This is becoming a bit too predictable: I write a critical review of a TV show that has gone downhill and a bunch of fans rush to Twitter and Facebook and scream and holler at me with one of a dozen or so incredibly stale and unoriginal accusations. One of these—one of the most frustrating—is a version of “It’s just a TV show!” This is often paired with “It’s not supposed to be realistic!” and/or “If you don’t like it, just don’t watch it!”
I’ve read some version of these phrases too many times to count. None of them make a lick of sense if you’re a fan of the series you’re trying so hard—and so badly—to defend. Sycophants are the worst allies you can have. It’s much better to have a critic in your corner, because a critic tells you the truths you don’t want to hear, while the hangers-on just tells you pretty little lies.
I think some creators, showrunners, writers and so forth take criticism very seriously. Every so often a TV show gets much better from one season to the next. This happened recently with the second season of The Wheel Of Time on Amazon. The first season was so weak that I basically had no intention of keeping up with the show after its disappointing finale. Later, I decided to give the second season a go just out of curiosity, and to my great surprise it was leaps and bounds better than the first. Not perfect, mind you, but better. The creators of the show clearly took some of the first season’s criticism to heart.
Halo star Pablo Schreiber says that Season 2 of that show is “far stronger than the first” and I hope he’s right, because the first was very, very bad. When your own star is publicly criticizing how bad the first season was, it’s hard for the hardcore fanboys to defend it.
Even The Walking Dead had a major boost after Season 8, when Angela Kang took over and improved just about everything from the scripts to the cinematography almost overnight—changes I praised at the time (though by its final season, TWD had fallen once again on hard times).
I remember, all through the Savior Wars between Rick and Negan’s groups I wrote damning review after damning review, calling out the show’s endless foibles, lazy writing, bad special effects and overuse of close-up shots and cloying inspirational speeches. I stuck with the show, but many others took the fanboys’ advice and stopped watching. The Walking Dead, once a powerhouse of cable television, lost a huge chunk of its audience and almost all the pop culture cachet it once had over the course of a single season. Even in its later, better seasons it never recovered its mojo (which is a big reason I’m calling The Ones Who Lived too little, too late). As a critic, I tried to argue why the show was failing and how to fix it, because I wanted The Walking Dead to succeed. In order to succeed, the show needed to change—not the opinions of critics.
Hell, I stuck around for Fear The Walking Dead’s last five, miserable seasons doing the exact same thing. Yes, I was very harsh, but only in proportion to how bad the show became. I was a fan of the first three seasons and especially the third season, which remains one of my favorites in the entire TWD franchise. Watching that show fall from grace was devastating, but I stuck with it and tried to advocate for a better path and for a show the talented actors and loyal audiences deserved.
Superfans defended Fear’s rapid descent, while ratings collapsed and never recovered. Most people left. The superfans stuck around and yelled at anyone who dared to criticize the show to leave also. I was one of only a tiny number of critics who bothered to keep covering FTWD.
Now, more recently, with Reacher and Fargo and True Detective, I find myself in the same rocking boat, at the receiving end of much dismay and anger, all of which I’ve come to expect. Reacher went from a superb first season to a truly atrocious second. The superfans defend it as “just a dumb action movie” much like superfans of TWD say that show is “just a zombie show”. Apparently, I have more respect for these shows than superfans. I think they deserve analysis and critique because I think they can—and should—do better. And if they do better, I think they will attract bigger audiences and have a better shot at longer runs. That is the point. Not to be a “hater” as the kids (and a surprising number of older people) say when dismissing any and all criticism of their precious programs.
I don’t want people to just stop watching. That’s what kills a show. When people stop watching, shows get canceled. If you stop eating at a restaurant, it closes down. Better to have someone tell you your food is too bland or too salty so you can make a change. I don’t want people to leave. I want the producers and writers of these shows to give people a reason to stay.
That’s what separates the critics from the odious toadies of the world. Not hate, dearest reader, but love.
