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Three Reasons Why Television Shows Fail

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As I sit here watching last week’s exceedingly uninteresting new episode of One Tree Hill on Hulu, I can’t help but feel an extreme sense of loss. This program used to be so freaking good. Circa seasons 2-4, One Tree Hill had some of the most powerful and creative story arcs on television. Now what has this program come to? They’re bringing back the cougar and young guy story line, a psycho comes into the picture and pretends to be someone they’re not, and ugly ass Mouth is somehow the only one getting tail in Tree Hill. Remember basketball? The voice-overs with quotes from famous authors? The original 5 characters that we have come to love?

There comes a time in the life of every television program where the writers and executive board hit a road block. Some shows find a way to rise above and continue to produce good television. Others fall by the wayside and they become syndicated history. In my opinion, there are a few main reasons why good shows fail, they are as follows:

1. The characters go off to college: Chances are pretty slim that you and your 5 closest friends all chose the same college to attend. So this puts the writers in a dilemma: how do we keep the chemistry between our actors when they are all at different schools? Eureka! We’ll create a new school that is in their hometown (or close by) and have them all attend there. There is no actual Penbrook University, the college  Cory, Shawn, Topanga, and Angela on Boy Meets World all magically chose to attend. And in sheer coincidence, that’s where Jack and Eric also go to school AND where Mr. Feeny happens to end up. Joey Potter gets accepted at the uber prestigious and uber fake Worthington College on Dawson’s Creek. Jen and Jack go to school at the equally as fake and half as prestigious Boston Bay College. Where do both of these fake institutions happen to be located? Boston (I guess I kind of gave that away), which is conveniently 15 minutes away from their fake hometown of Capeside.  Dawson then loses his way (of course), drops out of USC (idiot) and moves to where? Boston. Shocker.

Most shows that document high school fail when the characters transition to college. All of the family dynamics are lost, presumably because the parents don’t follow them to college. A bunch of new characters are introduced which takes screen time away from the characters we’ve formed a connection with. Most of the time the circumstances that bring all main characters to the same place are stupid and usually involve some sort of loss of faith, death of a family member, or being kicked out of school for ridiculous circumstances.

2. A main character is killed off / leaves: Getting rid of an essential cast member is one boat that should not be rocked. Yes, Marissa was annoying on The O.C. But she was the source of a lot of drama and half of the beloved pair of Ryan and Marissa. Were the writers missing broody and angry Ryan so much they needed to kill off his girlfriend to get him moody again? It’s common knowledge that I loathe the character of Peyton on One Tree Hill, but her and Lucas’ departure from the show have killed it. Ever since Dr. Burke left on Grey’s Anatomy, I can’t imagine Cristina being happy with anyone else. Any story line pairing her with another guy makes me cringe. Grey’s hasn’t been the same for me since Burke left, and then they have the nerve to kill my beloved George?!  FML. I am so not looking forward to tomorrow’s Lost, where I have been told that losties just start dropping like flies.

3. Story lines get recycled: How long can a couple play-out the “will they / won’t they” before the audience explodes? Apparently Friends can do it for 10 years. How many times can someone attempt to kill Dan Scott? How many times does Clark Kent have to save Lana Lang before she realizes he’s got magical powers? Seeing the same thing over and over and over again gets tiresome. The program eventually becomes so predictable that it’s not even worth watching anymore.

Alas, I have a sinking feeling this will be the last season of One Tree Hill. It didn’t even get to redeem itself. I am praying that the CW will give OTH one last chance to make things right aka bring back Leyton, ditch the newbies, and start showing the geniusness I know the writers still have.

RECAP: Lost, Sundown

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There are only TEN episodes left of one of the greatest television shows ever. So sad. But seriously, what gives with all the creepy stares this season?! First, Fake Locke. Now Sayid, and even Claire had a little demonic gleam in her eye. Sayid is not my favorite character, so I usually dread his centric episodes. This was no exception. Sure, there was a lot to grab onto: Sayid and Dogen beating the crap out of each other, seeing Keamy again (he makes good eggs, okay), Claire creepily singing “Catch a Falling Star” a la The Others, Jin in the fridge (?), and of course the presumed beginning of the “war” that Charles Widmore warned Locke about. Dogen wasn’t my favorite character, but seeing as he is supposedly the one person preventing the Man in Black from entering the temple, having him dead is probably not a good thing. *Insert Sayid’s creepy glare here* Havoc is going to wreak in his absence. I really want to know the meaning of the baseball. I’m not sure, but wasn’t the baseball one of the objects that Richard brought to young John Locke’s house? I’m thinking that there is some sort of connection there. I’m really excited for the Richard-centric episode. It’s about time we learn about the eyeliner wearing-unaging island protector. And what about Kate?! Is she part of Locke’s crew now? Why wasn’t her name crossed out at the lighthouse, but she still isn’t one of the “main” candidates? I guess we have ten episodes left to find out.

photo credit: Dark UFO-Lost Theories

Side-note: ABC, if you ever preempt Lost again for an Iowa State basketball game (which they didn’t even win, by the way…), all hell will go down. Thanks.

RECAPS: TV Wrap-Up

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Ah, the early spring hiatuses have begun. Has anyone else noticed that there is nothing on television anymore?!

One Tree Hill: I found this episode very boring. I know the death of Mama James should have had more an effect of me…but it didn’t. I feel like the whole “my parent has cancer – child wants them to fight but it’s a losing battle – parent dies” story line has been WAY overused. It was still touching and very well acted, but I guess I wanted a more original story line for Mama James. I am praying to every higher power that One Tree Hill gets picked up for an eighth and final season so the writers can wrap up the show properly. The show is going to crap as of late.

