Glee Glee Glee

After our continued discussion on Lost I have realized that there was a large focus on the mixture of genre appeal in the entire series. This is what allows for the great success of the show, people connect through it - not only this, but it makes the show seem designated for many different niche audiences. So, I want to discuss Glee, the new phenomenon...which is also a mixed genre. This show probably appeals more to those individuals who are directed in the theatre type of life, however the story line allows for other types of audiences to take away enjoyment from the narrative.

I thought that this would make a good comparison, mostly because it is a show that is raved about, and also attempts to address multiple audiences. This fits into the category of comedy and drama. The comedy of the show draws people in who are interested in the funny, joking aspect of the show. On the other hand, drama, this brings in younger people who are interested in the "soap" part of the show. Really by this I just mean the relationships between the teenagers and the understanding of their fights, struggles, and successes.

This is another show, like I said with Lost, that I could not find myself getting in to. It is actually pretty strange, but now I find myself once again interested in the characters and all the aspects of the show. Not only are there funny pieces and dramatic scenes, but also a large incorporation of guest artists. This keeps people interested in an outside way, these people add a lot to the show. They switch up the interest and throw in a new mix to the show. An example is, Britney Spears - who showed last night. Her performing abilities is what attracts different audiences. Here is the last part that I would like to bring in, not only do guest artists spice up the shows... BUT it may attract individuals not interested in the show and make them a committed viewer.

I want to also say that this show reminds me of Lost in another way. Although this is not in any way classified a 'cult' series, it does have some similar qualities. The importance of people chatting outside of the show is crucial to its success. I typed in Glee blog and found this, http://www.gleefan.com/ . People are constantly on facebook, twitter, and in class talking about last nights episode. This is why I find this appropriate to follow up all of my Lost blogging - it has potential to blow up in success, especially if in the second season people are so avidly viewing and talking about the show. 

{{LOST}} - where do I begin.

The more required text I'm assigned to read the more and more interested I've become. I'm partially beginning to think that my dislike of Lost was pure ignorance. The more I understand the "culture" of the show as a whole the more I seem to find things interesting. Watching the episodes for class this week I found myself hungry for more, wondering what happened to all of the characters. Now, knowing that they were flash fowards also allowed me to enjoy the episode more because I was fascinated with where each person was going to reach this point - the point of being redistributed into society.

Now, I was unaware that Lost was in the genre of 'cults' - as is seen in my last post. However, I was unaware of all of the genres that the series is capable of fitting in to. As Ndalianis points out there are certain aspects of the show that could even be place in the genre of horror. These are the expected traits that the audience knows exist, this idea of putting genres together is very common today - widely because it broadens the prospective audience. It seems that this is a new phenomenon, however, it also seems that this is a driving factor because of the natural instinct to return the biggest gain on each episode.

In this article there is also a strong emphasis on "The Lost Experience" which is explained to be two different worlds that come into existence with the avid viewers who understand the main story as well as the many others that are going on. Last week I commented on Lost and its 'cult' category... today I read that it can also be considered science fiction. Yes, these are two different genres or categories, but I will say I think that type of audience they draw is usually fairly similar, and thus Lost's success may even be paritally based on the fact that if some aspects of one genre are missing they are present in the other - attracting the audience as a whole.

I really like the fictional world Lost brings in. It is close enough to a "reality" because of the actions that the people have to take in order to survive - however, there are things that are extremely fictional, and just add to the dramatic aspect of the show (like the polar bear in the first episode). All of these elements together allow viewers to disappear into a world on the screen but also connect or understand the fear/anxiety/uncertainty/ and dependency from the characters. For my own benefit, I want to express Ndalianis' article once again, because here we see this convergence term again. It is obvioulsy a huge part of every part of the show - fans find it important to connect in a whole type of way. The idea of individual viewing is actually less fulfilling, they like to share ideas and feel outside connection.

