I don't watch much television either, not compared to most people in fandom anyway, who are apparently watching several hours a night during the work week, and even more on the weekends. I don't find the show's pace too slow but after watching the premiere episodes of two new hit series, Empire and How to Get Away With Murder, I can see why people are complaining. Empire went through as many story lines in the pilot as most shows used to go through in several seasons. At the end of its first episode, I thought--what the hell is left for them to do? But it's a huge hit and while the subject matter--the music industry and origins of hip hop--is a big part of that, the pacing is exactly what viewers in the target age group want to see. It's what they expect to see. The shows are constructed like those big budget action movies, right? All verbal explosions and violence, big moments plus "plot twists" that anyone with half a brain can see coming a mile away.
On the other hand, The Americans is much more like a big Russian novel. It's all about the characters and the world-building. There're underlying themes, and the characters, plot, music, settings and so on, are all constructed to support each other. There is careful thought and planning behind each season. Just like War and Peace, there is an enormous cast of characters, many whom have names that are hard to pronounce if you're monolingual like me, and they're all unique and unforgettable. These aren't stock characters and they aren't in stock situations. These episodes aren't for the casual viewer, that's for sure. It's too much work.
Most people just want to read the titles that are on the best sellers lists and see movies about superheroes. They're fun and easy. If the media they consume lets people feel good about themselves because they can check off "diversity" or "feminism" or "social justice" on their to-do list, so much the better. But it's still mind-candy. I like a little junk food television now and again, more along the lines of Project Runway than Scandal.
My problem with The Americans isn't that it's too much work. My problem is that I think they're heading in a Breaking Bad type of direction with their characters, and I'm just not up for watching that level of misery and depravity. It's not enjoyable, it doesn't fit with who I thought these characters were from watching the first two seasons, and frankly I'm starting to resent the writers for making me care about the fates of characters that they look to be hell bent on destroying. It's not what I thought I'd signed on for.
That's why I think they're losing their audience, despite the critical accolades. Maybe Fargo and, I don't know, House of Cards have the audience for this kind of show already sewn up?
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
I'm mostly just thinking aloud
Date: 2015-03-07 08:02 pm (UTC)On the other hand, The Americans is much more like a big Russian novel. It's all about the characters and the world-building. There're underlying themes, and the characters, plot, music, settings and so on, are all constructed to support each other. There is careful thought and planning behind each season. Just like War and Peace, there is an enormous cast of characters, many whom have names that are hard to pronounce if you're monolingual like me, and they're all unique and unforgettable. These aren't stock characters and they aren't in stock situations. These episodes aren't for the casual viewer, that's for sure. It's too much work.
Most people just want to read the titles that are on the best sellers lists and see movies about superheroes. They're fun and easy. If the media they consume lets people feel good about themselves because they can check off "diversity" or "feminism" or "social justice" on their to-do list, so much the better. But it's still mind-candy. I like a little junk food television now and again, more along the lines of Project Runway than Scandal.
My problem with The Americans isn't that it's too much work. My problem is that I think they're heading in a Breaking Bad type of direction with their characters, and I'm just not up for watching that level of misery and depravity. It's not enjoyable, it doesn't fit with who I thought these characters were from watching the first two seasons, and frankly I'm starting to resent the writers for making me care about the fates of characters that they look to be hell bent on destroying. It's not what I thought I'd signed on for.
That's why I think they're losing their audience, despite the critical accolades. Maybe Fargo and, I don't know, House of Cards have the audience for this kind of show already sewn up?