--> How they are ruining the x-files (very very long)
duong
spoilers for episodes before it.
==============================================================================
H O W T H E Y A R E R U I N I N G T H E X - F I L E S
==============================================================================
Lately something strange has happened to me: I have stopped looking forward to
watching an episode of the x-files. Once my all time favorite show (back in
the first season), I now wonder if it's worth taping at all (there are few
episodes of season two I would actually re-watch).
1. What's good about the show (many things from production values to acting,
but to keep the list short, here are a few others rarely pointed out)
o Good story construction
o A sense of suspense & the mysterious
o Character progression
o Continuity
o The unexpected
Lately (especially in season 2) most of these strong elements have been turned
overboard in favor of "run-of-the-mill-we're-to-hip-for-our-own-selves-so-
look-at-how-cool-we-are" kind of stuff. Let's take them point by point.
2. What's bad about it. Some examples.
Good Story Construction
-----------------------
Many of the stories suffer from poor construction with so many plot holes
that the sun shining through them becomes blinding. Here are a few examples.
"Little Green Men" - Mulder has to travel to get a piece of paper which
would prove the existence of alien life. Yet the senator who puts him on the
trail already seems to own a copy. This copy ends up in Dana's hands and she
shows it to a scientist to find out what it is. By the time the aliens make
"real contact" (i.e.: make a lot of wind and stand in the doorway) the show is
almost over. A few military people show up to clean the place, but let our
friends go for no apparent reason. Mulder's tapes are blank and so is their
memory of the senator's piece of paper. All the evidence is gone and so is
our respect for this particular story. We are left with a feeling of "What?
That's it? it's over???"
"One Breath" - Typically the most badly written and awfully structured
episode in the entire series. It can only be summarized as this: They
didn't know how to bring Dana back, so that's all they could come up with.
This episode is simply a bunch of people making speeches. Mulder quits, his
boss makes a speech and THAT'S what's supposed to convince him to stay???
Even after all this time, nobody in the FBI knows "Cancer Man's" name?
Mulder runs after an agent in the Hospital Parking lot and meets Mr.X who
asks Mulder "What are you doing here?" huh??? It shouldn't be why Mulder is
there, it should be what Mr.X is doing there! And Mulder is so much the
paranoid type that when a girl overtly asks him for cigarettes in a strange
way he doesn't notice. And after Dana comes out of a coma he rushes.....
to the video store. The thin shred of credibility the show had left just broke
with this one.
"Colony" - This one is as bad as the others. First off, the running gag with
the telephone calls was turned from a cute thing (the second time) to a
"I am a joke and this is the burlesque bit" routine. If Dana is so keen on
getting this message to Mulder, she would have brought the phone in the shower
(it's cellular after all). The whole bit about Mulder's sister... bof! If
Mulder's raison d'etre was around the events of his sister's kidnapping, he
would have burst into tears and wouldn't have waited until the next day to ask
her "What happened to you?". It would have been right there and then. It's
not limited to the storyline, now we've got morphing people! And they are so
good at it that when they morph their face, their suits morph as well!!!!!!
(bad production values in this one). And you know that Dana is really scared
for he life when she calls Mulder, opens up the drapes and sees the guy
following her in his cars and all she can say is: "I think someone may be
following me!" She pleads for Mulder to come and what does she do then?
SHE GOES TO SLEEP! Hey? huh? What? Like wouldn't you at least call one of
your colleagues at the FBI to come over???? Besides, why is it that when
she discovers the lab she calls Mulder up and all she can say is: "Mulder
I've got this important piece of info for you... but I'm NOT going to say
what it is." (maybe it's not a secure channel you say, good point! but then
she goes on to say) "But here is the secret location that I'll be staying at
and hide at". That's it, show's over folks. Nothing to see. (great FBI
training by the way).
I took the first, middle and last shows. Except for 2 episodes, the rest are
in the same vein.
