Hmmm..about television cliffhangers..
Jul. 14th, 2017 11:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat Cliff Hangers Are Ruining the Golden Age of Television
Although, actually, I think it's more than just cliff-hangers. But, the writer addresses something that's been bugging me for some time now -- the need for television serials to have "shock value" twist or "big plot twists" often at the expense of character and plot, just to grab ratings. It's a current phenomenon. As in post 2000. I don't remember seeing it as much pre-2000.
As seasons advance, a fantastic series can get indefensibly artificial, running on fumes and cliffhangers, until “Who will die?” is the main reason to watch. Part of artistry is to elicit an emotional response; but to elicit and elicit (and elicit) is commercialism.
Agonizing is not the same as being left in suspense, and a constant state of cliffhanger suspense gets boring. For example, the point of “House of Cards” — created after Netflix collected and analyzed subscriber data, then synthesized our tastes to guarantee our obsession — has become to watch more of “House of Cards,” a point I’ve taken to heart.
So it’s the golden age of television with an asterisk. Now TV can be surveyed and engineered. Now it’s art by algorithm, with artistry going with the whim of data analytics and gimmicks.
I wonder if, in some way, we’ve spoiled our appetite for artistry.
Maybe artistry has gone down and cliffhangers have skyrocketed because art gets us out of the house. Art puts us more in touch with life outside and doesn’t compel us with cosmic force to actively submit, to alternate between trance and withdrawal, between replenishment and exhaustion.
But streaming as a medium and cliffhangers as a tool haven’t turned us into fanatics. Rather, it’s the behavior and attitude toward our lives that media consumption has been orchestrated to encourage. Bingeing, aided by cliffhangers, sells engagement by way of disengaging; together they make a sport of spectatorship.
Most of us can’t stand an open narrative loop, so we persevere and sprint back to our devices, again and again. Cliffhangers deny us resolution and closure so that we may never find peace, may not turn off the machine, may continually dissolve into some violent or exotic disaster involving a volcano.
I think a lot of what the critic states is true, and she's seen more television shows than I have. What I know is that over time, I've become underwhelmed and almost immune to the shocking plot twist. In some cases, such as Scandal and Grey's I find myself waiting for it.
Nashville has started to impress me a little by swinging away from it, well for the most part.
There was that one shocking plot twist...the big character death. Reminiscent of The Good Wife's big character death, except the Good Wife did a better job of keeping theirs a secret.
Also, big character deaths happen a lot in television serials, due to the actors pesky habit of wanting to leave the television serial before it has completed its run. The writers aren't left with a lot of options. Because with few exceptions, actors don't tend to tell them years in advance, so much as weeks in advance. It's sort of like giving two weeks notice for a job your leaving, except your job is a major television show and you play one of the major characters or leads. Whoops.
This is why I don't get that angry at the writers. Usually, I just think, damn, I liked that character. Sometimes it is story dictated, but in the cases of Grey's Anatomy, the Good Wife, and Nashville, really not.
But the cliffhanger ending, particularly at the end of a season arc, or even worse as a series finale, is irritating. Joss Whedon did it with several of his television series. Granted he wasn't given a lot of choices, since the network ended his series before he was ready.
You'd think television writers would pre-plan for the eventuality of cancellation and just write a season ender that can double as a series ender. Sort of like what Once Upon a Time did.
But going back to the above article? This is why a lot of people, such as my parents, prefer episodic television series which can't be easily binged, and are wrapped up in one or two episodes, tops.
Less commitment of time and energy.
I'm admittedly addicted to the cliff-hanger format. I like binge-watching. TV turns off my busy brain effectively. So too does reading a book. Which is why I love both pursuits. Writing also keeps the busy brain active.
But, I have fallen into the trap of...just one more episode, and I'll stop. I did that with Sense 8 and Iron Fist. And Iron Fist wasn't even that good, but...I thought, just one more episode then I'll stop... eight hours later, frigging hell, where'd the weekend go!!!
I think the writer has a point about there being a sort of artistry in the slow build, in forgoing the cliffhanger. Cliffhangers used to be associated with pulpier fare such as those Saturday Maintainees way back when, before I was born, which Spielberg and Lucas paid homage to with Indiana Jones. Or daytime soap operas, which always ended on a cliff-hanger on Friday, leaving the audience sputtering over the weekend. Not so much any more -- due to pre-emptions.
But with the insane amount of cultural media available, audience's are less patient. So the slower build or more artistic series are often left by the wayside. I know I'm guilty of this, I didn't have the patience for Rectified or Left-Overs. Preferring faster paced and pulpier fare. But this too has to a degree always been the case. Many of us worker bees want the thrill ride, the roller-coaster, and then the ability to let it go. The appeal of the commuter fast paced novel to the literary work of art.
