@GreenFlashlight said in Good TV:
Two hours long but very comprehensive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkoGBOs5ecM
Alright, I watched this. I actually typed up a long angry rant in response but I'll take his advice on doing away with superfluous info and boil my comments down to this:
I was baffled at first how anyone could seriously rate Elementary yet dislike BBC's Sherlock, but it turns out Harris feels this way for the exact same reasons I have the opposite opinion. He dislikes character studies, is uninterested in scenes that focus on character development and relationship dynamics, and prefers procedural monster-of-the-week style content where you know you're watching the exact same show each episode and nothing ever changes. For me, this made Elementary complete garbage. Any single episode of that show in isolation is great, but slogging through multiple quickly reveals that they're all exactly the same deeply mediocre filler. Even the outfits the characters on that show wear are identical with only small variations, sitcom style. The only episodes of that show that I think are worth anything are the ones involving Natalie Dormer, so it's a shame that's only about 3 out of what, 100+? In a grand total of ten episodes — three per season + 1 Christmas Special — Sherlock manages to tell a whole lot more story and take you on a journey with the characters that actually keeps you hooked and interested to see what's going to happen next.
This highlights for me a key difference between British and American television. (Though streaming services have been changing this pattern lately.) American shows tend to be 20+ episodes a season of mostly filler material meant to rack up them ratings and deliver $$$. You can jump in at any time and never feel lost. It appeals to the lowest common denominator. British shows like Fleabag and Peaky Blinders feature just 6 episodes per season of pure gold without wasting a minute on any filler content. They're short, but punchy. It's quality over quantity. Especially the older I get and the less time I have to just watch TV all day, the less patience I have for endless shows that actually go nowhere like Elementary and Supernatural.