A sense of suspense & the mysterious
------------------------------------
A lot of what made the charm of the first season was the fact that you often
didn't know if the events you were seeing were paranormal in nature or quite
explainable. There was such a misdirection in the second season (hey give
credit where it's due) in the "Blood" episode. This is where we know that
messages are sent to people, Mulder has been sprayed and he watches TV. He
sees "Do IT" on the screen. Was it a Nike ad or a control message? 100/100
on that one! This is the stuff real x-files are made of (too bad the rest
of the season looks like Deep Space Nine scripts).
Where is the mystery in "Firewalker"? It's almost an exact copy of the
first season show "Ice" (which was a copy of "The Thing"). Basically we have
parasites that invade the body. These parasites turn the hosts into
paranoid killers. This whole thing happens in a remote area. In the end,
everyone dies except Mulder and Scully (you figure which of the 2 shows
I'm talking about). Where's the mystery in a rehash? and so soon?
"Irresistible" Ñ Since we're into the copying mode, and since we've killed
our most popular villain (Tooms). Let's bring another demon who could become
his replacement. But alas it turns into another run-of-the-mill "let's
kidnap agent Scully". I mean come on guys, after being kidnapped every 4th
show shouldn't she like get her gun out? kick her way out? Where's all
that FBI training gone to?
A few samples, but the list goes on.
Character Progression
---------------------
The Character of Dana Scully is terrible. This is NOT the fault of Julian
Anderson. It's the writers! She's removed alien artifacts from bodies,
saw a human corpse turn into a chimp, was attacked by a guy who squeezed
in a two inch vent, extracted "Space Worms" from people bodies, got "hot"
for a gender-bender, was infected with killer insects, had her ex-partner
body swap with a killer, saw a gigantic humanoid slug, was kidnapped and
impregnated by aliens, saw a nurse who didn't exist, talked with her "dead"
father, got infected with venom and saw a voodoo doctor come out of her hand
to strangle her, analyzed alien DNA, held an alien IN HER HANDS, and more
recently met up with clones. (to name a few) And after all that refuses to
believe that the strange can exist! BULL!
And when she isn't being kidnapped in a show, she offers the most inane
explanations to events. When Mulder proves to her that her ex-partner now
writes with his left hand, she attributes it to stress. Stress??? A bit
of stress and you can write with your left hand??? Come on!!!!!!
The list goes on.
Continuity
----------
The continuity person on the show should be fired. Plain and simple. The
show has none or the person isn't doing their job. For example:
- In "Colony" they are amazed at the possibility of clones. And what about
"Eve" in season one ???
- In "Little Green Men" Mulder's story about his sister's kidnapping
changes from what we are told in season one.
- Mulder tells us his phobia is "Fire", yet he doesn't even blink when
he enters the meat factory where there's gasoline everywhere and he
knows the guy is about to torch the place in "Red Museum". Did he
forget his phobia?
- In "Little Green Men" we meet this senator. Where did this guy come
from? I guess he was a contrived plot point since Deep Throat was
executed.
- Again, everything that has happened to Scully, yet the next week is
as if nothing had happened. Besides, she trusts Mulder with her life
but not enough to believe he's telling the truth about aliens or what
he sees when she is conveniently not looking.
The list goes on.
The Unexpected
--------------
This is gone from the show. The last unexpected thing to happen was Deep
Throat getting killed. Now X-files feels like "Starsky & Hutch". Nothing bad
can happen to the pair. No matter what happens, our duo will be back and
nothing can ultimately hurt them.
(if you've made it this far, here's part 3)
3. What should be done (hey it's cool to bitch, but what about solutions)
A. A better season structure.
The first season saw a constant progression with a good balance between
the alien/cover-up and abnormal/paranormal stories.
We also had the introduction of the "inside" informer which culminated in
a complete reversal of the setup by the last episode of season one. The
progression looks like this.
/
/ <- Scully holds alien. Show peaks!
----
/ <- Tooms returns. Show is HOT!
----
/ <- Darkness falls.They get bugged. Amazing!
----
/ <- E.B.E. Great stuff. Show gets better.
