tv thoughts - hope

So andy_wolverton and Beckie have been obsessed with Breaking Bad for the past month. They keep talking about, marathoning seasons and then discussing story arcs. But I just can't seem to bring myself to pick up where I left off in Season 2. Karen asked me why that was - why they were raving and I seemed so reluctant and I think I figured out the two things that my shows require:

Likeable characters and, most of all, hope.

Shows like Breaking Bad, Mad Men etc. are well-written, character driven stories but I watch them and I get depressed by the sheer hopelessness of those worlds. And that lack of hope is magnified by the scarcity of likeable characters I can identify with. If there is no one for me to root for, it's hard for me to stay engaged. It's why my interest in Once Upon a Time started to waver. I think this also why I had to walk away from Walking Dead...the whole premise of the series is that the zombie apocolypse has no cure and they must all learn to live with the threat...and if i hadn't read the comcis and knew how utterly sad the story was going to get, I might be able to convince myself there was hope but...no, there is no hope. I think that is almost the mantra of the show - oh did you think that was hope? *shoots hope in the face*

My favorite shows of all time - Buffy, Angel, Firefly - Joss is all about the hope. Doctor Who - oh heck yes! It's all about a rogue alien's faith in humanity and what we can do. Avatar? "I believe that Aang can save the world". Battlestar Galactica, though overly-serious and insanely depressing at times, always had that hint of hope and the ending itself was about everything coming together. Yeah, it was a bit cheesy but I appreciate the moral of the story. Even Game of Thrones, a dark fantasy world overrun by war, has hope, represented by young Arya's tenacity to survive and Dhanerys' baby dragons, to name a few.

But...BUT - Why do I like American Horror Story? Perhaps it's because of the upfrontness about lack of hope? They are all DOOMED from the start, right? Or maybe, in a twisted way, horror can only exist if there is hope. Without hope, would it cease to have any power because you would just give up and killing someone who has already given up as nowhere near as terrifying as someome who still believes they will make it out alive.

(BTW if you have not seen, there are some teasers up for the new season. No spoilers, just creepy as hell!!!!!!!!)

So, in conclusion, yes, there are LOTS of amazing TV shows, but I can't spend my time on the ones that don't give me hope.

And also it needs to be October so I can watch the new season of AHS.