I’m the kind of person who really hates to miss the beginning of a movie. And I can’t jump into a series midway. What have I missed? What clue to the characters or situation is going to be lost on me?
So I have to say I am over all the media having to be tied into one another.
Just this week alone:
- Law & Order – A super cross-over event (I was a little behind on this) I’ve bailed on SVU and OC but had been dabbling with the reboot of the original and one of the things I like about that show is an episode is an episode. But nooo, in a crossover event things span in this case three episodes. So I made an exception and caught all three. At least since I had watched the other shows I knew who most of the characters were but overall although they created an arc for each one there were a bunch of detectives bopping in and out of each. Preposterous. And with all of the related shows, 911s/FBIs/NCISs/CSIs/Chicago whatever, this obviously isn’t isolated.
- The Rookie: Feds – I didn’t stick with the original The Rookie and I’m pretty sure they launched this as a backdoor pilot over there. So of course Nathan Fillion pops up as a street cop that our main protagonist has some sort of relationship with. And overall these characters all have relationships and stories that I have no idea what’s happening. And not in an of course all characters will have backstory kind of way. It made me less engaged in the characters and story. So whether your spinoff is a character taking a new journey, a sequel/prequel, or just a backdoor pilot seems like you could make it work as a standalone show.
- Morbius – Marvel is probably the worst. The few movies I’ve liked the most are ones that stand alone. I’ve come to put up with a random guest appearance and an end cap that teases something else. But those are few and far between these days. As homework to watch the final Avengers I think you had to watch 30+ movies. And that’s not counting any series. And the bummer is that even when something is supposed to be kind of a dud like Eternals or Morbius I feel compelled to complete them.
And in addition to feeling like I have to watch every Marvel movie to understand what’s happening in any of them, I suppose I’m supposed to subscribe to Disney+ to watch all the tv shows as well. It’s just exhausting.
I’m also for the record totally over anything that’s a trilogy. The first movie or book never seems to work as a standalone event (I’m looking at you Dune movie and The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet book, so regardless of whether I would have enjoyed all three, I’m out!
I know one aspect of this strategy is giving people more of the kinds of properties that they want. But the other strategy of making you feel like you’re missing out if you don’t watch them all just seems manipulative and greedy.
Will I stop watching Marvel? Maybe not. But I am drawing the line somewhere.
Rant complete. Does this bug anyone else?
