High concept TV is…?
I am three episodes into HBOMax’s mini-series, Station Eleven, based on the award winning and best selling novel by Emily St. John Mandel. I haven’t read the book, which, I suspect, would help me better understand its intricate and somewhat obscure plot. The show, thus far, is wistful, desperate, and hauntingly lovely. AND, it’s somewhat hard to make sense of.
I confess it has been a bit since I’ve watched what I think of as art or high concept TV. It’s possible I never recovered from the betrayal of David Lynch’s viciously nonsensical season two of Twin Peaks. As the years have passed, I’ve become less able to sit through things that I can’t understand–my children keep telling me I’d love Westworld but when they try to explain it to me, I sense I’d just be frustrated with its logic.
How about you? Do you watch high-concept TV? Is that even a thing? And please, don’t spoil Station Eleven for me! Though I don’t really understand it at this point, I am definitely drawn into its realm.
I finished this and would give it an eight. Although a bit too in love with its prestige TV vibe, I found the adaptation moving and life affirming.
I’m very fond of “The Good Place,” which I think fits the definition of high concept. Also literally. ;-)
I watched the first season and then for reasons I don’t recall didn’t continue. I may give it another try. Thanks for the memory prod.
Love both the high (Station Eleven, Pachinko, and yes, Westworld) and the low (Real Housewives anybody?) and get something out of both types. Low can also include endless repeats of a sitcom when I really don’t want to think – not that the sitcoms were necessarily low-brow (though some are/were) – but when you’ve watched that Office episode a hundred times, kind of loses all meaning. Just there for the ease and comfort of the total familiarity it brings.
A lot depends on my mood. If I’m just wanting to really dive into something that will take me new places, emotionally and in the storytelling, I seek out the high. If I just want something to watch without having to think too much, then out comes the low.
It’s kind of similar to how I choose books to read. Am I looking for that comfortable feeling of knowing what’s going to happen with the emotional satisfaction it brings? Or do I want to immerse myself in something bigger and more complicated.
Both types can be excellent at what they do – both types can be really bad at it too.
If, after you finish Station Eleven, you’re looking for the next one, I do recommend Pachinko very highly. Generational story of a Korean family, how they fared under Japanese rule (1910s) and how it impacted later generation (1980s). Gorgeously made and beautifully told.
For something lighter, but lovely too, Our Flag Means Death. Or another so lovely one, Somebody, Somewhere. Neither is really what I’d call low (reality tv…), but lighter certainly than the longer dramas.
I plan to watch Pachinko. I love love love the book.
High tv is not my bag. I don’t watch a lot of tv, but I love comedy like Ted Lasso and Letterkenny. I am so so tired after work, I cannot watch anything that takes thinking.
I have never heard of Letterykenny. Is that a BBC show?
Letterkenny on Hulu. It’s rude and hysterical. It’s a Canadian comedy about the people in the town of Letterkenny. SBTB did a review a while back. https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2020/05/letterkenny-appreciation-post/
My husband and I watched Station Eleven on the recommendation of our mid-20s daughter. I felt very ambivalent about the show – I spent a vast majority of it confused and often asked myself “Why did they show this scene?” However, I also felt compelled to keep watching to see how it all worked out. In the end, I’m glad I watched it because it was so different than anything else that I’ve seen lately. But I admit I prefer more straight-forward story telling. For example, I just finished Bridgerton Season 2 and Reacher, and I enjoyed both of those much more. Maybe I’m just pedestrian!
I just discovered Brooklyn 99 in the depths of Netflix. I love it, laugh like a mad woman and my oh-so-English husband just doesn’t get it – far to American for him but as an ex-pat it’s a real hoot. High concept – deffo no – but a relief from programs that are so up their own backside that I throw in the towel or carry on and then wonder why I wasted my time. This is why The Handmaid’s Tale wasn’t worth two seasons nor was Killing Eve. Enough was enough. And Twin Peaks was the epitome of time-wasting TV for both the hubby and me. Real life is bizarre enough, thanks!!
I’ve never watched Brooklyn 99 but it’s supposed to be very funny. I don’t mind serious TV but I’m kind of over TV that prioritizes gestalt over storytelling.