Depends a lot on the story complexity and pacing. The fact that a lot of adaptations are done poorly because they end up being someone else’s story with only the veneer of the source material for name recognition, and that is true for both movies and tv/streaming series.
A fast paced novel like Hunt for Red October that is constantly moving the plot forward would feel stretched thin as a multi hour series. Thrillers often fall into the category, and so do short novels like Lord of the Flies. Even a series of books of these types this tend to be better as movies.
A slower paced book or book series is far better as a series, although fantasy often suffers from a lack of budget or falling into the TV adaption issues of adding content that doesn’t really fit the source material to fill time. Not to mention a successful series can have be renewed and end up being a detriment to the source material after the source material runs out.
Overall the run time should match the source material pacing and content if it is a direct adaptation, and both formats introduce issues when that doesn’t line up with common video lengths. I really like it when streaming series have different length episodes so that they can be the length needed to tell that part of the story!
I really like it when streaming series have different length episodes so that they can be the length needed to tell that part of the story!
I agree wholeheartedly and I think it’s something tv producers are afraid to do or think people don’t like it. Maybe it’s just a relic from cable TV with set time slots. But no, you don’t need to make that transition 30 seconds longer or add 2 minutes of scenery in between every shot just to stretch it to whatever minute-mark you’re trying to accomplish. Same thing with cutting or rushing things; if I’m 4 seasons into your show, I like it enough to set aside an extra 15 minutes of my time to watch an episode that is properly paced and fleshed out, vs two that you chopped into awkward, rushed, flat 30 minute chunks.
Stories are not uniform! Our story telling mediums shouldn’t be either. Can you imagine if James Cameron tried making Lord of the Rings in 90 minute segments?
Depends a lot on the story complexity and pacing. The fact that a lot of adaptations are done poorly because they end up being someone else’s story with only the veneer of the source material for name recognition, and that is true for both movies and tv/streaming series.
A fast paced novel like Hunt for Red October that is constantly moving the plot forward would feel stretched thin as a multi hour series. Thrillers often fall into the category, and so do short novels like Lord of the Flies. Even a series of books of these types this tend to be better as movies.
A slower paced book or book series is far better as a series, although fantasy often suffers from a lack of budget or falling into the TV adaption issues of adding content that doesn’t really fit the source material to fill time. Not to mention a successful series can have be renewed and end up being a detriment to the source material after the source material runs out.
Overall the run time should match the source material pacing and content if it is a direct adaptation, and both formats introduce issues when that doesn’t line up with common video lengths. I really like it when streaming series have different length episodes so that they can be the length needed to tell that part of the story!
I agree wholeheartedly and I think it’s something tv producers are afraid to do or think people don’t like it. Maybe it’s just a relic from cable TV with set time slots. But no, you don’t need to make that transition 30 seconds longer or add 2 minutes of scenery in between every shot just to stretch it to whatever minute-mark you’re trying to accomplish. Same thing with cutting or rushing things; if I’m 4 seasons into your show, I like it enough to set aside an extra 15 minutes of my time to watch an episode that is properly paced and fleshed out, vs two that you chopped into awkward, rushed, flat 30 minute chunks.
Stories are not uniform! Our story telling mediums shouldn’t be either. Can you imagine if James Cameron tried making Lord of the Rings in 90 minute segments?