I actually don't believe it has anything to do with the show being depressing. That didn't stop "Breaking Bad." I mean, I think there are certainly people who don't want to watch the show because it's depressing, but the people (and there are plenty) who don't mind depressing dramas aren't watching it, either.
Instead I keep going back to the various times that critics Andy Greenwald and Chris Ryan have talked about the show on their "Hollywood Prospectus" podcast. Greenwald loves the show--he's as big a fan as any of us. Ryan thinks it's okay but nothing special. And if you look at what Ryan says about it, you'd think he's talking about some completely different show. "Every episode is exactly the same," he said. "Nothing ever happens." This is a smart man--and a professional TV critic--and yet there's something about the show that he's just not "getting," not seeing when he watches it.
Anyway, I don't know what it is or why it is, but I really do think that for whatever reason, there's a large group of people out there that doesn't understand the show. Maybe they keep trying to watch it on the level of spy hijinks and find that it doesn't live up to their expectations (because this isn't really a show about spy hijinks).
no subject
Instead I keep going back to the various times that critics Andy Greenwald and Chris Ryan have talked about the show on their "Hollywood Prospectus" podcast. Greenwald loves the show--he's as big a fan as any of us. Ryan thinks it's okay but nothing special. And if you look at what Ryan says about it, you'd think he's talking about some completely different show. "Every episode is exactly the same," he said. "Nothing ever happens." This is a smart man--and a professional TV critic--and yet there's something about the show that he's just not "getting," not seeing when he watches it.
Anyway, I don't know what it is or why it is, but I really do think that for whatever reason, there's a large group of people out there that doesn't understand the show. Maybe they keep trying to watch it on the level of spy hijinks and find that it doesn't live up to their expectations (because this isn't really a show about spy hijinks).
-J