[ Post a Response | EVEN DeepER Blurting! ]
Posted by Kenneth Morgan
on 7/16/2008, 9:44 pm, in reply to "How was Jericho scifi?!"
I guess, in the eyes of many, anything to do with a potential WWIII and its aftermath must be immediately classified as "sci-fi". That's not really accurate, though. I mean, there's a big difference between, say, "On the Beach" (post-war, but still clearly contemporary) and "Mad Max" (clearly a future dystopia). Although, I must say that it doesn't always happen. For example, I don't know of anyone who truly classifies "Fail-Safe" or "Dr. Strangelove" as sci-fi, though the case could be made for both.
Still, I'd say it's pretty clear that TSNWSRN picked up "Jericho" more for its fan base than for any claim that it's sci-fi. As for original series, I guess the network has pretty much given up on actually developing its own stuff and prefers to cherry pick from other sources. It's less expensive and allows them to go after proven material. Less gutsy, but more financially advantageous. (By the way, does anyone remember "Mission Genesis", the supposed first original show TSNWSRN produced? A couple of my copies of MST eps still have promos for the show.)
As for downbeat themes, that's pretty much run rampant everywhere, not just sci-fi. These days, on any show, if a character experiences anything even remotely resembling joy, you know they're about to get smacked right in the face with unutterable tragedy. I mean, that's been the game plan on "E.R." since before George Clooney bailed out.
I've come to call it the Hummert effect, after Frank & Anne Hummert. They were big time producers of shows in the old radio era, who were best known for soap operas that inflicted constant misery on their respective lead characters. To cite the most famous examples, read up on "Backstage Wife" or "The Romance of Helen Trent" for details.
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