Lost: On the flip side, Lost just keeps getting better and better. This final season is turning out to be amazing. I am so glad that we are finally learning the answers to some of the fundamental questions on the show. Jack is a father in the flash-sideways story line…never saw that coming. In the final moments of the episode, Hurley and Jack arrive at the humongous lighthouse on the island (a light house they have conveniently never found during their 108 days on the island). Hurley tells Jack that Jacob has instructed him to turn the wheel to bearing 108 to help direct someone to the island. 108 has a name next to it on the wheel, Wallace. Okay, Damon/Carlton & Co., who the hell is Wallace?! I sincerely hope it’s not a random character being added to the show in the final episodes. It is becoming glaringly obvious that the passengers on flight 815 were indeed called to the island.

Nip / Tuck: Nip / Tuck’s last episode ever will be aired next Wednesday. So sad. I always look forward to tuning in to the tumultuous lives of those at McNamara/Troy. I recently read in an article here about the finale, saying that the “final hour of Nip / Tuck was unlike anything we ever expected.” This disappoints me slightly. The best thing about the show was the shock factor. I’m still looking forward to the series finale nonetheless AND to see what happens with Matt and Ava. Poor kid can’t seem to catch a break.

Valentine’s Day: I finally saw Valentine’s Day last night and it yet again asserted to me how amazing ensemble cast movies can be. Sure, some story lines took slight precedence over the others, Ashton Kutcher’s character for example, but the sharing of screen time was equally dolled out between the large cast. I personally loved the “best friends to something more” story line of Kutcher and Jennifer Garner. They were really believable as best friends. The whole Eric Dane – Bradley Cooper story line came out of left field for me. Truly a shocker there. I am not used to seeing Dane without scrubs and Cooper without Zach Galifianakis. Anyways, lovely movie.

RECAP: The Vampire Diaries, Fool Me Once

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Tonight’s episode of The Vampire Diaries was easily the best of the season. As much as I love good-guy Stefan, there’s something about bad-boy Damon that is so damn appealing. Tonight we got to see a bit of Damon with his defenses completely down: heartbroken that the love of his life, Katherine, was not in the tomb that he tirelessly worked to open. From his break down in the tomb to his lingering gaze into the fire in the last moments of the episode, Damon aka Ian Somerhalder stole the episode for me. Ian is steadily becoming one of my favorite actors on television. I loved his work on Lost and his performance in The Vampire Diaries is wonderfully creepy, comedic, and powerful.

Okay, so the things that were awesome in this episode (other than Damon Salvatore): 1. SEAN FARIS. I haven’t seen him in anything since the short-lived Reunion, which I loved. 2. Grams dying. Call me a bitch, but I found that old lady extremely irritating. 3. The interaction between Damon and Elena. I get that Stefan and Elena are soul mates…yadda yadda yadda. But there’s no denying the sexual tension between Damon and Elena. When he fastened the necklace back on her neck…yeah, that was hot.

Things that weren’t so great: 1. Sean Faris dying. Really, CW? Only two episodes? Lame. 2. Jeremy and Anna getting it on. He could do so much better. 3. Ben getting so jealous when Jeremy kissed Anna. He could do so much better, too.

Hurry up March 25. I need my vampire fix.

photo courtesy of ian-somerhalder.com

Lost : Oceanic 815 flights.

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So, check out this awesome video that plays the two different scenes from the original Oceanic 815 flight and the “alternate” Oceanic 815 flight. There are some major and some subtle differences, I am going to try to address as many as I can find.

  • Side-note, but in my opinion, Matthew Fox looked a lot better in the original Oceanic 815 flight. I’m digging the shaved / short hair look.
  • You can see the wing of the plane in the original
  • Cindy gives Jack two bottles of vodka in the original and one bottle in the alternate. Maybe she knew Jack wouldn’t need the other to clean his wound? O.o.
  • Before the first turbulence hit, Jack takes a drink in the alternate
  • Bernard’s a “very smart man” in the original and a “smart man” in the alternate. What happened to knock Bernard’s IQ down a few points?

RECAP: Lost, LAX

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Thank you Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse for completely rocking my world once again with the sixth and final season premiere of “Lost”. I remain in a confused state of mind…and it has been two days. Why is the foot statue under water? Why is Desmond on the plane? Man in Black/Fake Locke is the smoke monster? Who are the hippies at the temple?! What the crap was that thing in the guitar case? What’s with Jacob and his lists? Since when did Terry O’Quinn have the ability to give a look so unbelievably bone chilling?! (see above picture) Sayid is alive now?!

SERIOUSLY. WHAT THE HELL?

Things I Loved:

  • BOONE! CHARLIE! It was so awesome to see two of my favorite characters alive again. Ian Somerhalder plays an awesome creepy vampire on “The Vampire Diaries”, but he will always be Boone to me. I loved his interaction with Locke. Oh Charlie, I have missed you. I refuse to believe you are dead. I hope they stick around for more episodes.
  • Okay, haters to the left…I am so freaking happy that Juliet is “dead”. I have hated her character from the beginning and to see her demise on the show brought me immense satisfaction. However, I am forced to believe that she is still around somewhere with her line of “IT WORKED.”
  • Jack and Kate’s little moment when she bumps into him coming out of the bathroom. If Jack and Kate don’t end up together, I will seriously flip. They’ve been the one true pair of “Lost” since the beginning.
  • Hurley’s line of: “Excuse me, I carried that case across the ocean and like…through time…I want to know what that paper says.” So much win.

Bottom line: “Lost” is back and better than ever.

photo courtesy of abc.com