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Post by Simone on Dec 9, 2010 18:14:55 GMT
Well, the TV Series phenomenon might be old for americans, but for most of us europeans (especially non-brits) it's recent history. Course we had The Love Boat, Supercar and Early Edition in the past, but they were merely fillers in a TV schedule that was more film and game show oriented...they had to fill the gaps in the morning-afternoon schedule.
People might not have noticed it because it happened slowly and gradually in the US, but here in Italy it literally happened in one year.
It's only recently that we started importing TV series at an impressive pace: every year there's something like 10 to 20 brand new series, not counting new seasons of older series. The hype they get is mastodontical. The public response is unbelievable and I think pretty much anyone from our generation (beside me) is a regular watcher of at least 5 or 6 series. All of a sudden, a new industry has risen. People who used to work for the film industry, are producing for TV. Every year we get less movies and more TV series. Is TV making more money than Hollywood or what?
So I sat in the chamber of understanding (the bathroom) to think why there's so much focus on TV series while the movie industry is producing less and less, why TV seems more convenient than cinema for producers and more importantly, why lay people seem to be more into TV than movies nowdays. I don't have proof for this as it is only in my head, but I'd appreciate anyone's opinion so we can sharpen/dismantle the theory.
My main point is obviously an economical advantage: TV Series cost less. Actors cost less, locations cost less, writers, directors and the rest of the crew cost less, filming gear costs less, special effects are almost non-required. Six years of, say Lost, must have costed like 10 minutes of Jurassik Park. Copyright incomes are guaranteed for years and years thanks to premier runs and re-runs that are used to fill gaps in schedule.
You can always change the sorts of a TV Serie in mid-run according to the public's reaction: this way, you hardly lose public (money). You can't change a movie and if it fails, then you've lost billions.
You can sell a TV serie seasonally on DVD box sets for 40.00 USD, while a movie on DVD costs 10.00 USD. Sales guaranteed for years. Publicity for older seasons is also guaranteed by newer seasons releases. Money from selling of onscreen adverts. Piracy is also very limited: you can download episodes from the internet, but it is usually a pain in the ass to collect a whole season (how much is an average season? 24 episodes?) and people easily give up and buy the DVDs.
Well I'm not saying that TV Series are bad per se. Sure there's a lot of creativity and entertaiment there. But it looks like a more lucrative and less risky business. What will be of cinema movies? What if the "tv series mania" didn't start with the free choice of the public but with the industry hardly pushing the public in that way? How would people feel if they knew that they are doing exactly what they are supposed to do - fall for that - without a minimum of reasoning ("...how come I am watching 15 different TV series all of a sudden, while a few years before I couldn't care less?")?
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Post by Simone on Dec 9, 2010 21:58:21 GMT
Well, the TV Series phenomenon might be old for americans, but for most of us europeans (especially non-brits) it's recent history. Course we had The Love Boat, Supercar and Early Edition in the past, but they were merely fillers in a TV schedule that was more film and game show oriented...they had to fill the gaps in the morning-afternoon schedule. People might not have noticed it because it happened slowly and gradually in the US, but here in Italy it literally happened in one year. It's only recently that we started importing TV series at an impressive pace: every year there's something like 10 to 20 brand new series, not counting new seasons of older series. The hype they get is mastodontical. The public response is unbelievable and I think pretty much anyone from our generation (beside me) is a regular watcher of at least 5 or 6 series. All of a sudden, a new industry has risen. People who used to work for the film industry, are producing for TV. Every year we get less movies and more TV series. Is TV making more money than Hollywood or what? So I sat in the chamber of understanding (the bathroom) to think why there's so much focus on TV series while the movie industry is producing less and less, why TV seems more convenient than cinema for producers and more importantly, why lay people seem to be more into TV than movies nowdays. I don't have proof for this as it is only in my head, but I'd appreciate anyone's opinion so we can sharpen/dismantle the theory. My main point is obviously an economical advantage: TV Series cost less. Actors cost less, locations cost less, writers, directors and the rest of the crew cost less, filming gear costs less, special effects are almost non-required. Six years of, say Lost, must have costed like 10 minutes of Jurassik Park. Copyright incomes are guaranteed for years and years thanks to premier runs and re-runs that are used to fill gaps in schedule. You can always change the sorts of a TV Serie in mid-run according to the public's reaction: this way, you hardly lose public (money). You can't change a movie and if it fails, then you've lost billions. You can sell a TV serie seasonally on DVD box sets for 40.00 USD, while a movie on DVD costs 10.00 USD. Sales guaranteed for years. Publicity for older seasons is also guaranteed by newer seasons releases. Money from selling of onscreen adverts. Piracy is also very limited: you can download episodes from the internet, but it is usually a pain in the ass to collect a whole season (how much is an average season? 