Right on all points. It's an interesting renaissance for TV, of sorts.
Yeah. I think that some programming has evolved beyond these older sorts of series, but I dunno what that has to do with the current trend we're seeing. Maybe the issue is that the first season has a tight, well-planned story arc which introduces the characters and engages them with the audience, and then after that they're not sure quite what to do with them.edit: for whatever reason, the more loosely serialised television of the last 20ish years (think x-files, buffy, west wing -- that level of serialisation) seemed to have the opposite problem, of needing a while to get its groove and find its feet. most serieses of that nature peaked way later than their first seasons.
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