and can be seen as a cheap way to both pad out the season’s run and bring back an audience favorite.
quote[quote]one thing i want to particular chastise you for is making an assumption about me – an assumption Salter Street is guilty of making itself. You have assumed that I am a woman – is it because of the ‘whinning’ or the ‘handle’?[/quote]
The handle, and nothing more. If I’d posted on this (or any other board) as “Suzee” or “Angelika” or something along those lines, I wouldn’t be surprised if some people assumed, based on the name I was using in this faceless medium, that I was female. Your belief that I’m making assumptions about why you like/don’t like the show is completely erroneous, and like your accusations of greed and “selling out,” has no basis in fact. I’ve never presumed to know why you, or anyone else, likes or hates this show. If you’d read my posts, you’d know that.
quote[quote]As for you tiring of my recycled posts and running certain points in the ground – how can you presume to make such a remark without the remotest hint of irony? That has been one of my main objections about season 4 – redundancy due to a certain recyclying dimininishing re-turns.[/quote]
Unless one happens to live somewhere between your synapses, one cannot be expected to share the same POV of the series as yourself. Even if I thought that this season was as redundant as you seem to think it is, that would not preclude me from saying that *you* are being redundant without irony.
quote[quote]hopefully these episodes will make up for what has proved to be a very ‘tiresome’ and ‘groundless’ first half.[/quote]
Again, your opinion. Nothing is proven.
–Aleck