The show itself seems to be drawing me in. The continuity of the story, and the way the story is presented is actually more interesting then discouraging. I will say that the fan world is never one I have gotten involved in... blogging on a series website or "gaming". After saying this I WILL say that I still find myself enjoying the show, this is just another example of a different kind of audience (because I am not one that would typically pick a cult series or science fiction for that matter). The craze over Lost seems to me, at this point, to be about the ability to disappear into the world, to follow the story, and the continuous curiosity left for the viewers - however never enough to discourage one to come back the next week.

I've begun to buy episodes on my iTunes and really like all aspects of the show, even if some seem, well, like they don't make sense. The more episodes I watch the more I feel connected to the situation.

The following of Lost

I was reading Sarah Symes blog on Lost and I related very strongly to it. Actually my experience was almost identical. I began as a follower to the series, but with homework and other extracurricular activities quickly could not keep up with the complexity of the show. After continuously hearing so much about how great the series was, I too decided to attempt to sit down and watch season one. I failed to make it as far as Sarah, the interweaving of characters and the feeling of understanding and quickly being wiped off your feet left me unsatisfied… so I walked away that very day.

I watch a lot of shows that are dramatic narratives that have continuous seasons, so I am kind of at a loss of words to why Lost did not spark my interest further. I had a difficult time relating directly to any of the characters, my like in emotional involvement is what separated me from all those who are passionate about the show. The characters seemed rough around the edges, from the very being I felt a lot of distrust toward some of the strangeness in the characters. I am a viewer that has to feel connected to a characters actions and emotions in order to keep coming back – like Dr. Cudi in House. I’m sure many people side with characters but the twisting and turning and surprises, not to mention certain aspects that didn’t make sense (like the polar bear in the premiere) left me kind of doubtful and questioning, however I really didn’t care if I got an answer or not because it was so strange to me.

Again, I relate to Sarah. All of my friends were avid viewers of the show. I saw their devotion to the story line as well as the characters. Obviously I am one of view who feels this way, proved by the tremendous success. As Stacey Abbott implies, Lost is potentially the first time that a ‘cult’ series has been introduced but has always been geared toward mainstream audiences – and proved success. The fact that the network had the ability to spend so much money to advertise I think also brought in curiosity from many people. As far as articles go to say about advertising in movie theaters, this is one in few, well, as far as I know. The only time in my memory that I have seen a television ad as a preview is for My Generation, which is actually starting tomorrow. Referencing Abbott once again, it seems that the creators has to mask the science-fiction (‘cult’ draw) more than the fantasy. I hold this opinion strongly because I think it is easy to get lost in a fantasy world, however it takes a certain, select audience to fill the other end of the spectrum.

Following my starting to write about this and after reading the article I was interested to see if there was an easy accessable place to blog. Immediately I stumbled upon http://www.lostblog.net/, where many, many people blogged weekly throughout the entire series. Here individuals discussed opinions, expectations, it was an outlet for them to discuss, be reinforced and sometimes challenged on their perspectives. Even from seeing this I know see the ‘cult’ side even more greatly, the amount of outside discussion, effort, and interest that went into the show is like nothing I have ever seen, or been able to find before.

