Quickie Review: Constellation

[Kevin M.]

Opening scene filled with intense drama and gripping suspense, then the next scene has the words “five weeks earlier” on the screen. I switched it off. I’m boycotting this sloppy writing. Stop the madness. 

Kevin M. (RPCV)

[Tom Wolper]

Samuel Fuller once said, “If you don’t have the audience by the balls halfway down the first page of the script, go back and rewrite it.”

On Sat, Feb 24, 2024 at 12:58 AM Kevin M. <drunkba...@gmail.com> wrote:

Opening scene filled with intense drama and gripping suspense, then the next scene has the words “five weeks earlier” on the screen. I switched it off. I’m boycotting this sloppy writing. Stop the madness. 

Kevin M. (RPCV)

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[Kevin M.]

Over the last 15 or so years, showrunners started confusing nonlinear storytelling with being creative. But instead of appearing creative, it only calls attention to their inability to make me care about characters without throwing them into a jackpot somewhere in their future. In the ‘70s and ‘80s, shows would frequently begin with a 30 second preview, i.e. “Tonight on Spenser For Hire”, showing that episode’s chases and shoot-outs, but that was more of a commercial and not part of the show’s narrative. I’d frankly prefer that to this new form of disjointed, even fractured television episodes. 

Kevin M. (RPCV)

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[Mark Jeffries]

That whole "tonight on" thing was a response to pressure from certain people about too many shows having flashy teases that had nothing to do with the rest of the show--basically, like James Bond movies. "Ellery Queen" did "tonight on" very well, following the premise of the original stories  you are challenged to come up with whodunit. It got replaced by "previously on...", thanks to "Hill Street Blues."

Mark Jeffries
spotl...@gmail.com

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[Stan S]

Space 1999 called it “This Episode”

-Stan