Tag Archives: Pluribus

6-Episode Problem: In which I am forced to wish for longer TV seasons

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I grew up in the 1960s and `1970s – ha! I bet you thought I was a youngster, huh? – and TV was a huge part of our lives. Obviously. This was during a period when weekly episodic TV series had long seasons of many episodes, certainly by today’s standards.

I mean, “Star Trek” had 79 episodes over only three seasons (and some of those episodes were outright losers that I’m sure somebody is nostalgic about now) and “Trek” looked like a piker compared to many TV series: “Gunsmoke,” which ran for 20 seasons, aired 39 episodes in each of its first few seasons, although those were admittedly half-hour episodes. Yesterday I noticed that “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” also had 39 episodes some seasons.

That reinforcing of the idea that vintage TV series aired a boatload of episodes back in the day compares and contrasts to today, when it’s a shock when any new series runs more than 10 or 12 episodes per season. The excellent “The Pitt” is the exception with 15 episodes per season. (“The Pitt” is also the exception compared to many current series in that the seasons air only a year or less apart.)

Enter “3 Body Problem,” the terrifically entertaining Netflix adaptation of the science fiction bestseller (and Chinese TV adaptation). Yesterday news broke that the second season of the series would consist of only six episodes compared to eight from the first season. Forbes wrote that the third season is supposed to be even shorter. This as people note that author Cixin Liu’s three novels get longer with each book.

Oh, and also, it’s been two years since the first season.

Add to that the apparent circumstance that there’s no telling when the second season of the great series “Pluribus” will be produced or seen.

I don’t necessarily want to return to the days of 39 or even 22 episodes, the latter still a common number among some network series.

But I wouldn’t mind if other series followed the schedule of “The Pitt” and gave us a few more episodes in a slightly more timely manner.

2025 entertainment to remember

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Who doesn’t love a good year-in-review? Well, plenty of people. But here’s one anyway.

2025 was a shitshow for a lot of people, and I hope 2026 is an improvement. For me, 2025 was the year I self-published my 1984-set high school crime novel THAT OCTOBER, saw a bunch of short fiction and pop culture pieces published and joined with some friends in Constellate Creatives, where we’ll offer help to writers in the form of editing, publishing and marketing.

But like Milhouse from “The Simpsons,” you might be asking, “When are they going to get to the fireworks factory?” Or in this case, when is he gonna talk about something fun, like pop culture? Movies, TV shows, books.

I won’t try to tackle books here and I’ll note that some of my favorite books I read in 2025 haven’t been published yet. So that’ll wait.

In the meantime:

MOVIES: I don’t see a ton of movies in theaters. I catch a lot of movies on streaming services. So far this year, probably my favorite and best movie I saw, first in theaters and then on streaming, was SINNERS, Ryan Coogler’s story of race and vampires in Depression-era Mississippi. Just an absorbing, exemplary film and one that proves Hollywood can reach moviegoers/viewers with something daring and origiinal.

I think SUPERMAN should carry that definition too. Yes, we’ve seen sooo many takes on the classic superhero by now. But James Gunn’s SUPERMAN gave us one of the best, most original and fully-fleshed-out comic book worlds ever.

On the Marvel side, I really enjoyed CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD, THUNDERBOLTS* and FANTASTIC FOUR. The latter seemed really safe and un-ambitious but was the best-by-far adaptation of my favorite comic book heroes ever.

Among streaming series, I think PLURIBUS was the best I saw, maybe tied with THE PITT. The two series couldn’t be more different, but PLURIBUS was thoughtful and funny and THE PITT was like a shot of adrenalin.

IT: WELCOME TO DERRY was also outstanding, I thought, with some of the best scares and characters and most authentic Stephen King atmosphere of any screen translation and expansion in years.

PARADISE was a good end-of-the-world contrast to PLURIBUS. BALLARD was a very good continuation of BOSCH. LONG BRIGHT RIVER was also quite good, moody and solemn and endearing. MURDERBOT was brutally funny. TASK was somber and intense. THE HUNTING WIVES was looney fun. THE BETTER SISTER was grim and affecting.

I wanted more of most of these series but admit I felt a little cheated of a proper conclusion when they ended with another season clearly in mind (or hoped for). I really want more DERRY and PLURIBUS and don’t mind feeling used and teased.