"It gets better later on."

Chagen

Do you like never reads Books, Cygan?

Because books almost always start out boring but get better later on.

AHR

Also, I think there is a difference between "This did not catch my interests in the slightest. Not the premise, nothing." and "Eh, it didn't really catch my interest, but I could keep reading/watching it."

Malkavian

Aside from having a pretty generic opening, I was bothered by the protagonists being ecoterrorists. Oh yes, they just blew a power plant.... with workers still in it, probably.... and hospitals won't be able to work on critical patients, and authorities won't be able to respond to crimes.

Truly these men are heroes!

Counterclock

@Malk, which series are you talking about

/Random flashbacks.

Malkavian

FF7. Should have specified.

Counterclock

Saigyouji

Shinra were willing to bring an entire city plate down just to kill one group of people, so it's kinda grey and black, there.

Vivi

Chagen, I don't know what books you're reading, but I'm gonna have to disagree.

Chagen

"Chagen, I don't know what books you're reading, but I'm gonna have to disagree."

Well, that's what my English teachers always said.

That was probably to shut up the people who hate reading.

Malkavian

You've just been waiting to use my. gif, haven't you Clock?

Vivi

An English teacher told you that most good books start out boring?

RedEyedAbyss

Someone hates their job.

Counterclock

Only when you pirate lines Malk, only when you pirate lines.

Chagen

Vivi: As I said, probably to get people who hate reading to shut up.

MillerCross

Re: Books: Gabriel Garcia Marquez Quote Time Go!

Ahem!

"If the book in question does not manage to catch my interest in the first five pages, then I'm sorry but off the window it goes! "

Now that that's outta the way, I gotta say...I disagree. Putting the cap of "Make or break it" at the pilo/intro/what have you is really really really a high standard that makes it hard to enjoy at least...45% of really good books, games, et al just because the writers need to struggle with character intros and establishment of setting. The two things that tend to be the most boring in a work. Not to mention that a lot of times there's indeed potential on something, regardless of how badly handled it was at first while the writer struggled with the characters and so on and so forth. Which, I think, is a very amusing and enjoyable aspect of a show. Seeing the writer go alongside the characters and get a better handle of them and stuff

So I always try to put the cap at 6-7 episodes tops for half hour shows and 4 for full hour shows. Mostly because if in 4 full hour episodes I haven't gone "Quick, put the next one on!" then it clearly fails at serialized fiction (AKA: Fiction that must make me want to come back every week)

All Nines

"Well, that's what my English teachers always said.

That was probably to shut up the people who hate reading."

But . . . if people who hate reading are told by English teachers that the better books start off boring, wouldn't they just take that as validation of their hatred for reading?

captainbrass

Yes, that makes no sense psychologically. It's just not true either. To pick a random example, Great Expectations starts out with a kid in a graveyard coming across an escaped convict. What more excitement do you want?

MadassAlex

The escaped convict is the living dead from the 14th century!

MillerCross

bah, never write a serious comment. they tend to be overlooked

so, zombies. in great expectations.

man, that book disappointed me.

Malkavian

Iseewhatyoudidthere.jpg

captainbrass

Randomly introducing zombies in 19th century literature, is, like, so over. After Pride and Prejudice and Zombies anyway.

 

Malkavian

PP&Z was the first one, and it was an amusing novelty. Then it got an influx of imitators.

Then the author of PP&Z made Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and that was fun and got an influx of imitators.

MadassAlex

Depends on the zombies. What if the undead were metafictionally attached to their time period? That means zombies post-voodoo popularity would be the mindless dead, but previous zombies would be intelligent individuals with personalities and a penchant for hellish violence.

MoeDantes

Aside from having a pretty generic opening, I was bothered by the protagonists being ecoterrorists. Oh yes, they just blew a power plant.... with workers still in it, probably.... and hospitals won't be able to work on critical patients, and authorities won't be able to respond to crimes.

To be fair, there was a heavy implication that Shinra wasn't doing jack shit for anyone who wasn't a high-ranking member or rich and powerful ally of their company anyway.

Of course, the game ends with the world getting basically destroyed (I... think....) so there you go.

DonZabu

I still say people should start Lucky Star on episode 4.

Nova

Do you like never reads Books, Cygan?

Because books almost always start out boring but get better later on.

I have read plenty of books. They almost always provide a hook within the first few pages.

 I gotta say...I disagree. Putting the cap of "Make or break it" at the pilo/intro/what have you is really really really a high standard that makes it hard to enjoy at least...45% of really good books, games, et al just because the writers need to struggle with character intros and establishment of setting. The two things that tend to be the most boring in a work.

As I noted earlier, the saying is a necessity, because many good series do have crappy pilots.

However, as I noted, all that means is that the writers suck at hooking people into a series. It's half the point of a pilot, alongside establishing setting.

AHR

Yeah. Some people just suck at hooking.

I have the same problem. You can write a middle and ending, just don't ask them to write a beginning.

Nova

Yeah. But that's not a good thing- the hook is a fairly necessary part of a pilot, because without it, you're not going to be able to hook in a lot of watchers.

AHR

Mmmmhmmm. Never said it was. Just agreeing.

Nova

No, but others have.