----
/ <- Fire. Top notch thriller. Show back on track.
---
\ <- Ice & Space. Things drop. Space is a boring show.
--------
/ <- Tooms introduced. Doesn't get any better than this.
----
/ <- Deep throat introduced. Very good.
----
/ <- Show debuts. VERY strong PILOT.
It just got better and better each week. Most of the individual programs
by themselves were well structured, dynamic and good balancing between
the visuals and the dialogue.
So why not structure the season to attain a certain objective? Season 2 of
Babylon 5 seems better because it pushes the stories towards a particular
crunch (in that example, a great war). And this push not only drives the
other stories around it, IT TRANSFORMS THE CHARACTERS.
It's all well and nice to make a "bottle" show for the syndication market,
but if past events have not effect on the way characters behave, you
often break the thin shred of credibility which is so hard to achieve in
a sci-fi/fantasy show. And since in the x-files all the location references
and the information we are given is made to give the show a sense of
realism, then it doesn't make sense that the main characters behave in an
un-real way.
B. How it could have looked.
The entire season could have come back without having the x-files
re-instated so conveniently. The whole season could have seen our heroes
try to merge their x-files operations with their other work. Sort of
turn the x-files headquarters over to Mulder's "Wacky" friends.
If you can't beat them join them. The inside factions of the FBI were unable
to silence Mulder and Scully on paranormal events. Why not have THEM take
control of the x-files? With the audience knowing that "cancer man" is calling
the shots, the danger factor would rise to boiling levels when new files
would be inserted only to trap our heroes.
Another idea would have been to completely reverse the roles for an entire
season. Scully who has held an alien and who has seen her dead father could
have become a believer in the ghost/supernatural phenomena. While Mulder
could have been an "un-believer" in such matter only to believe in
conspiracies and aliens because for him it's tangible stuff. (by the way,
there have been hints that although Mulder is opened to U.F.O. stuff, he's
a bit skeptical on other matters. He didn't believe the guy in "Beyond the
Sea" [he introduced fake evidence to fool him] and he didn't believe
in vampire's in "3").
C. What needs to be done before the patient dies.
Something dramatic. Kill one of the main characters. Scully's character is
so crappy, but Jilian Anderson is so likable.
Another of those "Let me look away so something weird can happen" and "I need
a man to rescue me because I'm so incapable" and the show will have a heart
attack.
Mulder could get killed too. But as a plot point, the bad guys would probably
prefer to have him around. He's like the National Enquirer. Do you believe
what's written in that mag? Mulder is like that. As long as he supports an
event, his "Spooky Mulder" turns it into a non-event. Alien clones? who
told you that? Oh Spooky Mulder! yeah, right.
But I guess he won't be killed. Who would watch the incredulous Scully show?
But that's what's needed to keep the show alive. It's slowly becoming a parody
of itself. It has to turn around, shock the audience and push forward.
Ratings are nice, but NOT at the expense of quality.
duong
Eileen McDermott
(duong) wrote:
<much deletia>
It's easy to criticize a show. What your post contains is the same tired
nitpicks that have been discussed ad nauseam in this forum. If everything
in the show mirrored reality exactly, and all of the "science" on the show
was accurate, there wouldn't be a show. The show operates on the
"possible" not the "plausible."
Your idea of having Mulder and Scully switch perspectives just isn't very
realistic. The writers spent an awful lot of time developing the
characters of Mulder and Scully and to have them switch perspectives is
not only laughable, it's absurd. Mulder is who he is and Scully is who
she is and the chemistry of the show depends on those characterizations.
It's fun to see Scully "believe" and Mulder "question" because that's
outside of the scope of what we've come to know about the pair. But to do
that as a permanent change would ruin the show. Do you really expect
Scully to throw away her scientific training and background? Do you
believe that Mulder should suddenly start to deny the forces that have
defined his life and driven his career? Take the most meaningful thing in
your life, the thing that drives you to be what you are and do what you
do, flush it, and be someone different. That's essentially what you're
suggesting for Mulder and Scully, but it's not very realistic, is it?
