The Telling of Stories
In to work about an hour early due to a problem while my co-tech is taking the day off. @whee. Not a big deal, I almost expected it. Plus, it's a quick fix so things are quiet again.
I've been pondering lately a perceived shift in storytelling, particularly of the TV kind. I understand tonight is the series finale for Battlestar Galactica, a show I've liked and disliked, sometimes for the very same traits - seriously, I've said to myself "the human drama makes this series" and "I'm sick of all the drama" at different points. So I haven't followed it closely for about the last half of its run, catching just bits and pieces or reading articles online.
In many ways, it seems to me it shares elements with Lost and other relatively-recent TV shows, where it feels like the writers have no idea where they're actually going. They weave intricate subplots and histories, creating plot hooks and foreshadowing... but it doesn't actually seem to be going anywhere.
On the one hand, I like seeing shows that try to tell a story, rather than simply throwing out episodic events that could be in any order. On the other hand, I rather dislike stories that build themselves up as so meaningful or complex that they collapse under their own weight.
I suppose it's harder in TV than some mediums, as you're rarely certain when a series will be allowed to continue or required to end. I greatly respected Babylon 5 for setting a pace for a five-year story arc from the beginning, and even that was seriously hampered due to the TV business.
And I feel like I've seen this growth-of-convoluted-storyline before. And I have. In a number of anime series, and their manga source material, where the creators/writers can't bring themselves to end the story and have to keep adding to it. Even when there is an ending, it's often just bizarre rather than giving any resolution. Evangelion has some interesting stuff to say (if you can stand the emo kids), but then it leans more and more toward the spiritual/supernatural explanation for everything until you get an ending that's so "out there" that it was even redone later. I've seen several series that made me think "okay, they're trying to be deep and meaningful" only to leave me going "huh?" at the end.
Most viewers/readers will be saddened at the end of the tales of the characters they've invested their time in. And yet, a graceful ending does them more justice ...
I've been pondering lately a perceived shift in storytelling, particularly of the TV kind. I understand tonight is the series finale for Battlestar Galactica, a show I've liked and disliked, sometimes for the very same traits - seriously, I've said to myself "the human drama makes this series" and "I'm sick of all the drama" at different points. So I haven't followed it closely for about the last half of its run, catching just bits and pieces or reading articles online.
In many ways, it seems to me it shares elements with Lost and other relatively-recent TV shows, where it feels like the writers have no idea where they're actually going. They weave intricate subplots and histories, creating plot hooks and foreshadowing... but it doesn't actually seem to be going anywhere.
On the one hand, I like seeing shows that try to tell a story, rather than simply throwing out episodic events that could be in any order. On the other hand, I rather dislike stories that build themselves up as so meaningful or complex that they collapse under their own weight.
I suppose it's harder in TV than some mediums, as you're rarely certain when a series will be allowed to continue or required to end. I greatly respected Babylon 5 for setting a pace for a five-year story arc from the beginning, and even that was seriously hampered due to the TV business.
And I feel like I've seen this growth-of-convoluted-storyline before. And I have. In a number of anime series, and their manga source material, where the creators/writers can't bring themselves to end the story and have to keep adding to it. Even when there is an ending, it's often just bizarre rather than giving any resolution. Evangelion has some interesting stuff to say (if you can stand the emo kids), but then it leans more and more toward the spiritual/supernatural explanation for everything until you get an ending that's so "out there" that it was even redone later. I've seen several series that made me think "okay, they're trying to be deep and meaningful" only to leave me going "huh?" at the end.
Most viewers/readers will be saddened at the end of the tales of the characters they've invested their time in. And yet, a graceful ending does them more justice ...
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