small stakes

I've been thinking about big stakes vs. small stakes in TV, film, or books. I can't say that I always prefer small stakes. There are some really big stakes shows and books that I love. But I like small stakes sometimes. I like for the whole universe not to be ending, for the only thing that matters is for one person to get what he/she is trying to get for the future, to fall in love, not even to be rich but to have enough for one more day.

Why does it bother me if there are big stakes?

Well, does it have to be about the end of the universe every time?
Sometimes I just get exhausted caring about the end of the universe as a consumer.
Sometimes it stretches the imagination to believe that every time this character steps out into the world, he/she has to save the universe. Like, what would happen if he/she wasn't always there? And what kind of curse is it to have to save the universe all the time?
What about real life? What about the kind of life that I have? Isn't that important, too?
A big stakes story tends to gloss over the little people and I like the little people.
There are too many stories to be told in a big stakes world. I like a single viewpoint.

What are the problems with small stakes?

Well, sometimes they are just too small. I put the book down. I don't care what the ending is. Or I can guess what the ending is.
The main characters just are not compelling enough. I don't want to spend that much time with them.
It feels like it has become a literary novel, where no one changes and nothing happens that matters and everyone is going to get divorced in the end and write a novel.
It feels too much like my own world, and I want to get out of my world for a while.

I think I get a little tired of the season ending Dr. Who episodes where it's "end of the world" time. You keep having to raise the stakes and they are already so high, there's no where to go to raise them again. So I like some small episodes like Amy's Choice or Family of Blood or Tooth and Claw or New Earth. Yes, those episodes have the problem that they don't change things a lot, but I like them anyway.

I like small novels, too, sometimes, like Ella Enchanted or Half-Magic or Summers at Castle Auburn or The Thief. They still have stakes, but it doesn't always have to be the end of the whole world. Maybe sometimes just the end of the world the pov character cares about.