Too much fantasy on TV?

[Vouthon]

Whether you are a fan of the genre or not, do you think there is going to be too much fantasy on TV over the coming years, as numerous networks try to ape the success of GoT?

Amazon is plugging money into a new LoTR adaption centered around a Young Aragorn (we presume) and HBO has green-lit a GoT prequel set in GRRM's Age of Heroes, again with a colossal budget to match the latter seasons of the original series.

But there's an avalanche of fantasy TV shows about to come our way.

At Amazon alone, we are getting (potentially) adaptations of the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan, Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard, Ringworld by Larry Niven, Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett and The Dark Tower by Stephen King.

The BBC is adapting His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman.

Netflix is adapting The Witcher.....I could go on but my brain feels overloaded.

Do you think that we might be getting too much of a good thing? Could people begin to get tired of seeing too much fantasy on the small screen?

Or, might the post-GoT mainstreaming of the fantasy genre have given viewers an itch that they will just keep wanting to scratch?

 

[SalixIncendium]

I'm not really qualified to answer this, since my TV experience is limited to Netflix, but that said, fantasy is one of my favorite genres that, in my experience, one can't have too much of, and if overtakes reality TV, I'm fully behind the takeover.

I am excited to hear that BBC is adapting "His Dark Materials." Inspired by seeing "The Golden Compass," I read the book series, and was very disappointed when the subsequent books, the "The Subtle Knife" and "The Amber Spyglass," weren't made into movie form as well. I'm hoping that this adaptation will be available in some form in the US.

 

[PureX]

Using the subterfuge that people like fantasy when times are tough, the people who are making our times tough will inundate us with fantasy hoping we won't notice that they are causing the tough times. They do the same thing with the endless 'blame-game' that the media drolls out 24-7. As long as everyone is blaming everyone else, there is no consolidated blame being focussed on them. And they can continue to rape, rob, and pillage society and the planet with impunity.

Also, people who spend a lot of time engaged in fantasy tend not to be particularly astute at identifying and accepting reality. They make good patsies for those who wish to manipulate and abuse them. Biblical-literalist Christians being constantly hoodwinked by the republican party are a clear example of this. They are already in the habit of denying reality in favor of fantasy, so they will accept the blatant lies of others about reality far more easily, and with far less skepticism.

 

[Father Heathen]

When you compare it to the glut of formulaic sitcoms, cop dramas, "reality" shows, etc.... nope.

 

[Father Heathen]

Using the subterfuge that people like fantasy when times are tough, the people who are making our times tough will inundate us with fantasy hoping we won't notice that they are causing the tough times. They do the same thing with the endless 'blame-game' that the media drolls out 24-7. As long as everyone is blaming everyone else, there is not consolidated blame focussed on them. And they can continue to rape, rob, and pillage society and the planet with impunity.

 

[Vouthon]

I'm not really qualified to answer this, since by TV experience is limited to Netflix, but that said, fantasy is one of my favorite genres that, in my experience, one can't have too much of, and if overtakes reality TV, I'm fully behind the takeover.

I am excited to hear that BBC is adapting "His Dark Materials." Inspired by seeing "The Golden Compass," I read the book series, and was very disappointed when the subsequent books, the "The Subtle Knife" and "The Amber Spyglass," weren't made into movie form as well. I'm hoping that this adaptation will be available in some form in the US.

You have my full-throated agreement so far as reality TV (otherwise known as "trash telly" and circus-style, cheap entertainment) is concerned. I would gladly take a million well-produced, high-budget fantasy shows over that out-dated franchise.

In terms of HDM, I'm convinced that it will be shown on BBC America or given over to another network. Pullman's trilogy was one of my all-time favourites as a child in the late 90s - early 2000s. Bit of trivia but James McAvoy has been cast as Lord Asriel.

 

[Vouthon]

Also, people who spend a lot of time engaged in fantasy tend not to be particularly astute at identifying and accepting reality. They make good patsies for those who wish to manipulate and abuse them. Biblical-literalist Christians being constantly hoodwinked by the republican party are a clear example of this. They are already in the habit of denying reality in favor of fantasy, so they will accept the blatant lies of others about reality far more easily, and with far less skepticism.

Well, anecdotally, I can personally vouch that a number of my friends were first exposed to atheism and critical thought about religion by reading Pullman's fantasy epic His Dark Materials as children or teenagers.

