Danai Gurira as Michonne
This is getting kind of too predictable: I write a critical review of a TV show that’s gone downhill, and tons of fans rush to Twitter and Facebook and scream and holler at me with one of a dozen incredibly stale and unoriginal accusations. One of them – one of the most disappointing – is a version of “It’s just a TV show!” This is often coupled with “It’s not supposed to be realistic!” and/or “If you don’t like it, just don’t watch it!”
I have read some version of these phrases too many times to count. None of this makes any sense if you’re a fan of the series you’re trying so hard—and so badly—to defend. Slanderers are the worst allies you can have. It’s much better to have a critic in your corner, because a critic tells you truths you don’t want to hear, while a hanger-on just tells you little lies.
I think some creators, shows, writers and so on take criticism too seriously. Every once in a while a TV show gets a lot better from one season to the next. This recently happened with its second season The Wheel of Time on Amazon. The first season was so weak that I basically had no intention of keeping up with the show after its disappointing finale. Later, I decided to give the second season a try just out of curiosity, and to my surprise it was leaps and bounds better than the first. Not perfect, mind you, but better. The creators of the series clearly took some of the criticism of the first season.
Halo Star Pablo Schreiber says that season 2 of this show is “much stronger than the first one,” and I hope he’s right, because the first one was really, really bad. When your own star publicly criticizes how bad the first season was, it’s hard for die-hard fans to defend it.
Even The Walking Dead got a major boost after Season 8, when Angela Kang took over and improved almost everything from the scripts to the cinematography almost overnight — changes I applauded at the time (though by its final season, TWD had fallen back into hard times).
I remember, throughout the Savior Wars between Rick and Negan’s teams, I wrote scathing review after scathing review, calling out the show’s endless weaknesses, lazy writing, bad special effects and overuse of close-ups and disgusting inspirational speeches. I stuck with the show, but many others took the fanboys’ advice and stopped watching. The Walking Dead, once a powerhouse in cable television, it lost a huge chunk of its audience and nearly all of the pop culture it once had within a season. Even in his later, better seasons, he never regained his mojo (which is a big reason I call Those who Lived too little, too late). As a reviewer, I tried to make an argument Why the show failed and how to fix it, because I wanted to The Walking Dead to succeed. To succeed, the projection had to change — not the opinions of critics.
Hell, I’m stuck for Fear The Walking Dead’s the last five, miserable seasons doing the exact same thing. Yes, I was very harsh, but only in proportion to how bad the show got. I was a fan of the first three seasons and especially the third season, which remains one of my favorites in the entire TWD franchise. Watching that show fall from grace was devastating, but I stuck with it and tried to advocate for a better path and for a show that the talented actors and loyal audience deserved.
The Superfans defended themselves of fear rapid descent, while ratings collapsed and never recovered. Most of them left. The superfans stuck around and yelled at anyone who dared to criticize the show to leave as well. I was one of the very few reviewers who bothered to continue covering FTWD.
Daryl Dixon
With a show like Daryl Dixon, I praised the many things it did right (especially the production values, sound design, cinematography, etc.) but criticized the lousy story. Why; Because I think it could be a great show! I think Norman Reedus deserves a better script! I don’t think we should be so excited about constantly celebrating mediocrity! Therein lies the flat, colorless discomfort of algorithm-driven content.
Now, more recently, with Reacher and Fargo and true detective, I am in the same rocking boat, on the edge of frustration and anger, all of which I expected. Reacher went from a great first season to a really horrible second season. Superfans defend it as “just a dumb action movie” like TWD superfans say the show is “just a zombie show.” Obviously, I respect these shows more than superfans! I think they deserve analysis and criticism because I think they can—and should—do better. After all, if they do better, they will attract a larger audience and have a better chance of renewal. That’s the point. Don’t be a “hater” as the guys (and a surprising number of old fogies) say when they dismiss any criticism of their precious programs.
I don’t want people to just stop watching. This is what kills a show. When people stop watching, shows get cancelled. Shows don’t get canceled because of bad reviews, they get canceled because of bad ratings. I don’t want people to leave. I want the producers and writers of these shows to give people a reason to stay.
This is what separates the critics from the despicable evildoers of the world. Not hate, dear reader, but love.
