• more about #thinkingoutloud
    Slatz_Grobnik: I think the answer is simple, almost obnoxiously so. In the words of TVtropes, True Art is Angsty. Possibly it's a spin off of "happy is boring" above... more »
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.: That was why "Middleman" is so beloved by so many of us -- it was generally positive. (the dialog and eye candy helped) Bad things happened to innocen... more »
    ejs2000: I think point number one ("happy is boring") overpowers the others by an order of magnitude. Because you can say the same about any story: love storie... more »
    RanOutOfUserNameChoices: BSG's ending was A)A copout. God did everything! B)Fear mongering. Beware teh robotz! C) Not happy. Roslin died, Starbuck disappeared, everyone scatte... more »
    greatslack: I'm sure several of the staff (or indeed the readers) of this site have the talent to be SF writers. Why not write the stories you want to read and w... more »
    gorehound: Some stories that have sad endings are really great stories. I don't like watching shows that always have happy stuff and not sad. A good balance betw... more »
    Evil Tortie's Mom: R.O.A.C.H.: Good article. I'm tired of the depressing trend too. It's all gloom and doom, which is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Look how people slammed "Life on Ma... more »
    Motoki: While I am kind of tired of dark and gritty because let's face it, if we want to see dark and gritty, turn on the news, I don't see BSG's ending as es... more »
    KinoEscalate: Firefly. Upbeat. Full of conflict. And a strong message about family. more »
    Aristeia: I think one key aspect has been overlooked here. Pain and struggling define us in many ways. And when we see or hear or read of such strife, we empat... more »
    Triplanetary: Yeah, I've said it before, but I'm pretty sick of the current trend towards dark and gritty. A lot of people really do seem to think it makes movies (... more »
    Andrew Liptak: I've always thought that 5 years is a good number for a SF show. more »
    GiovanniGautham: It's nearly impossible to sell science-fiction to advertisers that want their products seen when (said) businesses believe science-fiction fans are th... more »
    Kenny Hobbs: I'm pretty sure it has to do with seven seasons of 22-26 episodes each becomes the 'magic number' to send the series into syndication where it can rea... more »
    GarjaWhchi: The answer is middle aged and older women. Absolutely no offence intended: But a lot of these women will watch a drama no matter how repetitive and tr... more »
    phoghat: I'm a big fan of the "Dresden Files" series of books (of which there are currently 10) and Sci-Fi had a show about them and it died an ignominious dea... more »
    Byronotron: well i believe it has a lot to do with the fact that most sci fi tv shows have a long running plot thread that, like you said, is partly linked to the... more »
    korbermeister: I think that SyFy doesn't last as long as other series because it takes more energy and imagination to suspend ones disbelief when watching shows deal... more »
    Slatz_Grobnik: EDIT: Another one for the list, maybe: Red Dwarf. Even discounting the gap, there's still, what, eight seasons? And it's possibly back in some form. more »
    Slatz_Grobnik: It would not be hard to make. A blend of TOS and Firefly is pretty well the perfect template for it. It's about the ship like ER's about the hospital.... more »
  • #thinkingoutloud

    Where Have All The Good Times Gone?

    The more I think about it, the more one thing about last month's Battlestar Galactica finale sticks out at me: It had a happy ending. And that still seems odd, unexpected and almost unfair. Why? More »
  • #thinkingoutloud

    Why Does Scifi TV Get A Seven Year Itch?

    I had a thought while avoiding this week's three-hour series finale of medical drama er; why don't science fiction shows last fifteen seasons? Does all SF TV (Doctor Who aside) have a seven year limit? More »
  • #thinkingoutloud

    What If A Show Shouldn't Be A Show?

    Watching last week's Dollhouse, one thing became clear: its main flaw isn't actually the show itself but the fact that, at its heart, it's not really a TV series. Or, at least, it shouldn't be. More »