brilliant but cancelled

[mrjohnchimpo]

funny site. let's you choose on what tv show will get cancelled next, and if you're right, you get entered into an ipod and hdtv drawing.

http://www.brilliantbutcancelled.com/deathwatch/

[mrjohnchimpo]

good blog about AD:

http://blogs.brilliantbutcancelled.com/anonymous_critic/2006/09/who_killed_arrested_development_you_did_1.shtml

and for some reason there are people that actually didn't like it. fucking weird.

[andikay]

and for some reason there are people that actually didn't like it. fucking weird.

I want to find these people and slap them.

[Lori Burger]

good blog about AD:

http://blogs.brilliantbutcancelled.com/anonymous_critic/2006/09/who_killed_arrested_development_you_did_1.shtml

and for some reason there are people that actually didn't like it. fucking weird.

Although I agree that AD rocked and it's a shame that they cancelled the show, I think there are more variables regarding its lack of popularity beyond Americans either being too stupid or lazy to follow it (although there is probably some truth to that statement, it seems a little dismissively elitist for me). I say this because other intelligent shows can and HAVE made it (The Simpsons, Lost, etc.), but these shows offer something for everyone, not just brainiacs and story snobs. I think the show simply lacked the mass appeal that a Fox sitcom would demand; it'd probably do better on HBO, Showtime, or something (I thought I heard a rumor once that Showtime was picking it up? Not sure...)

Anyway, just wanted to chime in.

[mrjohnchimpo]

well, he pointed out that the reason that the simpsons is popular among the moronic masses is not because it's smart satire, but because it's a cartoon.

and lost is really just a drama. albeit a fantastic one on an island with weird hatches and black mist creatures.

the rumors are still flying about it being picked up on showtime. it probably won't happen though.


just from my personal experience i, unlike what one of the posters (or the critic) said, actually did try to show AD to as many people as I could. my intellectually and book-smart friends loved it. my other types of smart friends (haha, can't call em stupid, they're my friends!) didn't.

[Lori Burger]

well, he pointed out that the reason that the simpsons is popular among the moronic masses is not because it's smart satire, but because it's a cartoon.

and lost is really just a drama. albeit a fantastic one on an island with weird hatches and black mist creatures.

the rumors are still flying about it being picked up on showtime. it probably won't happen though.


just from my personal experience i, unlike what one of the posters (or the critic) said, actually did try to show AD to as many people as I could. my intellectually and book-smart friends loved it. my other types of smart friends (haha, can't call em stupid, they're my friends!) didn't.

Yes, the cartoon characters are the reason why the Simpsons have 'mass appeal.' But if you think Lost is 'just a drama,' then you're missing out on a great deal. There are all sorts of philosophical questions raised by both circumstances as well as by characters' overtly asking about the nature of human existence.

And yes, clearly AD is smart, but honestly, I'm sure there are smarter shows. Watching that show was indulgent fun (my favorite kind!), and didn't make my head hurt like it does when I read too much Neitzsche or any physics book. Just my opinion :)

[mrjohnchimpo]

and didn't make my head hurt like it does when I read too much Neitzsche or any physics book. Just my opinion :)

haha! aaah, i see. maybe we should say "smart relative to other tv shows" then :D

[False Alarm]

But if you think Lost is 'just a drama,' then you're missing out on a great deal. There are all sorts of philosophical questions raised by both circumstances as well as by characters' overtly asking about the nature of human existence.

i wouldn't say this raises it above the level of a drama. not even sure it raises it above the level of a melodrama, to be honest: characters' overtly asking about the nature of human existence sounds really quaint.

[Lori Burger]

i wouldn't say this raises it above the level of a drama. not even sure it raises it above the level of a melodrama, to be honest: characters' overtly asking about the nature of human existence sounds really quaint.

Sorry, I wasn't saying that the philosophical quality of Lost makes in no longer a drama. The Sopranos is just as philosophical and can still be considered a drama. I was saying that the show is more than 'just some drama:' it has real substance (although, I will give you that they drag the storyline along as slowly as possible while still keeping their audience entertained).

I'm not really sure what you mean about the characters' questioning being 'quaint.'

[False Alarm]

I'm not really sure what you mean about the characters' questioning being 'quaint.'
i mean it's cheeseball stuff to have your characters explicitly state the subtext. that's what it sounded like you were describing.

[Lori Burger]

i mean it's cheeseball stuff to have your characters explicitly state the subtext. that's what it sounded like you were describing.

I see what you mean. I don't necessarily think that dialogue which reveals subtext is cheesy if it's done skillfully. Also, in a story like Lost it's easy to get caught up in the superficial story, and so subtle references to the fact that the story itself is symbolic seem to work well.

However, that's just my opinion. If you don't already realize, I LOVE that show. I'm just kind of nervous about how it will end because a poorly written ending could adversely affect the entire story.

[Soul Queen]

Not to be pessimistic but it seems all TV stations has a track record of bastardizing perfectly good story lines to make a bottom dollar, then cut the story short when no one is interested.

I hope that this doesn't happen to your show, but I've been burned too many times.

Example: X Files, Carnivale....I'm sure there is more.

[mrjohnchimpo]

Sliders. damn i loved Sliders.