Yeah. One of the issues, for me, is that I do want discrete events from each episode. And one of the problems with the "arc" segments of S5 & S7 (less so S6) is that many episodes felt like wheel spinning in service of the arc. An early season "anthology" episode might not be strong, but as long as something happens I'll be okay. A weak "arc" episode will feel like "wheel spinning" to me, and I find that far more frustrating.
"The Good Wife" - as an example - has excelled along both tracks. Something relatively interesting is happening in each episode and episodes are also building larger plots. And gets good use out of whichever characters it happens to feature from the ensemble. It's an ideal - a show that demonstrates you don't have to trade off anthology vs. arc but can excel at both.
For me, if a show is going to lack on either dimension - I'll trade the big story for something interesting/challenging/fun now.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2012-03-02 05:38 pm (UTC)"The Good Wife" - as an example - has excelled along both tracks. Something relatively interesting is happening in each episode and episodes are also building larger plots. And gets good use out of whichever characters it happens to feature from the ensemble. It's an ideal - a show that demonstrates you don't have to trade off anthology vs. arc but can excel at both.
For me, if a show is going to lack on either dimension - I'll trade the big story for something interesting/challenging/fun now.