Form & Void - True Detective - Part 3

The format of True Detective, continued
We'll see the anthology format again this spring with Fargo on FX, featuring John Watson.  And maybe it will be something that will become more popular in coming years, considering the success of True Detective. 

One of the benefits of cable seasons is they are only thirteen episodes, freeing the actors to do other projects such as movies or other television shows.  Allowing the freedom to move about, rather than lock someone into 22 episodes a year for multiple years has to be appealing to actors. 

It will also allow the shows to recruit star power similar to the level of True Detective with McConaughey and Harrelson.  McConaughey's television career consists of little more than a cameo on Eastbound and Down, plus some voiceover work and appearing on Unsolved Mysteries waaay back when.  Woody's only has had one semi-regular role, on Will and Grace, since Cheers launched him into his movie career.  Everything else is a one off guest spot or voiceover work.  Understandable considering the monetary difference between television and movies over that time, as well as the stringent requirements of television. 

Doing a show with one season and done will be appealing to actors, as it allows them to truly get into a character in a way not as possible with movies.  David Fincher said it well when talking about  the reason he wanted to do House of Cards, addressing both teh high quality, the freedoms it allows and why 13 episodes is a-okay:

f you're working in the movie business, you’re thinking in terms of you have this two-hour form that requires a kind of ballistic narrative that doesn’t always allow for characterizations to be that complex, or that deep, or that layered, or that you can reveal slowly and be as faceted. And I felt for the past ten years that the best writing that was happening for actors was happening in television. And so I had been looking to do something that was longer form. I never said I was going to hold my breath until somebody offers me 26 hours. And when they did it was sort of shocking when you try to kind of wrap your mind around the number of different storylines that it’s going to take to fill 26 hours. It can be a particularly daunting experience. But I had liked the idea of doing something either on premium cable that could be challenging to an audience of adults in terms of its drama and subject matter.
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/house-of-cards-director-david-fincher-on-making-13-hours-for-netflix#cJuEPvSJ4i6mou42.99

If you're working in the movie business, you’re thinking in terms of you have this two-hour form that requires a kind of ballistic narrative that doesn’t always allow for characterizations to be that complex, or that deep, or that layered, or that you can reveal slowly and be as faceted. And I felt for the past ten years that the best writing that was happening for actors was happening in television. And so I had been looking to do something that was longer form. I never said I was going to hold my breath until somebody offers me 26 hours. And when they did it was sort of shocking when you try to kind of wrap your mind around the number of different storylines that it’s going to take to fill 26 hours. It can be a particularly daunting experience. But I had liked the idea of doing something either on premium cable that could be challenging to an audience of adults in terms of its drama and subject matter.
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/house-of-cards-director-david-fincher-on-making-13-hours-for-netflix#cJuEPvSJ4i6mou42.99

If you're working in the movie business, you’re thinking in terms of you have this two-hour form that requires a kind of ballistic narrative that doesn’t always allow for characterizations to be that complex, or that deep, or that layered, or that you can reveal slowly and be as faceted. And I felt for the past ten years that the best writing that was happening for actors was happening in television. And so I had been looking to do something that was longer form. I never said I was going to hold my breath until somebody offers me 26 hours. And when they did it was sort of shocking when you try to kind of wrap your mind around the number of different storylines that it’s going to take to fill 26 hours. It can be a particularly daunting experience. But I had liked the idea of doing something either on premium cable that could be challenging to an audience of adults in terms of its drama and subject matter.
Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/house-of-cards-director-david-fincher-on-making-13-hours-for-netflix#cJuEPvSJ4i6mou42.99

If you're working in the movie business, you’re thinking in terms of you have this two-hour form that requires a kind of ballistic narrative that doesn’t always allow for characterizations to be that complex, or that deep, or that layered, or that you can reveal slowly and be as faceted. And I felt for the past ten years that the best writing that was happening for actors was happening in television. And so I had been looking to do something that was longer form. I never said I was going to hold my breath until somebody offers me 26 hours. And when they did it was sort of shocking when you try to kind of wrap your mind around the number of different storylines that it’s going to take to fill 26 hours. It can be a particularly daunting experience. But I had liked the idea of doing something either on premium cable that could be challenging to an audience of adults in terms of its drama and subject matter. 

There's even other options now for the medium in which the art is shared.  It requires thought about how best to view a show, and the acknowledgement that the best medium depends on the type of show.  

For example, I love House of Cards.  And I love the medium that it comes from, allowing me to watch all of Season Two over President's Day weekend, rather than my usual History Channel presidential marathon.  


House of Cards is essentially pulp though.  It doesn't take away from how fun or twisted or creative the show is, or how well Spacey and Wright act.  But it is pulp.  It can be consumed in large quantities very quickly.  So making thirteen episodes available together works for the show.  House of Cards is a page turner, but not an exercise in deep thought.  Which is just an observation and not a judgement.*  Another show that would lend itself to this format would be 24, which saw returns on its four episode mini-marathon years ago.  As a page turner, something like The Davinci Code* would be a lot of fun for streaming relase as well.  Not the Great American Novel, but a fun read.  It is a bag of Doritos, which is completely delicious and gone in a single sitting and no I'm not sorry.

