02-20-2015, 06:02 PM
Sincere question, not rhetorical or sarcastic: what message are TPTB trying to convey, with all this? It seems like they're trying desperately, aggressively hard to promote some agenda or dogma of their own (and squashing dissenting viewpoints), but what is the message?
Because really, all this drama and hostility on a supposed comedy sounds depressing. Sure, bickering couples and wacky misunderstandings and miscommunication have always been a staple of sitcoms, but what's with all this back-stabbing, gossiping, betrayal, resentment, etc?
The message seems to be "don't expect anything from life, just accept any abuse or disappointment that befalls you." For a while, it seemed like the message was "marrying/finding a romantic partner is more important than anything else", and while that's a viewpoint I strongly disagree with, it's at least consistent. But now? What is Sheldon supposed to be learning, from this? If Amy is better than him in every way and she's his teacher and she's going to improve him and fashion him into a better person, then why does she behave so badly? If the couples are so lovely and healthy and romantic and fabulous, why are they portrayed in such a negative way?
Given what was said about TAAHM, today, it almost sounds like TPTB are just blatantly jerking the audience around, now, and at the end, they'll say "Bazinga! These couples you shipped are terrible."
I can't make any sense of this at all, and that's just from reading third-hand information. What is the POINT? (besides money, I mean.) "Some people are just inherently better than others, so you should accept abuse from your betters and never complain?" What's up with that? What is Lorre hoping to accomplish? (again, besides money/power.)
I can't think of *any* demographic of people who would enjoy watching what WPP described above. It's not funny, it's not romantic, it's not sexy, it's not sweet. How is this the #1 show in America when the theme seems to be "Watch an unnattractive woman behave like a sociopath?" (and it's not even played for irony or dark comedy, as far as I can tell.) Is there any precedent for a show like this?
Lorre seems to be trying so*damn*hard* to shove a message down our throats, but the message is unfathomable, and his motivations are equally unfathomable.
I've never heard of another TV show so hell-bent on telling the audience what to think, and actively interfering with the fandom and provoking certain segments of the fanbase. How is it any skin off Lorre's nose if a handful of Shennies still exist? Will their fanfic stop his cashflow? Of course not. I would've thought that most showrunners would laugh-off such things as fandom and fanfiction, and consider it cute and maybe even flattering, but irrelevant.
But now, what they're telling the audience to think, isn't even clear. If everyone's "learning and growing", then why are they so angry and miserable and behaving so unethically?
A soap opera can be fun because it's juicy and scandalous and OTT; this just sounds dreary.
Thought experiment: if you gathered some people who had never seen or heard of the show, and gave them summaries of the last few episodes, how many would want to watch it? I can't imagine that men, women, teenagers, geeks, non-geeks, or people from *any* walk of life would be keen to watch "and then the ugly woman goes around stirring up shit and picking fights and literally nothing else happens." Can you imagine? For that matter, what TV executive would give the go-ahead to a new show of that description?
Can you imagine? "Boy, have I got a splashy new show for you: limp-haired middle-aged woman trudges around whining?" Is that what the American public wants? She's not even being portrayed as deliciously evil and scheming like Joan Crawford or something and she's not a hard-working blue-collar "everywoman" like Roseanne.
Are people *really* tuning-in to this show because they have fond memories of dancing cornstarch from nearly a decade ago? Really? How does that work?
Am I overstating things?
Because really, all this drama and hostility on a supposed comedy sounds depressing. Sure, bickering couples and wacky misunderstandings and miscommunication have always been a staple of sitcoms, but what's with all this back-stabbing, gossiping, betrayal, resentment, etc?
The message seems to be "don't expect anything from life, just accept any abuse or disappointment that befalls you." For a while, it seemed like the message was "marrying/finding a romantic partner is more important than anything else", and while that's a viewpoint I strongly disagree with, it's at least consistent. But now? What is Sheldon supposed to be learning, from this? If Amy is better than him in every way and she's his teacher and she's going to improve him and fashion him into a better person, then why does she behave so badly? If the couples are so lovely and healthy and romantic and fabulous, why are they portrayed in such a negative way?
Given what was said about TAAHM, today, it almost sounds like TPTB are just blatantly jerking the audience around, now, and at the end, they'll say "Bazinga! These couples you shipped are terrible."
I can't make any sense of this at all, and that's just from reading third-hand information. What is the POINT? (besides money, I mean.) "Some people are just inherently better than others, so you should accept abuse from your betters and never complain?" What's up with that? What is Lorre hoping to accomplish? (again, besides money/power.)
I can't think of *any* demographic of people who would enjoy watching what WPP described above. It's not funny, it's not romantic, it's not sexy, it's not sweet. How is this the #1 show in America when the theme seems to be "Watch an unnattractive woman behave like a sociopath?" (and it's not even played for irony or dark comedy, as far as I can tell.) Is there any precedent for a show like this?
Lorre seems to be trying so*damn*hard* to shove a message down our throats, but the message is unfathomable, and his motivations are equally unfathomable.
I've never heard of another TV show so hell-bent on telling the audience what to think, and actively interfering with the fandom and provoking certain segments of the fanbase. How is it any skin off Lorre's nose if a handful of Shennies still exist? Will their fanfic stop his cashflow? Of course not. I would've thought that most showrunners would laugh-off such things as fandom and fanfiction, and consider it cute and maybe even flattering, but irrelevant.
But now, what they're telling the audience to think, isn't even clear. If everyone's "learning and growing", then why are they so angry and miserable and behaving so unethically?
A soap opera can be fun because it's juicy and scandalous and OTT; this just sounds dreary.
Thought experiment: if you gathered some people who had never seen or heard of the show, and gave them summaries of the last few episodes, how many would want to watch it? I can't imagine that men, women, teenagers, geeks, non-geeks, or people from *any* walk of life would be keen to watch "and then the ugly woman goes around stirring up shit and picking fights and literally nothing else happens." Can you imagine? For that matter, what TV executive would give the go-ahead to a new show of that description?
Can you imagine? "Boy, have I got a splashy new show for you: limp-haired middle-aged woman trudges around whining?" Is that what the American public wants? She's not even being portrayed as deliciously evil and scheming like Joan Crawford or something and she's not a hard-working blue-collar "everywoman" like Roseanne.
Are people *really* tuning-in to this show because they have fond memories of dancing cornstarch from nearly a decade ago? Really? How does that work?
Am I overstating things?