I just was looking at the link Prof Stokes listed; um, since I'm just randoming 'poppin in VHS tapes', I have 2 cents that I'm going to throw out....
Watching older eps...what strikes me is the blend of 'regular' characters with the 'supernatural'.
Think Dr. Guthrie, Sam Evans and Joe, simultaneously linked with Josette, Laura and yes, even Vicki (cause she's the one who seems to draw everything out).
While watching, I'm starting to realize that TPTB started to 'cram' too much only supernatural with no 'normal' blend.
Think 1897 (my favorite, especially the first half). You had your wolfman, your Phoenix, your gypsies, your DEAD gypsie tribunal, your possession(S), your detached hand, your IChing time travel so your vampire.......etc. etc....all within what...6 months?
The earlier eps had a very taut balance; it was easier on the senses.
I also feel that way about X-Files.
I hope they taper it down; it's a shame they're supposedly starting with the obvious, instead of weaving a tapestry.
I agree with this, though, like almost everyone, I anticipate more of the "same old", just slicked up in modern dress, hairstyles, a little more PC, and better CG effects.
IMHO, it makes for better suspense if, like early X-F, there is a REAL question as to whether a "mysterious" event is truly supernatural, the result of "alien" handiwork, the extraordinary machinations of a sinister HUMAN,
OR simply an as-yet-inexplicable phenomenon of the natural world (stretched to the limits, of course.) If, sometimes, it IS determined to be the last circumstance, this could be made exciting in the hands of the right writers.
One could even think up a "Touched By an Angel" type of storyline, where a GOOD influence tries to alleviate or ameliorate some of the ongoing evil at C'wood with success (OK, temporary success-- the show must go on), WITHOUT the sometimes-cloying simplicity and overt religiosity of TBaA. A hypocritical, nasty, sleazy Trask is, no doubt, a lot of fun, and seeing his/her comeuppance is very satisfying, but how about a Trask descendant who gives his/her life, perhaps in retribution for the travails the earlier ancestors wrought?
And even current events and recent history could be touched on, if lightly.
X-F did a good story related to Vietnam veterans--- about sleepless soldiers who received some kind of treatment to stay awake so they could fight ---and occasionally perform atrocities--- all of which haunted the survivors.
Or stories that spotlighted old wrongs, like the slave trade (the subject of the one of the better old DS novels) or conflicts with Native Americans. Even some kind of semi-supernatural conspiracy with moral implications, and specially-gifted mortals, a'la Millennium, might fit in somewhere. But, like I said, this would have to be a picky-choosy kind of thing.
I put this stuff in my own fan-fic, I like reading it in others--- I can't be the only one who appreciates this angle. I think the ONLY thing I wouldn't like in DS is that X-F standard, the aliens, but I'm flexible.
Oh, and that brings me to another thing. None of this dragging out certain story arcs for years. I want to know who Vicki's real mom is, within the first season or two. I want to know who her Daddy is, within the following season. And, if Mom IS Elizabeth, then the Pop better be somebody REALLY interesting.
(Somehow, I like the idea of Vicki's being conceived during Liz's late 1960's hippy aberration, maybe while stoned and watching some old gothic/horror/suspense soap opera that was all the rage back then, with one of the subdemons who used that show to ensnare our souls, but I'm weird that way.)
Something like the short plot arcs, like the tele-novelllas, should be practiced. Knock off one or two major plotlines every season, then move on. Only one
"Turn of the Screw" redux every OTHER year !!!
Yes, bring on the witches, vampires, zombies, werewolves, ghosts, phoenices, etc. but sparingly....
L.
