"Rob Jensen" <ShutUpRob@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:2j5cdiFtec0pU1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Sharpe Fan wrote:
>
> > "Rob Jensen" <ShutUpRob@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
> > news:2j1mmjFsj3f6U1@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >
> >>Seaclock wrote:
> >>
> >>>Maybe this has been discussed before, but when, if ever, do people
think
> >>>DC jumped the shark? I really liked season 2 and don't feel that
season
> >>>3 lived up to it, but I found the show varied from good to tolerable
> >>>until the end of season 5. Season 6, however, was pretty bad. On
the
> >>>whole, the gang never should have left Capeside.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >>Being a Creek newbie who jumped on with the DVDs and the most recent
> >>round of repeats on TBS (Jan - May), I thought the show was *great*
all
> >>the way through the end of Season 4 and good in s5, but jumped the
shark
> >>when Dawson and Joey finally boinked at the top of s6 (thus destroying
> >>the s5 finale in the process).
> >>
> >>I thought that the Dawson-Gretchen storyline in s4 made up for the
> >>mistakes the writers made with Pacey and Joey that season. Season 5
> >>would have made a fine transition season to a new four-or-so-year arc
if
> >>it weren't for s6 making it clear that the writers didn't have a game
> >>plan for the college years. Joey darn near jumped the shark as a
> >>character with the mugging episode, which completed more of her
> >>father-fixation arc than it really should have -- the episode was as
> >>unsubtle as a brick in the head and was too long by about ten minutes.
> >>IMO, the story needed to be severely edited, especially in the death
> >>scene and an unrelated, possibly comedic, B-story from Pacey or Dawson
> >>should have been added for contrast. I thought Mitch's death in s5
> >>played rather well in retrospect and helped to fuel the rest of
Dawson's
> >>arc quite nicely.
> >>
> >>Season 6 was a train wreck. I knew it was coming, but Joey and Dawson
> >>sleeping together ultimately felt like ***** and the series
floundered
> >>for the rest of the season as a result. Saddling JJ and Pacey with a
> >>storyline that was nothing more than a tenth-rate ripoff of The Boiler
> >>Room pissed me off. Audrey was a blast in s5, which makes their
> >>mistreatment of the character in s6 all the more irritating and Audrey
> >>driving the car through the Leerys' ****ch was darn near the final
straw
> >>for me, but starting with the rehab episode, they started to get their
> >>bearings back with both her and Dawson. And what the hell happened to
> >>Jack & Jen in s6? Jack disappears for half the season and acts like a
> >>cocktease when he comes back (note: I'm straight and I *hated* Jack's
> >>aimlessness in s6. He deserved *much* better than that.) and Jen's
> >>practically a guest star. s6 was so unfocused that at times, I
thought
> >>*Todd* was the only character worth watching. I've read that part of
> >>the problem was that the s6 renewal was unexpected and certain unnamed
> >>cast members didn't even want to do it. And it shows.
> >>
> >>But at least they rallied to wrap the characters up in the last
> >>four-five episodes before the finale. I liked the finale, but wish
> >>Williamson would have written either Audrey or Gretchen or both into
it
> >>rather than stick with just the characters he'd created -- especially
> >>since Stupin had been telegraphing since at least as early as the s4
> >>finale that they were going to jump 5 years ahead in the timeline at
> >>some point. Jack ending up with Deputy Doug (and Jen's baby) was a
> >>brilliantly done surprise even though I knew it was coming. Jen's
death
> >>completed the show's cribbing of Dumas's Camille quite well.
> >>
> >>I recommend to newbies to skip from the 2-part s6 opener all the way
to
> >>"All Good Things" and ignore everything in-between even though I'm
> >>partial to Dawson's arc, especially the last two episodes before the
> >>finale when Joey rallies the troops to film Dawson's movie.
> >>(Ironically, Dawson's my least favorite of the core characters --
Andie
> >>and Audrey included -- but I found him the only one of the core with a
> >>consistently watchable storyline in s6, BID). Skip five years from
> >>Dawson and Joey boinking and both the Joey-Dawson and Joey-Pacey
> >>pairings are left totally up in the air and lead into the finale much
> >>more effectively than the hopeless muddle of s6 made them turn out to
> >>be, IMO.
> >>
> >
> > Although I hate Season Four above all others, I agree with most of
your
> > Season Six commentary.
> >
> > I can see Pacey wanting to succeed, to prove to himself that he is not
a
> > loser, but being a stockbroker and a marginally crooked one at that,
makes
> > no sense. I can't see why they didn't have him continue as a chef. I
> > surprised they made him a chef in season five, but having done that
let
the
> > story play out.
>
> I agree. I thought that abandoning the chef storyline in favor of
> making Pacey a Boiler Room daytrader was evidence of the writers' short
> attention span bringing out the worst in them in s6. As was their
> junking of Prof. Wilder from s5 in favor of Prof. Hetson and mini-Joey
> in s6. Further evidence:
>
> > Audrey was a good outside commentator on the group, before the
alcoholic
> > plot. It was a useful and fun role they should have continued.
>
> Ugh. The Audrey-the-Alkie plot was so asinine, I'm tempted to blame it
> on Jack Osbourne.
>
> -- Rob
I think that much of what happened after season three was the result of
the
writers being more interested in short term plots and drama created form
nothing than a coherent idea of how the story should develop.
Too often writers (or the networks) break up couples because they feel
that
is the only way to have drama. One of my favorite series of all time -
Hill
Street Blues - had the main couple (Frank and Joyce) together for the
whole
run of the show. They were still able to have plenty of drama within the
relation****p. The fact that they loved each other did not mean they
always
agreed (they often didn't) or even that they always liked each other. But
they never gave up on each other and their on-going relation****p provided
considerable drama. (In some ways Pacey reminds me of Furillo - each felt
they weren't worthy of his girlfriend and was afraid she would come to the
same conclusion.)
Sharpe Fan
|
