By Emanuel Vasconcelos
I decided to make my first post ever about a topic that I have been witnessing for the last couple of generations, the phenomenon of modern american TV Series and the decay of modern hollywood. As we all know Hollywood has suffer a tremendous lack of imagination and originality for the last couple of years, but now this has gone to the extreme. Literally almost everything Hollywood produces nowadays are sequels, remakes, TV series adaptations, books adaptations, comic books adaptation and even video games adaptations, everything must be base on something else specially in Hollywood Blockbusters.
[caption id="attachment_18" align="alignnone" width="192"]
the horror... the horror[/caption]
Only few directors try new and original things such as Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino, Darren Arononfsky, The Coen Brothers and a few others, this guys are the only ones that make Hollywood still respectable in this horrible times.
[caption id="attachment_19" align="alignnone" width="300"]
No oscar nomination? and this is how they thank you?[/caption]
The lack of new stories is not what scares me, but the lack of quality in the story-telling is depressing, THE QUALITY, that's the problem. It seems like Hollywood doesn't know how to create or tell stories anymore, fuck it, hollywood is not even interested in creating stories anymore. My point is that the quality of writing is almost dead in this business, story doesn't matter in this business...which is sad because after all, a movie is nothing more than an expensive story.
Well yea Hollywood is in decay... blah...blah...blah, yes we all know that. And I will not talk about that anymore, what I will talk about now is the sudden rise of extremely well develop American TV Drama Series in the last couple of years , technically a new phenomenon. TV Dramas with better stories, better dialogues, better story-telling and better acting than many Motion Pictures, isn't that one of the most bizarre things ever? Imagine that you are living in the Golden Age of Hollywood and somebody says that in the future TV Shows will have better quality than hollywood films, is like if somebody says today, that in the future independent mini-games like Plants VS Zombies or AngryBirds will have better quality than console games like GTA, Metal Gear, Halo or Call Of Duty; it seems highly improbable, but the future will always be a mystery.
I will divide this blog in 3 segments: TV Dramas that are now classics, Modern TV Comedies and TV Drama Series right now.
TV Drama Series that are now classics
I don't know who started this movement, it definitely started in the 90's but I don't know what series did this remarkable jump, my two bets are either Twin Peaks or The Sopranos. But because Twin Peaks has like a soup opera feeling I will put The Sopranos on top.
[caption id="attachment_5" align="alignnone" width="300"]
For me, they started this[/caption]
So yea, im sure that im not the only one that says The Sopranos were the first succesful TV Drama Series that started everything. It was smart, it was entertaining, it was a little bizarre, it had one of the greatest cast and characters ever, it had terrific dialogue, it was original and it is the perfect example of a TV Drama Series, since then HBO had produced numerous succesful and well develop (and nearly perfect) dramas like Six Feet Under, The Wire, Deadwood, Boardwalk Empire. And lets not forget the really first Drama that HBO produced Oz, which in my opinion, is one of the most underrated TV Series of all time. I could just talk about HBO all the rest of the blog but I will also look at other genres.
Science Fiction and TV have always work well together since The Twilight Zone, Dr.Who, Star Trek, The X Files, but what about more modern times, well we only have the most enigmatic series of all time: Lost
[caption id="attachment_6" align="alignnone" width="300"]
Not just a TV Series it also a TV Puzzle[/caption]
Mysteries, Metaphors, Philosophical Questions, Religious Themes, bottom line Lost has the most complex and large mythology ever in a TV Series and that's what makes it immortal.
[caption id="attachment_7" align="alignnone" width="275"]
Life On Mars[/caption]
I know is not an american tv series but is still worth mentioning inside the science fiction genre. Life On Mars is the greatest merge between science fiction and police thriller, if you like either of this two genres you should check it out because, is simply one of the best series of this last decade.
TV Dramas have evolve not only in the development of characters but also in the innovation of story-telling and a perfect example of this, is the now classic political thriller 24.
[caption id="attachment_17" align="alignnone" width="300"]
TV Series in real-time, bitch[/caption]
Modern TV Comedies
Moving on with, the comedies, .........oh my god, here in comedies is where you really draw the line between the quality of a comedy show and a comedy movie.
[caption id="attachment_8" align="alignnone" width="211"]
For me, the most innovative comedy sitcom of this generation[/caption]
I hate comedy movies, specially the new ones; I love comedy shows, specially the new ones. Is amazing how good, funny and smart some modern comedy series are, just like: The Office, Two & Half Man, Malcolm In The Middle, The Big Bang Theory, and my new favorite Modern Family. And how horrible and disgusting the new comedy films are: All those fucking god-forbbiden films that ends with Movie, everything with Adam Sandler, every American Pie, everything about Dogs. It's incredible how this people have so good comedy in a Tv and so insulting comedy in a Movie Theater. And if you don't believe me just watch the Little Fockers and then watch 2 or even 1 episode of Modern Family and just tell me were you laugh the most.
