TV vs. Movies

I’m going to see the X-Files: I Want to Believe tomorrow, because the people I want to see it with can’t go today. Before I see the movie, I’m going to have a rant about TV vs. Movies.

I liked the 1998 X-Files movie, but it was not as good as the series. It is an example of an excellent television series is better than the movie version. The average movie is like 90 to 120 minutes long, but on TV a show like the X-Files had 202 episodes x 45 minutes each that is about 9090ish minutes of narrative. How could 100 minutes ever compare to 9000 minutes?

This is true when also looking at the 1992, Buffy movie and the 1997-2003 television series. The series opened us up to dozens of great characters (other than Buffy) that you care about (Spike, Angel, Xander, Willow, Giles, Cordelia, Oz, Wesley, Faith, Dawn, Tara and so on).

Also look at Firefly and Serenity. While I enjoyed Serenity the movie, I missed the little moments and character interaction in Firefly the television series.

I did read some recent reviews for the new X-Files movie; some critics said that the movie was like an “extended television episode” and not full length feature quality. This attitude makes television an inferior form of entertainment. This is only true if, you have a hard-on for blockbuster special effects and don’t care about narrative or characters. Another reason you might find this true is if you are a “cinema snob” like a film critic type. You also may not be watching the best shows on the air or the greatest DVD season collections.

One caveat before I give my reasons for television’s superiority, I’m talking about television that fits in the quality television paradigm. View the Wikipedia page for Quality Television for a brief explanation on what that is. I see it as a program that has narrative complexity, which is thought provoking and explores characters and relationships in interesting ways.

Here are five main reasons why storytelling in television is better than movies.

1. Television can show better character development over time. Watching a character develop over the course of an hour doesn’t have the same payoff as slowly watching a character develop over the course of 5 seasons. One of my favorite examples of this is Wesley on Buffy and Angel. He started out as an ineffective, stuffy, prissy replacement Watcher to Buffy and Faith. When he made the transition to Angel the series, he became competent, heroic, dark and sexy.
   
   
   
2. The serialized nature of television can tell many different interconnected stories. Television creators can develop stories that unfold in 40 minutes or 4 years. TV isn’t a slave to a beginning, middle and end format, episodes do have that element, but things can keep you guessing and wondering, one of the best examples of this is LOST.
   
   
   
3. A good television show can play with genre on an episode by episode basis. The series can be a comedy, drama, teen movie, romance, horror, sci-fi, musical depending on the individual episode or scene. It doesn’t have just one vibe.
   
   
   
4. With the enormous about of television channels, programs can be narrowcasted to fit a niche audience. TV shows can be smarter, because the next channel over can broadcast to the not so smart people. Movies are created to please the international masses.
   
   
   
5. Quality shows can deal with diverse issues and themes. Movies are limited to one main theme. TV shows can comment on a variety of issues in a timely manner. I love how South Park (not quality in everyone’s book) can turn around fast enough to be in sync with current events.
   
   

Of course once in a while a movie comes out that is glorious and transcendent, for example the Lord of the Rings Trilogy blew me away; some things are better on a larger than life screen. But honestly, most of today’s movies are throw-away popcorn entertainment. I’m not compelled to go to the movies very often, because not much influences me to sit in a dark room with a lot of annoying people. I figure I can wait 8 months and watch the damn thing on HBO.


Read more about this:

Gordon, D. (2007, February 27). Why TV Is Better Than The Movies. Newsweek , p. 52.

Mittell, J. (2006). Narrative Complexity in Contemporary American Television. Velvet Light Trap: A Critical Journal of Film & Television , 29-40.

Newman, M. Z. (2006). From Beats to Arcs: Toward a Poetics of Television Narrative. Velvet Light Trap: A Critical Journal of Film & Television , 16-28.