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Review

And here I thought it was going to be about the one where Jake has an alien seduce him and make him into a better writer.

The premise of this episode is really intriguing I'll have to watch it in full.

Hah! Taking shots at ME3's ending never gets old!

(No, I've never forgiven that, I'm not going to let it go!)



On the final question Chuck posed, on whether plot arcs make for a better show... On balance, personally, I say yes (with the proviso that filler is not a dirty word). B5, Stargate, Avatar, W.i.t.c.h, Young Justice, Agents of SHIELD, ReBoot[1] - all of which rank in my top shows period, have plot arcs and that's part of what makes them good. In Stargate, this is the least focussed, but it's still there. Having an overarching plot (or threat or whathave you) I think is required to get the best out of something that's not pure comedy). Even if it only comes in perodically.

There are, of course exceptions: comedies, for one. Naruto for another, as I often found, especially later in the plot of Shippuden (and I'm still so far behind I'm in the middle of the 4th shinobi war) that I preferred the fillers (where the characters were dicking around) and the parody spin-off to the main plot. But that was largely because I plain did not like where the main plot went. And of course stuff like Xena and Hercules, some of which had their best episodes in entirely off-the-wall material. (The episode Yes Viginia, there is a Hercules, being prime example...!)

My Dad on the other hand, dislikes anything with a plot arc and prefers episodic, but that's because he doesn't watch much TV and thus doesn't want to watch every episode of anything.



[1]Oh ye gods the travesty of the upcoming "revival..."

FaxModem1 wrote:Review

And here I thought it was going to be about the one where Jake has an alien seduce him and make him into a better writer.

I also thought that when I saw the title. But no, that's got a completely different title. "The Muse," as opposed to just "Muse." I don't know how I could get them confused.

Both episodic and serialized content can be good, if the writing is good. Just look at TOS or TNG. No serializing at all and despite many misses, there were plenty enough hits to make the shows great. There's good reason to go for either writing style and the key is just: Is the writing good?

FaxModem1 wrote:Review

And here I thought it was going to be about the one where Jake has an alien seduce him and make him into a better writer.

I expected this, too, but I'm not disappointed. Somehow, I missed this Voyager episode existing.

Madner Kami wrote:Both episodic and serialized content can be good, if the writing is good. Just look at TOS or TNG. No serializing at all and despite many misses, there were plenty enough hits to make the shows great. There's good reason to go for either writing style and the key is just: Is the writing good?

I think it's important to recognize what makes both formats work. One of the more endearing things about TNG was that they had a very strong sense of character continuity, especially when it came to subtle things. Picard's conversation with Wesley Crusher about how he once got into a barfight became the basis for a later episode that was very revealing about Picard's character. Picard's memories from "The Inner Light" remain and get referenced later, and the flute pops up fairly frequently afterward. After Tasha Yar dies, her death is frequently mentioned and remembered for the rest of the series' run.

On the other hand, when making a serialized show, there's no harm in taking a bit of time off for a villain-of-the-week or planet-of-the-week. I think of the show "Supernatural," and know that it was at its best when it had an overall myth arc, but it still had the occasional weekly one-off episode that could fit anywhere in a given timeframe just to show that there's still a world beyond the myth arc. They make your world and your universe seem richer when you show characters handling things that aren't the "mega-super looming threat." Yeah, the audience knows its filler, and some audience members might tune it out, but there's plenty of ways to write enjoyable and entertaining filler. As long as the audience loves the characters and the characters still have a sense of continuity, they'll go along for the ride regardless if it's filler.

I think GitS:SAC had a pretty good mix.

I don't think a gem like The Inner Light could be as effective in a show that was completely serialized. On the other hand, serialization naturally suits other premises. Serialized elements make more sense in a series set on a space station, like DS9 or Babylon 5, than it does for a series based on trailblazing in previously unexplored space like in TOS and TNG.

On the other hand, I consider the episodic nature of The Twilight Zone to be one of it's real strengths: it gives the series a feeling similar to golden age sci-fi short stories. It's interesting to me that episodic television used to be a sign of prestige rather than something that was criticized. It isn't like serialized television was just invented- it was something done in soap operas or more schlocky stuff. Even a great show like The Fugitive, they had serialized elements by necessity, but the writers still went well out of their way to make each episode self-contained because it was a prestige show.

So my short copout answer is that it really depends on what the series is trying to do- both formats work depending on the story and characters. I'm afraid that episodic television isn't really at its best right now while serialization thrives, although there are exceptions. It's clear to me that extended story arcs would have been a huge boon to Voyager, and the fact that it doesn't have those is one of the big failures of the show.

I never really liked this episode. Found it boring.