I would think that nearly everyone reading or watching fantasy as a bit of escapist fun can safely differentiate fact from fiction, and won't be expecting to see Daenerys Targareyn riding in her Dragon across their front porch any time soon - unless they are in bad need of a shrink or have been ingesting too many magic mushrooms.

 

[David T]

Whether you are a fan or not of the genre, do you think that there is going to be too much fantasy on TV over the coming years, as numerous networks try to ape the success of GoT?

Amazon is plugging money into a new LoTR adaption centered around a Young Aragorn (we presume) and HBO has green-lit a GoT prequel set in GRRM's Age of Heroes, again with a colossal budget to match the latter seasons of the original series.

But there's an avalanche of fantasy TV shows about to come our way.

At Amazon alone, we are getting (potentially) adaptations of the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan, Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard, Ringworld by Larry Niven, Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett and The Dark Tower by Stephen King.

The BBC is adapting His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman.

Netflix is adapting The Witcher.....I could go on but my brain feels overloaded.

Do you think that we might be getting too much of a good thing? Could people begin to get tired of seeing too much fantasy on the small screen?

Or, might the post-GoT mainstreaming of the fantasy genre have given viewers an itch that they will just keep wanting to scratch?

The last I checked its now digital signals that are then translated into color like a raster image. So none of its "real" like a photo isn't " real". It is capable of accurate transmission but you aren't seeing a person mearly a mechanical representation. So that all is fiction.

 

[PureX]

Well, anecdotally, I can personally vouch that a number of my friends were first exposed to atheism and critical thought about religion by reading Pullman's fantasy epic His Dark Materials as children or teenagers.

I would think that nearly everyone reading or watching fantasy as a bit of escapist fun can safely differentiate fact from fiction, and won't be expecting to see Daenerys Targareyn riding in her Dragon across their front porch any time soon - unless they are in bad need of a shrink or have been ingesting too many magic mushrooms.

On the other hand, "we are what we eat" also applies to the human mind, as well as to our bodies. Which is why our bad habits are so difficult to break once the neuro-pathways that are associated with them have become deeply entrenched. Escapism, itself, could be considered a bad habit that steals our time in reality away from us, and thereby makes us less effective in the real world, as a result. And like any bad habit, if it develops into an addiction it will be accompanied by the powerful mental phenomena of denial. Rendering the sufferer incapable of making reasonable assessments of the damage his/her addiction is doing to them.

 

[Vouthon]

On the other hand, "we are what we eat" also applies to the human mind, as well as to our bodies. Which is why our bad habits are so difficult to break once the neuro-pathways that are associated with them have become deeply entrenched. Escapism, itself, could be considered a bad habit that steals our time in reality away from us, and thereby makes us less effective in the real world, as a result. And like any bad habit, if it develops into an addiction it will be accompanied by the powerful mental phenomena of denial. Rendering the sufferer incapable of making reasonable assessments of the damage his/her addiction is doing to them.

While I agree with you in principle - in respect of the psychological perils of becoming detached from reality - there is an absolutely huge difference between having a fantasy prone personality (FPP) (which is a mental disorder) and merely enjoying some harmless escapism in a novel, TV show or movie after a punishing day at work.

Just like reading erotic literature in your down time doesn't a nymphomaniac make, or the horror genre a psychopath.

The former is a serious dissociative, psychological condition whereby the sufferer is living in a near-continual fantasy that they are in capable of separating from the real world (and often arises from abuse, extreme loneliness or protective behaviour in childhood).

The latter is a hobby. A pastime.

For crying out loud!

 

[Cacotopia]

There isn't enough on TV

 

[Jumi]

People's preferences change, maybe it will be sci-fi's turn in a few years.

 

[Vouthon]

People's preferences change, maybe it will be sci-fi's turn in a few years.

It does seem to move in swings and roundabouts.

 

[PureX]

While I agree with you in principle - in respect of the psychological perils of becoming detached from reality - there is an absolutely huge difference between having a fantasy prone personality (FPP) (which is a mental disorder) and merely enjoying some harmless escapism in a novel, TV show or movie after a punishing day at work.

