A Tapestry of Tastes
A(n opinionated) deep dive into why certain content vibes, sometimes objectively, better than others
Sample Space
Like every good experiment, we need a sample space of what is being considered for drawing opinionated conclusions. We are after all folks of science and not given in to superstitions. Let's establish a set of samples with some things we like, so we can pick them apart, and analyse what turns us against these beloveds.
Suits
A gifted young man with a photographic memory, initially involved in small-time drug dealing, stumbles into the world of high-powered law through a chance interview. He partners with a charismatic mentor, and together they navigate the intricate and often cutthroat environment of New York law firms, leveraging their unique talents to overcome legal and personal challenges.
For All Mankind
Set in an alternate history where the Soviet Union lands on the moon first, this series explores the United States' relentless efforts to catch up in the space race. The story delves into the monumental engineering feats required, while also examining the far-reaching political and personal consequences for everyone involved, both on Earth and beyond.
Dexter
In Miami, a brilliant forensic analyst leads a double life as a vigilante serial killer. Embedded within the police department, Dexter channels his compulsion for murder through a strict moral code, targeting only those he deems deserving. The series follows his struggle to balance his dark urges with the demands of his professional and personal life.
Common Core
A common theme in all three is of sophistication. The more elaborate the better, there's an undercurrent of complexity to law, engineering, and murder. These shows present them at the crossroads of arts and science, where creativity lashes, and twists, and turns against the bounds imposed by the physical world. Sometimes upending the world itself in the process.
Excellencies
At their core, they are also stories of incredible feats by incredible people, engineering to reach the moon is no small feat, nor is excelling at law a trivial tale, and there are very few successful mass murderers. Each of these disciplines takes practiced and very human excellence to achieve, and is no small feat.
The individual achievements here are also more impressive when set against the backdrop of the recurring conflicts. In Dexter, the conflict of being caught, and maintaining a secretive double lifestyle. The law of suits being a minefield of conflicts of all nature, not to mention personal lives, and in for all mankind the protagonists quite literally struggle against the very universe as it confines them to the earth. All these conflicts highlight the immense skill, and challenge required, and present to the viewer, a position to be aspired for, at least in terms of the skill required here. The ingenuity, skill and creativity of the struggle are remarkable.
Deficiencies
All these shows start to age rather poorly, as the characters and stories develop the personal lives and motivations start bubbling to the surface, becoming more and more prominent to the plot until they have replaced the plot itself. The very essence of the program is lost, what drew people in the first place, what creates an excitement and the reason why you would want to watch, a part that draws a moth to the flame is gone, disappeared in the mire on interpersonal relationships which are now of greater importance to be resolved and nit the problem at heart.
That there is the ultimate failing of these shows, the importance of relationships over elements of plot.