1. Not Taking Itself Seriously Enough
If the characters of a TV show dont take respect the events of the universe, how can writers expect the viewers to? As Riley remarks in
Buffy;
When I saw you stop the world from, you know, ending, I just assumed that was a big week for you. It wasnt. The problem is that the characters in
Buffy became so accustomed to end-of-the-world plots that they became about as significant as the recent Mayan Calendar Countdown. Demons and Vampires are often reduced to joke characters in later seasons, and ultimately the show almost completely abandoned the horror genre. While a characters flippancy regarding the momentousness of their work can be comic, it also undermines the viewers sensation that the characters are at risk, which can be damaging for a series. The action/drama genres are especially prone to this theres little expectation that a comedy show such as
How I Met Your Mother takes itself especially seriously, but thats not to say character choices shouldnt be respected in any genre.
How to Fix It: Limit the number of times a show makes fun of itself. When a menacing demons face appears in the opening scene of Angel Season 2, and then starts to sing karaoke, its a hilarious and unforgettable moment. You can get away with one or two scenes like that in a shows run, but if half of the demons you deliver are singing and dancing, your viewers are going to find it hard to take the other half seriously. Hopefully you enjoyed the article, fire off any thoughts in the comments section below.