Quoted from ReaperCreeper I disagree. Every single episode of a TV show needs to hook someone into watching, not just the first episode. Otherwise, it must not be very good. That being said, I do like Lost. Well, half of Season 1 anyway. I stopped watching afterwards (in Mexico it used to conflict with Supernatural, so I just ditched Lost because I like Supernatural better) --Julio

Sounds like a TV-producer talking!  

From a marketing POV, yes, every episode should hook viewers immidiately, but speaking from personal taste and experience, this is not a measure of quality at all, not even as a rule of thumb.

I'd say it depends on what kinda narrative structure a TV show has. Some Shows are episodic (i.e. a new story every time) like Alias or Supernatural. there might be an underlying storyline, but you can walk in from the street an be entertained by the story without understanding the greater context.

But some shows require that you know what the big picture is, especially shows with an ensemble cast that can't be "re-introduced" in each episode. Lost, Damages, Jericho, 24 (to a degree; the premise doesn't really change from season to season). These shows you can't judge like you can with the episodic ones, just like you can't watch Matrix Revolutions independent of the two that went before it (not that that would make it any better...).

Part of the attraction with these kinds of shows is that it's not vacuuous and episodic but a saga that evolves and transforms itself, and to appreaciate this evolution you need to be there from the beginning. That's part of what's rewarding when watching it, that you know these people and their histories and you follow a tidbit of a grand narrative each week.

I prefer this type of show myself. Very often with episodic shows they're gonna repeat themselves, using the same plotdevices each week, or not be able to wrap things up without resorting to deus ex machina or some rushed revelation, because they need to contain the story and resolve it within 45 minutes. With a show like Lost, or a personal favorite of mine, Dexter, a storyline can transcend episodes and even seasons (though that's probably stretching it.) There's more freedom to experiment with the story.

Quoted from Death Monkey ...and even seasons (though that's probably stretching it.)

Hey, it took The X-Files NINE seasons to wrap up its mythology - now, that's stretching it baby.

Possible first look at the monster here...

http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/10889

~Zack~

The Asylum Strikes Again!

http://www.theasylum.cc/product.php?id=139

Anybody else seen this?  I caught the trailer in the video store earlier, and needless to say, I was quite disgusted.

Bloodydisgusting has confirmed that the picture of the monster(see my previuos post) is 100% authentic.

~Zack~