The beginning of whats promised to be an exciting seasons: HOUSE

Tonight House season 7 begins, so I find it only appropriate to speak about all of the phenomenal medical dramas that are now in circulation. I am an avid viewer of almost all of these shows – House, Grey’s Anatomy, and Mercy. Each one seems to have an extremely twisted love between the main characters. Yet Dr. House has yet to find anything seemingly close to love. This has become a wide genre, it includes very similar plot lines; however this series varies greatly in the attitudes of the people working in the hospital. House is the first doctor to demonstrate severe signs of something that compromises his medical ability. This small factor is really the main difference that separates each episode from all of the other series. If you like one of these medical dramas its extremely easy to like them all, because their structures are so overwhelmingly similar. The fact that this series has been able to be so successful for six consecutive seasons allows me to know that there is something keeping viewers interested. The potential for Cuddy and House to have a relationship is one thing that has kept me interested – because the relationship developed with the viewer is on somewhat of a personal level, “When Cuddy showed up in the nick of time, House (Hugh Laurie) took her hand instead of the drugs. Tonight, the romance begins anew on House” (1). I’ll be interested to see what happens between the main characters, we have been following this long, it will be interesting to see if anyone resolves love problems, or develops a relationship. The reason this is the most interesting aspect to me is because the medical part of these series are usually fairly predictable, but this separates it considerably. This medical genre has remained fairly general, in the fact that the shows follow a very similar format, in every episode. House also separates itself by the way they diagnose, their time here together shows tension and how they relate, an environment we really don't see in any other show.
This show also represents some type of convergence. Many viewers watch and blog online. Here we see that people are involved and interacting with the text online. I think that this also draws a much greater following – the fact that everyone is so interested and remains curious.


Source: Barnert, Deanna. "House Premieres: Love Doctors!" Entertainment | Recipes | Love & Sex | Contests | Beauty | Parenting. Web. 20 Sept. 2010. <http://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/articles/818161/House-premieres-Love-Doctors>.

Vampire Love

I am one that has fallen into the vampire craze recently. I found myself purchasing all of the previous True Blood seasons, watching them in large chunks because I couldn’t peel myself away from the screen. It’s amazing that they have found a way to turn one of the scariest human like creatures into something that is essentially sultry and somewhat desirable to man viewers. In previous generations the vampire has represented something to stay far away from. The reason I find the show to be so appealing is because although it is about this supernatural, fantasy world, it is also easy to relate to – the environment and occurrences within the town are imaginable. Said in other words, “From vamps and werepanthers to witches and faeries, this season of True Blood brought out just about every thing that goes bump in the night and deposited them in this once sleepy town, leaving the human-to-creature ratio dwindling even further” (1). This further reinforces the interaction between human and vampires (in a positive way) that allows viewers to connect to everyone, and this viewer-character relationship makes everything in their world seem closer. This vampire fad has been extremely popular with the younger generation; it exercises the use of young attractive males (generally) and makes it into a romance. So, not only am I intrigued by the relationship and how it could work, but also the adaptation they go through to fit in to a somewhat “normal” society. I find myself always hoping that our evil perception of vampires will be completely turned around in the end – making them heroes, since the main vampire always seems to make his way into some young, vulnerable woman’s heart. I will definitely continue to follow this episodic drama because I want to see how the relationships and consequences play out. It’s different than the typical drama on cable television in the past 5 years, now becoming very popular – because producers know that this genre has potential to make revenue.

Source:
Jace. "Grave Times: The Witching Hour Approaches on Season Finale of True Blood." Televisionary. 13 Sept. 2010. Web. 16 Sept. 2010. <http://www.televisionaryblog.com/2010/09/grave-times-witching-hour-approaches-on.html>.

Expanding The Convenience of T.V.

After watching Children's Hospital in class I started to think about why this was developed purely for enjoyment via the internet. Just this afternoon I found myself catching up on my MTV reality shows off of their website. Due to my busy schedule between classes and homework I often don't have time to watch the shows when they air for the first time, so this allows me to enjoy these shows at my own leisure. This removes the need to highly structure the schedule of networks because people can watch when is convenient for them. With the introduction of the IPad the availability of shows online is a great convenience to many busy Americans. I know for myself in airports and such it is really a great thing to be able to watch movies or television shows when I’m waiting in the airport. This being an issue we already addressed, I also found myself reading the comments left by others below the small playing box about what others thought. This allows this idea of a relationship between the TV and its' viewers, the viewers and the show, as well as viewer-to-viewer communication; strictly criticizing their actions or displaying interest in certain scenes. Not only in this sense, but also through facebook, twitter, and other online friend based sights people attach links to watch as well as converse about their opinions, views, and interests from their shoes. When reading Internet Tv Should Be The Development Of A Revolution In Television I found it interesting that many producers have some problem with online tv because it does not have to follow the same production code as regular television. This is where I think a lot of conflict arises, not from viewers, but from behind the scenes. If the playing field isn’t fair there is bound to be some kind of argument – this is what has continues to be an issue since the development several years ago (in my opinion).