Although, then again...whose to say what is art? Or what moves us? Or informs us? I no longer know.
I've read more books than I can count or even remember, and I've gained something from them all, along with television series, of which I've seen just about as many. Some stay with me, some don't.
I can't really say any more which is quality and which isn't for certain. So much as I think it is in the eye of the beholder.
I am critical of things I love. I am trying to be less so. Since I've noticed it doesn't make me happy always. Sometimes yes. Sometimes no.
Although, actually, I think it's more than just cliff-hangers. But, the writer addresses something that's been bugging me for some time now -- the need for television serials to have "shock value" twist or "big plot twists" often at the expense of character and plot, just to grab ratings. It's a current phenomenon. As in post 2000. I don't remember seeing it as much pre-2000.
As seasons advance, a fantastic series can get indefensibly artificial, running on fumes and cliffhangers, until “Who will die?” is the main reason to watch. Part of artistry is to elicit an emotional response; but to elicit and elicit (and elicit) is commercialism.
Agonizing is not the same as being left in suspense, and a constant state of cliffhanger suspense gets boring. For example, the point of “House of Cards” — created after Netflix collected and analyzed subscriber data, then synthesized our tastes to guarantee our obsession — has become to watch more of “House of Cards,” a point I’ve taken to heart.
So it’s the golden age of television with an asterisk. Now TV can be surveyed and engineered. Now it’s art by algorithm, with artistry going with the whim of data analytics and gimmicks.
I wonder if, in some way, we’ve spoiled our appetite for artistry.
Maybe artistry has gone down and cliffhangers have skyrocketed because art gets us out of the house. Art puts us more in touch with life outside and doesn’t compel us with cosmic force to actively submit, to alternate between trance and withdrawal, between replenishment and exhaustion.
But streaming as a medium and cliffhangers as a tool haven’t turned us into fanatics. Rather, it’s the behavior and attitude toward our lives that media consumption has been orchestrated to encourage. Bingeing, aided by cliffhangers, sells engagement by way of disengaging; together they make a sport of spectatorship.
Most of us can’t stand an open narrative loop, so we persevere and sprint back to our devices, again and again. Cliffhangers deny us resolution and closure so that we may never find peace, may not turn off the machine, may continually dissolve into some violent or exotic disaster involving a volcano.
I think a lot of what the critic states is true, and she's seen more television shows than I have. What I know is that over time, I've become underwhelmed and almost immune to the shocking plot twist. In some cases, such as Scandal and Grey's I find myself waiting for it.
Nashville has started to impress me a little by swinging away from it, well for the most part.
There was that one shocking plot twist...the big character death. Reminiscent of The Good Wife's big character death, except the Good Wife did a better job of keeping theirs a secret.
Also, big character deaths happen a lot in television serials, due to the actors pesky habit of wanting to leave the television serial before it has completed its run. The writers aren't left with a lot of options. Because with few exceptions, actors don't tend to tell them years in advance, so much as weeks in advance. It's sort of like giving two weeks notice for a job your leaving, except your job is a major television show and you play one of the major characters or leads. Whoops.
This is why I don't get that angry at the writers. Usually, I just think, damn, I liked that character. Sometimes it is story dictated, but in the cases of Grey's Anatomy, the Good Wife, and Nashville, really not.
But the cliffhanger ending, particularly at the end of a season arc, or even worse as a series finale, is irritating. Joss Whedon did it with several of his television series. Granted he wasn't given a lot of choices, since the network ended his series before he was ready.
You'd think television writers would pre-plan for the eventuality of cancellation and just write a season ender that can double as a series ender. Sort of like what Once Upon a Time did.
But going back to the above article? This is why a lot of people, such as my parents, prefer episodic television series which can't be easily binged, and are wrapped up in one or two episodes, tops.
Less commitment of time and energy.
I'm admittedly addicted to the cliff-hanger format. I like binge-watching. TV turns off my busy brain effectively. So too does reading a book. Which is why I love both pursuits. Writing also keeps the busy brain active.
But, I have fallen into the trap of...just one more episode, and I'll stop. I did that with Sense 8 and Iron Fist. And Iron Fist wasn't even that good, but...I thought, just one more episode then I'll stop... eight hours later, frigging hell, where'd the weekend go!!!
I think the writer has a point about there being a sort of artistry in the slow build, in forgoing the cliffhanger. Cliffhangers used to be associated with pulpier fare such as those Saturday Maintainees way back when, before I was born, which Spielberg and Lucas paid homage to with Indiana Jones. Or daytime soap operas, which always ended on a cliff-hanger on Friday, leaving the audience sputtering over the weekend. Not so much any more -- due to pre-emptions.
