What is wrong with all the new shows? The writing is so bad.

While I actually don't mind the Strain, i agree about the other three. I didn't even make it past the first episode of The Last Ship

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Hah. I'm actually watching all of these shows (also, Tyrant) and I agree with you none of them are very good.

The Last Ship I find enjoyable in a fun-to-watch way, but not 'good', if you know what I mean. Pretty silly, chest pounding, USA!! USA!! stuff.

The Strain just seems hilariously ridiculous. The Leftovers seems to take itself to seriously. Tyrant is an interesting concept but terribly executed.

The Lottery just seems bizarre. Miscast main character imo. Cartoon villain/s. At every turn I am asking, "Why would they do that??" and not in a good mystery kind of way, but a 'is everyone in this show brain dead' kind of way.

FWIW, I know people will say "why are you still watching them if you don't like them!" and my answer to that would be I can think a show is entertaining enough to watch without thinking it is good quality. Plus I give most shows a chance before I tune out. I can't see myself watching The Strain or The Lottery much longer though.

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I haven't watched any of the series you've mentioned except "The Last Ship." I don't agree with your assessment of it. Almost every time a new show premieres negative reviews follow. Many of those shows went on to be very good. One show I read the reviews of after it premiered was "Lost." The negative reviews were overwhelming. I ignored them and was very entertained from the first episode to the last. I like "The Last Ship" as it is a story that I have imagined from time to time and have read at least one book about. I've observed some flaws in the writing, however, I'm sticking with it because I like the premise and for the possibility the writing may improve.

As for the believability of the premise I have done a great deal of reading and talking with public health officials regarding the possibility of a pandemic. Most think that a worldwide pandemic is possible. They also feel like we haven't seen all the communicable diseases that exist right now or those that may mutate. 'They think that circumstances have been keeping these diseases at bay, but given the speed and methods of travel should one present itself it could spread out of control. Most feel that our monitoring is sufficient to prevent a sudden and widespread outbreak, but emphasize that vigilance is extremely important.

I have some experience working with the outbreak of Bubonic Plague in rodents near or in campgrounds. I'm aware of how one isolated incident could have caused a serious and widespread outbreak of the disease in 1972, but was stopped by some dedicated and bright employees of a little known California government agency. Bubonic Plague developed in a cat that tuned to Pneumonic Plague, which is the oral form of the disease that spreads like the common cold. The owner of the cat caught the disease orally. These employees were able to round up all the people that had been exposed to her and catch her at an airport before she boarded. All those exposed were isolated and treated when necessary. Bubonic and the pneumonic disease is fairly simple and treatable. Not so with some of what we are dealing with now. I don't mean to sound like gloom and doom. What we face is real and we can't bury our heads in the sand.

"The Last Ship" explores the possibilities of what we may face. That is one reason I like the show. I think media presentations of those possibilities helps us keep our heads out of the sand. If people are discussing the issue and realize how important vigilance is they will support it. As bad as the show is, according to you, it might help in this effort.

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OP asks why -- paraphrasing -- why these shows are so dark.

I suggest it is a symptom of a national hysteria that struck the USA following the terrorist attacks of 2001-9-11.

Godzilla and other creatures in Japanese cinema are recognized as counter-reactions to Japan's experience as a nation attacked by A-bombs -- a nation with hundreds of thousands of victims of atomic fallout. US culture reflects a similar trauma.

Yes, the sudden and completely unexpected deaths of 3000 innocent people was incredibly shocking, and an incredible atrocity. But there is a meme within America now that it is appropriate to sacrifice EVERYTHING now, if that sacrifice might reduce the chance that another American dies in a terrorist attack.

Terrorism is not the only threat to the public. Terrorism is not even the most significant threat to public safety.

A generation or so from now, when the World is past the tipping point, where Global Warming could have been halted, people will look back at the first decade of the 21st Century to see how public safety funds were spent. They will see that more than a trillion dollars were wasted to attack Iraq, and rid it of non-existent A-bombs, non-existent Nerve Gas munitions, non-existent Germ warfare munitions.

I have only watched one episode of "The Last Ship" -- the one where they moor at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base to refuel and restock with food. Its portrayal of Guantanamo was bizarrely inaccurate, as are all of Hollywood's portrayals of Guantanamo, the Taliban or al Qaeda.

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The lottery, the last ship, the left overs and the strain!

I didn't see last ship, but leftovers and strain are pretty standard writing, unlike this, this is so bad you have to wonder how can all these actors keep straight face while saying nonsense such as "he was threatening to commit suicide, so we had to shoot him"

___
Anyone who has ever read any spoilers,
knows that Winter Is Coming

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Wow you seriously compare the writing of The Leftovers and The Last Ship and put them on the same level?
To be honest I can't stop laughing about your pour judgment.

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Why do they all need the word "the"? Why is the world always ending? Why are the bad guys so horrible at being bad?

I miss the villains who enjoyed being villains and had no redeeming qualities. There are so few of them on shows or movies. Or maybe I am missing those shows. If anyone has any recomendations of shows with those kinds of bad guys let me know.

I was really enjoyed the Firefly family. They had fun being bad.

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.

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They all need the word "the" because each are entities and in English entities are preceded by an article, such as "a" and "the." We don't go driving "on road," we drive "on a road." We don't "go to eat in restaurant on corner," we "go to eat in a restaurant on the corner." We don't look "at last ship," we look "at the last ship." We don't participate in "lottery," we participate "a lottery." We don't find out about "Florida lottery," we find out about "the Florida lottery." I won't continue with references to "The Strain."

In the case of "The Last Ship," the phrase conveys that there is only one ship left, at least in the U.S. Navy, as we know there is at least one Russian ship and one private commercial vessel. If there is only one ship left, it is definitely an entity so it is properly referred to with a "the" first.

Following this logic, by reading "The Strain," we understand that we are dealing with one strain. If the show was titled "Strain," how would we know if it was about stretching a muscle (I really had to strain my quads to lift that), having a hard time seeing (the print was so small I really had to strain my eyes) or an emotional period of life (she had a baby with colic, so those six months were a strain for her).

Other languages, a good example being Russian, don't have articles. "Hey, there is vodka, please hand me glass." In English that should be stated, "Hey, there is the vodka, please hand me a glass."

Another very curious observation I've made is people who will say, "I saw Sports Illustrated at the store and Kate Upton has really big breast." Excuse me she has two of them, so she "has really big breasts."

I sometimes wonder how many people are paying attention in English class.

Oops, maybe you weren't asking about grammar?

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