It seems like 24 has broken ...
Question: It seems like
24 has broken new ground in television dramas with regard to pacing, as it was really the first of the current era of outstanding shows to take a long time to unfold (though, admittedly, none of the others take a whole season to tell the story of a single day).
Lost is, of course, the best example of this, with the season covering mere weeks in the lives of the characters, and NBC has picked up a pilot for a show that draws out a kidnapping and investigation over an entire season. So my question is this: Do you think a show like
Murder One was just on before its time? This, too, was an exceptional character drama that took its time unraveling the story, but since it was on at the height of the MTV-I-want-it-now era, I think it just didn't stand a chance. What do you think?
Answer: I've addressed
Murder One before but not quite in this context, which is a good one, especially with so many intricately serialized dramas and thrillers on the air these days. (I would include
Invasion in this subcategory, given that only a short period of time will be covered this season in the wake of the hurricane, and it's a fact that its methodically creeping pace isn't to all tastes.) It's entirely possible that
Murder One would be more successful today, especially since ABC has become the new House of Successful Hit Dramas. But it's also possible that a season-long legal mystery, even with all the twists and turns of that brilliant first season, wouldn't have the same juice as a slam-bang cliff-hanger-heavy action thriller like
24 or an exotic adventure like
Lost. It would still be a risk. (For anyone who missed it, the first season of
Murder One is on DVD. The second, and lesser, season comes out on DVD later this month.)
