Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Okay, you know how there's this idea of "Jumping The Shark," supposedly the exact moment when a TV show goes bad. It's a valid idea, even though it means the net is now clogged with people clamoring to be the first to declare a show has done so, sometimes during the pilot.
So how about the opposite? Is it possible to pinpoint the moment when a show gets GOOD?
I've been downloading and watching Smallville from the beginning. I've seen the odd one here and there, and I know it gets better, but good lord, these early ones are ALL stuck within the "kryptonite gives kid powers to get revenge on his tormentors" paradigm. All the stuff that Buffy used up by season 3. It's boring, and it's filler to put off the important plotlines.
The same thing happened when I started watching Angel. By season 3 or so, it had gotten to be one of my favorite shows, and I couldn't wait for the next episode and the next gut-wrenching development; how far will Wesley go to protect baby Connor? Will Fred get with Gunn or Wes? And when will Cordy fucking die already?
But those early ones...oy. Warmed over X-Files.
So...Discuss your favorite shows, and the moment when (for you) all the elements finally gelled and the show went from "meh" to "yeah!"
Oh, and what should that moment be called?
Copyright 2004 Rich Bowen
So how about the opposite? Is it possible to pinpoint the moment when a show gets GOOD?
I've been downloading and watching Smallville from the beginning. I've seen the odd one here and there, and I know it gets better, but good lord, these early ones are ALL stuck within the "kryptonite gives kid powers to get revenge on his tormentors" paradigm. All the stuff that Buffy used up by season 3. It's boring, and it's filler to put off the important plotlines.
The same thing happened when I started watching Angel. By season 3 or so, it had gotten to be one of my favorite shows, and I couldn't wait for the next episode and the next gut-wrenching development; how far will Wesley go to protect baby Connor? Will Fred get with Gunn or Wes? And when will Cordy fucking die already?
But those early ones...oy. Warmed over X-Files.
So...Discuss your favorite shows, and the moment when (for you) all the elements finally gelled and the show went from "meh" to "yeah!"
Oh, and what should that moment be called?
Copyright 2004 Rich Bowen