Sure, just as there is a difference between drinking alcohol occasionally as a social lubricant and drinking it every day as a psychological necessity. Same for gambling, sex, eating, and all the other behaviors that we humans become addicted to. And yet in spite of this "huge difference", many millions of us still become addicted, and our lives and the lives of those who love us are destroyed, as a result.

Pointing out the difference between an addiction and non-addiction does not address the danger of addiction. There are reasons that we don't allow tobacco, alcohol, pornography, and other "recreational drugs" to be advertised on TV. And the reason is that we humans can become addicted to these very easily, and when we do, it spells disaster.

 

[Thief]

Whether you are a fan of the genre or not, do you think there is going to be too much fantasy on TV over the coming years, as numerous networks try to ape the success of GoT?

Amazon is plugging money into a new LoTR adaption centered around a Young Aragorn (we presume) and HBO has green-lit a GoT prequel set in GRRM's Age of Heroes, again with a colossal budget to match the latter seasons of the original series.

But there's an avalanche of fantasy TV shows about to come our way.

At Amazon alone, we are getting (potentially) adaptations of the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan, Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard, Ringworld by Larry Niven, Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett and The Dark Tower by Stephen King.

The BBC is adapting His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman.

Netflix is adapting The Witcher.....I could go on but my brain feels overloaded.

Do you think that we might be getting too much of a good thing? Could people begin to get tired of seeing too much fantasy on the small screen?

Or, might the post-GoT mainstreaming of the fantasy genre have given viewers an itch that they will just keep wanting to scratch?

I'm a Trekkie (casually)
the science and the fiction play off intellectual notions
in particular the interaction of humans and greater life forms

can't get enough of that

 

[sayak83]

Whether you are a fan of the genre or not, do you think there is going to be too much fantasy on TV over the coming years, as numerous networks try to ape the success of GoT?

Amazon is plugging money into a new LoTR adaption centered around a Young Aragorn (we presume) and HBO has green-lit a GoT prequel set in GRRM's Age of Heroes, again with a colossal budget to match the latter seasons of the original series.

But there's an avalanche of fantasy TV shows about to come our way.

At Amazon alone, we are getting (potentially) adaptations of the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan, Conan the Barbarian by Robert E. Howard, Ringworld by Larry Niven, Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Prachett and The Dark Tower by Stephen King.

The BBC is adapting His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman.

Netflix is adapting The Witcher.....I could go on but my brain feels overloaded.

Do you think that we might be getting too much of a good thing? Could people begin to get tired of seeing too much fantasy on the small screen?

Or, might the post-GoT mainstreaming of the fantasy genre have given viewers an itch that they will just keep wanting to scratch?

Better than the unending series of police procedures....

 

[Shad]

Do you think that we might be getting too much of a good thing? Could people begin to get tired of seeing too much fantasy on the small screen?

Or, might the post-GoT mainstreaming of the fantasy genre have given viewers an itch that they will just keep wanting to scratch?

With those titles coming up I think I will survive if the shows are good.

 

[HonestJoe]

Whether you are a fan of the genre or not, do you think there is going to be too much fantasy on TV over the coming years, as numerous networks try to ape the success of GoT?

Too much for what? Since there are hundreds of channels plus theoretically infinite streaming space, I don't see the number of different shows in any particular genre as an issue for me. It's only possibly an issue for the creators if they need a certain level of viewership to be deemed successful (either financially or artistic).

Also, given the apparently endless dirge of soap operas, "reality" shows and quizzes that continue to pour out, I don't think fantasy drama has to worry about getting anywhere close to any kind of viable limit.

 

[Revoltingest]

Not enuf fantasy on TV.
A break from reality is refreshing & embiggening.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Escapism, itself, could be considered a bad habit

Not really. Everyone needs a break, and we've had escapist behaviors most likely since before modern homo sapiens existed.

Also, people who spend a lot of time engaged in fantasy tend not to be particularly astute at identifying and accepting reality.

I doubt you'd find a positive correlation between the two. Stephen King has spent tons of hours engaged in fantasy, and he doesn't seem to show any signs of being detached from reality.

Biblical-literalist Christians being constantly hoodwinked by the republican party are a clear example of this. They are already in the habit of denying reality in favor of fantasy, so they will accept the blatant lies of others about reality far more easily, and with far less skepticism.

That's not even the same thing as an escapist behavior.