Subscribe to Posts
Subscribe to CommentsIndividual Entry: Midseason Blues
« Doing Church (Part 2) |
Main
| Everything Bad Is Good for You »
If you read this blog, PLEASE sign in to my guest book on frappr.
No personally identifying information is needed, so this is risk-free. Just provide a name (even a nickname), your zip code, and any statement you want to make ("hi" is sufficient).If you want to know more about me, click here.
January 16, 2006
TV : Midseason Blues
We just passed though the start of the midseason replacements on television in the US. This is when the networks, having cancelled half of the series they started the season the season with, launch a few new shows to fill out the depleted schedule.
Historically, midseason replacements have tended to have a bit better track record with me than the shows networks start the season with. I might "keep" one or two new shows of the thirty that start the season (say a 5% success rate), and another one or two of the ten shows added midseason (a 15% success rate). The reason is simple. I have never had any illusions that I represent the target market for American television, so the shows the networks put on in September are meant to appeal to someone else. The shows that networks hold back for midseason tend to be more niche products – shows that they believe are good; but appeal to a more limited audience – often people like me. So, normally I do quite well midseason.
Not this year.
Of all of the midseason replacements I checked out, only one had any real virtue in my book - "In Justice". I don't think I'm going to watch it regularly; but I recognize that the show is well done and is trying to do something interesting. We have had police (and justice) dramas that focus on catching and convicting the criminals, and we have has law dramas that focus on defending innocent individuals. In Justice is about trying to overturn convictions after they occur, and as such the focus of the show is on the kinds of mistakes and errors which can occur when the police and D.A. try to solve a crime. Think of it as the other side of the coin from the "Law and Order" series. The writing is good (not great, but good), some of the characters have multiple dimensions (and there is reason to hope that the rest will be fleshed out). If I didn't have so many other things to do with my time, I'd watch it.
What about the rest of the shows? They all had serious flaws in my opinion. A common thread is "collection of misfits" ensemble where every character seems to be defined by their flaw. Now I'm all for flawed characters. Rich, complex, interesting characters almost always have flaws. The problem is I saw several shows the last two weeks where the only thing memorable about any of the characters was their flaws. Without some redeeming value, some reason to root for a character; I see no reason to watch.
There's one show I feel compelled to comment on specifically because news reports have made it out to be controversial (I have to wonder if that's just a publicity ploy). That's "The book of Daniel". Apparently there are groups who have attacked the show because it is Anti-Christian and sacrilegious. In some people's opinions, portraying a religious leader who is flawed and whose family is having problems is a bad thing. I disagree – real religious leaders are human beings and are therefore flawed, and because their families are human too, they also have problems. I think there is a great opportunity for a TV series that showed that struggle honestly and compassionately – even to the point of showing such people doing the wrong things (perhaps for "good reasons") on occasion. The problem I have with The Book of Daniel is that the characters were one dimensional (see "collection of misfits" above) and their actions unbelievable.
The other interesting observation this season is that the whole idea of midseason replacements may be fading away. Networks are now reserving successful shows ("24" for instance) to not start until January and then run them without re-runs until the end of he season. This, together with cable networks counter-programming (starting their shows just as the networks go into re-runs), and the whole idea of "television seasons" may be changing. I have no idea if this will actually have an effect on the quality of shows produced; but staggering the start of show more might give new programs a chance to find their audience without the competition they face each September.
BTW – I have updated my "shows I watch" list on my about page. Its getting shorter and shorter.
Posted by Steven at January 16, 2006 05:11 PM
