Rant and Review: where have all the good shows gone?

So, I've no idea if anyone cares to read this, but I'm posting in the interest of conversation.

I watched the pilot for a new show today, called VIRTUALITY. I've been hearing quite a bit of hype about it for the past month and was looking forward to its airing; the pilot would be extra-long and then hopefully if it got enough views the show would get picked up for a full season. It's penned by Ronald D. Moore, who most people don't even know but would recognize his handiwork in writing/producing for Star Trek: The Next Generation and its movie-spawn, ROSWELL and CARNIVALE, other great TV shows from awhile back, and more recently the new BATTLESTAR GALACTICA series.

the basic premise of VIRTUALITY is this: A crew has been formed to man a spaceship and is preparing for "Go or No Go" in regards to a mission to explore a new planet on the edge of a distant planetary system. The hook is, the entire thing is also being captured as a reality show. The mission's in effect because, as to be expected, we've abused our own planet's resources to the point where we need to start looking for alternatives. This new crew, of the space ship PHAETON, has something of a big-brother element to it, although the show itself acknowledges more about the crew than the drama portrayed. It doesn't shy from the questions raised by such a topic- namely the idea that elements of a "Reality" show are staged. Additionally the show (at least in this pilot) focuses a lot on the VR machines used by the crew for recreation- a virtual world one can escape to, vast as you want it to be and to any genre, time period, or style of life you wish. The program has its glitches though; early on we learn there's a bug in the system- a program glitch where an AI is actually killing the crew during their separate excursions, causing them to 'wake' from the VR feeling like they've just experienced it for real thanks to the advanced technology.

In spite of all this, it's a very realistic fiction show, not unlike what RDM did with Battlestar; the focus is not on how space-y things are, but rather how humans interact with each other when confined together for a long stretch of time. He writes dramatic tension well, and for those who've never picked up Battlestar Galactica, let me tell you that it's not your father's Sci-Fi show. BSG has more drama than science fiction. and while you never lose sight of the fact that you're on a ship, it doesn't overwhelm a good plot, good acting, and a solid story.





okay, that's the review part. now for the rant.


This show got crap ratings when it aired on friday. Can't say I'm surprised. It's the same thing that happened to The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Dollhouse (though Dollhouse managed to survive, thanks to DVR-viewings and online-viewings after episodes were released online). shows like this are fresh, they are solid-acted and well-written, and yet Terminator was, and I fear VIRTUALITY is, apparently doomed to fail. As are piles of shows that came before them. And not all are science fiction!

off the top of my head, the killed-too-soon list includes:

Freaks and Geeks.
Arrested Development.
Sports Night.
Deadwood.
Farscape.
Carnivale.
Twin Peaks.
Pushing Daisies.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
Journeyman.
Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place.
NewsRadio.
and FIREFLY of course. but that's a rant half of you already know and the other half don't want/need to hear.


few of these shows made it past the first season, but even those that did limped along with ratings for only two, three seasons at best. And yet, everything the critics could offer suggested that these shows are fantastic (most of the time. I won't deny the above list has its flaws here and there). The fault therefore must lie with the viewees and not the creator, yes?

So where has the public failed? Why are some shows, good as they are, ignored? I would set aside my geekdom pride and openly admit that it would be "Because It's Sci-Fi" any day if that were the case. But Arrested Development is far from Sci-Fi, and it's a bloody shame that it bit the bullet so early. No, I fear that somehow the public has opted to pick forms of entertainment that aren't so intellectually-based.

But hey, I mean, who needs thought-provoking when we can tune in to "WIPEOUT" to watch a bunch of people get knocked on their ass into murky, disgusting water? Or the ever-popular (for some absurd reason) "SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE"? Hell, most of us do think we can dance regardless of being right, why televise it for the world to judge mercilessly? Is there nothing with a storyline anymore? Does it all have to be Celebrity Cameos and Easy-to-Comprehend-While-Sitting-On-A-Co

uch? Why find a show that makes us uncomfortable but eager to discuss the questions raised, when we can watch a bunch of rich, obnoxious, spoiled teens have sex and cause absurdly unnecessary drama (something we've all dealt with for the past eight years in our own gorramn lives, and some continuing to suffer through thanks to the maturity of those around us) on one of those shows like OC or GOSSIP GIRL? I must confess I haven't seen the latter, but I stumbled on to WIPEOUT one night and was dumbstruck by how unsatisfying and brain-numbing it was.

Shows' fanbase can make or break, as supported by Jericho (briefly), Eli Stone, Family Guy, and Futurama (once again!). All of these shows have had such strong, vocal followings that they were revived and live on. Again supporting the idea that it's not just Execs trying to make money on a show, but that the audience has the Roman Thumb of Fate when these shows' backs are to the wall.

I can't quite comprehend it, and therefore at this stage I'm only left wondering when people will come around. And maybe I'm just not seeing everything. I mean, I know I'm not omniscient but I've always wondered this sort of thing when I come across shows only to find they ended after one to three seasons.

And so, I ask you:

What do your shows need to have in order to keep you interested, friends? What do you think the cause is for good shows getting the hook before their time? (and any other questions/thoughts I may have omitted due to my brain finally running out of steam).
Feel free to leave a comment. I'd seriously appreciate your thoughts on the topic.


and, for those who are curious, here's the pilot:

http://www.hulu.com/watch/80030/virtuality

do you ever have the distinct feeling that something is missing?

not like you've left the gas on or not, or that you're forgetting what you came into a room to do in the first place, but more like something important isn't there.

it rests somewhere around your gut, but branches out down your arms and just behind your navel.
Like, there's a... a hollowness that used to be filled in, or like you've just experienced the death of someone you knew, but nothing of the sort has actually happened.

it's not quite a grief, so much as you know inherently that you shouldn't be feeling like this and that off-putting feeling is rather empty and therefore depressing even though you can't fathom what's creating the feeling.

this has made a lot of people very angry, and has been widely regarded as a bad move.

In the beginning.... there was an apartment. It was the symbol of independence, and a representation of growth and maturity. It was a beginning, as well as the symbol of what had ended. Plus it was close to a subway line, which meant non-car living wasn't so hard.

and in that apartment, there was a dude.








and that dude finally decided it was time to keep in contact with other friends. He missed them from time to time and wanted to hang out them when the Powers That Be decided timing could allow for such. But since he couldn't all the time, he decided to find a way to keep them informed of his shenanigans, and as a way for him to find them to keep up on theirs.
And lo, there was a new Blog. and there was much blogging. sometimes. on rare occasions of remembering to.


welcome. step Outside the Asylum.