Monday, November 2, 2009

Television

I have been watching the show FlashForward recently, and for the most part have been enjoying it. However. I have come to the conclusion that there are very few writers for television who are willing to write characters that love and trust each other at a very fundamental level. Writers seem to think that whenever there is a chance for drama between characters, that it should be exploited.

I have watched only a few episodes of Glee, but the drama is so ridiculous that I CAN'T watch it. 'Who's cheating on who? Who's pregnant now? They *kissed*?!?' All of it is far enough out of reality that I can't suspend my disbelief and just accept what is handed to me. FlashForward is getting to be the same way. 'Why doesn't he tell her? Why is she lying to the other guy? Shouldn't he just let it go?' There is so much drama that the plot gets sacrificed.

I love science fiction. I love fantasy. Suspension of disbelief of the world is something that is not that hard to do. The world is presented with a certain number of rules that the characters and plot must adhere to. Within that, when a character or plot point leaves to far from what is real life, that is when I start to have problems with the story. A world set on earth cannot have different physics or laws of nature. A story with humans has to have the relationships behave a certain way. It is possible to suspend disbelief in a world, but I do not think that anything good comes from that same suspension of a character. And yet, this is what we are often asked to do as an audience.

This is the reason I can't watch BSG. Or Lost. Or Glee. Or any number of shows. The reality of the characters is not there. I love some TV, and some shows that are coming out really are good. I am just ready to stop caring about every new show that hits the streets. It's just not worth it to get frustrated.

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