TV reflects our cultural differences

[CmdrShep2154]

What do you think of this article?

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2...sion-maps.html

TLDR: Urban viewers preferred Modern Family while rural people preferred Duck Dynasty and The Walking Dead.

I loved The Expanse but can't see the mainstream getting into it. Does the mainstream have attention span to enjoy Game of Thrones or The Expanse?

What would the people in the NYT article think about a show with cool looking spaceships, space battles, futuristic warfare, and badass space faring military people?

[Sierra85]

Does the mainstream have attention span to enjoy Game of Thrones or The Expanse?

game of thrones is pretty successful, so i think mainstream does have the attention span to enjoy it.

The issue with these sort of large scale shows is the TV show has to be done well. Game of Thrones has a big budget, nudity, violence and swearing and is plotted out well with a good story.

I remember trying to watch the expanse and being bored. it didn't hook me instantly, so i turned it off. That's an issue for any show trying to establish itself.

[God Save The King]

Does the mainstream have attention span to enjoy Game of Thrones or The Expanse?

I think some shows can do well; but it takes time. I don't recall GoT or House or Breaking Bad getting really popular until later seasons like 3 or 4. I only recently watched all of GoT a few weeks ago. I don't really remember hearing much about the other two until later in their lifespans.

Part of the problem is saturation and exposure. Apparently the expanse has been on Netflix for a while, and I adore those types of shows, but I have never heard of it until now. My netflix channel is full of a bunch of garbage I'd never watch and finding these gems pose challenging; they usually require a specific search.

The shows people tend to watch, if they have cable, lend themselves to prime-time specials, which is where shows like Sons of Anarchy, Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, etc got their starts. With the transition from cable to streaming services, more and more of a show's success will be dictated by Hulu/Netflix/Amazon recommendations.

(P.S. If you liked The Expanse please watch Continuum)

[eschatological]

game of thrones is pretty successful, so i think mainstream does have the attention span to enjoy it.

The issue with these sort of large scale shows is the TV show has to be done well. Game of Thrones has a big budget, nudity, violence and swearing and is plotted out well with a good story.

I remember trying to watch the expanse and being bored. it didn't hook me instantly, so i turned it off. That's an issue for any show trying to establish itself.

I think the OP is more talking about the vast universe GoT offers in its "longform" IE the books, and whether the mainstream can keep up with that. It's kind of a running joke that characters show up after seasons of not being in the show, and the majority of the audience has no clue who they are or that they had been previously been important to the plot.

GoT has BEEN successful because it has largely cut the complexity of the source material into something easily palatable for television audiences. Throw enough nudity and violence into anything and it seems to do reasonably well. Rome and Spartacus come to mind.

[Sorrowseer]

game of thrones is pretty successful, so i think mainstream does have the attention span to enjoy it.

The issue with these sort of large scale shows is the TV show has to be done well. Game of Thrones has a big budget, nudity, violence and swearing and is plotted out well with a good story.

I remember trying to watch the expanse and being bored. it didn't hook me instantly, so i turned it off. That's an issue for any show trying to establish itself.

How is the Expanse boring loved the show and all the books

[Deleted]

I think some shows can do well; but it takes time. I don't recall GoT or House or Breaking Bad getting really popular until later seasons like 3 or 4. I only recently watched all of GoT a few weeks ago. I don't really remember hearing much about the other two until later in their lifespans.

Part of the problem is saturation and exposure. Apparently the expanse has been on Netflix for a while, and I adore those types of shows, but I have never heard of it until now. My netflix channel is full of a bunch of garbage I'd never watch and finding these gems pose challenging; they usually require a specific search.

The shows people tend to watch, if they have cable, lend themselves to prime-time specials, which is where shows like Sons of Anarchy, Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, etc got their starts. With the transition from cable to streaming services, more and more of a show's success will be dictated by Hulu/Netflix/Amazon recommendations.

(P.S. If you liked The Expanse please watch Continuum)

mind telling me what's so good about The Expanse?

I tried watching it months ago and I found the first two or three episodes so boring I stopped, does the plot pick up pace later or is it just not my type of show although I usually love sci-fi?

btw I felt the same way about Continuum a couple of years ago xD

[callipygoustp]

I'll be surprised if The Expanse on TV goes very far. The books I thought were absolutely fantastic. The TV show though.... doesn't come close to capturing what the books present.

