I'd be more inclined to agree if it was some random show, but the MCU has more than earned my trust, even their biggest missteps were still acceptable.
WandaVision
- Thread starter V_R
- Start date
I'd be more inclined to agree if it was some random show, but the MCU has more than earned my trust, even their biggest missteps were still acceptable.
People: "Whaaaa! Shows are so formulaic and predictable! Boooo!"
Studio: *tries something different*
People: "WTF is this? Nothing makes sense instantly! Reeeeee!"
There's nothing wrong with doing something different, but it's still got to grab the viewer. "Different" doesn't necessarily mean it's going to work, and it's not an excuse for failing to pace a show correctly.
It grabbed me instantly because of how weird it was and I really wanted to keep watching to find out what was happening and why.
If anyone was bored or didn't get it after the first 2 episodes there must be something wrong with their imagination and have a rubbish attention span.
If anyone was bored or didn't get it after the first 2 episodes there must be something wrong with their imagination and have a rubbish attention span.
Caporegime
- Joined
- 9 Mar 2006
- Posts
- 58,757
- Location
- Surrey
The show doesn't work without the build-up, I'm not sure what people wanted. We had plenty of mystery in the first few episodes to think on.
Soldato
- Joined
- 13 May 2003
- Posts
- 9,162
I agree the premise of the mystery around Wanda that has built up by episode 5 would not have worked without incremental build up of the first 2 episodes. Who would care about the why of the World Wanda appears to have made if it was revealed in the first or second episode. If we had had some long drawn out sequence over a season that would have been all tease. I think they have pitched it well.
I was just expecting a bit more from the first two episodes. I'm no stranger to slow TV (my two favourite shows are essentially nothing but dialogue) so it's nothing to do with attention span and a lot to do with the first two episodes being pretty dull.
It's moving nicely now though so there is that.
The only thing that made me think "huh, that's interesting" was...
It's moving nicely now though so there is that.
The only thing that made me think "huh, that's interesting" was...
When the helecopter came into the show but was in the iron man colours whilst everything else was in black and white
To play devils advocate, the time between the relatively intriguing moments in those first two episodes is intensely dull and uninspired. I get that it's meant to be a vague pastiche of that time, but ultimately it does nothing of any real intrigue with it until later and even then... Breaking the illusion of that style to key you into the bigger picture is a cool story telling technique, but I think the novelty of it wears off exceptionally quickly. Not to mention the fact that the attitude towards the show from it's fans is already quite sickeningly elitist which almost certainly puts a lot off.
The Lynch comparisons are annoying the hell out of me. Such a lazy parallel to draw.
Last edited:
Soldato
- Joined
- 24 Apr 2006
- Posts
- 6,439
- Location
- SE England
Completely agree.
Permabanned
- Joined
- 5 Apr 2006
- Posts
- 7,704
I watched the trailer and it didn't make me want to watch it, tbh I didn't even know who Wanda was anyways.
Caporegime
- Joined
- 9 Nov 2009
- Posts
- 25,769
- Location
- Planet Earth
People have no patience anymore. Many well known series, could take a whole 20+ episode season of 40+ minute episodes to get upto speed.
Agreed!
People: "Whaaaa! Shows are so formulaic and predictable! Boooo!"
Studio: *tries something different*
People: "WTF is this? Nothing makes sense instantly! Reeeeee!"
Agreed!
Many would argue that any show of any actual merit wouldn't take that long to bare fruit.
Regardless, I've seen very few people complain about the actual pace of the show and more that it offers nothing in it's first few episodes other then formulaic, uninspired, 29 minute nods to a relatively unremarkable era of television alongside a minute (if you're lucky) of material that hints at something interesting in the future.
Don't get me wrong, I like the show a lot. But to treat the people who've left it by the way side as some sort of banal philistines is a little ill judged I feel. Some people have kids and 12 hour work days man!
Soldato
- Joined
- 21 Oct 2011
- Posts
- 22,514
- Location
- ST4
I know, imagine the idiot generation bringing their 30s attention span to bear on Star Trek (TNG, DS9 & Voyager), Stargate: SG-1 & Atlantis, Babylon 5, 24 etc. etc. If the exact plot arc of multiple 20+ episode seasons isn't explained to them within the first 30 mins of the first episode they start crying on the internet.
Ironic that all those shows you name were episodic. Some had long term story arcs (some more than others), but each episode they all had a main story, a back story, and actual progression and action to forward the arc.
I suspect that’s why they released two episodes at once.
So an hour of bewitched?
In a movie by that time we are setting up to the final battle, in a tv show the Doctor has saved the earth and Kirk has saved the galaxy.
It was definitely an interesting premise, it just went on far too long labouring the point.
In a movie by that time we are setting up to the final battle, in a tv show the Doctor has saved the earth and Kirk has saved the galaxy.
It was definitely an interesting premise, it just went on far too long labouring the point.
Caporegime
- Joined
- 9 Nov 2009
- Posts
- 25,769
- Location
- Planet Earth
Plenty of shows like Babylon 5 took 20+ episodes to set the pace for the show. SG1 and TNG did the same. TNG took until season 2 to hits its pace. Agents of Shield was the same,etc. X Files took ages to push the overall story forward - Twin Peeks took time to introduce the world,etc. Lost and BSG also took a lot of time to actually progress the story forward. Lots of these shows when you rewatched them you realise things were foreshadowed in the first season.
Then you had series like Watchmen,where people were complaining within 2 episodes.I mean FFS,so many of the best anime series ended up only explaining what is all happening towards the end.
People have gotten used to having the whole season of a show released at once so you can binge watch it. You used to not only have to wait a week for the next episode,but also had to wait ages in between seasons and season breaks. You needed to watch 20~26 45 minute episodes per season with tons of filler standalone episodes when they ran out of script or budget,plus 15 minutes of adverts. Then at episode 10~13 wait a few months for the next part of the season to come on.
Modern shows move at lightspeed compared to the old ones. A modern 10 episode season with 30 minute episodes would be barely the 1st 7 episodes of a 26 episode season with 45 minute episodes.
So 2 30 minute episodes its literally one normal episode,or half a 2 hour pilot - remember pilots?? Yeah,those were upto 2 hours long. The B5 was really mediocre. I am shocked the series managed to get greenlighted!
The whole point of "people don't have time" - people didn't also have time 15~30 years ago.
Except unlike now,you had to watch it on a TV and wait for it to be released. Netflix started as a DVD rental service!
Nowadays you have tablets and phones,meaning you can watch shows much more easily whenever you want.
Last edited: