Watching Buffy (and older TV in general) has made me so hungry for good storytelling. Every generation of TV, and to a similar extent movie, writers since Lost* has taken all the worst lessons from that show and forgotten what made the mystery so compelling: we actually cared about the characters, and they were real characters.
Ditch the mystery box, or the eight episodes of build up for the promise of a payoff next season. Give me clear, established stakes at the beginning of an episode. I want real consequences, goals that require growth and sacrifice to achieve, and catharsis. Things need to change. It shouldn't feel so unreasonable! We've been doing this for decades.
What are some good shows out there today that demonstrate good storytelling?
- Lost, the MCU, and Star Wars all go into the same mystery box / Peter Pan complex / narcissist media bucket, that has since overflowed and infected too much other media.