Why don’t the people in TV hire novelists to create and write their shows? I’ve been watching the new summer replacement season premieres. Some of my old favorites are back, if a bit on the dry side, and the new entries I’ve seen so far leave me cold.
Sustaining a story over a long arc is a particular talent. The hit show True Blood is based on the Charlaine Harris novels and benefits from the extended storyline to give the work direction. I gave up on Lost because it was clear to me that the writers/creators had no idea where they were going with the story. (I watched the finale and millions agree, I was right.) Heroes was great and then poof. The first season of Desperate Housewives was delicious and then not so much. I loved Alley McBeal and then where are we?
I will acknowledge that just getting a show in the can and on the air for twenty-something weeks is an undertaking. Still, the greater challenge, seems to me to be to create a story that can endure that, resume again the following year and not suck.
Here’s my idea. I keep hearing, television is dying and blah, blah, reality, blah. So, maybe the folks in charge should stop rehiring the same people who created all the crap that failed in the first place. Isn’t repeating the same action and expecting different results the definition of insanity?
Eric Shaw Quinn 
I truly like the way you think on this one, Eric. I can’t even count how many shows I have given up on because the storyline just veers off in some unnecessary direction, or the plot just makes no sense at all. The writers seem to give up on continuity in order to try and spice up a show and get themselves some extra ratings. Does it have to do with extra marketing dollars that come with the lure of that next crazy cliffhanger, or is it just writer’s block? Fans stay with shows and love them because they love the characters and they love that the writers stay true to the characters’ personalities. I have to agree…no more red herrings and impossible situations. Give the characters you have created some credit and make them multi-dimensional enough to keep your audience’s interest. I am sure that sounds much easier than it actually is, but there are so many series of books out there that are well plotted that I know that it is possible, and they come from one writer, not a team of writers. Just saying…
Personally, I gave up on TV a long time ago, and started getting the shows/ movies I liked on DVD. Maybe a little extreme, but it gave me more peace-of-mind: and having that Fast Forward button was a lot better than tons of commercials.
I completely agree. I was a fan of Alias, though I’m not sure what happened to that; I’m starting to see some shows that look a bit better than the other ones [Gleek alert] …but still loads of craptastics.
I hope they’ll wake up and make better TV one day. Hopefully sooner than later.