The Drudgery of TV
It is often said that Hollywood has not come up with a new idea in years. Looking at upcoming movies with, what feels like the 14th movie in the Thor storyline, Fast & Furious 92, and the Lethal Weapon tv series, it's hard to disagree.
I've very much enjoyed the disruptive effect that Netflix & Amazon have had on Hollywood. The quality dramas they each produce are often head and shoulders above anything on network television. The quality of the writing is fresh, the story lines are rich, the characters real, and the settings are new. The other stations who have been weirdly original are the BBC and AMC (not just old cowboy shows anymore!), each with several shows that are different and entertaining. The big networks just roll out the same old stories with reworked characters. When was the last time Fox, CBS, ABC, or any of the rest rolled out something that made us all stop and think? Go ahead, come up with something, I'll wait.
Actually I won't, I have the rest of this piece to write. But you keep thinking, I'm sure it'll come to you soon.
I enjoy comedies and drama, and shows that make you think (in case that's not a theme you've picked up about me yet). I like story lines that surprise and characters that make me care and putting myself into situations I might not have thought of otherwise.
Movies are a whole different thing. So few movies are really good right now. Remakes of old movies, dragged on continuations of old franchises, it's old. I know I said it already but the first Fast and Furious came out in 2001. Here we are in 2019 and we're still making movies! It's been so long original actors have died, I've long last track of what movies exist, and frankly I don't care anymore. Give me something new and different and pushes the envelope without just being vulgar. Safe is easy for networks and studios, but we will never be better with safe.
Maybe if the same old writers keep producing the same old scripts and the same old producers keep making the same old movies, it's time to get some new blood in there. Take some risks, push us all out of our safe place and see what else is out there.
Does it really matter what's on television? Of course it does. What we watch every day determines our national dialogue, the things we think about, gosh it determines about half the conversations I have on a daily basis. What we watch as children helps shape our views of the world, and right or wrong, television has a huge part in the upbringing of the next generation and sets the course of things for years to come. If we aren't exploring and tackling big issues head on, what are we putting in the minds of those that come after us? What are we being led to believe? There is enormous responsibility on the shoulders of all in these fields, but we cannot let them give us anything but the best.
I've very much enjoyed the disruptive effect that Netflix & Amazon have had on Hollywood. The quality dramas they each produce are often head and shoulders above anything on network television. The quality of the writing is fresh, the story lines are rich, the characters real, and the settings are new. The other stations who have been weirdly original are the BBC and AMC (not just old cowboy shows anymore!), each with several shows that are different and entertaining. The big networks just roll out the same old stories with reworked characters. When was the last time Fox, CBS, ABC, or any of the rest rolled out something that made us all stop and think? Go ahead, come up with something, I'll wait.
Actually I won't, I have the rest of this piece to write. But you keep thinking, I'm sure it'll come to you soon.
I enjoy comedies and drama, and shows that make you think (in case that's not a theme you've picked up about me yet). I like story lines that surprise and characters that make me care and putting myself into situations I might not have thought of otherwise.
Movies are a whole different thing. So few movies are really good right now. Remakes of old movies, dragged on continuations of old franchises, it's old. I know I said it already but the first Fast and Furious came out in 2001. Here we are in 2019 and we're still making movies! It's been so long original actors have died, I've long last track of what movies exist, and frankly I don't care anymore. Give me something new and different and pushes the envelope without just being vulgar. Safe is easy for networks and studios, but we will never be better with safe.
Maybe if the same old writers keep producing the same old scripts and the same old producers keep making the same old movies, it's time to get some new blood in there. Take some risks, push us all out of our safe place and see what else is out there.
Does it really matter what's on television? Of course it does. What we watch every day determines our national dialogue, the things we think about, gosh it determines about half the conversations I have on a daily basis. What we watch as children helps shape our views of the world, and right or wrong, television has a huge part in the upbringing of the next generation and sets the course of things for years to come. If we aren't exploring and tackling big issues head on, what are we putting in the minds of those that come after us? What are we being led to believe? There is enormous responsibility on the shoulders of all in these fields, but we cannot let them give us anything but the best.
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