'Ello, I have opinions.
Oct. 8th, 2020 03:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rogueslayer452Taken from the Crunchy Questions Meme:
What shows or books do you feel had real potential, but ultimately flopped? What do you think happened?
Note: This is all subjective, what I personally felt was a flop might not have been for others, this is all just my own opinion.
I'll always be bitter about what happened with Sleepy Hollow. That show had a good concept and an interesting premise, the first season started out extremely well and it had much potential and promise, but then it all went downhill. From the showrunner and some of the writers leaving to executive meddling, firing of actors, to the biggest offender of all: the mistreatment of the main actress, Nicole Beharie, and the sidelining of her character who was one of the main fucking characters of the damn show, to then just killing off her character entirely. Like, just the blatant racism and discrimination alone should be enough of an explanation of why this whole shitshow flopped. It's enraging and disappointing.
And then there's American Gods. Oh boy, where to even start with this. First, I want to say that the first season was absolutely amazing, it was innovative and unique and definitely had that certain creative spark in storytelling that I enjoy. Sadly, however, after Bryan Fuller and Co. were fired by STARZ/Neil Gaiman, that's when the show started going downhill. Now, for the record, I stopped watching after the first season I don't know precisely how the show turned out after the fact, but I didn't really have to because the behind-the-scenes drama is probably more entertaining than the show itself is at this point. It has gone through multiple showrunners (all hired and then fired), actors then were appointed to actually write and produce for the show despite that not being in their job description, and some actors either left or were outright fired, some for unknown reasons while others for supposed racist ones. It's just, a mess.
And the thing is, it didn't have to get to this point had they just kept Bryan Fuller on the show. The show initially praised during the first season for the creative direction and the brilliant storytelling. Now, you hardly hear anything about it besides messy behind-the-scenes nonsense. So all that potential was lost after they lost him, imho.
Veronica Mars is a show that I loved initially, but in hindsight I realized that the only good season was the first one. The second season onward was a jumbled up hot mess. I do think the show had the potential to develop naturally, but I think they tried too hard to recreate the magic season one had but failed miserably, along with trying to tease fans with an on-again/off-again relationship (which made me dislike that relationship tbh). Plus, I felt like there was something just a bit off when rewatching the second and third seasons, like the writing wasn't as sharp as it was in the first season, the delivery of lines not as good, etc, it was just a combination of things that just didn't really add up. And of course, when the show did the fourth revived season recently that definitely killed any love fans had for it for a number of reasons. In the end, I think Veronica Mars tried too hard to be what the first season created, but failed to understand what made it work in the first place, and it just kept digging itself deeper into a hole that they couldn't get out of.
I'm going to be a bit bold here and say the MCU. I don't really care that much about the MCU, to be perfectly honest, the same with the DCEU for that matter, and while we know how disastrous the DCEU is to the point where it's kind of expected, I do think that, for all its careful planning over the years, the MCU has certainly become kind of a disappointment as a whole when it comes to its final products. Sure, the movies make major bank at the box office no matter what, but when it comes to the storytelling aspects it does flop. It mostly boils down to the writing, which differs depending on who is in charge of the project, since I've heard plenty of fans voice their disappointments with how things were handled. Despite my disinterest in the movie franchise itself, I know that there was potential in the beginning but they definitely lost their way a while ago. I also think Disney buying Marvel really was a big mistake, because it will produce more soulless things in favor of money.
In kinda-related news, there's been tons of announcements of movies being pushed back due to the pandemic, never how many television shows have been affected, with some unfortunately being cancelled even if they were deemed safe previously. While we know plenty of newer projects have been announced, though it makes me wonder about the state media will be in, since I'm sure that new safety measures will be implemented permanently, and how this will overall affect the way the film and television industry will conduct itself. Particularly since the film industry is incredibly stubborn and refuses to accept that times have changed, and that they need to find a way to readjust themselves accordingly.
What shows or books do you feel had real potential, but ultimately flopped? What do you think happened?
Note: This is all subjective, what I personally felt was a flop might not have been for others, this is all just my own opinion.
I'll always be bitter about what happened with Sleepy Hollow. That show had a good concept and an interesting premise, the first season started out extremely well and it had much potential and promise, but then it all went downhill. From the showrunner and some of the writers leaving to executive meddling, firing of actors, to the biggest offender of all: the mistreatment of the main actress, Nicole Beharie, and the sidelining of her character who was one of the main fucking characters of the damn show, to then just killing off her character entirely. Like, just the blatant racism and discrimination alone should be enough of an explanation of why this whole shitshow flopped. It's enraging and disappointing.
