TV Tuesday: Writing vs Acting

[yourlibrarian]

Although ideally we'd have lots of shows with great plots and casts bursting with chemistry, these don't tend to be the usual fare. Do you find it better to watch a series that has poor plots but a great cast or one with great plots but a subpar cast?

Comments

[makamu]

For me, it's definitely easier to watch shows that have an interesting cast and mediocre plots than the other way around. Because mediocre plots make me go "Geez, I'll do my own" and write fanfic. Whereas if I cannot find anything interesting about the performances, I'd rather read that sort of plot in a book and imagine the cast for myself.

[grammarwoman]

This exactly!

[makamu]

This exactly!

Glad it resonates with you!

Though I probably should have been more precise still (or I could have been, at least): if the plots are genuinely bad (i.e. neither the themes nor the execution works for me), I'm unlikely to stick with the show, even if I like the performances.

Conversely, a cast working for me does not mean I have to genuinely like the characters. Finding them interesting is quite enough for me.

[goodbyebird]

I find if the characters aren't interesting, no amount of plot will save it.

[wendelah1]

I won't watch a series with characters I dislike, no matter how good the writing is. If I love the characters, I can tolerate mediocre writing. Truly bad writing is another matter. The X-Files season ten was a bridge too far.

[rekishi]

Which Season 10? There was nothing after 9. And plotwise, 8+9 was already....not....good.

[jo]

There was actually a season 10 (and 11) when they rebooted the series in 2016.

[rekishi]

There was nothing in X-Files after Season 9 like the Season 5 finale of Highlander also doesn't exist. 😂😅

[veritas_poet]

And it was godawful!

[wendelah1]

This season ten: The X-Files season ten. There was an eleventh season, too, but I haven't seen it, that's how much I loathed season ten. You can watch both seasons on Hulu, I believe, if you're curious. After that, it was cancelled. There are rumors of a new version of The X-files in development, with Black Panther director Ryan Coogler set to be in charge. I'll believe it when I see it--or don't. There was a second movie, too, The X-Files: I Want to Believe. It came out in 2008, I think. It was about as good as an above-average monster of the week. I still saw it five times while it was playing in the theater. Just seeing Mulder and Scully on screen again made me weep.

I don't know--I thought season eight was a big improvement over seven. Season nine had some good episodes, too. It's my favorite TV show of all time--but the entire series was like that in terms of quality, very inconsistent, overall. Everyone has a favorite season, episode and character. Mine are: season three, "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose," and Dana Scully.

Sorry, I know I'm going on and on. TXF was a big part of my life for a long time.

[rekishi]

Oh please ramble on, I have spent a long time in X-Files country in my teens and twenties. I, personally, am very much an product of the Scully Effect.

Just.......nothing after 9 exists in my book. Nope. Not. 😅

[veritas_poet]

You didn't miss anything. I've blocked 10 & 11 out of my mind. They were horrific.

[feurioo]

I usually watch for the characters. I was in a daily soap fandom for a long time, so I can stomach my fair share of bad plots and terrible characterization. It hurts less if the cast can sell it well.

[reeby10]

I'd much rather have a great cast. I get way more invested in characters than plots as a rule tbh. It's much easier to ignore boring/bad plot when I really like the characters than the other way around.

[rogueslayer452]

A great cast definitely can make mediocre writing/plots better, since there's been tons of examples of amazingly talented actors making bland or otherwise ridiculous dialogue sound incredible. It's all about the delivery and how invested they are, giving it their all and caring about their character and the story. Most of the time I am there for the characters and dynamics with one another, even if the story/writing/plot itself is subpar as long as the actors/characters themselves are respectfully treated and continue to be interesting then I'm going to enjoy the ride.

[china_shop]

Bad plotting can do terrible things to good characters, but in general, I'm with everyone else. I watch for compelling characters. That said, there's been some stuff I've watched for the worldbuilding or (occasionally) the plot, hoping the characters would eventually hook me in. :-)

[starfleetbrat]

hmm thats an interesting question.

I think for me it has to be the great plot. I have watched shows where I didn't like any of the characters and/or it had an unknown first time cast, but still liked the show because the story was excellent and I wanted to see more.

Opposite for books though. I need the good characters in books. Not sure why the difference though lol

[delphi]

Great cast all the way, provided the plots are just weak and not cruel. A plot has to be absolutely amazing for me to enjoy it without a good cast, and even then I can only follow it so far if I don't enjoy watching the actors/characters interact. For me, short stories and tight novels are where I'm happy to have something just be about the plot, but once real people are involved I want to see them doing the stuff that real people do best.