[caption id="attachment_9" align="alignnone" width="300"]
Ha! that's what I thought[/caption]
TV Drama Series Right Now
Now at last, lets take a look at a few of the most recent and succesful TV Dramas right now, Mad Men, Breaking Bad and Boardwalk Empire. This series are as stylish as hollywood was in its golden era.
[caption id="attachment_11" align="alignnone" width="300"]
See what I mean?[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_12" align="alignnone" width="300"]
See what I mean?[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_13" align="alignnone" width="300"]
See what I... oh well, let's make an exception[/caption]
But seriously, just take a look at this three series that I just mentioned, and you will see so clearly, how the quality of writing, character development and story-telling in a Drama Series has surpass modern american cinema, but why is it?
Why TV Series today have become so much powerful and better than Hollywood, why TV Series have evolve some much and Hollywood doesn't? Well, is a really easy question to answer.
Because Hollywood doesn't need to evolve, Hollywood doesn't need to take risks, Hollywood doesn't need to try new things, because they know they can sell you the same story over and over again disguise as a sequel, a remake, a reboot an adaptation and you will accept it. That's why the quality in story in Hollywood Films have stayed so low for such a long time, that now, TV Series have finally surpass it.
TV Drama Series in the other hand, are new, they need to try new thing if they wanna succeed, they need to have great characters in order to involve them with great stories in a large period of time. Maybe this sounds like a disadvantage for the creators of TV Series but is actually an advantage in terms of story-telling, you have a better chance for develop your characters in a long period of time and try numerous thing with them, you also have a better chance for developing your setting and expand it more and more as the series progress, and the best of all ,if you had great characters then you have given your audience characters that they have expended time with, characters that they have seen grow and evolve in the lapse of time, characters that they love or are really interested about, that they have been following them for years (or maybe decades) and that is the truly powerful aspect of a TV Series, something that a movie will never achieve.
And just for finish this blog I gave you the greatest series finale of one of the greatest series of all time.
Well that was my first blog, thanks for reading and please comment if you like it or not. Well see'ya.
I decided to make my first post ever about a topic that I have been witnessing for the last couple of generations, the phenomenon of modern american TV Series and the decay of modern hollywood. As we all know Hollywood has suffer a tremendous lack of imagination and originality for the last couple of years, but now this has gone to the extreme. Literally almost everything Hollywood produces nowadays are sequels, remakes, TV series adaptations, books adaptations, comic books adaptation and even video games adaptations, everything must be base on something else specially in Hollywood Blockbusters.
[caption id="attachment_18" align="alignnone" width="192"]
the horror... the horror[/caption]Only few directors try new and original things such as Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino, Darren Arononfsky, The Coen Brothers and a few others, this guys are the only ones that make Hollywood still respectable in this horrible times.
[caption id="attachment_19" align="alignnone" width="300"]
No oscar nomination? and this is how they thank you?[/caption]The lack of new stories is not what scares me, but the lack of quality in the story-telling is depressing, THE QUALITY, that's the problem. It seems like Hollywood doesn't know how to create or tell stories anymore, fuck it, hollywood is not even interested in creating stories anymore. My point is that the quality of writing is almost dead in this business, story doesn't matter in this business...which is sad because after all, a movie is nothing more than an expensive story.
Well yea Hollywood is in decay... blah...blah...blah, yes we all know that. And I will not talk about that anymore, what I will talk about now is the sudden rise of extremely well develop American TV Drama Series in the last couple of years , technically a new phenomenon. TV Dramas with better stories, better dialogues, better story-telling and better acting than many Motion Pictures, isn't that one of the most bizarre things ever? Imagine that you are living in the Golden Age of Hollywood and somebody says that in the future TV Shows will have better quality than hollywood films, is like if somebody says today, that in the future independent mini-games like Plants VS Zombies or AngryBirds will have better quality than console games like GTA, Metal Gear, Halo or Call Of Duty; it seems highly improbable, but the future will always be a mystery.
I will divide this blog in 3 segments: TV Dramas that are now classics, Modern TV Comedies and TV Drama Series right now.
TV Drama Series that are now classics
I don't know who started this movement, it definitely started in the 90's but I don't know what series did this remarkable jump, my two bets are either Twin Peaks or The Sopranos. But because Twin Peaks has like a soup opera feeling I will put The Sopranos on top.
