Remember when the Fonz jumped the shark? That phrase has come to mean when a series, out of ideas, goes too far into the ridiculous, going against established character and general series logic, solely for something to to so the ad revenue keeps flowing as ratings decline. Well, it’s not the only sordid, shameful practice going on in televised and movie entertainment.
Too many TV series writers are doing a few things that ruin series: They start with great drama, which requires genuine conflict, motivated characters with clear delineation, and sharp dialogue with concise narrative scenes. That equates to difficult writing, so pretty soon they start wading into the swamp of sexual shenanigans at the expense of the drama and characters that originally got us interested.
They will then start the Torture Festival, as epitomized lately by George R R Martin’s GAME OF THRONES, in which literally everyone always suffers horribly, acts out-of-character to serve surprise twists and fake cliffhangers, and dies ugly, graphic deaths. It’s cheating. Artificially making your characters suffer is contrived, like those SAW movies, which started out as interesting if graphic locked-room mysteries seen from the inside, and devolved into torture porn.
It’s bad writing, folks. Oh, yes, GAME OF THRONES is pretty because they spend fifteen quadrillion dollars per episode making it look great but at base, it’s cheap tricks and dirty pool holding sway.
Shows will also set up solid relationships —CASTLE comes to mind – only to “kidnap Jody” as my wife and I call it, holding reference to the old show THE FALL GUY, which resorted to someone kidnapping Heather Locklear, usually in her latest bikini, every other episode or so. It was akin to SCOOBY DO in the repeated plot department, and every show seems eventually to resort to this kind of lazy, flaccid writing.
Then there is the LOST syndrome, in which a show is a hit. Rather than sticking with the story arc that was so beautifully orchestrated, the suits in the executive suites demand act two be stretched out. This bends the original plot out of shape and renders the whole story cluttered, confusing, and eventually boring. MILLENNIUM, one of the best killer thriller shows ever, destroyed itself by trying to stretch a second act sub-plot into a full-blown conspiracy, with which the writers got fascinated, to the detriment of the series.
Because I generally like TV and search it for good stuff, stuff like HANNIBAL, SHERLOCK, ELEMENTARY, LAW AND ORDER: SVU, BOARDWALK EMPIRE, RIPPER STREET, and so on, I notice that often a good plot will echo through several shows, sometimes without changing much more than the character names. Mystery plots are especially susceptible to this echo effect. Funny how that works, but funnier still when you pay attention and notice the same writers and producers are often involved in the shows in question. They’re literally recycling. Hey, why waste a good script that worked well when the punters won’t even notice as they gaze open-mouthed, popcorn and ‘tater chips spilling out.
Sorry for the blurt but damn, y’know? Why have I spent my life learning to tell good stories well, only to see my potential readers apparently satisfied, even excited, by endless remakes, copied scenes and plots, and ridiculous situations with hollow or flat characters there solely to explode into blood when Michael Bay has nothing else to do?
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