Characters on TV behave differently than people do in real life. If you
want to watch the show, you have to suspend your disbelief. You have to
accept that the characters are going to do and say things that you would
not do or say if you were really in their circumstances. As the viewer,
you have more information than the characters in the show do, anyhow.
For example, in Colony, you as the viewer know that Agent Chapel is not
who he appears to be. Mulder and Scully do not know this. Not knowing this
information means that Mulder and Scully act differently than they would
if they knew that Chapel was bad news.
As far as the characterization of Scully goes, I don't mind that Scully is
getting victimized a lot lately. Women get victimized all the time.
(Which I mind the hell out of, by the way... but it makes Scully's
portrayal as a woman that much more realistic. Just because she's an FBI
agent doesn't make her invincible, for crying out loud.) Being victimized
doesn't make Scully any less strong than she's ever been and it doesn't
make her any less interesting. She keeps coming back after all of this,
doesn't she? Besides, the whole story hasn't played out yet and you don't
know if Scully is really Scully and Mulder is really Mulder, anyway.
(BTW, Scully was not impregnated by aliens, as you suggest in your post.
Exactly how closely have you been watching this show?)
In the first season, there were no truly sophisticated X-Philes. We were
all new, and none of us knew what to expect from it. The plot devices used
in the first season seemed new and inventive, even though in retrospect,
they do not seem to be all that spectacular. In the second season, the
viewers are a little more experienced and have an idea of what to expect
from the show. The quality of the writing isn't any different than it was
is the first season. It's because our expectations of the show have
changed. Each week, the show has to be better than it was last week. You
try to meet that expectation. It's not easy.
Just sit back and enjoy the ride. If you can't do that, change the channel.
--
The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham and eggs. The chicken is involved. The pig is committed.
Robert E. Strobbe Jr.
[............................. *breath* .............................]
That was a joke, right?
Never have I seen so much effort put into complaining. I don't normally like
to say, "if you don't like it, don't watch it," but if you've got so much of
a problem with the show to do all THAT, it seems like sound advice.
Well, that or write, produce, and direct the show yourself. :)
--- res jr. --- cp: dopey.quote: No such file or directory: Abort? [y]
bo...@execpc.com | Opinions expressed above are | "I refuse to lose."
------------------- | those of the author and only | "Leave it alone."
rob strobbe @ times | those of the author. Bummer. | "Even jesters cry."
Robert E. Strobbe Jr.
Ah hell. I wasn't going to pick this apart, but after re-reading it, I'm
gonna have to. It's this "analysis" that's full of holes, not the show. :)
Obviously, a lot of the original article is deleted -- [snip]'s are implied.
In article <950214073...@erg.si.uqam.ca>,
du...@erg.si.uqam.ca (duong) wrote:
:
: "Little Green Men" - Mulder has to travel to get a piece of paper which
: would prove the existence of alien life. Yet the senator who puts him on the
: trail already seems to own a copy.
Why would the paper "prove the existence of alien life"? It's a printout,
nothing more. Any schmuck can open up a text editor and do that. What's
more, anyone watching this show long enough will realize that "proving" the
existence of alien life" to his superiors, or anyone else for that matter, is
SECONDARY. He wants to know the truth for himself, and that means witnessing
any "proof" firsthand. That means visiting the site where the signals were
discovered and, with luck, actually making contact. The tapes were proof.
: A few military people show up to clean the place, but let our
: friends go for no apparent reason. Mulder's tapes are blank and so is their
: memory of the senator's piece of paper.
Did they "let them go"? I must've watched a different show. I remember them
putting up a decent chase, only to have M&S give 'em the slip. And the tapes
may've gone blank, but M&S's memory? What gave you that idea?
: All the evidence is gone and so is our respect for this particular story.
: We are left with a feeling of "What? That's it? it's over???"
Not me. I had a feeling of, "Wow! This is a great show!"
: "One Breath" - Typically the most badly written and awfully structured
: episode in the entire series. It can only be summarized as this: They
: didn't know how to bring Dana back, so that's all they could come up with.