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More on the CW {{Combining Media Types & Expanding Visability}}

Continuing my previous discussion on the CW, I'd like to address not only the new season of Gossip Girl, but also the addition of the original soundtrack accompanying the new series of Vampire Diaries. I want to bring up Gossip Girl because as the new season is presented many individuals have used other forms of technology to watch episodes from previous seasons. This expands on one of the many issues brought up in Introduction: "Worship at the Altar of Convergence". Society is now able to watch broadcast TV via the internet. This once again removes the scheduled viewing that we discussed in class, freeing peoples schedules in an extraordinary way. Supporting the article by demonstrating convergence, in that the way in which this mode of media is received has changed over time. Families and individuals can load episodes, and sometimes seasons online - eliminating the need for a television, or less extreme to conform to a schedule. Not only is this more convenient for consumers, also allowing more people the availability to the channel and those who are devoted to the season can keep up; while continuing their conflicting lifestyle.
Referencing the above article, I also want to bring into account the CW's own blog. I took a quick glance at their most recent posts, seeing that The Vampire Diaries is releasing a soundtrack specifically related to the show, songs either heard previously, or in the upcoming season. This allows the music to be presented in a different medium - viewers will associate the songs with the television show, bringing new meaning or presenting it a fashion where people must listen (they don't want to miss a scene in their favorite television show). This "convergence" or combination brings together both musical tracks and fictional narratives, influencing both ways. This soundtrack combines media artists (which links a category of music lovers to a certain group of television lovers) with television producers. Here two types of artists benefit from the same size audience, showing that the development of new technology does allow media genres to expand in the largest way possible.

http://blog.cwtv.com/ (The Vampire Diaries and Gossip Girl)

The CW's Newest Addition to Night-Time TV

This issue of television network competition has not only become more intense but also much more broad. This spectrum has expanded so greatly because of the continued development of competitors; like HBO. Cable television has more of a target audience, who then pay to subscribe monthly. This may seem to be the easiest way to watch the type of TV you enjoy, however it does not benefit general broadcasting channels. ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX are all general, un-subscribing channels. This brings me to discuss the CW’s (another general station) introduction of Nikita. This show is positioned to be a prime time thriller, appealing to as broad of an audience as possible. In “Lethal Woman With Weapons Is Out for Covert Vengeance” Alessandra Stanley explains that the main character is not only female, but also presents a great amount of sex appeal – in a thriller it seems more rare that the woman be a hero alone. Comparing this factor to movies like Mr. and Mrs. Smith; the female seems to be aided by some stronger force (in my experience). “ ‘Nikita’ isn’t original, but that’s not the measure of television series, which are almost always reworking past shows or familiar stories; even some of the best…” (Stanley 1). This is something that is seen more and more, not only on TV but in the retelling of movies. In the article by Stanley she explains all of the above, and also points out that the series is reflecting a harder time – presenting in some way political issues. Often, now, networks use common issues or elements of society to allow the viewer to relate. This I find correlates back to what I said at the beginning because they are attempting to grasp the largest audience in order to continue a successful series. The main actress, accompanied by younger actors and actresses allows for its’ greatest success and potential.

Source:
Stanley, Alessandra. "Nikita Lethal Woman With Weapons Is Out for Covert Vengeance." The New York Times. Web. 08 Sept. 2010. <http://tv.nytimes.com/2010/09/08/arts/television/08nikita.html?r=l&ref=television&pagewante=1>