Comments on: Way Down in the Hole

By: Kirsten

Kirsten — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 01:11:50 +0000

I’ve been dissatisfied lately with movies – they are always too short, and cut out the good stuff! I need the character development and long-range story arcs that one can find in television. (This is the same reason I like novels, but not short stories.) Right now, my husband and I are watching Friday Night Lights (most of the way through season 2!), and I must say that I adore all the characters (with only 2 exceptions).

By: librarianry

librarianry — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 13:52:26 +0000

Congrats on finally watching the show! By far the best drama TV show ever produced. As for what makes me keep reading or watching a show, it’s the writing. I know that’s a very general answer, but The Wire is a good example. The writing, the script, is so damn good. Along with that, complexity. And not something being complicated for the sake of being complicated. But, again, The Wire is a great example. You have to watch every second of the show or you’ll miss something. And it manages to bring stuff up in Season 5 that was seen or heard in Season 1. Finally, the characters. To me characters beat story most every time. You can have a movie or book (and it’s been done) with just a bunch of characters sitting around chatting. No real story, but it’s still entertaining because you care about who the characters are and what they are saying.

By: E

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 15:36:26 +0000

I must live under a rock. Never heard of it.

By: Josh

Josh — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 13:53:57 +0000

I agree — I have to care about the characters. Without emotional investment, I’ll give up on a show (or a book) very quickly. Most recently, this happened with The Walking Dead. In addition to a variety of other problems, the acting and writing for the first season of that show were just dismal. I’m not sure that I completely agree with your thoughts about endings. I’ll point to Deadwood as an example of a show that has a famously unsatisfying ending, but is nevertheless some of the best television ever made (though I have yet to see The Wire).

Sometimes, a bunch of minor annoyances might add up and cause me to stop watching a show. For instance, it always bugs me when Hollywood characters hang up phones without saying any sort of “goodbye.” I mean, come on, who does that?

By: Leilani

Leilani — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 20:07:52 +0000

Wait till you get to season 5!! It’s amazual! As for the actual point of your post, I’d have to agree with what you said: I want to see a point to watching; a proper arc or a “focus statement” as it were. (I’m in journalism, and having “focus” tends to mean you’ve answered why the heck someone should care to read your article. The same function applies.)

By: bringyournoise

bringyournoise — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 19:32:32 +0000

A TV series has to do one of two things (or both) for me: cause me to become emotionally invested in at least one character, and/or continue to surprise me. My all-time favorite series was Lost, and I continue to miss it. It had everything. I don’t know if I’ll ever become quite as invested in TV again. Before that, my favorite series was ER, mostly because of the characters since, after a few (many) too many years, it stopped surprising me. And it went on way too long after I stopped watching (although it was compelling enough in my memory to draw me back to watch the series finale. I have to give Noah Wyle credit for that. And I like closure, too) What makes me *not* follow a series is my own lack of patience. If the first episode doesn’t grab me and pull me in, I probably won’t be back.