*yawn* That or it's called a mystery and it was one they had in mind before
she was kidnapped in the first place. We'll find out what happened to her
later, when the revelation will be presented in a more interesting way. This
show is BUILT on loose ends and uncertaintity. If it was said exactly what
happened to Scully -- a) she was abducted or b) the govt took her -- a major
loose end is tied up before its time. As soon as the existence of either a)
aliens or b) a government cover-up of aliens is proven without any doubt, the
show might as well end. And "One Breath" was excellent at developing other
things besides the alien\government storyline -- we learned about Scully's
family, Mulder's feelings for her, Scully's past....it's called background.
: Even after all this time, nobody in the FBI knows "Cancer Man's" name?
Who says? We don't know. Mulder doesn't know. Skinner just might.
: And Mulder is so much the paranoid type that when a girl overtly asks him for
: cigarettes in a strange way he doesn't notice.
Strange way...? You'll have to refresh my memory.
: And after Dana comes out of a coma he rushes..... to the video store. The
: thin shred of credibility the show had left just broke with this one.
SI bloopers video, am I right...? Free with subscription, not in stores. :)
(maybe i should stop this reply now -- it obvious WAS a joke....)
: C. What needs to be done before the patient dies.
:
: Something dramatic. Kill one of the main characters. Scully's character is
: so crappy, but Jilian Anderson is so likable.
I was right. This was a joke. What serious fan could butcher Gillian
Anderson's name twice, let alone suggest killing her off...?
: Another of those "Let me look away so something weird can happen" and "I need
: a man to rescue me because I'm so incapable" and the show will have a heart
: attack.
Didn't you say up above that so many weird things HAVE happend to her? There
goes our "look away" complaint. And the "incapable female" thread has been
done and redone -- and has been BS every time. She can take care of herself.
Anyhow, what kind of mentality is that? Need to make the show better -- kill
someone! You've been reading too many Marvel comics, friend.
: Ratings are nice, but NOT at the expense of quality.
But you've just suggested the exact OPPOSITE. Killing off major characters
is what a writer does to shock the audience (whadaya know, that's the exact
same phrase you used) -- and THAT is what people only interested in ratings
do. The want numbers, not entertainment. I don't consider killing off a
character just for the sake of killing of a character as "entertainment."
There. Now I feel like a total chump for writing a windy response to a post
that was obviously a joke in the first place. Hell. I'm goin' to bed.
--- res jr. --- She was only dreaming...she was only dreaming...she was...
PAChad
(duong), em...@engin.umich.edu (Eileen McDermott) wrote:
...deletions...
>Just sit back and enjoy the ride. If you can't do that, change the
channel.
And bo...@execpc.com (Robert E. Strobbe Jr.) wrote:
>That was a joke, right?
>Never have I seen so much effort put into complaining. I don't normally
>like to say, "if you don't like it, don't watch it," but if you've got
so
>much of a problem with the show to do all THAT, it seems like sound
>advice.
>Well, that or write, produce, and direct the show yourself. :)
These aren't the only two, but all of you who have repeated these
sentiments over the past few weeks need a little of your own medicine.
If you don't like the thoughts of the post, DON'T READ IT!
Let the rest of us, who like to examine and test our thoughts and
reservations, read and respond to these thoughtful and concerned posters.
You Politically-Correct preachers who prate that this group should be
reserved for fawning kiss-up postings, get a clue: this is Internet, and
we've all got a right to post. We've also got a right not to read, and I
invite you to exercise your rights!
PAChad
Eileen McDermott
internet, he/she should not be unprepared to take some flak for it. After
all, if the original poster didn't want people to ... how did you put
it..
..."examine and test our thoughts and reservations, read and respond to
these thoughtful and concerned posters"
he shouldn't have posted that tripe in the first place. I'm all for a
thoughtful exchange of opinions. The original poster thoughtfully placed
his here and I thoughtfully responded to it with my own opinions. What's
your problem with that?
