Snark & Sensibility

Photo by Olga Guryanova on Unsplash

ANYTHING GOES

special edition

LOOKING AT A POPULAR TELEVISION SERIES

THROUGH THE WRITER’S MICROSCOPE

Though the series has been on for close to two decades, I had never watched an episode until recently, after I noticed the back shows were on Netflix. I am now halfway through season eight. There are traits of the show I find interesting and some I mind troubling. The show definitely has a soap opera flavor.

Characterization

The characters are complex. Though they do things we do not like because they are flawed, they also show a broad sense of positive traits. They fall but they also rise to excellence when faced with difficult choices. What I don’t like about the characterization is the general lack of moral fiber in the majority of characters. I would like to see more of a balance between virtue and callousness. All the characters seem to have no moral center or belief system except for Miranda Baily and Richard Webber. While their faith is challenged, they struggle with standing firm in their faith and fall because of expediency. They exude as much frailty as they do professionalism.

Dialogue

For the most part, the dialogue is consistent with the characterization. Lexie will babble no matter what the circumstances. Alex will say mean things, true to his troubled persona.

Cliffhangers

At least with Netflix, I don’t have to wait a week to get to the next episode. Sometimes I felt the cliffhanger was manipulative. Most often the cliffhanger blended in with the show’s theme.

Themes

The themes are consistent throughout each episode. For example, if the theme is love, the scenes will present the major characters in the complexities of romance. If the theme is dealing with failure, the main characters will have disappointing outcomes.

Plot

Most of the story plots are hackneyed from episode to episode. The viewer will expect several subplots. One or more of the doctors will exceed acceptable protocol, there will be one or more deaths, someone will make a horrible mistake, someone will sleep with another character in the on-call room, competition for surgeries will be fierce, and no operation is without complications.

Conclusion

As a Christian, I have a hard time dealing with the blatant immorality or lack thereof with the majority of characters. Sometimes, the characters will rise above their flaws to be heroic. Most of the time there is far too much sexual gymnastics for my taste.

I do enjoy watching the episodes for two reasons:

A show that has lasted nearly two decades must have mass cultural appeal. Studying the show, helps me understand the world's cultural views. While my own may be in opposition, the more I understand the world around me, the more I can develop my writing to minister to a hurting and confused world.

The show has many merits relative to the craft of writing.

MY FEATURED BOOK

What about the 150-year-old ruins atop Wolf Mountain keeps drawing Marci Henderson to the site? Village legend says the beautiful wife of the older railroad tycoon, after setting fire to their mansion, ran away with his accountant. Was there no way to prove Felicity’s innocence? First, Marci must prove she had the right to walk among the sane.  

Dr. Blake Montgomery, a college professor, has come to Collins Bend to work on his book, Adirondack Railroad Development. To aid in his research, Blake hires Marci Henderson, his former student, one he never stopped loving, who is now a widow. When Marci is insistent people are following the two of them, Blake wonders if she is headed for another psychotic episode.

Old emotions surface as the two embark on a suspenseful journey leading them closer to solving the age-old mystery of Wolf Mountain, a journey fraught with suspicion and murder. Along the way, Blake’s faith is challenged, and Marci searches for spiritual truth about the God she had never known.

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