Granted, I'm a huge fan of the Game of Thrones books but tend to not care for the HBO series.

[Val the Moofia Boss]

Californian here.

I don't even know what The Expanse is, never heard of it. Same with Empire.

I've been watching Duck Dynasty for a few years now; it's short and doesn't require a time commitment, and there's no need to watch episodes in order. It's genuinely funny and heartwarming, and exposes me to activities I've never even heard about.

I didn't even hear about Breaking Bad until it finished, and couldn't sit through the first season. Skipped to the final season when it came out on Netflix.

The Walking Dead jumped the shark after it's fifth season of "We're looking for a home, oh no some supporting character died! New villain of the week has destroyed our home" rinse and repeating.

Game of Thrones was spoiled for me by the time I got around to watching it, so I couldn't get invested. Swearing and excessive nudity also put me off, as well as a general lack of interesting characters (because apparently all good guys must die and everyone who lives must be unlikable). After season 3, I couldn't root for anybody at all. The plot drags out (Season 1: "The White Walkers are coming! Stay tuned for their climatic breakthrough next season." Season 1: "The White Walkers are coming! Stay tuned for their climatic breakthrough next season." Season 2: "The White Walkers are coming! Stay tuned for their climatic breakthrough next season." Season 3: "The White Walkers are coming! Stay tuned for their climatic breakthrough next season."Season 4: "The White Walkers are coming! Stay tuned for their climatic breakthrough next season." Season 5: "The White Walkers are coming! Stay tuned for their climatic breakthrough next season." Season 6: "The White Walkers are coming! Stay tuned for their climatic breakthrough next season." IMO, the series is heavily overrated. I'm not saying it isn't good - I'd give it a solid 8/10 (Very good) - but that's it.

[CmdrShep2154]

Californian here.

I don't even know what The Expanse is, never heard of it. Same with Empire.

I've been watching Duck Dynasty for a few years now; it's short and doesn't require a time commitment, and there's no need to watch episodes in order. It's genuinely funny and heartwarming, and exposes me to activities I've never even heard about.

I didn't even hear about Breaking Bad until it finished, and couldn't sit through the first season. Skipped to the final season when it came out on Netflix.

The Walking Dead jumped the shark after it's fifth season of "We're looking for a home, oh no some supporting character died! New villain of the week has destroyed our home" rinse and repeating.

Game of Thrones was spoiled for me by the time I got around to watching it, so I couldn't get invested. Swearing and excessive nudity also put me off, as well as a general lack of interesting characters (because apparently all good guys must die and everyone who lives must be unlikable). After season 3, I couldn't root for anybody at all. The plot drags out (Season 1: "The White Walkers are coming! Stay tuned for their climatic breakthrough next season." Season 1: "The White Walkers are coming! Stay tuned for their climatic breakthrough next season." Season 2: "The White Walkers are coming! Stay tuned for their climatic breakthrough next season." Season 3: "The White Walkers are coming! Stay tuned for their climatic breakthrough next season."Season 4: "The White Walkers are coming! Stay tuned for their climatic breakthrough next season." Season 5: "The White Walkers are coming! Stay tuned for their climatic breakthrough next season." Season 6: "The White Walkers are coming! Stay tuned for their climatic breakthrough next season." IMO, the series is heavily overrated. I'm not saying it isn't good - I'd give it a solid 8/10 (Very good) - but that's it.

It has been too long since we had a TV show with spaceships and space marines!

[PACOX]

A lot of people have no idea what The Expanse it. It debuted by dumbing the first couple of episodes on the internet for free, during the off-season, with little marketing, on SyFy. It sort of just came and went. SyFy actually has a number of good shows, but you never hear about them because SyFy also bombards people with D movies so people write SyFy off.

[Stormcall]

Does the mainstream have attention span to enjoy Game of Thrones

Considering how immensely popular and successful it is, even despite the fact that it's on a premium channel that many people don't have, I'd say, umm, obviously yes?

[Arrowstormen]

The first episode of The Expanse didn't hook me, so I never continued it. Babylon 5 is the greatest story of all time though.