I don't happen to agree with his criticisms of the show. I don't need to
agree with his sentiments, though in order to contribute to the
discussion. Welcome to America. Some time when you have a minute, look
up the First Amendment. Apparently you're not familiar with it.
Anna DeWitt
>
> Note: This bit is being written before part two of "Colony" and contains
> spoilers for episodes before it.
>
> ==============================================================================
> H O W T H E Y A R E R U I N I N G T H E X - F I L E S
> ==============================================================================
(The sound of fast and furious SNIPPING.)
If you don't look forward to the show, don't watch it. Why do you feel the need
to cause yourself such anxiety?
I am amazed at how you have come to believe that the X-Files is
falling fast and you are the one person who has the insight and
wisdom to right this terrible wrong.
You are _incredible_.
(Okay, this ain't no DONKEY DICK but it's still antagonistic.)
Anna "No trichobezoars here" DeWitt
University of Minnesota
Department of Psychiatry
Andy Spooky Mulder Pappas
: In article <950214073...@erg.si.uqam.ca>,
: du...@erg.si.uqam.ca (duong) wrote:
: [............................. *breath* .............................]
: That was a joke, right?
GOD I HOPE SO!!!!!!!
: Never have I seen so much effort put into complaining. I don't normally like
: to say, "if you don't like it, don't watch it," but if you've got so much of
: a problem with the show to do all THAT, it seems like sound advice.
I AGREE...ALOT OF NEGATIVITY THERE...*YAWN*
: Well, that or write, produce, and direct the show yourself. :)
: --- res jr. --- cp: dopey.quote: No such file or directory: Abort? [y]
: bo...@execpc.com | Opinions expressed above are | "I refuse to lose."
: ------------------- | those of the author and only | "Leave it alone."
: rob strobbe @ times | those of the author. Bummer. | "Even jesters cry."
I agree w/ you Rob...Not only was that very painful to read as well as
long...I thought the majority of it was WAY off target...
CC id you read this:IGNORE IT! YOU ARE DOING GREAT! I LOVE YOU!!!!
Andrea "who is VERY sick off these kind of posts"Pappas
--
--------------------------------------------------------
WATCH THE X_FILES ON FOX!
NOJO ON THE ROJO!!!!
"As long as it's not Spooky Fox!"-Fox Mulder
Read the Adventures of Chris Carter & Co.!
X-Philes *are* great Lovers!;)
-------------------------------------------------------
Rosaria Passanisi
writes:
>d>=====================================================================
=
>d>= H O W T H E Y A R E R U I N I N G T H E X - F I L E S=
>=======================================================================
Ruining the X-files??????????
*(31k deleted)
I almost skipped over this one because of it's length,
but am I glad I didn't! Excellent, excellent rebuttal
Sarah! Check it out everyone! FYI, it's message 41831.
Rosie ;-D
Tresy Kilbourne
(Eileen McDermott) wrote:
> If someone is going to post their sentiments on a newsgroup on the
> internet, he/she should not be unprepared to take some flak for it. After
> all, if the original poster didn't want people to ... how did you put
> it..
>
> ..."examine and test our thoughts and reservations, read and respond to
> these thoughtful and concerned posters"
>
> he shouldn't have posted that tripe in the first place. I'm all for a
> thoughtful exchange of opinions. The original poster thoughtfully placed
> his here and I thoughtfully responded to it with my own opinions. What's
> your problem with that?
>
Your response was more a sneer than anything "thoughtful": if you don't
like it, don't watch it. Of all the posts here defending the show, only
one took issue with the content of his post. That's pretty depressing.
--
Tresy Kilbourne
Seattle WA
tre...@halcyon.com
Eileen McDermott
to the point. The original poster's "critique" of the show was not much
more than a rehash of the same tired complaints that have plagued this
group for a long time. The original poster's suggestion that Mulder and
Scully switch personalities was about six inches short of ludicrous.
