John August says: TV dramas better than films

[Priya]

Re: John August says: TV dramas better than films

Not to be pedantic but Steven Moffat is Scottish.

Isn't that the same thing?

[magicman35]

Re: John August says: TV dramas better than films

TV=more time.
More time=easier to write.

Now go watch your average TV movie when they don't have that luxury - total rubbish.

Let me get this straight you think TV writers have more time and that makes it easier to write. More time than feature writers?

[zz9]

Re: John August says: TV dramas better than films

TV=more time.
More time=easier to write.

Firefly episode Out Of Gas was written in a weekend, from pitch to script, thnaks to Fox demanding a second pilot since they had decided not to show the first pilot.

And English or Scottish, Moffatt is a great writer.

[P.G. Bauhaus]

Re: John August says: TV dramas better than films

On a slightly different note it always amuses me that people in the States hold up British TV as a shining example.

Show me an American TV comedy that is as daring and funny as Nathan Barley, the Mighty Boosh, the good version of The Office, I'm Alan Partridge, or Father Ted. Maybe Arrested Development is the closest contender. The rest are all animated.

I realize that August's comment was directed at drama but mentioning the American version of the Office threw me off on a tangent.

[P.G. Bauhaus]

Re: John August says: TV dramas better than films

To those that agree with him, can you give an example of TV's narrative complexity, questioning of conventions and creative one-upmanship? I can't think of any examples but maybe I don't watch enough TV. Also if you could explain what "suprise over spectacle", "directors who give a **** about dialog" and "corners that haven't been rounded off" are supposed to mean, that would be really helpful as well.

[WritersBlock2010]

Re: John August says: TV dramas better than films

American movies and TV are two different mediums (Duh!) and as a result cater to extremely different demographics:

-Movies = Teen and 20something males

-TV = 20something females

The irony is both segments of the industry claim to want to cater to a mass audience, but the reality is these two segments are the main demographics that heavily influence why most of the decisions to greenlight a film or TV show are made.

This is why a lot of the big budget spectacles are "guy oriented" action movies like Transformers... And why most of the prime time shows are work place a.k.a. relationship dramas. Even something like "24" is a work place drama at heart. The same is true with "Grey's Anatomy" and other shows.

I rarely watch broadcast TV anymore. Namely because there are no "guy" shows on TV for me. Everything is a work place/realtionship drama, or a "Friends" clone like "Big Bang Theory", or "How I Met Your Mother".

On cable TV I can get a healthy dose of testosterone via shows like The Ultimate Fighter, Wrestling and guy-oriented dramas like "Entourage" and "Californication".

I think who each medium caters to might be more of a factor as to why TV appears more complex as John August points out rather than TV or movies being more or less complex as a whole.

[magicman35]

Re: John August says: TV dramas better than films

-Movies = Teen and 20something males

-TV = 20something females

What's with all the "=" signs? Is it gross generalization week on DD?

[DramaKing]

Re: John August says: TV dramas better than films

Sounds like August is comparing great TV to bad films. I can't think of any examples where TV has distinctly risen above cinema.

Some shows have greater complexity than films, but that's because they have the luxury of time to develop and explore that complexity over multiple seasons. You could never pull off a film with the mythology and back stories and complexity of plotting that LOST has because trying to compress it all into 2 hours would be impossible.

Having said that, there is no shortage of movies with complex character and plotting that would rival any series Pilot. IMO, comparing a Film to a series Pilot is a truer comparison.

[Biohazard]

Re: John August says: TV dramas better than films

I can't think of any examples where TV has distinctly risen above cinema.

Six Feet Under and The Wire instantly come to mind.

[DramaKing]

Re: John August says: TV dramas better than films

And how are those shows more creative and complex than cinema?

[WritersBlock2010]

Re: John August says: TV dramas better than films

What's with all the "=" signs? Is it gross generalization week on DD?

No gross generalizations.

Statistical fact. If you live in the U.S. you can easily find out these kinds of statistics.

[deadeye]

Re: John August says: TV dramas better than films

John August is peed off with the constraints of movie making. TV writers are peed off with the constraints of TV writing.

As in the whole industry, good stuff gets made despite the money element, not because of.

[sc111]

Re: John August says: TV dramas better than films

No gross generalizations.

Statistical fact. If you live in the U.S. you can easily find out these kinds of statistics.

Or, you can Google & save the airfare.

[sarajb]

Re: John August says: TV dramas better than films

My friends and I have Desperate Housewives parties. We laugh and laugh through the pain that is the drama of our lives.

We've never, however, had a The Notebook party (which is the only movie I've seen recently). I think that spells it out pretty clearly.

[magicman35]

Re: John August says: TV dramas better than films

Or, you can Google & save the airfare.

No, I think WB's right, my opinion's clearly invalid. I'll be bearing that in mind as I spend Xmas and New Year in Malibu with a few rounds of golf at Bel Air CC.