Black Holes

So in my previous post on Genre, I mentioned suspension of disbelief.  How a show establishes the rules of its world and then all is fair after that, as long as it stays within those boundaries.  But what about when an otherwise fantastic show breaks that rule?

The most glaring and recent example that I can think of is the whole time travel storyline on Lost.  I buy the polar bear on the island.  I buy the smoke monster.  I buy the mysterious, whispery "others."  I buy the mystery of the island as a whole.  But when you spend a season establishing what that mystery entails, it's not fair to suddenly introduce a Giant Rule Change in the fifth season.  Now time travel?  And what about that whole "we're moving the island" deal?

Now, I love Lost.  And I will definitely talk more about it a lot (and likely have a FAVES edition on the topic), but this is just the sort of jump-the-shark sort of nonsense that I have problems with.  It doesn't cause me to hate the show.  It ruins some of the literary magic behind it -- makes it slightly less analyzable from a literary perspective.

There are examples of this on every awesome show.  Buffy.  So when she dies, another slayer is supposed to be called right?  [Spoiler Alert:  if you haven't watched Buffy and may some day partake in its excellence, please skip this paragraph.]  And when she dies at the beginning of Season 1, that happens.  But what about when she dies at the end of Season 5?  No new Slayer!  Which is extra annoying in Season 7 when they keep talking about how Buffy has to die for a new slayer to get called.  Really, though, I think Faith would have to die, according to the rules that have already been established.  And how did Angel get into Giles' house to set up that macabre death scene when he'd never been invited?

I think that the reason that this happens to shows is that, unlike other forms of literature like books and movies, television shows have indefinite time horizons over which they tell their stories.  When you establish rules at the outset, it is hard to know how rigid to make them because really, you're trying to make it to next season without getting hacked.  You define the rules and tell the story for the first season, and if you make it to next season, you work with the universe that you created for the first.  And sometimes you have to tweak it.  If you want to see an awesome example of how a show can do this brilliantly without losing credibility, check out Dollhouse Season 1, Epitaph 1 (written when the creators were almost certain they were about to get canceled), and then Season 2 and Epitaph 2.

Dollhouse: Season One (here it is on Amazon, if you're interested!)

So I think that this can at least partially get at why Alias went all supernatural a couple of seasons in, Lost began to randomly jump through time (also perhaps to tell portions of the story they couldn't figure out how to tell otherwise), the ubervamps suddenly became killable in the end of Buffy etc.

But some things are always certain.  Don't doubt Buffy when she tells you someone is a demon.  Don't mess with Veronica Mars.  And in Angel, anything can happen (although there is definitely an interesting discussion here on the overlapping but separately ordered universes of Buffy and Angel).

In the comments:  What plot black hole bothers you the most, in what show?  I know there are so many that I didn't touch on, and I'd love to find out what you are thinking!

FAVES: Veronica Mars

Several of my favorite shows came and went too quickly.  Veronica Mars is another show with a somewhat cringe-worthy premise which perhaps contributed to its untimely demise.  But it is actually a wonderful example of quality tv lit (again, introduced to me by the enlightened Phil).  Here it is:  the life of a smart-as-a-whip high school private detective investigating the mystery of her best friend’s brutal murder.  Along the way, alliances shift, friends come and go, new cases-of-the-week arise and are resolved, and everyone learns a valuable lesson.

Sounds kind of silly or cliché, right?  Now here is what makes it awesome:

1.  It is smart, fresh, and unique.  There really isn't anything else out there like it!

2.  One of my favorite things about Veronica Mars is character development.  People on the show change dramatically over the course of a season, but remain consistently who they are so that it doesn’t seem ridiculous.  People you hate at the beginning become heroes, while others you liked and trusted let you down.  It seems to happen organically.

One of the writers' main challenges on the show is making believable high school characters likable, relatable and interesting.  And they succeed.  Veronica herself is extremely engaging so you really care about what is going on in her life.  At the same time, she is flawed, and makes serious mistakes along the way.  But because you really get to understand her motivations from the beginning, you are always pulling for her, even when her chronic trust issues are bungling up the whole operation.

3.  You just don’t know what’s going to happen.  Like my mom, I can generally predict what is going to happen on a show, and where story arcs are headed.  Predictability and common conventions can become really boring in literature, especially on television where the story needs to have a high degree of longevity to work.  But on Veronica Mars, I can very rarely predict whodunit or how a dilemma will be resolved, either in the main season mystery or in the case-of-the-week.  They always manage to keep it fresh and interesting, which makes the show consistently engaging. 

4.  It’s got a wonderful mix of comedy and drama.  The characters are all so sassy, which keeps the vibe fun even as their worlds are often in complete disarray.  But they are also amazingly capable of displaying deep and genuine emotion.

5.  The best daughter-dad relationship on television.

6.  Fabulous celebrity guest-stars (Charisma Carpenter!  Jane Lynch!  Alyson Hannigan!  Laura San Giacomo!  Joss Whedon!!!)

I recently purchased the first season (super cheap from Amazon), and started watching it with my mom, and she loves it too (so far anyway)!  If you decide to give it a go, don’t be put off by the amazing quantity of flash-backs in the pilot episode.  They’re just setting it up for you so that when the show hits its stride you won’t be bogged down about back stories. 

So if you want to give the show a go, check it out here: Veronica Mars: The Complete First Season (also the whole series is available on Netflix!)

Favorite Episodes (Season 1 heavy, probably because I haven't seen 2 or 3 in a long time):

• "The Wrath of Con" (Season 1)
• "Like a Virgin" (Season 1)
• "Silence of the Lamb" (Season 1)
• "M.A.D." (Season 1)
• "Trip to the Dentist" (Season 1)
• "Leave it to Beaver" (Season 1)
• "Green-Eyed Monster" (Season 2)
• "Ahoy Mateys" (Season 2)
• "The Rapes of Graff" (Season 2)
• "Not Pictured" (Season 2)
• "My Big Fat Greek Rush Week" (Season 3)
• "Mars, Bars" (Season 3)
• "Un-American Graffiti" (Season 3)

I look forward to seeing your comments about how much you love Veronica Mars, which clutch episodes I left of this list, or how I got it right/wrong.