I love a good story. But in this day and age of multimedia consumption, of here today, gone tomorrow, a good story can be hard to come by. And I’m not talking about books, I’m talking about audio-visual: movies, tv shows, anime, cartoons etc… It’s nothing new, you only have to look around yourself, at the latest movies or shows, to realise that the emphasis shifted a long time ago - from telling a story to selling you an idea, neatly packaged in special effects, famous people and whatever else is popular at the time. Which also isn’t to say there aren’t any good stories around anymore, they’re just harder to find.
My gripe though isn’t just with the celebrity cult western societies have been afflicted with for a while or the rise and predominance of the blockbuster movies and tv series. Rather it’s with the fact that a good story, especially in serial format, is just not something you can find easily anymore. Back in the days, things were simpler and while we had our fair share of crap we also had our fair share of good. Taking TV series as the main focus here, things have only got worse as the years have gone on.
While for the last ten years or so TV series have definitely moved towards a template that resembles more the Hollywood blockbuster prototype than anything else, one thing that has always been a constant is that if the series isn’t pulling in the viewing numbers it won’t last long, regardless of its artistic merit, especially the story. Examples of this are ripe, and it’s a given of the game, which is I guess fair enough. But today things have got more extreme - ratings are still a factor, but it seems that the story, the magic of telling a story over a long period of time is definitely getting lost. Series not only resemble movies, or try to, they also a lot of the time seem like they’re not really going anywhere. There isn’t a definite beginning, middle and end to a story anymore. Only the factors of ratings and popularity. And so the few series that do at times appear with a strong story, often end up never being told in full, due to low ratings or popularity.
Some make it through, thankfully. But the majority of people obssess over things which have no real defined story. And so those of us who actually enjoy a good story, with good characters and all the associated elements, are often left with little to really bite into. And yeah it’s always been like this, it’s just been getting worst. The 80s and 90s are full of forgettable series, with piss poor acting and storytelling. As a format for storytelling, serials are great though - you can really develop characters and ideas, and immerse the viewer into the world of the story more than you can in a movie, or a book. Some might think that’s a downside, and I agree there are some downsides to the format, but I think it works both ways. Some stories fit that format perfectly.
There is a series for me that I always go back to when thinking about this: Babylon 5. Because J. Michael Straczynski the creator and writer of the series, set out to tell a story from the start - with a beginning, middle and end. It was always planned as a five season run, and it was contained. Something that is too rare today. And even at the time, they had to fight to keep the series going, because the odds on TV are never in favour of something good, but something that sells. Babylon 5 was good though, obviously it helped if you were into sci-fi, but apart from that the storytelling in it was pretty damn good. The reason could well be because, unlike most series or stories, Straczynski actually knew how it would start, end and develop in between, before it started. The story was set in his mind, all that needed done was for it to be told. This is something he did again, but this time in a different format, when he started the Rising Stars comic book series for Top Cow in the late 90s. A series that has been influential in many ways, and still is today.
Another series that became cult partly because of its storytelling, development and narration, but never got the wider acclaim it may well have deserved, was Oz. The series is a lot harsher than most, but in terms of telling a story, of developping characters and exploring social and cultural themes and ideas, it’s never really been bettered. Especially when it comes to series that relate to crime/prisons. The series were short (apart from 4), and each developed a new story, building on the previous one.
The lack of good, strong storytelling and contained storylines is what started to frustrate me the most as I grew older. That and the constant use of cheap tricks, like end of season cliffhangers, to keep people watching. And that nagging feeling that you would never really know how it would end, or if it would end. And then when a good story comes along, you have that feeling that it may never finish, as it did for American Gothic, which also gained a cult status even though it was canned after a single series.
These problems are also rife in animation, especially Japanese anime. In anime the ongoing stories, with no real end or purpose, partially stem from the fact that the most popular series have their origin in manga format, a format which bases itself on having never-ending stories, much like American comics do. The characters and mythos is built up to such an extent, over such a long period of time, that the stories being told, whatever they may be, are only secondary to the characters and their own evolution. Which works great when you’re a kid, and can sometimes lead to some great stories too (as examplified by some classic comic book and manga runs written by the likes of Toriyama or Claremont). But as an adult you soon start to loose interest.
