What Television Teaches Me & Other Such Nonsense

Fun topic today!
I love to talk about “My Shows”, as my Mother likes to call them. Only she’s referring to the Soaps. We will not be discussing daytime drama here today, folks. Nor will we go into what I like to consider the new age version: The Real Housewives of … (I am a fan. Not gonna lie.)
Because I get pretty involved in my WIP and edits, I don’t spend a lot of time watching television. I used to live and breathe it, believe me. My DVR was constantly running. It does now, too, but nowhere near as bad and it’s filled to the brim with unwatched shows.
BUT.

There are certain shows that NEVER go unwatched. EVER. Why? Because I fancy the writing, that’s why. Yes, there are people playing the parts, and they’re probably nice to look at, but in the end, I appreciate something about the show that can only come from skilled writers.
I came up with this blog post after becoming annoyed with a new show:

Seriously? I didn’t know what to think going into this at first, but as it goes on, the more annoyed I get. This is a lesson on how to lose fans. (I played an app on my phone while hubs watched last night.)
What I’ve learned from this: Don’t throw all your eggs in one basket. The more twists that happen (I’ve lost count in only, what? Three? Four episodes?) the more I shake my head at the writers of this drama. I even said once, You couldn’t have saved that hum-dinger for a later date?! Let some of those twists stew for a while. Foreshadow. Don’t get so excited by the end result that you give it away too soon. On top of that, there’s SO MANY twists going on I got lost. I have no idea who’s stabbing who in the back anymore. So lost, and that was before I ignored the last episode in favor of playing Flow on my phone.
So that’s the lesson on what not to do.
Now, for the shows that are currently on hiatus, but I still can’t stop thinking about. First up:

I’m as shocked as you. This has been on hiatus since Jan/Feb, I believe. My son wanted to watch it and I got hooked. They almost didn’t renew and I would have hurt someone if it never came back. This is a great show for you YA writers. I dabble a little in YA, which is why I watched in the first place. While other shows feature high school aged characters, this one hits me as closer to how the age group might act. AND they have parents around, lol. AND there’s tons of drama and mystery going on. It’s good stuff.
NEXT UP, and this is probably not going to surprise any of you:

Get past the serious hotness of these people, and you have a show that is brilliantly written. These writers know how to hook and they aren’t scared to use every tactic in their arsenal. Every year I think to myself, Surely, they’re out of ideas. They’ve outdone themselves with that storyline. And BAM, something new and even more twisted happens. Season before last, I thought they’d hit their peak and expected last season to sit on the DVR longer than usual. It happened to Heros, right?
OH hell no. I think there might have been two episodes TOPS that didn’t blow me away.
For those of you into High Fantasy, here’s one that is hands down the best show on television.

I WILL read these books, and I haven’t read high fantasy since Lord of the Rings. THIS is how you handle world building and a cast of characters so vast the writers of this show must be in a constant tail spin. This is how you get fans invested in characters. This is how you merge multiple plots and sub-plots.
Another show that is brilliant on the plot merges:

MAAAAAAAN, I’m telling you…this show is brilliant. Epic even. Scene and Sequel at its best. MC has one goal, has plotted it down to the letter, and DO NOT stand in her way. Except she never planned for…. I won’t tell you that. I am completely invested in the characters and don’t see a whole lot of these twists coming. Okay, I don’t see any of them coming, which makes this show brilliant. As a writer, it’s hard to get past me—I’m sure it’s the same for many of you.
But I’m not done!! Last show. Promise. I’ve got something for everyone.

Character Investment. Setting as character. Love Triangles. (TWO OF THEM!!) Want to write a love triangle that gets everyone talking? This is how you do it. This is a great show for all you romance writers. It’s witty and cute and there are hot guys:

Okay, maybe that last part has nothing to do with this subject… My bad.
Got a show I missed? Let’s chat!