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potentiality_26A show that should never have been canceled
I think even the best of shows can be in danger of staying too long at the party (to quote a Justified showrunner on why they plan to wrap-up the series at season six), so I'm interpreting this to mean a show that was canceled before its a time. I like a lot of shows like that, but this spot is definitely going to Profit, because not only was it a spectacular show that deserved more than eight episodes, it almost certainly would have had a long and healthy run if it had aired five to ten years later on a channel like FX.
Now, it's been a while since my last Profit rewatch, and I can't really go on about it like I once could (there was a time I could basically have given you an ode to Adrian Pasdar's eyelashes alone). Here's the main thing, though- Profit isn't a show for everyone, and I get that. But it was an important show that deserved a fair shot. When people talk about shows with antiheroes (or, more often, shows that, like Profit, star an outright villain as the protagonist) as programs that totally changed what writers and creators thought constituted good television, they are shows that came after Profit. The Sopranos? After Profit. The Shield? After Profit. Dexter? Way after Profit. Boardwalk Empire? Way, way after Profit. There are other examples, but I think you get the gist.
Profit's writers were inspired to create this show while watching Richard the Third. What they loved about it was the morbid fascination it inspired in the viewer, wherein even though they knew that what he was doing was wrong, they sort of liked him watching do it, and they sort of wanted him to get away with it. Jim Profit is the same way- a clever, deliciously evil man you enjoy watching do the things that he does, but with whom you also sympathize as you begin to understand what horrible things made him into the person he is. And, towards the end of the show's short run, Profit starts to introduce people who are much worse than Jim and points him at them with wonderfully entertaining results.
Now, any fan of the show who's still bitter will tell you that if the people who wrote it could just go back in time and tell their former selves to wait for cable everything would have been dandy, and I just sort of said it myself, but a big part about what I love about this show comes from the fact that it aired on network TV.
Watching the making-of documentary of the show and the audio commentaries on the episodes (as I have, and they're the best damn making-of documentary and audio commentaries out there, in my opinion; juicy and interesting and fun), I like to hear about the Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner games they played with the censors as much as anyone, but in my view of a big part of what makes Profit cool is that fact that they had to play- to a certain extent- by the rules. There's only bad language in it when it suits the story (unlike the many cable swear-fests I grew bored with and turned off no matter how many people tried to tell me the dialogue was Shakespearean), besides one pretty raunchy elevator scene there's very little graphic sexuality (again, unlike so many cable shows) and there is almost no graphic violence (ditto).
And yet Profit manages to be one of the darkest, scariest, nail-biting-est shows I ever saw. Why? Because it was all about ideas. Chilling, thought provoking ideas about what might come with the dawn of the information age (ideas which, I might add, turned out to be very prophetic), about the skewed values popular media can instill in our young people, and about the fact that corporations might just be the best place for the very worst kind of people our culture produces to thrive.
It wasn't just a show that was hugely enjoyable in an evil way (even though it was). It wasn't just a show with amazing writing, acting, directing, and everything else, too (even though it was), it wasn't just a show that did so many things people call innovative first (even though it was). It was show that, on top of being interesting, ground-breaking, well-made and fun to watch, also made people think.
Man, I loved that show. I could honestly go on, but I've cast my eye over some of later questions, and Profit will be making a few more appearances, so I'm going to leave it there.
I think even the best of shows can be in danger of staying too long at the party (to quote a Justified showrunner on why they plan to wrap-up the series at season six), so I'm interpreting this to mean a show that was canceled before its a time. I like a lot of shows like that, but this spot is definitely going to Profit, because not only was it a spectacular show that deserved more than eight episodes, it almost certainly would have had a long and healthy run if it had aired five to ten years later on a channel like FX.
Now, it's been a while since my last Profit rewatch, and I can't really go on about it like I once could (there was a time I could basically have given you an ode to Adrian Pasdar's eyelashes alone). Here's the main thing, though- Profit isn't a show for everyone, and I get that. But it was an important show that deserved a fair shot. When people talk about shows with antiheroes (or, more often, shows that, like Profit, star an outright villain as the protagonist) as programs that totally changed what writers and creators thought constituted good television, they are shows that came after Profit. The Sopranos? After Profit. The Shield? After Profit. Dexter? Way after Profit. Boardwalk Empire? Way, way after Profit. There are other examples, but I think you get the gist.
Profit's writers were inspired to create this show while watching Richard the Third. What they loved about it was the morbid fascination it inspired in the viewer, wherein even though they knew that what he was doing was wrong, they sort of liked him watching do it, and they sort of wanted him to get away with it. Jim Profit is the same way- a clever, deliciously evil man you enjoy watching do the things that he does, but with whom you also sympathize as you begin to understand what horrible things made him into the person he is. And, towards the end of the show's short run, Profit starts to introduce people who are much worse than Jim and points him at them with wonderfully entertaining results.
Now, any fan of the show who's still bitter will tell you that if the people who wrote it could just go back in time and tell their former selves to wait for cable everything would have been dandy, and I just sort of said it myself, but a big part about what I love about this show comes from the fact that it aired on network TV.
Watching the making-of documentary of the show and the audio commentaries on the episodes (as I have, and they're the best damn making-of documentary and audio commentaries out there, in my opinion; juicy and interesting and fun), I like to hear about the Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner games they played with the censors as much as anyone, but in my view of a big part of what makes Profit cool is that fact that they had to play- to a certain extent- by the rules. There's only bad language in it when it suits the story (unlike the many cable swear-fests I grew bored with and turned off no matter how many people tried to tell me the dialogue was Shakespearean), besides one pretty raunchy elevator scene there's very little graphic sexuality (again, unlike so many cable shows) and there is almost no graphic violence (ditto).
And yet Profit manages to be one of the darkest, scariest, nail-biting-est shows I ever saw. Why? Because it was all about ideas. Chilling, thought provoking ideas about what might come with the dawn of the information age (ideas which, I might add, turned out to be very prophetic), about the skewed values popular media can instill in our young people, and about the fact that corporations might just be the best place for the very worst kind of people our culture produces to thrive.
It wasn't just a show that was hugely enjoyable in an evil way (even though it was). It wasn't just a show with amazing writing, acting, directing, and everything else, too (even though it was), it wasn't just a show that did so many things people call innovative first (even though it was). It was show that, on top of being interesting, ground-breaking, well-made and fun to watch, also made people think.
Man, I loved that show. I could honestly go on, but I've cast my eye over some of later questions, and Profit will be making a few more appearances, so I'm going to leave it there.
Day 01 - A show that should never have been canceled
Day 02 - A show that needs more viewers
Day 03 - Your favorite new show (aired THIS TV season)
Day 04 - Your favorite show
Day 05 - A show you hate
Day 06 - Favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 07 - Least favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 08 - A show everyone should watch
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you’ve watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best TV show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First TV show obsession
Day 29 - Current TV show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death
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no subject
Date: 2014-01-16 12:25 pm (UTC)And it aired on NETWORK? *Is impressed*
no subject
Date: 2014-01-17 03:57 am (UTC)It's a really great show. I can't recommend it enough.
no subject
Date: 2014-01-17 06:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-17 03:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-16 01:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-17 03:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-01-17 12:11 pm (UTC)