There have also been exceptions in the field of anime. One that I’ve recently watched again is Cowboy Bepop. The series was popular in both Japan and America, though it’s not so well known in the mainstream, compared to series that have longer runs. Cowboy Bepop was not only brilliantly told, it was also a defined story - with a beginning and an end. It was quite short, with only 26 episodes and a movie. And it’s not just the story that became popular, but the music too. And while a lot of modern anime suffers from incredibly rubbish soundtracking, Cowboy Bepop’s musical score is probably one of the best in the history of anime. But by far the best thing about it is how the characters develop and the story evolves over a set amount of time, all contained.
I have struggled to find something like Cowboy Bepop in anime again - I’ve been told Samurai Shamploo (made by the same people as Bepop) is also worth a watch. Anime as a genre has produced some great movies - Akira, Ghost In The Shell or Porco Rosso for example. But these are a lot more akin to books and movies, in that the story is told in one go, not serialised. I have however stumbled upon a recent anime series which has renewed my faith in the art of storytelling in a serialised format. And that series is Full Metal Alchemist.
What struck me most about it is that in its anime form, FMA ran as a contained story for 51 episodes and a movie. Which is pretty impressive. The manga it’s based on is still running, but they cleverly tweaked the story for the anime version and made it into one massive story, which is again contained and allows for character developments and plenty of other things. While FMA and Bepop don’t have much in common, apart from being anime series, they both share that one thing so many other lack - a good story, told over a set amount of time.
The trick of using a full length movie to end the series is also pretty nice. In the case of Bepop, the story the series told was actually finished by the point the movie came out, so it acts more as a one off addition to the overall story, whereas in FMA it actually acts as the end of the series. The series ends on a cliffhanger of sorts and the movie wraps it all up.
Going back to TV series I’ve also had my faith partially restored recently by two series, Prison Break and Heroes. Prior to that I’d pretty much given up on TV series, especially following the arrival of Lost. As an idea it was great on paper, but in reality it was just another blockbuster-cum-tv series, with no real direction to the story. And the most annoying of all habits, the use of end of series cliffhangers. It was the same with The Shield, a cop series that started off quite well but then just went on and on. It’s not that I don’t like series that span a long time, it’s more that today the more a series starts to last, the less sense it starts to make and the more the story and characters suffer. It goes back to the ratings thing - a strong story may lead to good ratings, like it did with Lost and The Shield, but in turns the strong ratings mean that the story takes a backseat to the ratings. Why can’t people tell contained stories anymore? Why do things need to drag on and on?
Prison Break might seem a weird one to mention. I got to admit I wasn’t really into it to start with, it was only when I realised that it was originally written as a two series, contained story that my interest rose. Turns out the success of the series has led the creators to make a new series, which is a shame. As a contained story it would have worked incredibly well, even if it does have its fair share of slightly unbelievable moments. The second series feels a lot like that old classic The Fugitive on speed. I’ve not watched the new one, but I must admit I was a bit disappointed to hear that they’d chosen to go for a new series instead of going with the original idea of telling one, contained story, especially considering the actual subject of the series. Having the main protagonist go back into a prison again to free someone else, just gives that feeling of milking something for all its worth.
Heroes on the other end is slightly different. It’s obviously inspired by comic books, and has some similarities with Rising Stars (though not as many as The 4400, another series about people with powers), and it’s also got similarities with Lost, primarily in the use of the internet and additional formats to add elements to the series and continue side elements of the main story arc. Where Heroes works for me is that each series is designed to contain one story arc - similar to Oz for example. So for a start that’s no crappy cliffhangers, which is a good thing. It’s also an obvious tip off to the series comic book influences, where contained story arcs are the norm. So you get one full story, which will obviously be continued, but which stands on its own too. Another interesting element to Heroes was that it was originally intended to feature a different set of characters in every series, something which has unfortunately been changed. I can’t remember a series that ever did that, and as a story telling tool I think it would work great. Characters do come and go, but to radically alter all the characters everytime would have been a pretty interesting thing to do.
I’m not so sure about the use of the internet to enhance the whole story though. I can see how it helps to enhance the story to an extent, by divulging information on characters’ origins, side stories, etc… which then feeds into the main story, but by and large it feels more like a cheap tie in than anything else. Heroes does have one thing going for it though - a series of pdf comic books that follow the TV series and tell the side stories and off screen actions of characters. That’s a pretty interesting idea, and one they’ve done quite well so far.
All is definitely not lost for story telling in a serialised TV format, but I really wish there was more importance put into the creative process behind a series than on its ratings or popularity. As a format, TV serials can work incredibly well, and make for captivating TV, something which is too rare today. Or maybe I should just stop being so idealistic :lol:
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