There was a time, many years ago, when I used to just love watching movies. Television was good but it didn't really amaze me as much as some of the offerings by Hollywood. I'd tune into a show every now and again to see 45 minutes of cops trying to catch an arsonist or what have you but it didn't really grip me. That's changed now though.
I guess the first time I realised that television really could be as good as a movie was with THE X-FILES. Specifically it was the episode with the guy who could climb down chimneys to eat peoples' livers. As a big science-fiction and horror fan, I remember thinking "Woah!" after watching that episode. Things have progressed and we now live in an era where the best television can easily rival some of the movies out there. You only have to look at shows like ROME, LOST or 24 to see that's true. Remember the days when you'd watch a television show and find yourself saying "That was good but it wasn't anywhere near as good as *insert movie name*?" Well, after watching the recent Die Hard movie, I found myself saying "That was good but it wasn't anywhere near as good as 24".
And now the writers strike is upon us. First, I'd like to say that I totally support the writers here. Writers get a relatively hard deal sometimes and they don't all live in plush mansions as you might believe. I saw an interview once with a Director who called himself the 'author' of his movie and that just angered me. He hadn't written the script - how could he justify calling himself the 'author'? Of course, the reasons behind the writers strike are far more complex than this and so I won't dwell on that here. I just hope that the writers get what they're asking for.
However, it leaves me with a problem. I actually prefer television now to movies. I'd much rather watch episodes of JOURNEYMAN than "Butterfly Effect 2" (and, if you've seen the later, you'll agree with me). Movies are still fantastic - after all, something like "Batman Begins" or "Transformers" could never have been done on television. But the truth is that television has, in some ways, surpassed the world of movies. You can watch a movie and then forget the characters two hours later but, with a television show, you can watch the characters grow and adapt over years. Recent developments in television now means that standalone episodes are becoming a thing of the past. HEROES, LOST and 24 are great examples of this. A full season of HEROES will give you around 22 hours of one story during which you can see special effects, plot twists and characters developing. Hollywood itself has accepted the importance of television which is why many big names in television (hello JJ) are now developing movies.
What do I do now the writers strike is upon us? As someone who is addicted to finding out if Michael will escape Sona in PRISON BREAK, if the survivors of that plane crash in LOST ever get off the bloody island, if Dan from JOURNEYMAN will ever work out why he and his dead ex-fiancee are jumping through time, and if Jack Bauer will ever make it through a day without being betrayed or tortured, I'm going to be a little lost (no pun intended) without my favourite characters.
Back to movies I guess. It's just a shame that I'll watch them and probably wish I was watching an episode of my favourite television show instead.