24 episodes?) and people easily give up and buy the DVDs. Well I'm not saying that TV Series are bad per se. Sure there's a lot of creativity and entertaiment there. But it looks like a more lucrative and less risky business. What will be of cinema movies? What if the "tv series mania" didn't start with the free choice of the public but with the industry hardly pushing the public in that way? How would people feel if they knew that they are doing exactly what they are supposed to do - fall for that - without a minimum of reasoning (" ...how come I am watching 15 different TV series all of a sudden, while a few years before I couldn't care less?")? Good point Simone. I agree with most of what you said. You can't, however, deny that people enjoy watching TV series. So are you saying that people lie to themself when they say they enjoy these products? Beside that, who really cares? We're all on the same boat and we should get the best society offers us. Who fucking cares if they are insisting so much on TV series just to milk a cheap cow? I enjoy them so there's really no need to overthink. Just deal with it, won't you? |
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Post by monkeytennis on Dec 9, 2010 22:10:55 GMT
My main point is obviously an economical advantage: TV Series cost less. Actors cost less, locations cost less, writers, directors and the rest of the crew cost less, filming gear costs less, special effects are almost non-required. Six years of, say Lost, must have costed like 10 minutes of Jurassik Park. you can look at this as a bonus too. something like the walking dead puts a really fresh take on zombies for me, glacial pace, consideration and potential character arcs. you just can't do that in a 90 minute zombie film. stuff like the sopranos, the wire etc, it's so richly-layered that you feel something for all the characters, even the rotten rat-bastards and the people who are just in it for a few episodes. in a film, it's often hard to care for anyone ancillary. which isn't a criticism...i adore watching movies but you can't fit in so many characters in that time and these restrictions make it harder to create a fully-fleshed believable world. the reason that so many people are into tv series, is that there are a shitload of really good ones available. |
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Post by orch on Dec 9, 2010 22:33:01 GMT
shit thread.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 9, 2010 22:44:18 GMT
I rarely ever watch TV. It doesn't help that I don't have Sky that show most these new American programs everybody seems to be enjoying & when there is something good like the Wire they decide to show it at about 12 every night.
I have the Wire & Sopranos box sets, god knows when I will ever get round to watching either of them. I will download that Walking dead though, have avoided the thread about it as I'd rather know nothing about it but have heard nothing but positive things.
Though at the same time I find myself thinking to myself why bother with TV when there are so many great classic films I am still yet to see.
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Post by Simone on Dec 9, 2010 23:04:08 GMT
aha! what's this, some kind of revenge for telling you you are a lazy fucker? Well Orch, honestly I don't think you are stupid, you are just lazy. Your opinions about religion and your caring for your gf prove me right. So why the fuck don't you just open your heart instead of hiding yourself behind catchphrases and stupid judgements? This is boring, that is shit, it looks like you hardly accept anything that goes a bit under the surface. I'm sure you have a rich inner world, so why don't you share with people? |
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Post by ana on Dec 10, 2010 2:13:27 GMT
Aw, no, your fake novelty Puma t-shirt is fine! Anyway interesting thread; I thought about this and most of the TV I watch are actually 30-minute comedy series/sit-coms and not one-hour drama shows, but yeah, it pretty much all boils down to money. Or maybe there's a sudden rush of quality writers that rose out thanks to the writers' strike from 2007? |
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Post by Simone on Dec 10, 2010 2:48:48 GMT
My main point is obviously an economical advantage: TV Series cost less. Actors cost less, locations cost less, writers, directors and the rest of the crew cost less, filming gear costs less, special effects are almost non-required. Six years of, say Lost, must have costed like 10 minutes of Jurassik Park. you can look at this as a bonus too. something like the walking dead puts a really fresh take on zombies for me, glacial pace, consideration and potential character arcs. you just can't do that in a 90 minute zombie film. stuff like the sopranos, the wire etc, it's so richly-layered that you feel something for all the characters, even the rotten rat-bastards and the people who are just in it for a few episodes. in a film, it's often hard to care for anyone ancillary. which isn't a criticism...i adore watching movies but you can't fit in so many characters in that time and these restrictions make it harder to create a fully-fleshed believable world. the reason that so many people are into tv series, is that there are a shitload of really good ones available. I agree with that Baz, to some extent. Also, I find your take on a "fully-fleshed believable world" very fascinating. That said, maybe that "glacial pace" you mention is not an intended narrative technique but merely a way to keep the public glued to the screen for episodes and episodes? We complain when a 90 minute film never gets to the point, but is it legit to get 24 episodes to open a hatch (it's 960 minutes!)? I've never really seen a non-comedy TV serie, but I've read about some of them in the papers. What I noticed is that people usually support a serie for most of its length, then when they get towards the last few episodes, they start to complain, eventually ending up hating it when it comes to the end. Does it sound familiar to you? Maybe its due to the fact that these rich narrative layers are more an illusion ("a promise" if you wish) to get you glued to the screen and then all of a sudden, when everything ends, you realize that they took 6 months to tell a story that could be told in 120 minutes? Also do people tend to get less critical and picky on ideas just because it's TV and not a film (like " Couldn't they invent anything better than this? Oh well, it's just TV after all, its not a real movie...") without remembering that that TV serie is probably making more money than the average movie? I don't know, it's a possibility. And by the way, is the quality that great or in the end it just feels like a watered down orange juice? |