And then there's American Gods. Oh boy, where to even start with this. First, I want to say that the first season was absolutely amazing, it was innovative and unique and definitely had that certain creative spark in storytelling that I enjoy. Sadly, however, after Bryan Fuller and Co. were fired by STARZ/Neil Gaiman, that's when the show started going downhill. Now, for the record, I stopped watching after the first season I don't know precisely how the show turned out after the fact, but I didn't really have to because the behind-the-scenes drama is probably more entertaining than the show itself is at this point. It has gone through multiple showrunners (all hired and then fired), actors then were appointed to actually write and produce for the show despite that not being in their job description, and some actors either left or were outright fired, some for unknown reasons while others for supposed racist ones. It's just, a mess.
And the thing is, it didn't have to get to this point had they just kept Bryan Fuller on the show. The show initially praised during the first season for the creative direction and the brilliant storytelling. Now, you hardly hear anything about it besides messy behind-the-scenes nonsense. So all that potential was lost after they lost him, imho.
Veronica Mars is a show that I loved initially, but in hindsight I realized that the only good season was the first one. The second season onward was a jumbled up hot mess. I do think the show had the potential to develop naturally, but I think they tried too hard to recreate the magic season one had but failed miserably, along with trying to tease fans with an on-again/off-again relationship (which made me dislike that relationship tbh). Plus, I felt like there was something just a bit off when rewatching the second and third seasons, like the writing wasn't as sharp as it was in the first season, the delivery of lines not as good, etc, it was just a combination of things that just didn't really add up. And of course, when the show did the fourth revived season recently that definitely killed any love fans had for it for a number of reasons. In the end, I think Veronica Mars tried too hard to be what the first season created, but failed to understand what made it work in the first place, and it just kept digging itself deeper into a hole that they couldn't get out of.
I'm going to be a bit bold here and say the MCU. I don't really care that much about the MCU, to be perfectly honest, the same with the DCEU for that matter, and while we know how disastrous the DCEU is to the point where it's kind of expected, I do think that, for all its careful planning over the years, the MCU has certainly become kind of a disappointment as a whole when it comes to its final products. Sure, the movies make major bank at the box office no matter what, but when it comes to the storytelling aspects it does flop. It mostly boils down to the writing, which differs depending on who is in charge of the project, since I've heard plenty of fans voice their disappointments with how things were handled. Despite my disinterest in the movie franchise itself, I know that there was potential in the beginning but they definitely lost their way a while ago. I also think Disney buying Marvel really was a big mistake, because it will produce more soulless things in favor of money.
In kinda-related news, there's been tons of announcements of movies being pushed back due to the pandemic, never how many television shows have been affected, with some unfortunately being cancelled even if they were deemed safe previously. While we know plenty of newer projects have been announced, though it makes me wonder about the state media will be in, since I'm sure that new safety measures will be implemented permanently, and how this will overall affect the way the film and television industry will conduct itself. Particularly since the film industry is incredibly stubborn and refuses to accept that times have changed, and that they need to find a way to readjust themselves accordingly.
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no subject
Date: 2020-10-08 11:13 pm (UTC)I adored that show, season one. LOVED the interaction between the 'Leftenent' (hee) and Ichabod, loved the show itself, just...delightful!
And then...dear gods. It crashed and burned, so hard and so fast. I didn't even watch the final season, I was so disgusted.
Same for American Gods. I wasn't a huge fan of the book to begin with - it had its moments, and it was interesting, but it dragged a bit. Season one was pretty damn good, but you're so right in that it just all came apart. Another show I have quit watching.
Yup - many of us were really disgusted by how they ended the Avengers/Captain America arc. It was sheer, unadulterated bullshite. We also really hated the super-clumsy 'romance' Whedon shoehorned in, and the piss-poor continuity of character growth (what there was of it) and.... Bleh. I could go on, but it's a bummer.
I can only hope the Falcon/Winter Soldier thing will be good, though I have some doubts.
I do wish the whole of entertainment media would get with it and move with the times, particularly when it comes to distribution and availability. So backwards!
no subject
Date: 2020-10-09 04:59 am (UTC)It truly is a shame about American Gods becoming the trashfire it is, because I think it would've been a fantastic and unique show that could've gone to some interesting places, and it had such a wonderful cast too. At least we still have the first season, which is utter perfection, imho.
I can only hope the Falcon/Winter Soldier thing will be good, though I have some doubts.
I have no intention on watching because I don't really care, but I'm concerned because, well, it's Disney, they are holding the reigns on what should be happening and it makes me sad that these kinds of stories cannot have much creative freedom without threatening that "family friendly" barrier of Disney+, y'know? Which is why I'll forever be bitter that non-MCU Marvel shows were all cancelled, because at least those were allowed to go against the grain. I mean, part of me knows that shows are better than movies when it comes to characterizations so perhaps the MCU shows might offer more development, however I don't really have any high hopes.
no subject
Date: 2020-10-09 11:31 am (UTC)And just lately, with Hollywood trying to pander left, right, and center to China, with their super-strict 'no homo' shite.....
