TMC
12-08-2014, 02:52 AM
What I mean is that instead of allowing things to occur organically, it's all a "scheme" or a push to make things happen. To put it in another way, In effect, the writers did a lot of "telling" us how the characters feel (or spelled out and explained) instead of "showing" us how they feel.
For example, in the "Girl Meets Home for the Holidays", instead of Shawn and Maya coming to the realization that they're the same on their own, Riley pushes them together. They tried to make Shawn out to be the "bad guy" and Maya basically put him on trial to find out why. Ultimately, they bonded because we were told so. But it seemingly lacks subtlety and has very little sincerity when you get right too it. It all sounds like stilted dialog to drive home the message which is why it is lacking subtext and subtly.
More to the point, instead of showing that Maya's a bad influence, we're told she's a rebel. The only rebellious thing she's done so far was in the pilot where she set off the fire sprinklers in Cory's classroom. There are simply no real stakes. And instead of the girls getting into a situation that forces them to learn a lesson, the lesson is telegraphed from the onset. Instead of Lucas being sad or acting strange because he misses his old friends, we're told he does.
At the end of the day, you can argue that unless the show is exploring a Boy Meets World connection, every episode seems like a "very special episode" from an '80s sitcom. Maybe part of the problem is Michael Jacobs wants to be more a teacher then entertainer or writer. He sort reminds me a lot of Christian filmmakers (e.g. Brenda Hampton) trying to push their agenda ahead of being honest and entertaining.
Michael Jacobs just needs to be confident in his staff's writing that the young audience will "get it" without being hit over the head with it. Good screenwriters can argue their theme (good and bad) by presenting interesting scenes and actions performed by the characters.
As I suggested before, hardly anything on Girl Meets World feels organic or real. It perhaps instead, feels too staged and on-the-nose from the ham-fisted life lessons to how the kids AND adults talk. I mean, Boy Meets World definitely had life lessons too, but they were able to teach them though without actually saying "life lessons," though. There's nothing wrong with thoughtful entertainment but you can't put the message ahead of the entertainment or else it shows.
For example, in the "Girl Meets Home for the Holidays", instead of Shawn and Maya coming to the realization that they're the same on their own, Riley pushes them together. They tried to make Shawn out to be the "bad guy" and Maya basically put him on trial to find out why. Ultimately, they bonded because we were told so. But it seemingly lacks subtlety and has very little sincerity when you get right too it. It all sounds like stilted dialog to drive home the message which is why it is lacking subtext and subtly.
More to the point, instead of showing that Maya's a bad influence, we're told she's a rebel. The only rebellious thing she's done so far was in the pilot where she set off the fire sprinklers in Cory's classroom. There are simply no real stakes. And instead of the girls getting into a situation that forces them to learn a lesson, the lesson is telegraphed from the onset. Instead of Lucas being sad or acting strange because he misses his old friends, we're told he does.
At the end of the day, you can argue that unless the show is exploring a Boy Meets World connection, every episode seems like a "very special episode" from an '80s sitcom. Maybe part of the problem is Michael Jacobs wants to be more a teacher then entertainer or writer. He sort reminds me a lot of Christian filmmakers (e.g. Brenda Hampton) trying to push their agenda ahead of being honest and entertaining.
Michael Jacobs just needs to be confident in his staff's writing that the young audience will "get it" without being hit over the head with it. Good screenwriters can argue their theme (good and bad) by presenting interesting scenes and actions performed by the characters.
As I suggested before, hardly anything on Girl Meets World feels organic or real. It perhaps instead, feels too staged and on-the-nose from the ham-fisted life lessons to how the kids AND adults talk. I mean, Boy Meets World definitely had life lessons too, but they were able to teach them though without actually saying "life lessons," though. There's nothing wrong with thoughtful entertainment but you can't put the message ahead of the entertainment or else it shows.