Slow TV

[SiHart]

This is an interesting article

So should TV drama be slower or faster paced? Can we, the audience cope with slower paced TV stretching out over long series' anymore?

[Zbigniev Hamson]

I, the person, can.

[WhiteCrowNZ]

I lost patience with Lost because it just seemed to have whole episodes going nowhere.

[wombatskidude]

I stuck with Lost till the bitter end, believing the producers' assurances that it would all make sense. Ultimately, the only questions they bothered to address were a couple of new ones, bolted on in the final season.

Personally, I'd far prefer to see an actual drama serial of the Tinker Tailor or Claudius variety, than today's procedural dramas, with a story arc interspersed across the occasional episode. More often than not, the series get cancelled before the story arc gets anywhere near to a resolution.

[Rob McCow]

Could Doctor Who do with slowing down? The first comment on the BBC page seems to think so. Could we cope with a season of two-parters? That said, the best Who episodes of the last season were the one-parters.

The recent 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy' film was a good example of this. Although it wasn't a hugely long film, it seemed to last for about four days.

Strangely enough, I didn't find Mad Men at all slow, but perhaps that's because we watched the first season over the course of two weeks.

One of the most brilliant moments in Babylon 5 occurs at the end of Season Two. It has a huge impact because it's such an unexpected twist, but this is amplified because it comes after a long, boring sequence of Sheridan getting in a travel-tube train, some other people getting on, a few knowing looks... all without dialogue. So when the action does happen, it takes you totally off-guard. It's one of the most jaw-dropping moments I've ever seen on TV!

[Si Hunt]

I think we adjust to different styles of TV. TV is fast now because it's the vogue, and because it can be. But the fact we can all still watch and enjoy Classic Doctor Who shows that the viewer can easily adjust to the slower pace - as long as it's still well plotted, interesting and engaging.

You could have a show where two people talk for half an hour, but if it's well written and performed, it can be gripping. But "Underworld" is rubbish not because of its pace, but because the material is just boring.

I think there's more danger in TV being too fast, on occasion detail and explanation in Doctor Who has been lost because there's too much to take in.

Si.

[Larry]

over the last few years I've seen several classic itv and BBC dramas from the 1970's - Family at War, Fall of Eagles and Henry VIII & his Six Wives, and yes by todays standards they were slow going - but because they were all well written and acted and gave you time to actually think about what was going on I thoroughly enjoyed watching them. Morse , Lewis and Frost are again programs that allow you to take a step back and think aboutwhat's going on. You don't always get thatwith modern tv most stuff now is so fast paced crammed into about 40 minutes and you're at times left wondering just what the hell is going on.

[Stuart Wallis]

I agree; Poirot, Marple, Midsomer Murders and The Shadow Line are all good examples of recent, decent slow TV. So many films these days rely on quick-moving action to the detriment of any sort of plot. Quantum of Solace failed because it had little action to speak of; what action sequences there were were so quickly edited that they were largely impossible to follow; and what happened in-between was, apart from the message about saving water, inconsequental and mindlessly dull - where was the story?

[Ralph]

Interesting article. I have to say part of the reason I find a lot of modern TV less appealing is because of the fast pace, constant action and incidental music. I find "retro shows" better to chill out after the hustle and bustle of the day. I checked out The Onedin Line, one of the flagship shows (pun intended) of the BBC back in the 70s and wondered how I would find it and having watched the first four series I really enjoyed the pace. Perhaps when you've grown up with it, it's easier to slot back in. Modern TV reflects the impatient I want it yesterday world we live in.

[Stuart Wallis]

Funnily enough, I have to admit now that I find Classic Who easier to watch than new Who for that reason.