[caption id="attachment_5" align="alignnone" width="300"]
For me, they started this[/caption]So yea, im sure that im not the only one that says The Sopranos were the first succesful TV Drama Series that started everything. It was smart, it was entertaining, it was a little bizarre, it had one of the greatest cast and characters ever, it had terrific dialogue, it was original and it is the perfect example of a TV Drama Series, since then HBO had produced numerous succesful and well develop (and nearly perfect) dramas like Six Feet Under, The Wire, Deadwood, Boardwalk Empire. And lets not forget the really first Drama that HBO produced Oz, which in my opinion, is one of the most underrated TV Series of all time. I could just talk about HBO all the rest of the blog but I will also look at other genres.
Science Fiction and TV have always work well together since The Twilight Zone, Dr.Who, Star Trek, The X Files, but what about more modern times, well we only have the most enigmatic series of all time: Lost
[caption id="attachment_6" align="alignnone" width="300"]
Not just a TV Series it also a TV Puzzle[/caption]Mysteries, Metaphors, Philosophical Questions, Religious Themes, bottom line Lost has the most complex and large mythology ever in a TV Series and that's what makes it immortal.
[caption id="attachment_7" align="alignnone" width="275"]
Life On Mars[/caption]I know is not an american tv series but is still worth mentioning inside the science fiction genre. Life On Mars is the greatest merge between science fiction and police thriller, if you like either of this two genres you should check it out because, is simply one of the best series of this last decade.
TV Dramas have evolve not only in the development of characters but also in the innovation of story-telling and a perfect example of this, is the now classic political thriller 24.
[caption id="attachment_17" align="alignnone" width="300"]
TV Series in real-time, bitch[/caption]Modern TV Comedies
Moving on with, the comedies, .........oh my god, here in comedies is where you really draw the line between the quality of a comedy show and a comedy movie.
[caption id="attachment_8" align="alignnone" width="211"]
For me, the most innovative comedy sitcom of this generation[/caption]I hate comedy movies, specially the new ones; I love comedy shows, specially the new ones. Is amazing how good, funny and smart some modern comedy series are, just like: The Office, Two & Half Man, Malcolm In The Middle, The Big Bang Theory, and my new favorite Modern Family. And how horrible and disgusting the new comedy films are: All those fucking god-forbbiden films that ends with Movie, everything with Adam Sandler, every American Pie, everything about Dogs. It's incredible how this people have so good comedy in a Tv and so insulting comedy in a Movie Theater. And if you don't believe me just watch the Little Fockers and then watch 2 or even 1 episode of Modern Family and just tell me were you laugh the most.
[caption id="attachment_9" align="alignnone" width="300"]
Ha! that's what I thought[/caption]TV Drama Series Right Now
Now at last, lets take a look at a few of the most recent and succesful TV Dramas right now, Mad Men, Breaking Bad and Boardwalk Empire. This series are as stylish as hollywood was in its golden era.
[caption id="attachment_11" align="alignnone" width="300"]
See what I mean?[/caption][caption id="attachment_12" align="alignnone" width="300"]
See what I mean?[/caption][caption id="attachment_13" align="alignnone" width="300"]
See what I... oh well, let's make an exception[/caption]But seriously, just take a look at this three series that I just mentioned, and you will see so clearly, how the quality of writing, character development and story-telling in a Drama Series has surpass modern american cinema, but why is it?
Why TV Series today have become so much powerful and better than Hollywood, why TV Series have evolve some much and Hollywood doesn't? Well, is a really easy question to answer.
Because Hollywood doesn't need to evolve, Hollywood doesn't need to take risks, Hollywood doesn't need to try new things, because they know they can sell you the same story over and over again disguise as a sequel, a remake, a reboot an adaptation and you will accept it. That's why the quality in story in Hollywood Films have stayed so low for such a long time, that now, TV Series have finally surpass it.
TV Drama Series in the other hand, are new, they need to try new thing if they wanna succeed, they need to have great characters in order to involve them with great stories in a large period of time. Maybe this sounds like a disadvantage for the creators of TV Series but is actually an advantage in terms of story-telling, you have a better chance for develop your characters in a long period of time and try numerous thing with them, you also have a better chance for developing your setting and expand it more and more as the series progress, and the best of all ,if you had great characters then you have given your audience characters that they have expended time with, characters that they have seen grow and evolve in the lapse of time, characters that they love or are really interested about, that they have been following them for years (or maybe decades) and that is the truly powerful aspect of a TV Series, something that a movie will never achieve.
And just for finish this blog I gave you the greatest series finale of one of the greatest series of all time.
Well that was my first blog, thanks for reading and please comment if you like it or not. Well see'ya.