I've seen all the episodes online, and while it gets a bit better (annoying Debra leaves and Majandra Delfino, who I loved on Roswell, arrives...Devon Gummersall writes some episodes and they're better than the ones Herskovitz wrote) it's just not enough to make me a fan. Plot threads and character motivations disappear/end abruptly, too much is told instead of shown, entire story arcs are built around product placement, the characters are still thinly drawn cliches, etc.
I agree with linda_akers_pa about the final episode having ridiculous and stereotypical minority characters, thrust into the plot way too obviously meant to appease everyone who complained about the lack of minorities. Oh let's have a contrived plot where the gang goes around the apartment meeting the neighbours they never knew! You wanted a gay character? Here's one! And suddenly Dylan's playing basketball with this little black kid and he's hanging out in their kitchen like he's always been a part of the show...it's laughable. Not to mention contemptible the way Dylan and the other main characters are *using* these minorities (especially Disabled Girl...(Dylan's affectionate nickname, not mine) to try prevent their own eviction from the building. Handing out "profiles" on "the kind of people" the buyer would be hurting to guilt-trip her into not buying? Pretty offensive.
The "thousands" of people who post at quarterlife.com (I only see dozens of regulars in the forums, but there may be more lurking) are discouraged from being too critical by Marshall Herskovitz himself. He writes articles about how superior and enlightened and not-at-all-snide-or-snarky *his* fan community behaves...and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and/or a way to keep folks in line by letting them know they'd better *not* be snarky or negative. Just as the website (and show) makes clear that quarterlifers who are pursuing careers NOT in the arts...need not apply.
Naturally people are more inhibited when the showrunner/creator is always around...not to mention fans' tendency to be more polite (if not fawning) because they think it's so cool/nice/generous of Herskovitz to be so accessible online. Like it's a selfless act on his part to try to build a fanbase for a show he invested in and wants to profit from. Like we should be soooo grateful to him for trying to win over the internet audience with his web series... when all he's doing is another kind of shmoozing and promotion.
Plus Herskovitz wants YOU to provide content for his future shows...scripts, music, etc, without paying you any royalties. Generous. He's doing *you* a favour, really.
So the tone over there is very biased in favour of the show. Most of those who registered (and discovered the site in it's early stages in 2007), did so because they were already huge fans of other Herskovitz/Zwick shows. They're likely going to be more inclined to give H/Z's new shows, like quarterlife, a chance...many chances...and make excuses for it.
I know, because I was one of them. :P Loved MSCL so much and had such faith in the Bedford Falls production company to create high quality, intelligent, honest & relatable shows...that I tried to convince myself that quarterlife wasn't so bad... but I had to face that watching the next episode was always a chore, and the show just left me bored or annoyed.
I hate reality TV, but the "well, it's better than reality TV" argument isn't enough. Lots of shows, past and present, are better than quarterlife too. Either a show grabs you or it doesn't. It's pointless trying to brainwash yourself into liking it. Through repeated exposure, just about anything can start to seem good, but that doesn't mean it is!
Herskovitz is blaming everyone but himself for the show's failure, and I'm really starting to dislike him and all his "spin". I'm forced to reevaluate just how much he was truly involved in and responsible for the greatness of past shows, MSCL, thirtysomething, Relativity etc. I'm guessing he was simply smart enough to surround himself with talented people, better writers than he...people like Winnie Holzman and Jason Katims...who are, incidentally, not involved in quarterlife.
Everyone should check out the hilarious parody, 2/8th life:
http://www.icn.tv/series/28life
But not if you're one of the few who finds quarterlife's characters likeable or relatable. 2/8ths life rightfully mocks this whiny, selfish, privileged group, rather than pandering to them like Herskovitz and his show are trying to do.
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knightwithoutdreams
16 years ago
crispy_comments, 2/8th life is constantly promoted amongst the quarterlife forums, and loved by many fans of the show that inspired it. I haven't seen it, but perhaps I will try to someday.
I would like to say, first of all, that I appreciate you actually offering more concrete reasons for your dislike of the show. It generates a more respectable debate than most of what I've read.
I only have a few things to say since most of this all comes down to personal opinion. Such as: the "product placement" plot was created because they needed some kind of sponsorship and Marshall/Ed have paid almost entirely for this project themselves. I certainly don't think that means "all is forgiven, you are Gods" but it is something to consider.
As for Herskovitz being an untalanted hack, Holzman may have written most of MSCL (which is amazing, no doubt), but the show was very much steeped in the H/Z aesthetic generated by "thirtysomething." Their influence over the proceedings was palpable. It then carried over to H/Z's best show, "Once and Again," where Herskovitz more than proved his mettle as a writer & director of several episodes.
I have many issues with "quarterlife" myself, but I generally really like it. I wrote a lengthy (and honest) critique of it, to which Herskovitz actually replied (and we'll to his response to criticism in a second...). The storylines and scripts aren't as sharp as they were in previous Bedford Fall productions, sure, but I think they work and actually have a lot to say that speaks to (apparently very few) actual twentysomethings (like myself).
Yes, there have been better shows, to be sure, but there have also been far worse. Shows whose collective idiocy is actually worthy of spite because of the way they so disrespect an audience's intellect. Such as CSI: "NY" and "Miami" (yeah, the quotes are there for a reason, and not to indicate that they are titles), which trade in cliche murder mysteries disguised with "fancy" effects and flashy camerawork. Or "Law & Order: SVU," a once decent program that has come crumbling down into a ridiculous hour of histrionics. I could go on, but probably shouldn't, since "quarterlife" is the show at hand.
Some say "quarterlife" offends in the same way I said other shows do, but that's because so many people still think it's all about the plot. It's not. H/Z shows never are. "quarterlife" and its related ilk are about the characters -- who, despite some familiar affectations and quirks, remain honest to who they were created to be, regardless of whether or not they appeal to a wide range of people.
I can appreciate your opinion on "ql" but wanted to demonstrate that not every fan is part of a mindless, fawning flock of sheep. The show does have some major problems, but I stick by it.
Now, on the point of Herskovitz's resistance to criticism: You're on to something. I enjoy the show but feel that it needs change to become something better & really succeed. And Marshall doesn't seem to want to listen. There are excuses. There are the quotes like "people just don't get it." And neither is very flattering...and this is coming from a huge fan of his. If he wants "quarterlife" to succeed on any greater level, he's going to have to listen to what people -- even non-fans who actually devoted some time to the enterprise -- are saying.
Thanks for the early morning debate, crispy_comments. I like it when I can really respect someone with whom I disagree.
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