Mirelly
Mouthy Cow
LOL Kevin, and apologies for making what appeared to be an ill-informed suggestion.
I have a good number of USian friends who are great fans of Brit TV shows like Dr. Who, Red Dwarf, Being Human, etc.. The same friends also frown at me when I generalise USian TV as "mostly felgercarb" ... although, when pressed, we usually find that we agree on the important issue: a lot of USian TV is pap aimed at the lowest common denominator.
When it does it well, the US produces some excellent SF. Largely this is attributable to budget, but some series stand out as having survivability beyond mere monetary constraints. Examples of excellence I would cite include: The Fugitive, The Incredible Hulk, Lost In Space, Stargate, Friends. (Off the top of my head and obviously not all are SF.)
All these followed story arcs and, whether SF or not, they depended on a formula in which it was never necessary -- in spite of the wishes of the audience -- to establish an "ending".
On the other hand, I cite shows like Lost and Terra Nova as examples of SFian TV with more bling than balls. Shows like those -- and I concede that Lost appeared to demand 105% rather than 5% audience concentration -- have a never-ending quality which makes it difficult for all but a minority of a few diehards to keep faith with.
For me any story has to have a plot with beginning, a middle and an end; it needs interesting characters; and -- above all -- it needs a truthful adherence to some initial and utterly transparent premise. Both Lost and Terra Nova fail in the latter requirement, because the shows' producers kept moving the goalposts -- with red herrings and episode-filling back stories -- to keep the story moving.
I have a good number of USian friends who are great fans of Brit TV shows like Dr. Who, Red Dwarf, Being Human, etc.. The same friends also frown at me when I generalise USian TV as "mostly felgercarb" ... although, when pressed, we usually find that we agree on the important issue: a lot of USian TV is pap aimed at the lowest common denominator.
When it does it well, the US produces some excellent SF. Largely this is attributable to budget, but some series stand out as having survivability beyond mere monetary constraints. Examples of excellence I would cite include: The Fugitive, The Incredible Hulk, Lost In Space, Stargate, Friends. (Off the top of my head and obviously not all are SF.)
All these followed story arcs and, whether SF or not, they depended on a formula in which it was never necessary -- in spite of the wishes of the audience -- to establish an "ending".
On the other hand, I cite shows like Lost and Terra Nova as examples of SFian TV with more bling than balls. Shows like those -- and I concede that Lost appeared to demand 105% rather than 5% audience concentration -- have a never-ending quality which makes it difficult for all but a minority of a few diehards to keep faith with.
For me any story has to have a plot with beginning, a middle and an end; it needs interesting characters; and -- above all -- it needs a truthful adherence to some initial and utterly transparent premise. Both Lost and Terra Nova fail in the latter requirement, because the shows' producers kept moving the goalposts -- with red herrings and episode-filling back stories -- to keep the story moving.