It just sucks.
no subject
Date: 2020-10-10 12:45 am (UTC)Hollywood in general has been incredibly stale for a long time now, too much focus on massive franchises and remakes and doing the "faux woke" angle that is just empty and not as progressive as they think it is. It's exhausting, and it's why I haven't really gone to the movie theaters in recent years as much as I used to.
no subject
Date: 2020-10-10 02:11 am (UTC)I only go to the movies maybe twice a year; no point in going more, really, plus I can't afford that. SO expensive!
I'm just very tired of M+F=Looooooove!! boring formula that seems to be in every. Single. Movie.
no subject
Date: 2020-10-09 03:39 am (UTC)Yeah. I never watched the fourth season, and barely remember the second and third ones. I feel like shows with really tight mysteries have this problem; they can't produce a good enough mystery in following seasons and the whole thing just sort of limps along.
You know, Homeland was a show that I really enjoyed the first season of, though I was never fannish about it. But the central mystery of 'is Brody a terrorist?' along with Brody and Carrie's fucked up relationship was gripping. But after that mystery was solved, none of the other spy antics of the subsequent seasons held the same level of intrigue for me. I have no idea whether this is an unpopular opinion or not, as obviously the show did really well in general.
no subject
Date: 2020-10-09 04:46 am (UTC)I never watched Homeland, but it's true that the longer a mystery show goes on the more desperate it becomes. The lack of creativity and just making stuff up, trying to add nonsensical "twists" and "reveals" that make no sense just to keep the audience engaged, when you have to resort to those tactics for ratings it's probably best to stop.
no subject
Date: 2020-10-09 04:22 pm (UTC)*Reads list of shows affected*
- I didn't even know there was a FRIENDS Reunion Special.
- B99 is postponed until next year. I also think they're really going to have to reframe the show, and am glad that they've apparently been in talks. I know there was one BLM episode, but they need to do more. (I haven't seen that episode. I don't want to see a cop target Terry.
I'm not the biggest B99 fan, it was another show I tuned out of a bit after the first few seasons, but I follow it enough that I'm interested to see what happens next.
I've thought a lot about how shows can proceed. I think even once we have a vaccine, it's going to be a while before we can really go back to "normal." So we'll have to see what production will look like. Some shows could potentially work with the pandemic - but only shows that are supposed to take place in real time and where seeing "distant" action would be workable. TBH I'm not sure any shows like that exist right now. The irony is that something like The Office would be perfect, since half of the episodes were talking heads or only seeing a few characters at certain angles. So you could totally have Jim and Dwight both working from home but pulling virtual pranks, or Michael buying into a funny version of all the conspiracies. I don't watch that much TV anymore so I don't know if there are shows that could use a similar setup. That, when comedies, would also stay relatively light. Dramas could get away with playing things much more seriously.
The problem with that of course is the lack of escapism.
no subject
Date: 2020-10-10 04:23 am (UTC)The official word was that he was offered a CBS deal and voluntarily exited the show to do that, but who knows if there was more to the story than just that alone. It wouldn't be the first time where the initial story put out was that someone left of their own volition but then it turned out that they were actually fired.
I enjoy B99, but it's more for the characters than them actually being in law enforcement, so I'm glad that they've postponed so they can retool the show and take everything that's been happening seriously. It may be a comedy show, but it does deal with real life issues and they can't just completely ignore what's going on. I know that it wouldn't be logical, but I liked the idea that someone put out months ago that B99 could do a thing where their professions change every episode; like they could be hospital nurses and doctors one episode and firefighters the next. Again, it's not logical, but it would be hilarious. But at the same time, I do think there needs to be a discussion on the show regarding police brutality, and a serious one instead of a dismissive one like some cop shows often do for a "ripped from the headlines"/"special episode" kind of deal where they're all "yeah it's bad but *shrug* we gotta do what we gotta do to capture bad guys". I want this to be something that truly has a long-lasting impact with the characters and their jobs, and yeah it'll definitely shake up the show entirely but we need it to.
Some shows could potentially work with the pandemic - but only shows that are supposed to take place in real time and where seeing "distant" action would be workable. TBH I'm not sure any shows like that exist right now.
Yeah, a lot of shows tend to be dependent on closeness or working in close quarters, not to mention the size of their cast which greatly does impact the way things are filmed. There really isn't much shows that have this, to be honest. I know some things allow more leeway, but still.
no subject
Date: 2020-10-10 05:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2020-10-11 05:42 pm (UTC)As someone who loves the MCU, I can totally see where you are coming from and why some people just don't like it. I'm in the same boat as tabaqui and absolutely hate how Cap's arc ended though, but I can ignore it for the most part lol
I just hate that some network took back renewals. It's not like it's easier to shoot new shows now.