Moze wrote:Yeah TV is not what it used to be, especially Sci fi. I get the feeling no one is taking any risks anymore, one might wonder if the creativity is gone... haven't lost all hope yet tho.
I still enjoy The Expanse and Orville.
I love the point you're ruminating on, is fear of risk destroying creativity in entertainment?
I think networks lack people of vision and competency; showrunners. Plain and simple. The risk is writing something bland and safe and derivative; a fear in all writing. Sometimes a vision doesn't pan out, which to me means there isn't enough competency. Sometimes they work, but they're flat for years, which to me, suggests a lack of passion, like all procedurals. You have to know the thing you're trying to create, and how to create it. There's a certain alchemy also, to what makes a show a hit, the right script and the right cast and crew, all need to come together to make a show work, and the people who've found their tribe, stick together, like the guys from Breaking Bad are all working on Better Call Saul, etc. There also needs to be an audience; what the showrunner is passionate about needs to be the same as the audience, and that's really hard to find, ie, like minded showrunners, for me. Elizabeth Meriweather for sure. JJ Abrams maybe.
Years ago, Netflix made a bunch of these passion projects that I like, like Aziz Ansari made Master of None, Will Arnet made Flaked, Judd Apatow and Paul Rust made Love, and all of those shows really work, as far as I'm concerned. Are any of them as good as the network shows that they sprung from, ie, Parks and Rec, Arrested Development, and Freaks and Geeks; NO.
When someone with passion and competency, knows their subject completely, you end up with the best show, like Louie on FX. Louie C.K. told FX "no" when they asked him to make a show for them, for years he said no, until he was finally given a blank cheque to produce a show without them really knowing what it was about, and we got one of the best TV comedy series in the history of the medium. And because of guys like him, we're spoiled. Dan Harmon and Community also comes to mind with Louie.
It's because we know what can be done, that we long for the next inspired series.
Also, isn't The Orville cancelled or on hiatus? It's better than Discovery because they have Brannon Braga, but it's not a great series by any stretch.