For many years now I have had a problem with serialized dramas. If your not sure what I am talking about serialized dramas are shows that tell an elaborate story which a piece of this story being shown each week. Shows like 24, Prison Break, Heroes were all serialized dramas. These were the rage for about five years but because there was no elegant way to continue nor end these shows they have fallen to the way side. Boy did they have a hay day though.
My problem with them is that when they are good I get addicted. I go on these marathon sprees with these shows where I cannot stop watching them. When the first season of 24 came out my best friend bought it on DVD. I had never watched the show but he insisted I see it. Well I was instantly hooked and watching it straight for about 16 hours. I had finished the entire first season in two days (would have been one but boy did my eyes hurt towards the end) because of this sickness I have. There is something about the overreaching story archs, complicated characters, and complex story lines. They keep me wanting more, and enthralled with what’s going on. I always say to myself “just one more episode” but it’s never just one more because when I say that after watching 10 episodes straight then clearly I am not going to stop.
They are not without their flaws however. Take Heroes for example. I absolutely loved that show and the first season was so powerful. The problem came in two parts. The first admittedly was unavoidable and that was the writers strike. It cut their second season in half, and the second season is very important to any show. It determines if a show will last or fizzle out. Well it threw off the pace of the show, left a huge gap and wrecked the planned out story line. The second problem was that the show lost itself. What I mean by that is story lines were started and dropped with zero explanation. It became convoluted and confusing. The heroes and villains of the show became too powerful which created unbeatable characters. It took away suspense, tension, and worry for the well being of the characters when you knew they were not going anywhere. The show went from incredible highs to dizzying lows because of these two problems.
The other problem with the serialized drama is that you cannot gain new viewers. Let’s switch to Lost. That was not a show you could just join in season two. However season one came out on DVD just before season two began airing. That means you had to record one season, filling up your DVR, while watching season one as quickly as possible. Most people don’t have the time, or will power to catch up to these shows since it’s much easier to just not watch them. I know it leaves you out of some conversations but hey you live. I never watched lost, a highly talked about and popular show, but suffered no consequences in my active social life because of it.
That second problem I believe is what ultimately drove networks to quit on serialized dramas. We are not at the start of the re-emergence of the sitcom. Modern Family has paved the way for this and I am predicting more family style sitcoms arriving on televisions this fall. ABC has jumped on this naturally and soon enough others will too. Dramas will still have a strong presence but as stated they will be episodic and not serialized.
Did you like the serialized drama? If so what was your favorite one?
