I am, officially, the television kiss of death. If I start watching a show on a regular basis, it's bound to get canceled in the first couple seasons. Case in point: two of my favorite shows this year are Eli Stone and My Own Worst Enemy. Guess which shows got the axe this week?
I'm mystified as to how a sucktackular crapfest like Heroes can stay on the air while a witty and original program like Eli Stone gets blasted [1]. Eli Stone wasn't a perfect show, by any stretch, but it was whimsical and fun. People have no taste. Period. I know I'm a cynic in this regard, and probably an elitist, but if ratings continue to be the only measure for whether a show is a success then we're in for some pretty lean times in terms of quality. For whatever reason, people seem more drawn to the mindless clutter of Dancing with a Washed Up Star or the repetitive programming of CSI: Bismarck. Shall we start a betting pool on the demise of Chuck?
[1] I know I'm risking my geek cred with this comment. I have tried, REALLY HARD, to appreciate Heroes the last two seasons. I've come to the realization that there isn't much to appreciate. The writers have relied on comic book cliches (nobody dies, I'm your father, I've lost my powers/I have them back, the pursuit of power corrupts) to the point that the entire show is one giant cliche. And not a well written cliche, either. Every time Peter Petrelli does that damn cross jaw look, I want to freakin scream.
13 comments:
Not liking one geek show doesn't mess up your geek cred.
I detest everything Joss Whedon had a hand in until Firefly (it is still the only thing of his I can watch). I was bored by the X-files, and find anything the Kevin Smith does unwatchable or unreadable (depending on medium).
I still hold my geek head high. :)
And while I agree with you about some of the problems with heroes - I am one of those that can really just ignore problems, and enjoy things for what they are. I love Micheal Bay movies for example.
So no worries about your geek cred. At all.
According to Tim Kring, the problem isn't that the show sucks ass and has gone the way of Matrix Revolutions, the problem is you, the viewer.
See here.
I had to quit watching after last week. I realized I was becoming angry at the show because of it's poor writing, terrible acting, illogic, lack of continuity in its own mythos, terrible direction and pacing, and ultimately, it's hubris and arrogance. If that isn't a sign to quit watching, I don't know what is.
Also, there's no such thing as "geek cred".
On heroes - it's still putting out better stuff than Marvel these days. :)
Not that that is saying much.
Wow. Kring is completely out of touch with his own artistic creation. He's like a student who is so convinced of his own brilliance that he can't imagine he has anything to learn from a professor. Not that I've had any experiences with students like that.
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"Also, there's no such thing as 'geek cred'."
That is why you fail. More on this in an upcoming post--I'm trying to track down a journal article that discusses this very thing.
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Mhoram, I don't disagree with you on Marvel. For the first time in years, I'm giving serious thought to dropping most of my comics. Iron Man has sucked for as long as I can remember and I don't even recognize the Avengers. Bendis' protracted storytelling and penchant for street level characters has stripped the awesomeness from Earth's Mightiest Heroes.
"That is why you fail."
Nothing like trotting out the "fail" catchphrase. What's next, lolcats? If you really think about it, as soon as you call the absence of cred (i.e. the so-called geek nation, which is actually the mainstream) a "cred", it disappears. It's like "punk cred", which hasn't existed since the Sex Pistols released an album on a major label (i.e. 1977).
Quoting Yoda is geek gold, Gene, and you know it.
Geek is mainstream, eh? I'm not sure I buy that line of thinking entirely. I think there's a version of geek that's been appropriated by the broader culture but I still think there's a geek culture in and of itself.
Well, we'll agree to disagree. Often I feel like Royal Cortissoz, commenting on Modernism - I could simply be a product of my influences. Or you could be.
However, I've noted that every time I feel that the edge between the mainstream and the alternative has been defined - even for a fleeting moment - I've been wrong. Thus when I was in high school and thought punk and goth was the alternative I was wrong, and in college when I thought post-punk was the alternative, I was also wrong. I laugh nowadays thinking of the time when I thought Nine Inch Nails was alternative, even though it was on heavy rotation on MTV. Modern media has blurred the line significantly. The alternative used to that segment that had no voice in the media, but technology has largely overcome that barrier.
I listen to a lot of Jolie Holland (check out "Escondida") and Julie Doiron these days, both not entirely common choices, but I don't think they represent the alternative. Like everyone else, they're part of the mainstream.
Actually, I think we agree more than we disagree. That line of demarcation between alternative and mainstream is fluid, constantly changing, and virtually impossible to pinpoint.
I agree with Yoda.
"That line of demarcation between alternative and mainstream is fluid, constantly changing, and virtually impossible to pinpoint."
And a waste of time to worry about to me. It seems that all being alternative does for you is to give you a label you can throw on yourself to feel superior the those icky mainstream people. :)
Not liking one geek show doesn't mess up your geek cred.
Funny, that's now what you said when I said I didn't like 2001: "A Space Monotony"....
As far as Heroes goes, I've still only ever seen one episode. The pilot just didn't get me psyched to see the rest of the series. So no worries there.
As far as the whole kiss of death thing goes, could you do us all a favor and start watching every single reality show you can watch, rent, or TiVO? We'd all appreciate it. :D
Mike, for that to work he'd have to like the reality shows.
So we need to program his brain to watch them, and force feed him all these shows so they get cancelled.
He'd be like the kid in Those Who Walk Away from Omelas.
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