Why the Small Screen is Winning

As WordPress continues to recycle old prompts, I pulled another prompt from The Coffee Monsterz Co to respond to today

Do you prefer watching movies or TV shows?

If you had asked me 10 or 20 years ago, I most certainly would’ve told you that I preferred movies. There was a prestige to the theater—an “event” feel that television couldn’t quite match. But as I look toward turning 52 this April, I have to admit: my habits have shifted.

We recently scaled back our cable TV package at the house, and while I still have my streaming apps, I’m not exactly hunting for “new” content. Beyond Starfleet Academy, an occasional episode of Monday Night Raw, and the Marvel miniseries, I’m mostly binging Star Trek reruns. I’ll probably do that until the day I die.

The Cinematic “Old Bag of Tricks”

When it comes to movies, I think the situation has actually gotten worse. Hollywood is still clearly feeling the effects of the COVID lockdowns; I’m honestly amazed the theater experience survived at all.

The big studios seem hell-bent on pouring money into sequels, remakes, and established IPs. They are seeing diminishing returns, yet they refuse to take chances on smaller, more ambitious projects. I’m trying real hard to get excited about Avengers: Doomsday, but hearing that they are bringing back Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans feels like a studio reaching into its “old bag of tricks” because they’re afraid to move forward.

Even with the Star Wars universe—which I’ve always felt works best as a movie franchise—I’m feeling the fatigue. I loved The Mandalorian on Disney+, but seeing the trailer for the feature-length film The Mandalorian and Grogu left me cold. For the first time, a Star Wars ad felt like “just another movie” that happens to star familiar characters. I am profoundly disappointed in how much I don’t care about it coming out this summer.

The Depth of the Small Screen

The truth is, I just don’t have my finger on the pulse of popular culture like I used to. I never watched more than the first season of Stranger Things (I’m not big into the horror genre), and I couldn’t keep the seven houses of Game of Thrones straight after seven episodes.

But I recognize why they work. Television—whether network, cable, or streaming—is currently producing a product that is far superior to what we see in theaters. A TV series has more airtime. There is more opportunity for story arcs and character development that a 90-minute or three-hour runtime just doesn’t provide.

The Verdict

The fact of the matter is, Star Trek works best as a television series because it needs that room to breathe. Conversely, while Star Wars usually thrives on the big screen, most of the Disney+ efforts have been lackluster—with the rare exception of Andor, which was likely a bit too “high concept” for the average fan but hit the mark for me.

At this stage of my life, I’ll take the slow burn of a well-developed TV season over a bloated, predictable blockbuster any day.

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like 👍, comment, and subscribe below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media and check out my recent posts!

AI art created with Google Gemini

The article “Why the Small Screen is Winning” first appeared in Rebuilding Rob.