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Post by Simone on Dec 10, 2010 18:41:29 GMT
Or maybe there's a sudden rush of quality writers that rose out thanks to the writers' strike from 2007? that's a good clue Ana, I totally forgot about the 2007 writers' strike. And yeah, probably the writers realized that the industry was making more and more money, TVs were making a fortune from series and they (rightly) wanted their share. The quality boost might come from the fact that more money involved attracted more pros borrowed from the cinema movie industry. Also Karl, correct me if I'm wrong but is it fair to say that you'd rather go for a "classic oldie" because (instinctively) to you it feels like something...more honest, more naive and purer, dispite of the quality? By the way I'm sure the quality of nowdays TV series is first class. Shame they always seem to cancel the only ones I could enjoy (Everybody Hates Chris anyone? That was lovely!) |
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Post by barny on Dec 10, 2010 18:55:32 GMT
I'm gonna go a little Orchie here and say "I agree"
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Post by orch on Dec 11, 2010 7:10:44 GMT
aha! what's this, some kind of revenge for telling you you are a lazy fucker? Well Orch, honestly I don't think you are stupid, you are just lazy. Your opinions about religion and your caring for your gf prove me right. So why the fuck don't you just open your heart instead of hiding yourself behind catchphrases and stupid judgements? This is boring, that is shit, it looks like you hardly accept anything that goes a bit under the surface. I'm sure you have a rich inner world, so why don't you share with people? lol I'm lazy because I couldn't give a flying fuck about religion? I have no interest in religion and I don't respect anybody who believes in these make believe stories that have caused nothing but harm in the world throughout history. If that makes me lazy, so be it. |
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Post by orch on Dec 11, 2010 7:17:21 GMT
Aw, no, your fake novelty Puma t-shirt is fine! That's a bit of a random thing to come out with!? What relevance has my T-shirt got to me saying this thread is shit?  What are you on about love? Oh btw, it goes without saying that the "fake" Puma t-shirt is fake considering it says Coma on it. It's not supposed to be an actual Puma rip off is it? It's a piss take t-shirt that I bought at Glastonbury. I know I'm not super duper cool and indie but hey, what can ya do? |
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Post by orch on Dec 11, 2010 7:49:04 GMT
Your opinions about religion and your caring for your gf prove me right. Explain? |
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Post by orch on Dec 11, 2010 10:57:15 GMT
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Post by ana on Dec 11, 2010 18:47:59 GMT
Aw, no, your fake novelty Puma t-shirt is fine! That's a bit of a random thing to come out with!? What relevance has my T-shirt got to me saying this thread is shit? What are you on about love? Oh btw, it goes without saying that the "fake" Puma t-shirt is fake considering it says Coma on it. It's not supposed to be an actual Puma rip off is it? It's a piss take t-shirt that I bought at Glastonbury. I know I'm not super duper cool and indie but hey, what can ya do? ¡¡¡WOUND-UP ALERT!!! |
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Post by orch on Dec 11, 2010 19:12:00 GMT
Righto, obviously can't answer to my post so you've resorted in stealing my sayings.
Good going darling.
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Post by barny on Dec 11, 2010 22:58:26 GMT
You've changed
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Post by Simone on Dec 12, 2010 20:08:49 GMT
lol I'm lazy because I couldn't give a flying fuck about religion? I have no interest in religion and I don't respect anybody who believes in these make believe stories that have caused nothing but harm in the world throughout history. If that makes me lazy, so be it. No, you are lazy because the rare opinions you blessed us with, while alright sometimes, are supported by no reasoning at all. You never explain what leads to you have certain opinions or jump to certain conclusions. This is being lazy. I agreed with you on religion (in general) and muslim (in particular) but you always refuse to go deeper than the quick thought, and your thinking apathy plays against you, to a point that now people not only think you're a drunken hobo but a racist aswell and not a very smart one. Also, you find boring anyone who does what you don't do (caring to explain their opinions in depth with a bit of brain), and this is being an idiot. And people steal your sayings not because they lack in immagination but just to prove you how tedious you can be sometimes. |
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Post by orch on Dec 12, 2010 20:30:39 GMT
I don't tend to explain cos I don't really fucking care?
And what have I said that's racist?
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Post by bet welching prick on Dec 13, 2010 20:46:34 GMT
HEY ORCH, WHY DON'T YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP WHEN GROWN-UPS ARE TALKING?
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What are you on about love?
