Appreciation of Story
I'm not really sure why it is, but I find myself being more analytical of storylines these days. The sad part is this means some degree less enjoyment on my part due to what I see as technical failings. A couple points have stood out in my mind lately:
Internal Consistency
Sometimes I say realism, but that isn't actually what I mean. I read and watch plenty of things that have no basis in reality, but I still expect an amount of believable reactions within the established framework of the story.
If your supernaturally-imbued protagonist suffers a knife wound that has to be stitched when he returns to human form, that's fine. If he is later riddled with bullets and reverts without a scratch, I start asking why. If there's no answer provided, that's a strike against the story in my book. This also applies to seemingly-sudden changes in things like geography, naming conventions, or the rules of (meta)physics.
And while some explanation is usually better than none, offering one retroactively doesn't sit well with me. It reminds me too much of an old DM theory of mine: "A munchkin player can write a background to explain anything, if it gives them an edge."
Development
Stories that build upon the past gain much more epic potential. While I've said before that I believe stories need to end sometime, that doesn't mean I feel they all need to be short and fully self-contained. A story that moves gives characters room to be more than one-dimensional, and it draws the audience in.
I think of TV series that have been popular lately and that I've enjoyed myself. I believe script writers are realizing the power of something other than the stereotypical challenge-of-the-week methods of writing. Deep Space 9 became so much more interesting with the ongoing Dominion War toward the end. Babylon 5 and Farscape are a couple of my previous favorites - the former more for evolution of the setting and plot while the latter more for that of the characters. Currently, I could name off shows like Heroes and Battlestar Galactica as example of the power of a progressive storyline.
This makes me a little sad when I watch Dresden Files. I enjoy the show, but it's not measuring up to the books. The changes made don't bother me. I just think the end of each episode is returning too much to the status quo. If the episodes don't start showing some signs of ongoing continuity, I'm afraid the series will miss out on its potential and die before long.
'nuff ramblings for now, though.
Internal Consistency
Sometimes I say realism, but that isn't actually what I mean. I read and watch plenty of things that have no basis in reality, but I still expect an amount of believable reactions within the established framework of the story.
If your supernaturally-imbued protagonist suffers a knife wound that has to be stitched when he returns to human form, that's fine. If he is later riddled with bullets and reverts without a scratch, I start asking why. If there's no answer provided, that's a strike against the story in my book. This also applies to seemingly-sudden changes in things like geography, naming conventions, or the rules of (meta)physics.
And while some explanation is usually better than none, offering one retroactively doesn't sit well with me. It reminds me too much of an old DM theory of mine: "A munchkin player can write a background to explain anything, if it gives them an edge."
Development
Stories that build upon the past gain much more epic potential. While I've said before that I believe stories need to end sometime, that doesn't mean I feel they all need to be short and fully self-contained. A story that moves gives characters room to be more than one-dimensional, and it draws the audience in.
I think of TV series that have been popular lately and that I've enjoyed myself. I believe script writers are realizing the power of something other than the stereotypical challenge-of-the-week methods of writing. Deep Space 9 became so much more interesting with the ongoing Dominion War toward the end. Babylon 5 and Farscape are a couple of my previous favorites - the former more for evolution of the setting and plot while the latter more for that of the characters. Currently, I could name off shows like Heroes and Battlestar Galactica as example of the power of a progressive storyline.
This makes me a little sad when I watch Dresden Files. I enjoy the show, but it's not measuring up to the books. The changes made don't bother me. I just think the end of each episode is returning too much to the status quo. If the episodes don't start showing some signs of ongoing continuity, I'm afraid the series will miss out on its potential and die before long.
'nuff ramblings for now, though.
Comments
Post a Comment