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Author Topic: Top 5 TV Shows That Are Basically Movies  (Read 2180 times)

DarkeningHumour

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Top 5 TV Shows That Are Basically Movies
« on: July 19, 2018, 02:21:38 PM »
Let the arguments begin.
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Junior

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Re: Top 5 TV Shows That Are Basically Movies
« Reply #1 on: July 19, 2018, 04:08:48 PM »
Fanny and Alexander
True Detective
The Terror
Sharp Objects

These are the most serialized shows that I can think of.
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Sam the Cinema Snob

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Re: Top 5 TV Shows That Are Basically Movies
« Reply #2 on: July 19, 2018, 04:23:57 PM »
A Short Film about Killing/Love are movies, I guess.

DarkeningHumour

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Re: Top 5 TV Shows That Are Basically Movies
« Reply #3 on: July 19, 2018, 05:36:48 PM »
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Junior

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Re: Top 5 TV Shows That Are Basically Movies
« Reply #4 on: July 19, 2018, 07:53:38 PM »
At least season 1, haven't seen season 2.
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oldkid

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Re: Top 5 TV Shows That Are Basically Movies
« Reply #5 on: July 20, 2018, 12:31:48 AM »
The Wire
Stranger Things
Top of the Lake
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DarkeningHumour

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Re: Top 5 TV Shows That Are Basically Movies
« Reply #6 on: July 24, 2018, 11:51:19 AM »
I've been thinking about the difference between prestige high quality TV Shows and the things people call « basically a ten hour movie ».

The first, I think, is length. Most great series nowadays have adopted more limited formats than the old 24 40 minute episodes per season. However, most of those shows still have multiple seasons whereas I think serialised movies need to be more constrained. A single season sounds like a good rule of thumb, and it probably shouldn't stretch beyond ten hours either.

Then there is the structure. A typical movie has one major (or a collection thereof) arc that can be divided into a number of acts. TV shows on the other hand, even though they tell a story that spans the length of the season, or indeed the entire show, are also episodic in nature, and must abide by the rules of that reality. Every episode must have its own rhythm, an inner balance of the series' idiosyncratic elements, and cliff-hangers at the end are ubiquitous. I am tempted to say that the more a series obeys this rule the less like a movie it is.

True Detective is a good example of a show that works quite well when you consider its episodes separately. Two of the first series that came to my mind for this Top 5 were the mini series Mildred Pierce and Parade's End, two long adaptations of novels. While I am sure there was sound logic behind the separation of both stories into separate episodes, I remember only the stories and not where the cuts were made, whilst I can remember distinct endings of True Detective or Game of Thrones episodes.

I am watching two other shows right now that seem to work quite well as long movies - Patrick Melrose and A Very English Scandal. I don't think however that this category is constrained only to mini series and adaptations. I am still trying to figure out how to parse them out.
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MartinTeller

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Re: Top 5 TV Shows That Are Basically Movies
« Reply #7 on: July 24, 2018, 02:42:58 PM »
When you think about it, it doesn't make sense to treat "TV" and "Movies" as separate artforms. They're created the exact same way... writers, scripts, actors, directors, sets, props, cameras, lights, music, costumes. The only real differentiation is the distribution method (although as a matter of convention that also translates into structural differences, at least in most cases). Especially nowadays, with the stigma of television long gone and tons of high-quality content being produced for the smaller screen, there's little reason to make a distinction.

I submit that all TV shows are basically movies.

FLYmeatwad

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Re: Top 5 TV Shows That Are Basically Movies
« Reply #8 on: July 24, 2018, 07:25:34 PM »
Does this mean that Miz And Mrs. is Filmspot eligible? I might finally get a clean sweep of the doc category.

oldkid

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Re: Top 5 TV Shows That Are Basically Movies
« Reply #9 on: July 24, 2018, 08:35:36 PM »
We like to treat TV and movies as separate depending on the format and the presentation.  What are we told it is?  This allows the distributor to determine what their work is being compared to.

I have heard it said on this forum that TV is episodic and each episode has an ending, even if the ending is cliffhanger.  There can be arcs or narratives between episodes, that run the length of a season or even the whole show, but there is a narrative within each episode as well.

The other distinction for a TV show is that we expect "seasons", other long pieces of the same narrative (or same kind of narrative, in anthology series).  In movies, we call these pieces "sequels" or "prequels".

But couldn't each Star Wars trilogy be a season with three episodes, so we are almost done with the third season?  Isn't the Wire a movie with four sequels? 
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