Why narrative dies.

Noir Detective Series

I like to stream noir detective series. Many of the best ones come from Scandinavia, and I subscribe to the streaming service, MHz, to get them. Give me a flawed detective, one who had to retire from the police force because of alcoholism, personal problems, or accidentally shooting a child. An outsider, foul-mouthed, but with an unerring moral compass that he or she will follow to the gates of self-destruction to catch the bad guy, and I am glued to my seat.

I have watched a lot of these, and I know from experience to quit watching after the first season, or if it is superb, the second. But never go on to the third, or the fourth, or the fifth. The reason these series fail is because the writers fail. They can’t keep it up.

Actors can show up season after season doing what they do, and doing it well. Writers cannot. In my noir series and other streaming series, the writing gives out. The writers have nothing left in them, so the producers ask the actors to carry the load. Instead of scintillating dialogue and clever plot twists, the viewers are served up close-ups of actors emoting. The actors do the best they can, but the load is too heavy. The production becomes a soap opera, and viewers like me move on to the next series.

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It’s Always the Writing That Fails