30 Days of TV: Every prophet in her house.
Jun. 7th, 2010 04:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
infinitejestI've been thinking about doing the 30 Days of Me meme for a little while now, but then enna_xor went and posted her first entry in the 30 Days of TV, which promises an interesting daily reflection on viewing habits and preferences. I find these sorts of informative memes to be interesting, so it's time to give one a try.
I'd love to engage with y'all in the comments - even if you don't pursue the entire meme in your own spaces, tell me your answers in mine.
Day 01 - A show that should never have been canceled.
Four shows immediately spring to mind: Firefly, Pushing Daisies, Dead Like Me1, and Carnivale. Firefly was cut down in its prime and was a show that made me fall in love with it within two or three episodes; however, in retrospect, I can admit that it had some problematic aspects in its worldbuilding and execution.2 Pushing Daisies is my heart's true whimsy-love, but it was episodic enough that I don't feel a bone-deep ache of loss over its cancellation. Dead Like Me's cancellation affected me very strongly at the time, as I felt an intense connection to its story and characters in the midst of watching it; since then, though, I feel more distance from it, and don't feel as terribly.
But, oh, Carnivale.
Carnivale was brilliant and dark and gritty and, most importantly, it was fully planned out. More aggravatingly, the creator refuses to tell the story in any way except through film, how he originally envisioned it. At least Pushing Daisies and Firefly either have had or are planning sequential art continuations of their stories.3 And Firefly and Dead Like Me got feature films.4
So, that's my answer: Carnivale most emphatically should never have been canceled. I first watched this show five years ago, post-cancellation, and I still haven't finished mourning that loss. Discovering that HBO offered not to cancel it if the producers would limit expenses per episode to 2M and that he refused to compromise at all further complicates my feelings.5 I just want to finish watching this remarkable story unfold.
And, for fun, here's my husband's answer: Star Trek.
He doesn't feel this needs elaboration, considering the cancellation of the original show to be one of the most tragic assassinations in the history of television. Although, he did unpack it a bit further to remark that even one more season of Star Trek would more than likely have made science fiction a viable television enterprise thirty years before it finally became one thanks to Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Sin of sins, I myself actually haven't seen a full episode of Star Trek (the original series) beyond "Space Seed." One of our summer television projects therefore has been set.
1. Yeah, I have a thing for series created by Bryan Fuller: I almost put Wonderfalls on that list as well.
2. The Companion element being one of the most glaring that wasn't working out as it should have at the beginning.
3. See: Serenity: Those Left Behind and Serenity: Better Days. As a side note, there's also been some additions to Firefly canon in the recently released Firefly: Still Flying. Pushing Daisies had one short comic that was a Comic-Con goodie, but this news article shows there's plans for more (although those plans keep getting pushed back, it's still apparently in production).
4. See: Serenity and Life After Death. (The collector's edition of the Serenity DVD includes the River Tam sessions, which are a must-have.)
5. See the Wikipedia article's section on the cancellation.
30 Days of TV
Day 01 - A show that should never have been canceled
Day 02 - A show that you wish more people were watching
Day 03 - Your favorite new show (aired this TV season)
Day 04 - Your favorite show ever
Day 05 - A show you hate
Day 06 - Favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 07 - Least favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 08 - A show everyone should watch
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best TV show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite 'ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First TV show obsession
Day 29 - Current TV show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death
I'd love to engage with y'all in the comments - even if you don't pursue the entire meme in your own spaces, tell me your answers in mine.
Day 01 - A show that should never have been canceled.
Four shows immediately spring to mind: Firefly, Pushing Daisies, Dead Like Me1, and Carnivale. Firefly was cut down in its prime and was a show that made me fall in love with it within two or three episodes; however, in retrospect, I can admit that it had some problematic aspects in its worldbuilding and execution.2 Pushing Daisies is my heart's true whimsy-love, but it was episodic enough that I don't feel a bone-deep ache of loss over its cancellation. Dead Like Me's cancellation affected me very strongly at the time, as I felt an intense connection to its story and characters in the midst of watching it; since then, though, I feel more distance from it, and don't feel as terribly.
But, oh, Carnivale.
Carnivale was brilliant and dark and gritty and, most importantly, it was fully planned out. More aggravatingly, the creator refuses to tell the story in any way except through film, how he originally envisioned it. At least Pushing Daisies and Firefly either have had or are planning sequential art continuations of their stories.3 And Firefly and Dead Like Me got feature films.4
So, that's my answer: Carnivale most emphatically should never have been canceled. I first watched this show five years ago, post-cancellation, and I still haven't finished mourning that loss. Discovering that HBO offered not to cancel it if the producers would limit expenses per episode to 2M and that he refused to compromise at all further complicates my feelings.5 I just want to finish watching this remarkable story unfold.
And, for fun, here's my husband's answer: Star Trek.
He doesn't feel this needs elaboration, considering the cancellation of the original show to be one of the most tragic assassinations in the history of television. Although, he did unpack it a bit further to remark that even one more season of Star Trek would more than likely have made science fiction a viable television enterprise thirty years before it finally became one thanks to Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Sin of sins, I myself actually haven't seen a full episode of Star Trek (the original series) beyond "Space Seed." One of our summer television projects therefore has been set.
1. Yeah, I have a thing for series created by Bryan Fuller: I almost put Wonderfalls on that list as well.
2. The Companion element being one of the most glaring that wasn't working out as it should have at the beginning.
3. See: Serenity: Those Left Behind and Serenity: Better Days. As a side note, there's also been some additions to Firefly canon in the recently released Firefly: Still Flying. Pushing Daisies had one short comic that was a Comic-Con goodie, but this news article shows there's plans for more (although those plans keep getting pushed back, it's still apparently in production).
4. See: Serenity and Life After Death. (The collector's edition of the Serenity DVD includes the River Tam sessions, which are a must-have.)
5. See the Wikipedia article's section on the cancellation.
30 Days of TV
Day 02 - A show that you wish more people were watching
Day 03 - Your favorite new show (aired this TV season)
Day 04 - Your favorite show ever
Day 05 - A show you hate
Day 06 - Favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 07 - Least favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 08 - A show everyone should watch
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best TV show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite 'ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First TV show obsession
Day 29 - Current TV show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death
no subject
Date: 2010-06-08 03:18 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-08 04:09 am (UTC)I agree regarding Pushing Daisies. Dead Like Me, though it left some threads dangling, also had a somewhat organic feel to its last episode.