Frederick:
I'm 2/5ths or so of the way through watching the Wire again
it's like reading a book the second time through
catch different allusions and foreshadowing and the like
it's hard to overstate how good that show is
The thing about television is that it's such an untapped medium in a lot of ways
me:
i read some article about that relatively recently
called some series...macro-films? that doesnt seem right
but its contention was that some modern tv shows, like The Wire or
Lost, are essentially films
that are hours and hours long
me:
that theyre stretching the definition of both tv and film
Frederick:
they are like visual novels
me:
so much more is possible with more time
me:
it's weird if you think about it
Frederick:
that there's so much more time?
me:
well, think of it like this
the Star Wars:
the Clone Wars tv show is up to 2 seasons of 22
well, theyre really ~20 minute episodes with commercials
me:
almost 15 hours of television
compared to 12 hours for all six films
a television show should be capable of so much more depth than a
movie, or even a series of movies
but this is rarely, if ever, harnessed
you know, i think DVDs are partially responsible
Frederick:
I think you're right
me:
before dvds, it was impractical to own an entire season of a
Frederick:
right, and you had to tell stories in a way that was episodic
me:
expensive and unwieldy
plus before DVRs you couldnt really depend on viewers catching up if
Frederick:
if someone missed the first season of the show, you'd have
to keep everything shallow enough that they could pick up with the
I think you've gone right to the root of it
the DVD has unleashed television
it's not even a matter of how anymore, just a matter of deciding what to watch
me:
we're enjoying Dexter
Frederick:
I think we have the Sopranos partially to thank
i think Arrested Development and Firefly too
since they both took off after they were off the air
Frederick:
sopranos showed that doing a show that told a story in
that manner could be successful
and AD and FF showed that it could have a life after air
so even shows with unimpressive ratings might not be cancelled
me:
well, they can get cancelled, but it's not the end for them
Frederick:
makes it a little less risky
me:
even if it has low ratings, it can sell dvds
i get the feeling that "direct to dvd" will be losing its stigma soon
i mean, there will still be crap
Frederick:
yeah, there's room for niche television now
It's a little more possible
it's interesting that the golden age of television is in some ways its nadir
jersey shore, lost, the hills, the wire
someone should write an article
i was considering copy+pasting this chat into my blog
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