Superwholocked

     With the array of television sources available to nearly everyone in the world, it is no surprise that there are literally hundreds upon thousands of TV shows for those of us with the attention span of a spoon to choose from.  Having viewed a majority of the shows people love to rant and rave about on a weekly basis as I have managed to finagle my way into having access to nearly every channel and streaming site I can safely say that most of these programs are good, and are, at the worst, decent.  But what makes some television shows a level higher than the others?

     Analyzing three of the most popular shows currently, it is difficult to immediately say.  These three shows: Supernatural, Doctor Who, and Sherlock, all are currently very much in the media spotlight.  Not only that but they continue to hold the media spotlight even while off-season.  However, what makes them similar and so successful.  It could be the attractive British men, if it wasn't for the fact that Supernatural stars Jensen Ackles and Jared Padelecki are both American, as is the entire show.  It could be the fact that the shows follow around handsome young men who are saving the world in each and every episode, except that Benedict Cumberbatch is 37 and Martin Freeman is 42.  It could be the supernatural and sci-fi elements, except Sherlock is a crime drama that takes place in central London and the only thing Supernatural is that they manage to catch a cab so quickly.  No, what the three shows have in common is the extreme dedication of their fans.

       While most shows have a small sect of die-hard fans who are committed to that show to the point of unhealthy obsession, Supernatural, Doctor Who, and Sherlock have a unique ability.  They will draw in every viewer who watches more than ten minutes of an episode to forever be one of their hypnotized fans, who will watch the show religiously every Tuesday at nine p.m. with wide eyes, noting the slight changes in the length of JarPad's hair, and praying to all of the Angels and the King of Hell that Kevin will be okay.  While some may claim that this ability to fascinate nearly every viewer who makes the mistake of trying out the BBC is the strapping lads who spring across London, either Victorian or modern day, I would say that is calling us quite facetious, especially when we are so facetious already.

     The success of these shows is due to their absolutely brilliant writing, and the way their plots have intertwined so well not only throughout episodes but throughout seasons.  For instance, take the first episode of the BBC's Sherlock, in which before the cabbie is point a (fake) gun at Sherlock and asks "are you sure you don't want to phone a friend?"  While at the time his simply seemed like a cryptic question to ask before shooting someone, after seeing the later seasons, the well trained viewer has realized this was actually a brilliant bit of foreshadowing to the last scene in the last episode of the second season of Sherlock, in which Sherlock commits suicide, and phones a friend to say goodbye before jumping.  That's just one of the bigger and more noticeable moments, Sherlock is full of little nods that point towards things that will happen later.  In Supernatural the two main characters travel with a book full of their dad's information that help's guide them, and the story is lead through flashbacks which lead the story on.  The plots that are introduced early on carry into much later seasons and basic principles enter early and are never mentioned again as they are assumed known.  Doctor Who is an entire show based on a timeline created in the 1960's about the future and the past but where the time was manipulated, so the plot had to be intertwined well as the chronological timeline of the plot was nonexistent.

The difference between these shows and other shows is that these constantly have unanswered questions, there are always a thousand loose ends just hanging there waiting to be tied up, and when you get an answer to one, then there are three more questions that need to be answered.  These are what keep bringing people back, the plot and stories and the questions.