* If I watched nothing to True Detective, life would be rough. 

* Dan Brown's book was a candidate for what a show like 24 would be about
True Detective, despite being a serial/novel/whatever, is still in my opinion best suited to the weekly format.  The show, especially as it gained steam, benefited from digestion.  And while it did not include supernatural elements, it did have a mystical tone to it, which is a quality that lends itself to discussion and going down those Internet rabbit holes.  One of the best parts of shows like this are the conversations you can have about theories.  Binge watching may be better suited for subsequent viewings of the show, which I no doubt will do. 

Or, it could be the complete opposite.  Going down those rabbit holes can affect ones expectations of a show by getting pulled into conversations that are way off base.  Viewing the show in a vacuum could allow you to form your own opinion and expectations, free of some of the nonsense that a show like True Detective generates.

The Wire splits the difference, probably best viewed on DVD in short bursts, which is probably how most people became acquainted with it (based on the number of people who say they watched, and the ratings on HBO).  Digestion is required but details are easy to miss over 13 weeks.  The show gives you a lot to think about, and if you watch a season in a weekend, you may miss the forest for the trees.  But if you spread it out over three months, some items in later episodes may not have the same impact due to a lack of remembering details from early episodes. 

Lost is a victim of the format and was at its best in Season One, and then again later when seasons were shortened and more or less ran in consecutive weeks without breaking.  There are so many episodes, that it is impossible now to space them out and still finish.  It's also impossible to not get spoiled on the show if you were to do any research during intermission.  The show benefited from character based flashbacks and plot based island action, which, by the end we realized thanks to the flashback revelations, was secretly character driven as well. 

One of the big differences that may point a show in one direction or another is if it is plot based or character based.  Despite the conspiracy sprawl, True Detective is character based.  A show does not need to have loads and loads of characters in order to be character based, as it is quality not quantity.  Everything in the True Detective universe exists to provide insight to Rust or Cohle, or to provoke a reaction by them.  House of Cards is plot based, creating the page turning atmosphere of a Dan Brown novel.  One is not better than the other, it may just depend on preference and mood.*

* An interesting case is Homeland, which in the first season seemed more character based, but moved to be more plot based in Season Two.   

True Detective may tell a different type of story next year, and with a different director, may be best viewed in a different way.  The tough part is, we can't know the best way until after we've viewed it.  Another possibility is that the differences are marginal enough to make no difference, or that most viewers do not place a priority on it as much as weirdos like me.  Probably the latter.

Two Players, Two Sides.

One is light, one is dark.

Pizzolatto told us the agenda would be clear by the end, and it was.  The battle between good and evil, light and dark ( in this case, as told through Rust and Cohle's actions, catalyzed by the Lang investigation) is as old as time, but  doesn't feel that way. 

We've seen it in television before, whether via Jacob and his brother on Lost/by proxy Jack and Locke, or on Twin Peaks seeing the struggle between the forces of Mike and Bob. 

The showdown happens in the arena/Carcosa/Civil War fort between Rust and Childress.  Both willing if not expecting to die trying to attain their goal.  For Rust, it is to take down the "bad man".  For Childress, it is less clear, but here's one opinion.

The Yellow King mythos provided a mystical backdrop for Childress as a character and for the investigation as a story. Rather than be a simple devil worshipper, something already seen in stories, the Yellow King helps True Detective stand out as unique.  The mystical nature let us run down rabbit holes and enjoy the show even more, but at the same time was not so dominant that it held the entire story hostage.  Since the first episode, enough has been fleshed out so this story doesn't live or die on the quality of any single aspect.   The last episode is when we get treated to the most clues.

The peek at Childress at the episodes open gives some insight into the final scenes.  It's the first time, besides Maggie's sit down with Papania and Gilbough, that the story isn't told through Rust and Marty. 

Childress said he hasn't made his mark, probably his literal spiral mark on the back of victims, in weeks.  Probably three weeks because that was the last time he was "giving flowers" to his sister (and would also be approximately the time the last case surfaced). 

He seems to be anticipating the showdown, and through those acts, attain some kind of higher plan.  In preparation, he giving flowers again, which I bet is part of his preparation or ritual every time he does this.

Because Childress is so devout to his Yellow King cult he lives his life so that everything is done to advance his goal of attaining that higher plane, the goal of ascending beyond the disc in the loop, the flat circle.  By ascending to that higher plane and breaking free of the loop, he can attain something.  The domestic and the half sister speak about existing beyond life, being there before and after death.  So perhaps Childress is seeking eternal life, gained through practice of these rituals and sacrifice, done in the name of the Yellow King.  Everything he's done has bee in the name of this journey, the journey he allowed Reggie to be witness to.  So, because it's time again, he "gives flowers" and prepares to ascend by meeting Rust in Carcosa.