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3) Endless plot tangles. Joss Whedon famously said that a television show is a question, but a movie is an answer. That's why Firefly spun out tons of mysteries, like what happened to River in her special school, or what was the deal with the Reavers. And Serenity, the movie based on the TV show, had a self-contained plot and answered all your lingering questions in the course of two-ish hours. TV shows, especially in this era of arc storytelling, spin out endless plots that reward obsessive viewers -- and scare away casual ones. (This is why I'm still wondering if J.J. Abrams can do a Star Trek movie that doesn't feel like a tease.)

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Originally posted by reginaroadie:
...Jack Coleman says that a regular episode of HEROES looks way better than most movies, and I wholeheartedly agree with that. That has to be one of the most visually dynamic series on the air, and not just fx. The lenses they use, the composition of the shots, the mise en scene, the color pallette, all of it comes together to look like a million bucks.

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Originally posted by cljohnston108:

I haven't watched HEROES (or LOST), but that applies perfectly to Supernatural!
My jaw has been on the floor with every episode I've seen!

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Originally posted by cljohnston108:

Saw this over on io9.com...

Movies Vs. Television: 5 Reasons Scifi Does Better In Movies Than In TV
http://io9.com/358406/5-reasons-scifi-does-better-in-movies-than-in-tv

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3) Endless plot tangles. Joss Whedon famously said that a television show is a question, but a movie is an answer. That's why Firefly spun out tons of mysteries, like what happened to River in her special school, or what was the deal with the Reavers. And Serenity, the movie based on the TV show, had a self-contained plot and answered all your lingering questions in the course of two-ish hours. TV shows, especially in this era of arc storytelling, spin out endless plots that reward obsessive viewers -- and scare away casual ones. (This is why I'm still wondering if J.J. Abrams can do a Star Trek movie that doesn't feel like a tease.)

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Originally posted by reginaroadie:
On one of the HEROES commentaries, Jack Coleman says that a regular episode of HEROES looks way better than most movies, and I wholeheartedly agree with that. That has to be one of the most visually dynamic series on the air, and not just fx. The lenses they use, the composition of the shots, the mise en scene, the color pallat, all of it comes together to look like a million bucks.

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Knightfly on Xfire, www.xfire.com/profile/knightfly/
Want pics, vids, ringtones,ect releated to Serenity and Firefly...
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=2&t=26986

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hughff wrote:
Friday, February 22, 2008 19:14

Two thoughts:
1. I can't see why this is the case in sf when it isn't the case in every other genre: situational comedy, action/cop, chick flick etc ad nauseum all do fine on either big screen or small.
2. Not disparaging Joss' observation but my view is that a tv series like Firefly is a novel, playing out with lots of sub-plots to a coherent conclusion; a movie is a short story, heading without diversion to a simple climax. That's why a good tv series (Firefly, Veronica Mars, Scrubs) is BETTER than a movie. I like the complexity.

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Originally posted by Veteran:

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hughff wrote:
Friday, February 22, 2008 19:14

Two thoughts:
1. I can't see why this is the case in sf when it isn't the case in every other genre: situational comedy, action/cop, chick flick etc ad nauseum all do fine on either big screen or small.
2. Not disparaging Joss' observation but my view is that a tv series like Firefly is a novel, playing out with lots of sub-plots to a coherent conclusion; a movie is a short story, heading without diversion to a simple climax. That's why a good tv series (Firefly, Veronica Mars, Scrubs) is BETTER than a movie. I like the complexity.

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Good points. I think your right on both counts. There's no good reason that SF translates better to movies than TV. Maybe if your big on stunts and special effects, but then the same would hold true for cop/action series. Those car chases and big bangs cost money. If anything Chick-flix are more geared toward the big screen than TV.

On point No. 2. I like being able to tune in a catchup with a show once a week. On a long running series you can watch characters develop over time. Biggest problem is networks don't know how to leave well enough alone. They move shows around, prempt them, etc. almost like they feel they have to do something to prove their existence.

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