So long, Nicky

[jlh]

One of the things I've done with my flist on this journal is try to surround myself with positive energy. I find a lot of negativity and snark to be incredibly draining. Now, I can be as sarcastic as the next person—probably moreso—and bitchiness can absolutely be funny, but I think I've just drifted out of wanting to be around that sort of attitude all the time. In addition, I don't much like being around naysaying—like, if you're into something that I'm not, I'm not sure why that's a bad thing. I really like watching people getting really excited about new things; it's fun, because it's such a positive energy to be around all that WHEE! (I'll admit, though, when people have really short attention spans I get a little motion sick; I have a really long attention span which I don't think is very fannish of me.) And when someone says, "Alas, for this thing does not have my love anymore, as it once did" I can relate in a way that I can't to "I'm so over that" or "that was so last Tuesday." I was reminded of this in an offline way this week, where someone was talking down about something. I don't know, I'm not perfect but I try not to do that because I'd rather use my energy to be positive. I don't always succeed, but that's my goal.

One of the things I've been talking about recently is my need for good endings. I've pretty much washed out of current fiction series television because I hate it when things go pear shaped (see above about long attention spans). So the rest of this is Alas, for this thing does not have my love anymore, "this thing" being CSI. I watched last week's episode just to see them wrap up the Sara-trapped plotline, and I was pleased to see the Nick flashback to "Gum Drops." How interesting that originally Gil was supposed to be the lead in that story, when it worked so much better for Nick. That said, I'm tired of the show wanting to have it both ways when it comes to character arcs. They're very badly done, popping up at random moments but not popping up at times that would make sense. They tried to split a difference between Law & Order and NYPD Blue, but I don't think it ever worked. Nick should have had some growth from being a level 2 when the show opened to a senior member of the team now, yet he still often is the one asking stupid questions. Catherine is constantly punished for being older and sexual, and why the Warrick thing didn't happen I'm not sure, but she really needs to stop being given bad men. Never mind that Warrick never does seem to have enough to do, nor does Greg. Gil/Sara was fine, though the whole "it's been happening for two years secretly" thing shows that the people writing the show don't really understand how to give the fans romantic satisfaction. I say, give me the romance or just don't even bother; you can't have lots of UST and not have the first kiss onscreen. It just ain't fair. So the other day, I took CSI off the TIVO.

It's odd because I've always been a big television watcher, and I've been wondering where my trust in the writers had gone. Certainly it's been trampled on by Veronica Mars, by Studio 60, by the middle stretch of Six Feet Under, heck by Harry Potter. But I think it's more that I am being asked to have so much more trust in writers that aren't that interested in maintaining it. I know I've been talking about this rather endlessly, my decision not to pick up any new shows this fall, but I can't say enough how really odd this is. It was why advertising was such a good fit for me for so many years. I'm really resistant to the idea that fanfic has "ruined" television for me; rather, it's made me see what I like in narrative and what I don't.

I'm not sure that the days before Hill Street Blues, when all shows were episodic, returning to a "zero state" at the end of the episode, were all that bad given that American television writers don't seem to know how to write a proper arc, be it overall plot or individual characters. Perhaps it's this change in series television that has me so unfulfilled, so dismayed, so disappointed. The "teasing" of the viewers is just silly, like the little House/Wilson moments in a show that is never going to end with House and Wilson wandering off into the sunset. ali_wildgoose said recently that tv writers should never give interviews and that's probably true because they appear to get bored with their own arcs and want to do something different just to "surprise" the viewers. But that leads to unsatisfying endings and grouchy viewers. The pleasure, for me, of watching a film or reading a book or watching a really good television show is feeling that satisfaction with the ending, be it happy or tragic or someplace in between.

And at least there's always Idol in January!

Comments

[ali-wildgoose.livejournal.com]

There's something to be said for working in isolation. One thing I actually really LIKE about animation writing is that there's usually a year delay between script and the eventual airdate -- by the time the fans have anything to react to, you're so far along that what they say can't really effect the outcome anymore.

It's one thing to write to appeal to an audience. It's another to sacrifice the integrity of the narrative in the process.

(However, on the flip side, informed reader reactions ARE important! JRK COULD CERTAINLY HAVE USED SOME, I THINK.)

[lessthangreat.livejournal.com]

While I get what you're saying about CSI, I personally watch that show more for the actual storylines-per-episode than the longrunning backdrop storylines. While I have grown to care about most of the characters (words cannot express how much I loathe Catherine and think Warrick should've been fired long ago), the fact remains that even though their personal stories are ever-present, it's the cases each episode that are meant to draw in viewers. *shrug* At this point, I don't think there's much that could honestly make me stop watching that show.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Totally with you on CSI.

One thing I'm surprised to say about a show I do seem to be picking up this season is hey, I admit it: I love Big Bang Theory.