A very interesting intersection of two types of media took place on July 31, 2015. America had two high profile releases: “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” and “Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp,” a film and a television show, respectively.

The interesting thing about these properties is that while “M:I – Rogue Nation” is a film based off of a television show, “WHAS: First Day of Camp” is a television show based off of a film. The timing of these releases, and the meat of the material itself, is very representative of American consumption of content in 2015.

One difference between “Rogue Nation” and “First Day of Camp” is each of their structures. With “M:I,” we have a film we pay to see in theaters, but ultimately it is just an episode in the larger “Mission: Impossible” franchise. You can only watch one “Mission: Impossible” film at a time, and only when combined do they make up the larger story of the whole franchise.

With “First Day of Camp,” however, we have eight episodes that can be watched separately, but are presented as a miniseries that adds up to one self-contained story. When viewing this series on Netflix with episode auto-play, we can sit back and watch the whole show in one sitting without moving a finger.

Essentially, “First Day of Camp” is a four-hour movie that is broken up over eight, 30-minute chunks, while “Rogue Nation” is a two-hour long episode of a series. Though “Rogue Nation” is considered a movie and “First Day of Camp” is considered a television show, in their characteristics, they really embody the formats of which their source materials originally appeared.

This past weekend’s releases not only show the ambiguity of our classifications of media though, they also show our tastes and preferences. If these properties remind us of anything, it is that we truly do love the familiar. Watching a new, groundbreaking film or television series is always exciting, but those usually start small and then expand into the mainstream. Look at the original numbers for “Breaking Bad” versus “Better Call Saul.” The premiere of “Breaking Bad” garnered under a million viewers, as audiences did not know what to expect, but as the series was recognized as being quality, viewership grew and the finale amassed over 10 million viewers. Then, spinoff “Better Call Saul” premiered to record-breaking numbers because viewers knew what to expect, and expected quality.

With “Rogue Nation,” we get more of the same of the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, but that is in no way a bad thing. If a ticket costs over $10, we can rest assured that money will go a long way and we will see Tom Cruise performing death-defying stunts with that classic theme song. It is a film that will attract younger audiences for the groundbreaking action and older audiences who grew up with the television series.

“First Day of Camp” only exists today, really, because of the time the original film “Wet Hot American Summer” took to become familiar. When the film was first released, critics were harsh and audiences never really showed up. Over the years, though, it built a cult following, and only now did the creators feel truly comfortable returning to the material, knowing people would watch. Additionally, the series features a huge amount of familiar faces, from Bradley Cooper to Amy Poehler, which reassures audiences that when they watch, there will be someone there they feel like they know.

In 2015, there is no real difference between film and television. Call them entries, call them intellectual property, call them franchises; it doesn’t matter. Audiences just want quality. Sometimes it’s hard to tell when quality will be present, so audiences look to the familiar to know they will enjoy what they are consuming. In these days of binge-watching, a Netflix subscription does not just cost $8.99, but also your time, and ultimately, time is money. The familiar is why we will get “Fuller House” on Netflix, and an “Entourage” movie. What will we call these things? It doesn’t matter. They just need to be good.

Published on August 5, 2015 at 3:19 pm