I did not have a TV set until
recently and I started to use online platforms, I am going to mention only legal
ones here, like Netflix and BluTV. And I started to notice the difference
between the shows that are produced for TV and the ones for the platforms.
The most important difference that I observed is with the storylines.
For example, I have been watching Supernatural on CW, at least for 8 seasons.
(On 12th season now.) Every season the brothers are on a different mission to
save the world from different evils. But in every 4 or 5 weeks we get an
episode unrelated to the main storyline or main villain. They would just go to
another place and bust another ghost or vampire. On the other hand, in 2016
Hulu created a mini series called "11.22.63" which was about a person
travels in time to save President Kennedy from assassination. Unlike
Supernatural, in 11.22.63 we watch the parts of one story for the whole series.
I think the second important difference is the ability of the platform
to accurately measure the audience. For example, after I watch a movie or
series in Netflix it gives me suggestions about what to watch next since I
liked the previous one. Moreover, the platforms also show the popularity of the
current content so we are able to choose according to these suggestions.
Of course, for me the most important difference between two is the issue
with commercials. While I am using a paid service of an online platform I do
not have to go through minutes of commercial break or I do not have to wait for
the commercials to stop watching. In that way only platforms spend way less
time than mainstream broadcast. And, I do not want to watch same commercial for
the 10th time every 30 minutes. It is important to note that, we also usually
pay for the mainstream TV channels to get a better reception or quality.
Lastly, especially for Turkey we can access uncensored content by using
online platforms. There are issues that the TV channels cannot cover, or they must
censor the language or even visuals of alcohol or smoking. For example,
last night there was a Turkish movie in one of the channels but it was not
possible to understand the dialogues because most of the words were censored. However,
if I go and watch the same movie from Netflix I would probably be able to
understand the content because I would be hearing everything. Or when I watch
foreign content, Game of Thrones for instance, from Turkish television I would
not see some of the scenes because of censorship.
So, I prefer to use online
platforms because they give me more freedom with time and place and also the
shows are easier to follow. In addition, I can get most of the content I am
watching.
I did not understand your argumentation with Supernatural and 11.22.63.
ReplyDeleteBut let me add something. The thing with Netflix is that they air all the episodes together and you can watch them at your own pace. This changes how the story is written in the first place.
A regular TV show need to hook the audience because there is a time period, like a week, between the episodes and the audience needs to be hooked to the next episode. Therefore, they need to end the episode with a twist or high-tension scene so that people continue to watch it next week.
Also, regular TV shows need to introduce their show constantly. If there are two brothers, they should constantly show that they are brothers. This is mainly because a viewer can come across a TV show at a random episode and he/she may like it and keep watching from that episode. Therefore, they should frequently be informed about the former episodes in case they missed it.
With Netflix and alike, you don't watch a random episode. If you want to see it, you start from the first episode. So, they don't need to keep you updated.
So, yeah, the same production for regular TV and Netflix can end up being very different since the medium difference affects the script-writing process.