But with the insane amount of cultural media available, audience's are less patient. So the slower build or more artistic series are often left by the wayside. I know I'm guilty of this, I didn't have the patience for Rectified or Left-Overs. Preferring faster paced and pulpier fare. But this too has to a degree always been the case. Many of us worker bees want the thrill ride, the roller-coaster, and then the ability to let it go. The appeal of the commuter fast paced novel to the literary work of art.
Although, then again...whose to say what is art? Or what moves us? Or informs us? I no longer know.
I've read more books than I can count or even remember, and I've gained something from them all, along with television series, of which I've seen just about as many. Some stay with me, some don't.
I can't really say any more which is quality and which isn't for certain. So much as I think it is in the eye of the beholder.
I am critical of things I love. I am trying to be less so. Since I've noticed it doesn't make me happy always. Sometimes yes. Sometimes no.
no subject
Date: 2017-07-15 06:53 am (UTC)Cliffhangers themselves I find very annoying and especially end of season ones where they don't resolve anything but carry it all over for the next season. I call that doing a Lost and I will actually stop watching a show if I suspect they are just stringing me along like that. Cleverly crafted resolutions are one of the joys of storytelling, and fortunately I feel they are still reasonably normal. But then I watch a lot of crime and mystery drama and it is hard to avoid a resolution with those.
no subject
Date: 2017-07-15 06:54 pm (UTC)LOST used to annoy me, because they'd end the season with this huge cliff=hanger. Actually the NY Times critic focuses on that problem, except with Arrow, which she felt did a blatantly absurd season-ending cliff-hanger. (Everyone but the lead hero and lead villain is gathered on an island, while they are out at sea in a boat...and just before the credits roll, the island blows up. The audience is thinking okay, what just happened? Did they just kill off the entire cast except for the hero and the villain, and are now making me wait six months to find out? Arrrgh!)
I think it's a risky move. Do it too often, and you are liable to piss off the audience and they won't return.
no subject
Date: 2017-07-16 04:16 pm (UTC)Absolutely. Lost did it the once and I didn't return for S2.
Well I assume those often come down to not getting renewed. But I was scarred in my youth by the BBC version of Tripods which ended on the most appalling cliffhanger because they inexplicably only filmed the first two books out of a trilogy. I was reduced to getting the third one out of the library simply to find out what happened. I wonder if it was a sneaky way to get children reading.
no subject
Date: 2017-07-15 01:50 pm (UTC)Of course, ending in the middle like Sense8 is incredibly annoying. It's like having a symphony end without resolution of the major key.
no subject
Date: 2017-07-15 06:47 pm (UTC)Of course, ending in the middle like Sense8 is incredibly annoying. It's like having a symphony end without resolution of the major key.
Exactly. Even though they are doing a two hour movie wrap up next season with the potential of more episodes, it's not quite enough. Particularly when you consider the writers had blocked out and plotted five years worth of episodes.
Why can't they just do that with tv series like Bones or Law & Order, where it doesn't matter?
They did the same thing with Farscape, had an entire season blocked out and the network/studio cancelled the series on them.
It actually backfired on both Netflix with Sense8 and with Farscape, the fans were highly annoyed and waged a fierce campaign to get an ending. Nothing worse than pissing off your audience, particularly if you are dependent on them.
no subject
Date: 2017-07-15 06:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2017-07-16 02:38 am (UTC)Actually, Iron Fist's ending worked. Because they concluded/resolved the central conflict of that season, and left the secondary conflict for Defenders and S2. They did the same thing with Daredevil actually. With the main villain being defeated, but the organization, the Hand, remaining out there.
Here, in Iron Fist, David Wenham's Harold Meachum, was the core villain -- he orchestrated Danny's parents deaths, attempted to take over Danny's company, destroy his own son, and killed multiple parties. The Hand wasn't as big a problem as Meachum. Meachum wanted to kill Danny or throw him prison for life, after he got rid of Meachum's problems.
So the cliff-hanger wasn't as bad as the one in Luke Cage. Danny is free, he just has discovered the Hand is a bigger problem than anticipated and he can't slack off any longer. With Luke Cage, none of the major villains are removed. Even Diamonback looks like he could come back more deadly at a later point. And Luke is in police custody at the end, with nothing resolved.
Daredevil S1 was resolved more or less. But S2 really isn't and leaves the audience on a cliff. I wanted a resolution and was annoyed I wouldn't get more until sometime in 2017. Late 2017, if that.
What do you think of Iron Fist? Better or worse than Luke Cage?
no subject
Date: 2017-07-16 02:49 am (UTC)My biggest problem, though, was that I just didn't like Danny Rand. Not sure if it was the actor or the plot, but he came across to me as whiny and self-important.
As usual for me, I liked a female character better, in this case Colleen.
no subject
Date: 2017-07-16 06:54 am (UTC)http://wondermark.com/c948b/