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That’s not what he’s hinting at. The point I think he’s trying to get across, and not doing a terribly good job of it, is that we’re voluntarily exposing ourselves to more complex things. Breaking Bad is the most recent flag ship of a story telling trend sometimes called “database television”, where the story is so convoluted with so many characters popping in and popping out, and a complete disregard for the “rule of 3” (tell them what you’re going to show them, show them, tell them what they just saw) that used to dominate TV.

Database TV requires a lot of interaction from the viewer, you’ve got to think, you’ve got to pay attention to small details. An example from BB is that in the 5th season there’s a jump forward in time, they “tell” you this by Walt mentioning that it’s his birthday and he arranges the bacon he orders to form a 52, from remember that he started the series with his wife handing him a plate where the bacon said 50, and recently he had another plate that said 51. No rule of 3, just small scenes scattered across 5 1/2 years of TV and an expectation that the audience will figure it out (either on their own, or from some super fan’s website, where the “database” label comes from).

I don’t know if we’re really getting smarter or if TV executives are getting more trusting. The guys who really pioneered DB TV (JMS of Babylon 5 and David Chase of The Sopranos) talk a lot about how execs would complain they used too much subtle story telling and the audience would be confused and their constant rebuttal line was “the audience is smarter than you think”. But it is interesting to contemplate, especially when you go back and look at the old shows and see just how linear they are. The good ones are still good but they’re so simple and unchallenging to watch.

Breaking Bad is the most recent flag ship of a story telling trend sometimes called “database television”, where the story is so convoluted with so many characters popping in and popping out, and a complete disregard for the “rule of 3” (tell them what you’re going to show them, show them, tell them what they just saw) that used to dominate TV.

What you are describing is suitable for drama. It's what you get in a thick Russian novel. The rule of three, on the other hand, is a good start for a presentation or a training class or an analytic essay.