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I don't tend to enjoy serial novels. Serial tv shows yes, serial novels and films? Not so much. I think the reason for this is that with tv shows - there's no more than a gap of about a week between segments. At the most? Three-four months. If you get the whole thing on DVD? No gap at all. At least for most tv serials.
But with movies and novels? You have to wait at the very least a year, if you are lucky, if not, upwards to ten years for the next segment. And by the time you finally get that next chapter, it rarely lives up to the long-ass wait or expectations. Which can be aggravating.
Add to this the tendency to forget what came before. Oh sure, you could always re-watch the prior movie or re-read the prior books before you read the next installment, but that I find rather exhausting, particularly if it is a long book or movie. (ie. The Lord of the Rings triology or books, or worse, the George RR Martin novels.) I can see why publishers and film producers tend to love them - you can get a devoted fan base that will buy everything associated with the product. Serials get devoted fan bases, non-serials not so much...because you need the promise (at the very least) of new content to keep a fan-base interested and/or enthralled. The moment you stop promising more content, they lose interest. Note - I stated "promise" - this doesn't have to happen immediately, it can just be a proverbial carrot you hang out there for a bit. ( Read more... )
But with movies and novels? You have to wait at the very least a year, if you are lucky, if not, upwards to ten years for the next segment. And by the time you finally get that next chapter, it rarely lives up to the long-ass wait or expectations. Which can be aggravating.
Add to this the tendency to forget what came before. Oh sure, you could always re-watch the prior movie or re-read the prior books before you read the next installment, but that I find rather exhausting, particularly if it is a long book or movie. (ie. The Lord of the Rings triology or books, or worse, the George RR Martin novels.) I can see why publishers and film producers tend to love them - you can get a devoted fan base that will buy everything associated with the product. Serials get devoted fan bases, non-serials not so much...because you need the promise (at the very least) of new content to keep a fan-base interested and/or enthralled. The moment you stop promising more content, they lose interest. Note - I stated "promise" - this doesn't have to happen immediately, it can just be a proverbial carrot you hang out there for a bit. ( Read more... )