Ever since I was a child, I’ve been a couch potato. My parents didn’t mind as long as I put an equal amount of my time into reading, which ironically enough, still took place on the couch.
Here’s a mostly harmless admission for you: I blubbered at the age of 9 when Optimus Prime from Transformers was killed. I howled with rage when Tasha Yar got eaten by a big black puddle of goo in Star Trek: The Next Generation. And I can’t even tell you how many tears were shed when Tara died in Willow’s arms on Buffy…not to mention how I felt when Buffy herself died. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve been severely dehydrated due to crying…and that doesn’t even involve crying over the real life stuff.
Though I’m a hardcore television watcher who does get emotionally attached to certain characters, I’m also a writer, so I do understand that to get a story moving, the characters have to undergo traumatic, dramatic, life altering experiences. In other words, it would make for very boring TV if these fictitious individuals were always living happily ever after. Not to mention that I would probably start to hate them. Who likes happy all the time?
In season 6 of Buffy, when Joss Whedon decided to kill off Tara, he did it not because he wanted to piss off lesbians but because it made for a great story. Willow needed to fall off the magic wagon so she could come to terms with the darkness within herself and find the light again. It was a heart wrenching story but one in my not so humble opinion that was well done.
I also supported Rob Tapert’s decision to kill off Xena in the last season. The Warrior Princess felt that by sacrificing herself to save thousands of souls, she would finally be redeemed for all her horrible actions from her past. In her mind, if she had to die to save others, this was perfectly acceptable. That’s what a true hero does in this kind of genre.
And speaking of genres, a lot of people are getting upset about what is happening on All My Children with Reese and Bianca. I’ve been frustrated a few times when it comes to Bianca’s storyline and her past loves but I have to say, I’m happy with what the writers have done this time around. Sure, you can get mad that Reese kissed Zach, was left by Bianca in less than 24 hours after they were married, and is now blind…but it’s a soap opera, I would expect nothing less. All that was missing was Lena or Maggie crashing Bianca’s wedding so they could proclaim their undying love for her.
It’s not that I don’t want these beloved characters to find happiness. However, I think that as viewers, if we want these people to be three dimensional, we need to accept that they need to experience moments of suffering. They might not have the happily ever after ending that we want them to have, but maybe that’s art imitating life. We don’t always get the happy endings we want either…and look how three dimensional we are!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5IIXeR5OUI
Buffy!!!!! Oh I miss that show so much… but even though I have the 7 seasons on DVD i’m to lazy to sit down and watch it all over again.
BTW.. you forgot to mention when they decided to kill off Dana on the L word… that was stupid and sooo wrong.. but they kept Max around? W-T-F?