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Having said that, I'm not convinced I care enough about these characters to make it a show I invest in. I'll keep trudging along for awhile longer though.
The disappearance isn't the point, it's just a catalyst. This isn't a show about a mystery, it's a show about a tragedy. Think of it more as a natural disaster. This is about how people react to an unknowable event. The book handles this really well, and I expect the show will do the same.
I don't think it's cheap at all. It's not an issue of creativity or lack thereof, or of avoidance. It's not the story they are telling.
The book doesn't give an explanation and I hope the show doesn't either.
I get all that. I also get that the only plausible answer is aliens or God and people will balk so it's easier not answer what happened.
Having said that, I'm not convinced I care enough about these characters to make it a show I invest in. I'll keep trudging along for awhile longer though.
This is totally valid.
The show is about the characters. And if you don't give a shit about the characters, that's a huge problem.
The disappearance isn't the point, it's just a catalyst. This isn't a show about a mystery, it's a show about a tragedy. Think of it more as a natural disaster. This is about how people react to an unknowable event. The book handles this really well, and I expect the show will do the same.
I don't think it's cheap at all. It's not an issue of creativity or lack thereof, or of avoidance. It's not the story they are telling.
The book doesn't give an explanation and I hope the show doesn't either.
I get all that. I also get that the only plausible answer is aliens or God and people will balk so it's easier not answer what happened.
Sure. I guess. I mean, think there are myriad answers.
But the writers aren't interested in those answers because that's not what they're writing about. It isn't the central question. I think it's more a conscious choice of focus, an idea that "what happened?" isn't as important/interesting as "what happens next?", than it is a "there's no good answer so I'll avoid it all together."
Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 3:24 pm Posts: 2868 Location: Death Machine Inc's HQ
durdencommatyler wrote:
But the writers aren't interested in those answers because that's not what they're writing about. It isn't the central question. I think it's more a conscious choice of focus, an idea that "what happened?" isn't as important/interesting as "what happens next?", than it is a "there's no good answer so I'll avoid it all together."
I like this, but can they pull it off without commercial pressures? With Lost there was public demand for answers about the island, so they had to work that in. I doubt HBO is still as "let art be art, fuck it if nobody watches" as they once were.
Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 6:49 pm Posts: 4306 Location: there all is aching
broken iris wrote:
durdencommatyler wrote:
But the writers aren't interested in those answers because that's not what they're writing about. It isn't the central question. I think it's more a conscious choice of focus, an idea that "what happened?" isn't as important/interesting as "what happens next?", than it is a "there's no good answer so I'll avoid it all together."
I like this, but can they pull it off without commercial pressures? With Lost there was public demand for answers about the island, so they had to work that in. I doubt HBO is still as "let art be art, fuck it if nobody watches" as they once were.
Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 3:24 pm Posts: 2868 Location: Death Machine Inc's HQ
tommymctom wrote:
broken iris wrote:
durdencommatyler wrote:
But the writers aren't interested in those answers because that's not what they're writing about. It isn't the central question. I think it's more a conscious choice of focus, an idea that "what happened?" isn't as important/interesting as "what happens next?", than it is a "there's no good answer so I'll avoid it all together."
I like this, but can they pull it off without commercial pressures? With Lost there was public demand for answers about the island, so they had to work that in. I doubt HBO is still as "let art be art, fuck it if nobody watches" as they once were.
Carnivale
Perfect example of a show that hit it's stride after the audience left.
Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 9:08 pm Posts: 4738 Location: 5th floor, Bay 7, position 5740
I liked the last one a little more than the second episode but The Strain has already relegated it to next day DVR status. It's summer with limited competition so I'll stick with it a few more weeks but I need to connecting more with the characters for me to stay with it the whole season.
Joined: Mon July 08, 2013 5:47 pm Posts: 3031 Location: Louisville, KY
I understand the intent of not divulging the cause of the mass disappearance, but now that I know the show won't tell me, it makes it much less interesting to watch.
The last episode about the church kept my attention quite well, though.
But, i agree the issue of character development will be the measuring stick, and they aren't passing the test yet. I liked the last episode, but I have suspicion we won't much hear from the flyer-creating man of the cloth as the story progresses. Hard to connect that way
Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 3:24 pm Posts: 2868 Location: Death Machine Inc's HQ
hlniv wrote:
I understand the intent of not divulging the cause of the mass disappearance, but now that I know the show won't tell me, it makes it much less interesting to watch.
The last episode about the church kept my attention quite well, though.
But, i agree the issue of character development will be the measuring stick, and they aren't passing the test yet. I liked the last episode, but I have suspicion we won't much hear from the flyer-creating man of the cloth as the story progresses. Hard to connect that way
yeah, the last one was better... mostly because it gave us enough time to try and relate to one fo the characters instead of jumping all over the place. Wife has already checked out on this... so I'm not sure how much long I will stick with it either.
Joined: Tue January 01, 2013 3:24 pm Posts: 2868 Location: Death Machine Inc's HQ
durdencommatyler wrote:
bada wrote:
Can't do both?
Again, can, but that's not what Tom Perrota wanted to write about / focus on. And there's no reason why it has to be both. It's good the way it is.
After thinking about this a bit more, the success here will depend not only on us accepting the premise as something that would not spiral civilization out of control immediately (which the writer wisely address by only having a small fraction of the population depart), but also being able to keep the fantasy elements in check so the human elements can develop, something Lost failed at as it went on. Already we are seeing the weird 'animal guides', which at this point a distraction from the premise... which I assume to be a twisting of the eternal human psyche imponderable question of "why am I here?" into "why am I still here?".
But as for the initial point (SPOILERS for the french show 'The Returned')
This show was a perfect demonstration of taking a concept viewers are familiar with, illustrating honest and plausible human reactions to it, and never explaining why... because when executed right the why becomes irrelevant compared to the 'what do we do now?' puzzle. Something The Leftovers is failing at so far.
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