DJariya

There has been some talk about people here not liking

"Case of the week" "Monster of the week" type shows. Just wanted to hear from a few of you what you thought.

sven

For the most part. The only episodic show I really watch anymore is Castle and even that I'm like 6 or 7 episodes behind on.

Red Dog

No. Law & Order (at least in its heyday), L.A. Law, and Picket Fences are 3 of my favorite shows/dramas of all-time.

I can be drawn to both kinds of shows.

If anything, I find the serialized aspect of shows that are primarily self-contained to be very annoying (as if its forced).

DJariya

Are you talking about what Burn Notice and Hawaii Five-O does? Burn Notice is mostly self contained, but I know people here are sick of the Burn arc.

Red Dog

Those are 2 prime examples. Although, lets be real -- I watch and enjoy H50 mainly for its comedic stupidity.

I will add that it will probably be harder to get me to watch new non-serialized shows going forward since I've basically forsaken new broadcast TV shows given the quick-trigger cancellation factor. Except for USA and TNT to some degree, the cablenets don't really offer those kind of shows.

mdc3000

I picked YES, even though I do watch a lot of shows that don't have much carry over - however I always like that serialized element the most in almost every instance. For example, Justified really became a MUST SEE when they started adding more of the serialized element, same with The Good Wife (one of the only CBS dramas I even bother with, since they are all so cookie cutter 'case of the week' format). I'm fine with most USA shows relying solely on fun characters and dialogue to carry them, but most other network stuff I definitely like the serialized aspect more than the 'case of the week' story.

Jeremy517

The problem with Alcatraz isn't that it is a prisoner-of-the-week show; the problem with Alcatraz is the prisoner-of-the-week stuff is pretty bad.

wz42

Just the opposite so I can't vote.

If it's serialized there's a greater chance of it getting cancelled before the arc has finished (like watching 90 minutes of a 2 hour movie).

In addition, like how I dropped The Wire after one season, I also have to invest so much more of my time/money to see if I can get into it.

As such there isn't a poll option for me since it being serialized decreases my chances of giving it a shot.

JasonF

You're dead to me.

DJariya

I can think of one Police drama that isn't necessarily serialized, but has solid characters and story elements that carry over.

Southland. Granted it's on TNT and they have alot more room creatively with the language and violence. It's basically the day in the life of an LAPD officer and I love how it's shot like an episode of Cops. It's doing fairly well on TNT, but I wish more people would tune in. I hope that people aren't just assuming it's another boring damn cookie cutter cop show, which it isn't.

TheMovieman

No. I prefer the "case of the week" shows because I generally I don't stick with a show the entire season and like to jump back in after missing a few. Can't really do that with the serialized kind. For instance, when "24" was on, I would watch the first few episodes, lose interest or move on to something else and then see it on the schedule and decide to skip it knowing I've missed too much.

macontosh2000

For me I refuse to watch dramas that aren't serialized, I find shows like that to be a waste of my time. The shows i watch dont have to be the big mythology shows, I will watch the whatever-of-the-week shows (LOVE Buffy), but i need something to carry over onto the next week or i get bored of it.

Geofferson

I voted 'yes'. Primarily because the creativity seems to be with serialized dramas in the current state of television. This may not have always been the case, but I think it's a fair point for the past several years (arguably tv's golden age).

Another reason I like serialized shows is, that by definition, we get a longer narrative. When the stories are compelling and smart, it's great to know you can come back for more the following week (or season). For me, at least, the viewing experience is more rewarding.

Self-contained stories can be compelling in episodic television as well. I acknowledge that. As already stated, there has been some quality episodic television in the past. The current offerings just haven't piqued my interest all that much.

rw2516

For me it depends on whether I like the characters.
Star Trek:TNG had such great characters(except Wesley) no mythology was needed. I could enjoy them doing nothing but play poker for entire episode.
While RDA was on Stargate SG-1 I wouldn't have needed mythology. After he left the chemistry was not as good and only the mythology kept me interested.
Babylon 5 had the best mythology ever, but the characters were so endearing I could enjoy standalone episodes. Same with Fringe, great characters, the mythology is good but not needed to keep me watching. However, the chemistry has changed this current season so the mythology is the main interest until things get back to normal, if they do.

superdeluxe

Not really. I like sort of serialized shows..Monster of the weeks..but there is always a little of that myth arc

Shannon Nutt

A show doesn't need to be, but it helps a lot. I prefer the old "X-Files" way of doing mythology. Do about a half dozen mythology shows a year, but make the rest "stand alone". PERSON OF INTEREST seems to be following that formula, as does ALCATRAZ and (at least in the first two seasons) FRINGE.

Shows that never have any character arc/story progression drive me crazy. People go from A to B to C in real life, so when shows don't do this, it takes the reality out of them.

brainee

In theory, you can't top a great serialized show. But I'm getting tired of having serialized shows get cancelled before they reach any kind of payoff, or sticking with a show only for the ending to be awful. Now whenever I hear of a new show that sounds interesting, I'll just wait to catch up with the whole thing later on (rental, streaming) if I hear the show ended up delivering.

I like single-season arcs more than entire series arcs. Shows like "Dexter", "Supernatural", "True Blood", "24" where you can be confident they'll tell a complete planned story over the course of a single season. As ambitious as a giant multi-year arc is (like "Lost" and "Babylon 5") I have no faith to start investing my time in a new one, and will wait until the whole thing is over and I hear good things.

starman9000

I prefer a mix, leaning towards serialized.

SG-1 was a good example of this for me, as you had an ongoing story, but you still felt like it wasn't perpetually building to something.

davidh777

I prefer serialized but can watch either. Binge watching needs to be serialized, though.

wz42

I loved Homicide if that helps

I would give Southland a shot but for some reason it's very inaccessible in Canada and, I assume, other international markets. It airs on a (pretty crappy) premium channel (not basic or extended cable), after season one the DVDs are pretty expensive since they're MOD releases and they didn't do what SGU did by putting them into second run syndication a year after it airs on cable.

Perhaps Canada is just an anomaly but if it's so tucked away in the US it's not really giving the show a shot to finding an audience.

MLBFan24

Serialized dramas are my favorite

I miss 24

Michael Corvin

There's room in my life for both. I don't prefer one over the other. I just want a show to be solid and entertain me for 45 minutes.

DeadLamb

I'll watch both style of shows.. I'll even hang in there with "doomed" serialized/mythology shows I like, even when it's already known they are just burning off the last few eps they filmed..

the only reservation I have towards shows with a ton of serialized/mythology behind them is jumping into them mid season. Like say Fringe.. I watched a few eps, then stopped and now I sort of have to wait for the series to end and come out on DVD.. Being I don't want to just start watching again now.. It too far into the story and I feel I would not enjoy it as much if I started watching again at this point in the story.

Nick Martin

Being in Canada and therefore being in the same situation (ordering an expensive premium channel like "SuperChannel" is not an option especially just to watch one show) I just download it every week.

I've had to do that ever since season 2. That's the only way I can follow along with it because it really is difficult to get unless hiking the cable bill up even more than it is to get one series is somehow worth it...no I didn't think so either.

At the very least other online shops offer those overpriced DVD-R releases since the WB shop is US only.

PhantomStranger

Networks absolutely hate serialized shows, because after a certain point the amount of backstory prevents new viewers from watching the latest episodes. As good as Lost was, it started losing viewers in the third season and never recovered as people waited for the DVDs.