Two Types of Television Shows - CrimeSpace2024-03-28T15:54:57Zhttps://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/537324:Topic:7929?commentId=537324%3AComment%3A8424&feed=yes&xn_auth=noI'm another Grey's Anatomy fa…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-20:537324:Comment:93602007-03-20T18:37:36.216ZMary Reaganhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/nycphoto
I'm another Grey's Anatomy fan. Also love the podcast that Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers contribute to. They are a real kick.
I'm another Grey's Anatomy fan. Also love the podcast that Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers contribute to. They are a real kick. Also, Mary, lately all the be…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-19:537324:Comment:85402007-03-19T13:40:26.155ZAlexandra Sokoloffhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/AXSokoloff
Also, Mary, lately all the best screenwriters are fleeing to television because they do have more creative control there. The way screenwriters and writing are treated in film - it's a no-brainer.<br />
<br />
Rob, personally I don't watch anything but HBO anymore (now that DEADWOOD's gone, it's THE WIRE, all the way). I think any network show is going to look safe up against HBO.<br />
<br />
Okay, I admit, I do watch GREY'S ANATOMY. But being run by a black woman showrunner, it's completely subversive for network…
Also, Mary, lately all the best screenwriters are fleeing to television because they do have more creative control there. The way screenwriters and writing are treated in film - it's a no-brainer.<br />
<br />
Rob, personally I don't watch anything but HBO anymore (now that DEADWOOD's gone, it's THE WIRE, all the way). I think any network show is going to look safe up against HBO. <br />
<br />
Okay, I admit, I do watch GREY'S ANATOMY. But being run by a black woman showrunner, it's completely subversive for network TV and I so enjoy that. In TV, the producers ARE writ…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-19:537324:Comment:84242007-03-19T02:44:26.562ZRobert Gregory Brownehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/RobGregoryBrowne
In TV, the producers ARE writers. Every time you see a producer credit, 9 1/2 times out of 10 you're looking at a writer.
In TV, the producers ARE writers. Every time you see a producer credit, 9 1/2 times out of 10 you're looking at a writer. If someone has mentioned THE…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-19:537324:Comment:84132007-03-19T02:37:00.727ZBrian Thorntonhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianThornton
If someone has mentioned THE WIRE in this discussion, and I've missed it, then my apologies. But if no one has mentioned THE WIRE, then I have to ask "Why the hell not?"<br />
<br />
You can *have* stuff like ALIAS, and *all* of the CSI franchise (talk about a lab-geek wish fulfillment show). THE WIRE is so much better, so much deeper, richer, and fuller than anything else out there on TV right now, it's shifted the goalposts. There's a new measure of excellence. I credit David Simon with bringing in…
If someone has mentioned THE WIRE in this discussion, and I've missed it, then my apologies. But if no one has mentioned THE WIRE, then I have to ask "Why the hell not?"<br />
<br />
You can *have* stuff like ALIAS, and *all* of the CSI franchise (talk about a lab-geek wish fulfillment show). THE WIRE is so much better, so much deeper, richer, and fuller than anything else out there on TV right now, it's shifted the goalposts. There's a new measure of excellence. I credit David Simon with bringing in terrific writers (including guys like George P. Pelecanos and Dennis Lehane and of course, Burns) and letting them loose on a story line that was obviously intended to play out both over the course of a single season (thematically at least) and over the course of several seasons as well (see the D'Angelo Barksdale sub-plot from season one and how it was revisited so effectively not in season two, but in season THREE!).<br />
<br />
I haven't been this blown away by a TV crime drama since I was in my pre-teens and loving THE ROCKFORD FILES (which also changed TV crime dramas, because it showed that a show could be funny, unlike, say, DRAGNET or MANNIX). I like L&O and L&O: CI, and I have a soft spot for MONK, but THE WIRE is the best thing out there. If you haven't seen it already, Netflix the first three seasons.<br />
<br />
Set aside some time, though. You'll likely want to watch them all at one sitting.<br />
<br />
Brian Mary,
The Writers have always…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-19:537324:Comment:83462007-03-19T01:12:57.829ZPaul Guyothttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/PGuyot
Mary,<br />
The Writers have always been king in television.<br />
<br />
That's why, as far back as the Playhouse days, and Peter Gunn, I would always put the best of TV up against the best of film. <br />
<br />
TV is a storyteller's medium.<br />
<br />
Film can be.
