I still can’t stop but think how stretched out the Hobbit films were, for an otherwise short book. That’s a sin that stains forever with me. The Lord of the Rings films, do have their own flaws, but they’re fairly contained and can be debated as to whether they were good or not. I have so much trouble excusing anything with the Hobbit though.
And I hope we never, ever see anyone tackle The Silmarillion. Simply because, there will be so much improvised fluff in that would-be film, that it’d make the Hobbit films blush.
Was going to say the same!
I was never a big tv watcher to begin with but after that whole fiasco I realized the whole thing is a scam designed to string you along for as long as possible. They start with one or two good seasons and then just wing it until it runs out of steam and don’t give a shit about the story as long as they’re making money. So disrespectful to the viewer’s time and emotional investment. It violates a basic principle in storytelling: begin with the end in mind.
I quit watching all TV after that, with the exception of the Walking Dead (due to the gf’s insistence) which only further cemented my convictions.
You accurately described the TV series modus operandi and the reason why JJ Abrams creative philosophy is such a soulless hack that always leads to disappointing dead ends.
Shit man. Going from Lost to The Walking Dead is rough.
Yeah, that sealed the deal. On the bright side, it taught me a pretty good strategy that’s paid off since: now I wait until a series is out and completed. If it gets decent enough reviews I might get a copy. That way I avoid the hype and inevitable let down when it gets cancelled or ends poorly. Like skipping the game of thrones despite having read all the books.
Series with stand alone stories are easy, like Black Mirror or Death Love + Robots. But I have caught a few good series over the years.
I don’t have any streaming services. Hell, I don’t even have a TV, so that’s less temptation to starting something on a whim.
I think that alone is what really prevents me from being a watcher of tv shows, streaming or traditional. They want you to be addicts so that you’d binge-watch episodes, get into heated debates, worship the IP and eagerly await for anything related to it to be released.
Then when the show starts to die by the slightest, it’s like a crushing weight mentally as to how lead on you were about it all. It just flatout deceives you to have wasted so much time and investment into something you thought was genuine.
The only shows I maybe would consider giving chances to and have watched, were shows that just knew where they were going and eventually found a way to end.