Hosted by Long and Short Reviews.
Click here to read everyone else’s replies to this week’s question and here to see the full list of topics for the year.
There are many reasons why I might stop watching a series, including:
– A hopeless storyline. I enjoyed the first few seasons of The Walking Dead, for example, but then lost interest because the characters could never gain a foothold and improve their lives. They always slid back into misery, and I really struggle to stay interested in shows that do that repeatedly.
– Prejudice that is portrayed in a positive light. That is to say I don’t watch shows or read books that encourage sexism, racism, ableism, classism, homophobia, etc. (This has thankfully become much less common now than it was in some older programs!) It’s fine if a show explores these topics, of course, and for some historical stuff it can’t be avoided easily or at all depending on which story is being told. Just don’t make hatred look normal or admirable.
– A plot that is stretched out over too many seasons. I’d rather see things end prematurely than be dragged out longer than is necessary. (See also: The Handmaid’s Tale. It should have ended after a season or two, to be honest).
– If it includes anything related to spies, the criminal justice system,* war, the military, or the police. I have extremely limited interest in these subjects at best, so a show really has to impress me to get to watch them if they include these themes. Brooklyn Nine Nine was one of my rare exceptions to this rule.
– Bad or minimal character development. I need to feel emotionally connected with at least one character in order to want to keep watching something, and this is difficult to make happen if nobody has any depth to their personality or backstory.
*Also, why did my autocorrect try to turn the criminal justice system into Cthulhu? 😂
My criteria for books is honestly mostly the same as what I wrote above. If you keep the pacing even, don’t make things too dreary, and allow your characters to be well-rounded people instead of walking stereotypes, I’m open to just about any genre even if I do prefer speculative fiction in general.
Good storytelling transcends genre in my opinion!
Agreed on character development….I’m all for character drama in my movies/shows/books, so if they’re not growing I’m not going to be too interested.
Cool!
That’s such a good point about prejudice being portrayed in a positive light, Lydia! I agree wholeheartedly.
Thank you, George!
The Walking Dead is a popular choice this week. I read a book you might be interested in if you haven’t already read it. Hi Honey, I’m Homo: Sitcoms, Specials, and the Queering of American Culture by Matt Baume. You tend to forget how prejudiced our childhood was until you read books like that.
I used to be big into Margaret Truman, which was all espionage, but not my regular fare these days.
Thanks for sharing, Lydia.
You’re welcome, Cheryl. My library has that book in stock, and I requested it about 3o seconds ago. It sounds right up my alley, so thank you for the recommendation!
Cthulhu 😁