The Age Of Television and Setting Up Two Series

A few weeks ago, I was talking to a coworker about the state of entertainment while we were eating lunch. We discussed methods of storytelling, and I expressed the belief that we are living in "The Age of Television". This idea has been formulating in my head for some time now, and it describes the fact that serialized television shows are at an all-time high of popularity, and are one of the best methods of telling stories. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of great films being produced and books will probably never lose their ability to tell a better story than a visual medium, but in a time when character development can be focused on over the course of 22 hours, as opposed to the two we receive at the cinema, TV has really come into its own as a storytelling medium.

Shows like Battlestar Galactica, LOST and Dexter can slowly build up stories and characters, develop tension that builds until an event snaps said tension and leads to a new story development. Even more "traditional" shows like How I Met Your Mother are paying more and more attention to their established continuity, in order to make the story more rewarding for viewers.

I think this is why television shows make up so much of the discussion on The Other Worlds; I love movies, but they aren't always the best way to tell a grand story, even the most epic of films. It is harder to do a series of posts on a single movie than on a television series, since there is so much more material to work with.

I wanted to talk about this so that you would know why I am putting so much time into TV. I am not forsaking film and written material, but there will probably always be more to work with on TV.

Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the next series will focus on some television series. I had wanted to do The L Word next, since I was blown away by the first season, but I think that it would be better to wait and get a few more seasons under my belt. So I have decided that it is time to do some work on Heroes. I will examine what made the first season such a breakout hit and will do, for the first time, a post that is focused on the negative aspects of something (I am sad to do so, but it is almost necessary since I am doing it for something I enjoy, and not just to rag on something I hate).

I also wanted to do something on Pushing Daisies, since I am very excited for its return and wanted to make sure I addressed it before its return. I realized that both of these shows have a few things in common. Both have connections to Bryan Fuller, both became surprise hits, and both were very affected by the Writers Strike. I will begin the upcoming post series by talking about Bryan Fuller's work before Heroes and Pushing Daisies, and will segue into Pushing Daisies (since it was actually created by Fuller). After that, I will move on to Heroes.

Up next: Souvenir shops and waffle houses...