Two Great Things that *should* have gone great together

[flummery]

So, last year, I unexpectedly fell, and fell hard, for the The Dead Zone. I'm not a big Stephen King fan, or you know, any kind of Stephen King fan. I've never read the book, although I'm told it's one of his better ones. I had seen the movie, and enjoyed it in a strange, Christopher-Walken-Looks-Like-The-Living-Dead in EVERY role he plays, sort of way. But the Piller family shocked me by doing something most producers could never imagine doing -- letting their character be adults, rather than tittering teenagers in overly large bodies. Johnny and Walt and Sarah are all in a very difficult situation, and they know it, and they're trying to deal with it, not by posturing and yelling and making melodramatic gestures, but by giving one another their space, and trying to find a way to let old relationships change into new ones.

I'm also a big fan of Television Without Pity. What exactly is the attraction to reading a recap of something that you've just watched, and therefore don't need recapped? I read recaps to see the shows snarked on. I like to see them nit picked, the good bits pointed out, the inconsistencies and continuity examined. I read them for the wit the recapper brings to their viewing of the episode, and I like to see where I agree and where I differ with what they've said regarding an episode. To see the points I missed myself pointed out. Hell, sometimes I like a recap more than I liked the episode. It's addictive, and I spend far too much time rereading information I already know.

So, I was pretty darn pleased when TWOP announced they would begin recapping the Dead Zone starting with the second season. What could be better? My favorite show, under scrutiny! Hopefully some wit, some snark, some banter about what I love about it, and then some discussions of it to follow in the forums. So, I sat back and waited eagerly, until after the first episode of the second season broadcast, and the first recap was finally written by a long-time TWOP recapper named Kim. We're three episodes in now, and I tear out a little more hair with each and every recap.

Now, I understand that TWOP is a business, and one that is hovering on the edge of bankruptcy and vanishing, and therefore isn't about to go looking for new recappers to hire. I also understand that they probably receive hundreds, if not thousands of emails from would-be recappers who would like to join them. I understand all the reasons that they pull from their own pool of current recappers when assigning out new shows.

But man, they've done a shitty job in assigning out the Dead Zone.

Kim's done a decent to good job on recaps for other shows. Perhaps the difference is, these were shows that she gives a damn about. By contrast, she appears to have been thrown in the deep end of Dead Zone, without a swimming lesson to her name. I'm assuming they assigned her DZ because she had the spare time, and was willing to give it a shot. Having said she would recap -- it would be nice to see her put a little effort into the job.

The heart of the problem appears to be this. Kim doesn't know the show, and she doesn't really care. Kim hasn't seen the first season episodes, and three episode in to season two, I see no sign that she's going to buckle down, go back, and watch them. And she badly needs to. She titled the most recent episodes (Ascent) recap "Recycling Day." While this might have been a decent title if she had been referring to the fact that two of the actors replayed the same scenes several times during the course of the episode, unfortunately, it appears to have been based on her belief that this was some sort of a clip episode, reusing scenes from first season. On the contrary, the only clips in this fantastic episode that appeared previously are literally those that ones up in the "previously on"s.

Kim is going through the motions.She's not picking up on the nuances between the characters, or the history the show has already managed to build in it's short life. Her recaps are little more than recitations of what happened in the episode, and sometimes, they're inaccurate recitations. From her most recent recap:

"Cut to Johnny telling J/W that he was in a coma for six years. Cut to J/W busting Sarah staring at the ring Johnny gave her, and then she denies that it's anything important. Cut to Walt's dad saying that Sarah's feelings for Johnny never died, and that J/W is just in the way."

The hell? I know these were quick-cut scenes, but there was a lot of important stuff in there! Like I said, I'm not reading this recap to learn what happened in the episode, I watched it myself. I want to see the recapper's response to what's happening. Would it really kill her to go into a little detail, or give an opinion? And was there really no other recapper they could have called upon for this show? Preferably one familiar with the show, or, say, someone who gives a damn?

It's frustrating, and aggravating, and the show seems to be dying on the TWOP vine as a result. The Dead Zone forums are some of the quietest and least active I've ever seen on that site. TWOP recaps can bring new viewers in, and can help grow a show's fan base, but the way it's currently going I wouldn't be at all surprised to see TWOP place the Dead Zone on hiatus soon. And that would be a shame, since it deserves so much better.

If TWOP was going to invest the time, effort, and money that is involved in recapping a new show, I do wish they'd taken the time to make sure it's being done correctly. I'll probably continue to read the recaps... and grow more bitter with each and every one of them.

Comments

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Geez - that really burns my toast. I mean, at the very least the recapper should have had to have seen, you know, the show.

I think I will refrain from reading the TWOP for DZ.

Walt! Johnny! Sarah! New episode on Sunday!