Reading versus Watching
Sunday, March 30th, 2008 08:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rolanniI am what you'd call a naive viewer of television; we haven't had television service at all since we relocated to the Confusion Factory, back in the year nineteen-aught-ninety-two, and I'd hardly been a reliable viewer for eight or ten years prior to that.
To put this in perspective, I have never watched a complete episode of Buffy, though I have seen partials on pass-by at conventions; I did, at the end of MilPhil, stumble onto an episode of Angel on the hotel TV, which provided background noise while I packed up, though I never could figure out who those people were.
Yes, I am a Barbarian.
I do, however, watch movies, with a strong inclination toward romances, comedies, costume drama, and caper flicks; and I am a sophisticated reader of fiction.
All of the above being said, I had read numerous Good Things about a show called The Riches, and from people whose opinion I respect, so I called in the first disk from Netflix.
I want to say upfront that I found the set-up fascinating and the characters believable and interesting. I am burning to know how they resolve themselves into this life they've chanced upon, and I really wonder if any one of them understands how very much this is going to change them -- even if they don't get caught.
Despite all of this, I watched only the first half-or-a-little-more of the pilot, and I'll be sending the disk back without finishing it, or viewing any of the episodes.
Had The Riches been a novel, you betcha I'd've had it read by now, and had the sequels on order, too.
I wonder if the problem is simply a time-thing. In order to get the Rest of the Story via the tube, I'm going to have to make a significant commitment of time, and my time's kinda stretched right now. A novel, on the other hand, can be nommed down in five-minute-bites, whenever.
I also wonder if it's the inherent differences between two storytelling techniques; if, despite my questions and worries about the characters, there's something still "missing" from the visual narrative that makes The Riches not as compelling as I imagine its novel would be.
Or, being TV, I'm just convinced that "They" are going to screw it up, and I'd rather quit while I'm ahead.
So, how do you prefer your stories to be presented: visually or written? Why?
Inquiring minds...
To put this in perspective, I have never watched a complete episode of Buffy, though I have seen partials on pass-by at conventions; I did, at the end of MilPhil, stumble onto an episode of Angel on the hotel TV, which provided background noise while I packed up, though I never could figure out who those people were.
Yes, I am a Barbarian.
I do, however, watch movies, with a strong inclination toward romances, comedies, costume drama, and caper flicks; and I am a sophisticated reader of fiction.
All of the above being said, I had read numerous Good Things about a show called The Riches, and from people whose opinion I respect, so I called in the first disk from Netflix.
I want to say upfront that I found the set-up fascinating and the characters believable and interesting. I am burning to know how they resolve themselves into this life they've chanced upon, and I really wonder if any one of them understands how very much this is going to change them -- even if they don't get caught.
Despite all of this, I watched only the first half-or-a-little-more of the pilot, and I'll be sending the disk back without finishing it, or viewing any of the episodes.
Had The Riches been a novel, you betcha I'd've had it read by now, and had the sequels on order, too.
I wonder if the problem is simply a time-thing. In order to get the Rest of the Story via the tube, I'm going to have to make a significant commitment of time, and my time's kinda stretched right now. A novel, on the other hand, can be nommed down in five-minute-bites, whenever.
I also wonder if it's the inherent differences between two storytelling techniques; if, despite my questions and worries about the characters, there's something still "missing" from the visual narrative that makes The Riches not as compelling as I imagine its novel would be.
Or, being TV, I'm just convinced that "They" are going to screw it up, and I'd rather quit while I'm ahead.
So, how do you prefer your stories to be presented: visually or written? Why?
Inquiring minds...
