Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

rtseel t1_ja7z2ea wrote

Reply to comment by militantcookie in “ Prime Video's The Consultant Is a Little Weird, a Little Unsettling, and Mostly Mediocre.” by Hidethegoodbiscuits

I don't think that's unfortunate at all. In this time of TV abundance, if a show hasn't grabbed me by episode 3, I'm out. There are way too many good stuff out there to watch.

Gone are the days where you had to wait until season 3 of TNG to see it achieve brilliance.

2

Lulzsecks t1_ja81fq4 wrote

Me too, not saying everyone has to watch the whole show lol. Just people who elect to write a review probably should

6

militantcookie t1_ja80pwv wrote

TNG season 1 wouldn't have a chance today. Sat down to watch it with an 8 year old, even he found it ridiculous.

3

efs120 t1_ja91ww0 wrote

And critics revisited it when it got better, right?

2

militantcookie t1_ja9vixz wrote

Different times though, today the series would have been cancelled before any critic had the chance to check again.

0

efs120 t1_ja9vy48 wrote

Probably not, it would be on Paramount+, Star Trek fans would complain about it, then it would comfortably get renewed for a second season above their protests because someone is watching it even though everyone in the fan base claims to hate it.

0

reddit_beer_map t1_ja8d1i0 wrote

Some shows are products of their time and that context matters. You're right that TNG S1 wouldn't have a chance today.

However, TNG miraculously evolved into a consistently excellent and timeless show at the start of S3, even if it started getting a little uneven in seasons 6 and 7. The TNG of S3 and beyond would still be a hit today.

1

DoingbusinessPR t1_ja8s23l wrote

This mentality is why tv series start off great and then crash and burn. I would rather stick with a mediocre first half of a series that builds up to something that pays off for your time investment than a show that starts off great but jumps the shark well before the end.

But I guess our collective attention spans are so diminished that if something doesn’t grab hold immediately, we run back to our phones and social media for that sweet serotonin.

2

rtseel t1_ja8v27e wrote

Sure, blame me and my lack of attention span for the fact that there are tons of high quality TV shows so much that I can afford picking those that suit me immediately instead of waiting for months or years and hope for the best.

While you're at it, you can also blame me for being older and having a steady work, which are also big factors in me having much less time to spend and being more picky in how I spend my "free" time, which isn't that free anymore.

Blame me also because I have too many other interesting things to do, such as riding bike, hiking, reading books, playing guitar, playing with my cats, instead of being endlessly glued to my TV, hoping that any mediocre show becomes a masterwork if only I give him a chance.

Fuck me for having a life, right?

−1

DoingbusinessPR t1_ja8ylg9 wrote

No one is saying fuck you for having a life, but your requirements of new shows “achieving brilliance” within the first 3 episodes or else you bail on the show is definitely a sentiment that puts restraints on the people working hard to tell a story that is different, new, or complex. If you can decide whether a show is worth your time in 3 episodes or less, that’s great for you, but there are plenty of people out there willing to give a story time to develop, since most of the greats don’t become great immediately. If you care about stories and how they’re told, you’re missing out on a lot of good ones if you can’t delay your gratification.

3

rtseel t1_ja9gqz7 wrote

I never said I want them to achieve brilliance, that was specifically in relation to TNG. I just want them to compel me enough to keep me watching the next episode.

> There are plenty of people out there willing to give a story time to develop, since most of the greats don’t become great immediately

Not anymore, as shows are cancelled more and more early, and it's no a recent phenomenon either. At least today's streaming shows have one full season in the can before they're cancelled. Others before didn't have that much chance and were cancelled after a handful of episodes. And that was before, as you put it, "we run back to our phones and social media for that sweet serotonin."

And again, the problem is that there's too many choice now and time is limited. Sure, when all that's on the air is Magnum and Hunter, I would have gladly waited for a show to develop because frankly there's nothing else to watch.

In the 3 months time period where you have Atlanta, Andor, The White Lotus, The Crown, Wednesday, House of the Dragons and the Sandman being released, you also have several hundreds of other shows premiering (including some as high profile as Rings of Power or the Yellowstone shows). You can't honestly expect people to give their chance to each of these shows and blame people for their failures.

1