Second, he complains about the "plot devices" used to move the show
along. Every plot has "devices" that move it along. Complaining about
them is like complaining that cars have wheels. A "plot device" is
integral to moving the story from point to point, just as wheels are
integral to moving a car from point to point.
Third, many of his complaints revolved around essentially minor nitpicks.
It never ceases to amaze me that some people have absolutely no problem
with clones, zombies, demons, aliens, and mutants but complain bitterly
when the writers change the name of the hometown paper, saying it detracts
from the "reality" of the show. For cryin' out loud! (Everyone in this
group who has seen a mutant flukeworm raise your hands.)
His complaints about the show in general also indicated that, over time,
he has become more sophisticated as a viewer. Devices that he accepted in
the first season are unacceptable to him now. It was his contention that
the quality of the writing has slipped. In point of fact, it is probably
better now than it has ever been. He has simply come to expect more from
the show than it can provide. Under those circumstances, what are his
choices?
A:) accept it
B:) leave it behind
His criticisms of the show were neither constructive nor particularly
insightful. In the end, I would guess that the only one who is qualified
to decide that the quality of the show has slipped is Chris Carter.
Jeff Butters
Eileen McDermott <em...@engin.umich.edu> wrote:
>On the contrary, I thought my response was not so much a sneer as it was
>to the point. The original poster's "critique" of the show was not much
>more than a rehash of the same tired complaints that have plagued this
>group for a long time. The original poster's suggestion that Mulder and
>Scully switch personalities was about six inches short of ludicrous.
How many inches? How do you measure this?
>
>Second, he complains about the "plot devices" used to move the show
>along. Every plot has "devices" that move it along. Complaining about
>them is like complaining that cars have wheels. A "plot device" is
>integral to moving the story from point to point, just as wheels are
>integral to moving a car from point to point.
Agreed.
>
>Third, many of his complaints revolved around essentially minor nitpicks.
>It never ceases to amaze me that some people have absolutely no problem
>with clones, zombies, demons, aliens, and mutants but complain bitterly
>when the writers change the name of the hometown paper, saying it detracts
>from the "reality" of the show. For cryin' out loud! (Everyone in this
>group who has seen a mutant flukeworm raise your hands.)
Agreed.
>
>His complaints about the show in general also indicated that, over time,
>he has become more sophisticated as a viewer. Devices that he accepted in
>the first season are unacceptable to him now. It was his contention that
>the quality of the writing has slipped. In point of fact, it is probably
>better now than it has ever been. He has simply come to expect more from
>the show than it can provide. Under those circumstances, what are his
>choices?
On what criteria are you saying the writing is better?
I just started watching the show in December, and I think it's great,
with a couple stinker episodes, mainly Fresh Bones, and Irresistible.
Expectations do play a huge role. I used to be a huge Simpsons fan and
now that show is terrible, although I know new viewers like it. My
expecatations are too high for me to enjoy the new Simpsons episodes.
>
>A:) accept it
>B:) leave it behind
>
>His criticisms of the show were neither constructive nor particularly
>insightful. In the end, I would guess that the only one who is qualified
>to decide that the quality of the show has slipped is Chris Carter.
Weren't constructive or insightful to who? What are your criteria for
who is qualified? What does qualified have to do with it?
>
>--
>The difference between involvement and commitment is like ham and eggs. The chicken is involved. The pig is committed.
--Jeff
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Jeff Butters | jbu...@coefmd3.nts.uswc.uswest.com |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
| My opinions are my own. Period. |
+----------------------------------------------------------------------+
Manda E Bednarczyk
apart mercilessly. And by the way, even though Scully has been getting
the short end of the stick lately, you have to admit that Dana is the
most positive female role on T.V. that we've seen for a long time. She
is just as active as Mulder, therefore, she gets in trouble too.
REmember folks, there's lots of shows left...it won't always stay the
same. Don't give up, the truth is out there.
-Manda
Kelly Hays
RP>but am I glad I didn't! Excellent, excellent rebuttal
Thank you very kindly, ma'am.
I guess all those years of high school debate team finally paid off. ;}
Sarah
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