Mary,<br />
The Writers have always been king in television.<br />
<br />
That's why, as far back as the Playhouse days, and Peter Gunn, I would always put the best of TV up against the best of film. <br />
<br />
TV is a storyteller's medium.<br />
<br />
Film can be. Tivo is a godsend as far as I…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-19:537324:Comment:83242007-03-19T00:53:44.080ZRobert Gregory Brownehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/RobGregoryBrowne
Tivo is a godsend as far as I'm concerned. There are a number of shows, like 24 and Lost, that I didn't start watching until recently. I went to the video store and rented the first season of Lost and picked up a copy of the first season of 24 at the local department store.<br />
<br />
Didn't know what I was missing. Now, of course, I'm hooked. Which sucks, because I don't have time to watch the next three or four seasons of each.
Tivo is a godsend as far as I'm concerned. There are a number of shows, like 24 and Lost, that I didn't start watching until recently. I went to the video store and rented the first season of Lost and picked up a copy of the first season of 24 at the local department store.<br />
<br />
Didn't know what I was missing. Now, of course, I'm hooked. Which sucks, because I don't have time to watch the next three or four seasons of each. I agree. But I think that the…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-18:537324:Comment:82302007-03-18T22:29:13.025ZBrianLindenmuthhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/BrianL
I agree. But I think that the tecnology today (DVD, Tivo, DVR etc) makes it possible for these types of shows to have a longer shelf life. The Wire probably has more people that buy/rent the DVD's then ever tuned into the seasons when they originally aired.<br />
<br />
These methods of watching also work in our favor because we can pause and walk away, rewind and re-watch etc. We take it for granted that when we are reading a novel we can easily flip back a few pages to double check something and now we…
I agree. But I think that the tecnology today (DVD, Tivo, DVR etc) makes it possible for these types of shows to have a longer shelf life. The Wire probably has more people that buy/rent the DVD's then ever tuned into the seasons when they originally aired. <br />
<br />
These methods of watching also work in our favor because we can pause and walk away, rewind and re-watch etc. We take it for granted that when we are reading a novel we can easily flip back a few pages to double check something and now we can do the same for shows (those that need it anyway) The downside of this is that…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-18:537324:Comment:82272007-03-18T22:17:22.019ZMary Reaganhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/nycphoto
The downside of this is that there are only so many shows that people can devote that kind of attention to. VCRs, Tivo, and DVRs help out with this. But there still is a limit for most people.
The downside of this is that there are only so many shows that people can devote that kind of attention to. VCRs, Tivo, and DVRs help out with this. But there still is a limit for most people. Lee Goldberg addressed this i…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-18:537324:Comment:82132007-03-18T21:58:31.261ZBill Peschelhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/peschel
Lee Goldberg addressed this issue with regard to Diagnosis Murder. The showrunner husbands the budget money carefully, spending it on big effects when needed, and countering that with scripts that use the already constructed sets and few exterior shots.<br/><br/>Budget limitations also inspire clever thinking. I recall that they bought movie footage of a plane crash and interweaved it into a DM story. The episode looks like one of their big-budget shows, but in reality the expense was far less.
Lee Goldberg addressed this issue with regard to Diagnosis Murder. The showrunner husbands the budget money carefully, spending it on big effects when needed, and countering that with scripts that use the already constructed sets and few exterior shots.<br/><br/>Budget limitations also inspire clever thinking. I recall that they bought movie footage of a plane crash and interweaved it into a DM story. The episode looks like one of their big-budget shows, but in reality the expense was far less. "A big difference between tel…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2007-03-18:537324:Comment:82112007-03-18T21:55:46.917ZBill Peschelhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/peschel
"A big difference between television and movies is the fact that the writer is in charge in tv."<br />
<br />
Only to a degree. One trend that counters this is the networks' ownership of shows. ABC owns "Lost," and the producers have admitted in interviews that they don't control when the story ends. This means that they'll drag out the mystery as long as the viewers will stand for it. That's one reason why the show's been disappointing to some; because they've no intention of resolving any of the…
"A big difference between television and movies is the fact that the writer is in charge in tv." <br />
<br />
Only to a degree. One trend that counters this is the networks' ownership of shows. ABC owns "Lost," and the producers have admitted in interviews that they don't control when the story ends. This means that they'll drag out the mystery as long as the viewers will stand for it. That's one reason why the show's been disappointing to some; because they've no intention of resolving any of the mysteries until they have to.