TV anthology series have become lame, lazy and lifeless: Why have they lost their way - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

TMC · 03-14-2020, 05:21 AM

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-r...lost-their-way

"Amazing Stories is – wait for it – not that amazing," says Jack Seale. "The new Apple TV+ show, released last week, is a revival of a 1980s series that was overseen by Steven Spielberg. The master director is involved with the reboot, too, which arrives back to take its place within one of the big TV trends of the past few years. Amazing Stories is an anthology: a collection of self-contained tales rather than a running series. Such shows can be a haven for experimentation and offbeat excellence and ought to be perfect for our low-attention-span age, where new streaming services seem to arrive each week. But, as modern anthologies become more prevalent, so they become a byword for hokey lameness and a lack of quality control. Anthologies in the 21st century are led by Black Mirror, a show concerned with the telling of spooky, tech-related fables. Like its ancient precursor The Twilight Zone, its intriguing set-up/surprising twist/haunting moral format can only be done in an anthology: nobody wants a 13-episode season entirely about a weird app, or a forest that turns out to be made of haunted computers, or whatever. But as the years have gone by, the perfectly turned Black Mirror episode, with a fresh premise and devastating pay-off, has felt more and more elusive."

dakert · 03-14-2020, 04:08 PM

I remember looking forward to watching Amazing Stories in I believe 1985 and quit watching after 2 episodes because it wasn't very amazing.

TV Guy · 03-15-2020, 03:20 PM

No, it wasn’t. And it wasn’t very successful, either. I remember how excited I was by the intro, and the series never really lived up to that. Yes, it got two seasons, but only because NBC was contractually obligated to pick up the second season (Spielberg was able to demand a two-season pickup when he first pitched the show).

I don’t know why Apple would revive this flop.

Fallon97 · 02-16-2024, 12:56 AM

I remember this show. I liked it. I thought it was, indeed, amazing.

03-14-2020, 05:21 AM	#1
TMC Member Forum Idol Join Date: Jan 09, 2001 Posts: 124,676	TV anthology series have become lame, lazy and lifeless: Why have they lost their way https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-r...lost-their-way "Amazing Stories is – wait for it – not that amazing," says Jack Seale. "The new Apple TV+ show, released last week, is a revival of a 1980s series that was overseen by Steven Spielberg. The master director is involved with the reboot, too, which arrives back to take its place within one of the big TV trends of the past few years. Amazing Stories is an anthology: a collection of self-contained tales rather than a running series. Such shows can be a haven for experimentation and offbeat excellence and ought to be perfect for our low-attention-span age, where new streaming services seem to arrive each week. But, as modern anthologies become more prevalent, so they become a byword for hokey lameness and a lack of quality control. Anthologies in the 21st century are led by Black Mirror, a show concerned with the telling of spooky, tech-related fables. Like its ancient precursor The Twilight Zone, its intriguing set-up/surprising twist/haunting moral format can only be done in an anthology: nobody wants a 13-episode season entirely about a weird app, or a forest that turns out to be made of haunted computers, or whatever. But as the years have gone by, the perfectly turned Black Mirror episode, with a fresh premise and devastating pay-off, has felt more and more elusive."

03-14-2020, 04:08 PM	#2
dakert Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: May 10, 2007 Location: Altoona PA Posts: 3,411	I remember looking forward to watching Amazing Stories in I believe 1985 and quit watching after 2 episodes because it wasn't very amazing.

03-15-2020, 03:20 PM	#3
TV Guy Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Jun 25, 2001 Location: Boston, MA, USA Posts: 3,419	No, it wasn’t. And it wasn’t very successful, either. I remember how excited I was by the intro, and the series never really lived up to that. Yes, it got two seasons, but only because NBC was contractually obligated to pick up the second season (Spielberg was able to demand a two-season pickup when he first pitched the show). I don’t know why Apple would revive this flop.

02-16-2024, 12:56 AM	#4
Fallon97 Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 04, 2007 Location: America Posts: 1,268	I remember this show. I liked it. I thought it was, indeed, amazing.