Saturday, July 21, 2012

What television shows are you breaking up with?


Last year was hard on a couple groups of television fans and – if Internet chatter is to be believed – those fans just aren’t going to take it anymore.

I should probably point out that I don’t believe 50 percent of those individuals that  go on websites and say they’ll quit watching a show if (insert whatever horror you want here) happens. Guess what? If that were really true no show would make it past one season.

I have broken up with television shows before – I’m just not sure how many of those breakups were actually outrage driven.

I broke up with ‘Smallville’ after the third season – mostly because I couldn’t stand to watch the Lana Lang character anymore. The thing is, when she left the show, I didn’t come back. I tuned in a couple of times throughout the years just to see where the show was – but it was never good enough to woo me back.

This past year I broke up with the BBC’s ‘Being Human’ – but that wasn’t because the show did anything to tick me off. In fact, the season finale was brilliant. I just was ready to let the show go.

When I think hard, I can’t remember a show that I broke up with out of outrage. I’m sure there has to be one, but for the life of me I can’t think of one right now.

I mean, I walked away from ‘The X-Files’ after season seven. It wasn’t because I was mad, though, I was just bored with the show and I didn’t care to watch anymore.

I think the closest one would be NBC’s ‘Heroes.’  I walked away after the third season, when the show had completely burned its mythology and people were still making excuses for it. I guess that counts.

This year, though, three shows are getting the brunt of fan anger.

The first – and most visible – is ABC’s ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’

Fans of that show are up-in-arms about the death of Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh) in the finale. It actually surprises me. I didn’t realize Lexie was that popular of a character. In fact, I remember when she joined the show and fans hated her.

Anyway, if you look at the ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ message boards people are swearing they’re going to quit the show because Lexie and Mark didn’t get their happy ending. I’ll be curious to see the ratings when the show returns.
For my part, I lost interest in ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ when I lost Izzie and George. It wasn’t outrage, though, I just wasn’t interested in all the newbies.

I do tune in from time to time – including the season finale – and I have to say the show lost its spark a long time before Lexie was killed off. That being said, I’ll tune into the season premiere because I’m interested in how the doctors will be rescued. I certainly won’t watch every episode this season, though.

The second show fans are complaining about is ‘Criminal Minds.’

The CBS procedural has had a lot of ups and downs since its inception. Lola Glaudini was out early in the second season. Mandy Patinkin was out after the second season. Then A.J. Cook and Paget Brewster were ousted in the same season – only to have both actresses brought back thanks to fan outrage.

Now Brewster is out again (her choice) and fans just can’t believe it.

I can’t muster up the energy to care. I never cared for Brewster’s Emily Prentiss. She was always my least favorite member of the team, frankly.

As it stands, I think that Morgan, Reid and Garcia are everyone’s favorite characters anyway. This faux outrage about Brewster befuddles me. I was actually excited to see that Jeanne Tripplehorn would be joining the cast.

That’s just me, though.

Finally, there’s ‘Gossip Girl.’

There is a small – but very, very vocal – minority of fans that are just frothing at the mouth because Dan and Blair broke up on ‘Gossip Girl.’

This one makes me laugh more than anything else.

Anyone that actually thought Dan and Blair had a chance to end up together obviously haven’t watched the show.

Since this is the final season of ‘Gossip Girl,’ the writers obviously don’t care what fans have to say. It’s not going to have any impact on the outcome of the story as it is.

I think, if fans are really honest with themselves, they would admit there was never a chance that Blair and Chuck wouldn’t end up together. Also, I think the same can be sad for Dan and Serena – although I can’t muster the energy to care about them either.

This is another show where I’ll be curious to see the ratings – because I honestly don’t think they’re going to fall that far.

What do you think? Are you breaking up with any shows this season?

5 Comments:

Blogger miglet said...

I want to break up with "Glee", but I fear that my self-control will fail me in this regard. Especially because I have fallen so deeply in love with "The Glee Project".

I am breaking up with "Criminal Minds" because I was already losing interest the past two seasons, I am not a fan of Jeanne Tripplehorn (at all, I stopped watching "Big Love" because I couldn't take her any longer), and I was only hanging around for Paget Brewster. Also, the season finale with the wedding and the dancing was idiotic to me. I realize I am alone in that though.

Finally, I broke up with HIMYM directly after the episode where Barney & Robin break up and haven't returned since. I knew then that the writers had no endgame in place. They were just spinning plates keeping each season going. I'm not down with that kind of time-wasting.

July 22, 2012 at 1:30 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

You still don’t get it… Once again your bias has overclouded your judgment when it comes to Gossip Girl. Your comments regarding Dan and Blair come off as incredibly immature. I know nothing about the show just because I’m not a fan of Chuck and Blair’s relationship? That’s absolutely ridiculous. Clearly you haven't been paying much attention to Gossip Girl as Dan and Blair had what it took to be endgame.

Dan and Blair shared an intense emotional connection that left an impact on both characters. Through their interactions they came to realize that their past longer defined who they were. Blair helped Dan realize that he constantly put his former love (Serena) before his own interests, leading him to revisit his craft in literature. Meanwhile, Dan helped Blair realize that she was worthy of happiness despite her previous faults. Their bond allowed both characters to grow, something we haven't seen with the other core relationships of the show.

On top of that, Dan and Blair had an opportunity to reflect upon their common interests together as well as express their own personal feelings. And let's not forget about the pivotal moments they shared together... The movie night, The vows, the wedding aftermath, the Met steps, etc.

Reuniting Chuck/Blair and Dan/Serena simply emphasizes the fact that the show promotes regression instead of progression. Both couples were fixated on this enduring back and forth game that has taken place for nearly 5 years. These characters are supposed to have evolved from when we first met them, but the writers insist on keeping them the same. Really, what are the chances of you being with the person you were with in high school? Just because you have history with someone it means you're destined to be with them? The Gossip Girl writers are incompetent. No one can take them seriously...

July 23, 2012 at 2:12 AM 
Blogger krazyrabbit said...

I said "bye-bye" to Bones this year. The ridiculous plots and out of character behavior turned me off a while back but I stayed with it because I really enjoy the acting team. What a waste.

July 23, 2012 at 9:16 PM 
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Let me tell you what's the difference between me as a DB fan and majority of the CB fans. I'm not so much upset about the fact that Dan/Blair broke up as I am about how it does absolutely NOTHING to further Blair's development. For three years she's made it no secret that her relationship with Chuck was damaging to her self-esteem, reputation, integrity and happiness.

Not only did she have a relationship that was so much better than the abusive and destructive relationship that she had with Chuck but it also came from an honest friendship. There was no games or lies between them. What is she going to get back with Chuck for? So that he can sell her to his rapist uncle again? And the terrible part is that the hotel isn't just one way that Blair got screwed in her relationship with Chuck. He has made her into a miserable person. Period. They're nothing but a glorified abusive relationship.

By having Blair practically get on hand and knee for Chuck, they've RUINED her character for me. Not only is she breaking a good relationship (and an amazing friendship) for an absolute terrible one but we're right back at where we've been with Chuck and Blair (as individuals and otherwise) since season 2. Thank god this is the final season of GG because there's absolutely no way that any person with a semblance of a brain could deal with the tedious, inconsistent writing of this show for much longer.

July 24, 2012 at 1:31 AM 
Blogger Maryanne MacLeod said...

I "broke up" with Bones, too. Great talent, great to decent story arcs in the first three to four seasons, after that it was all downhill. Too many inconsistencies, manipulative story lines and fickle plot twists.

also "broke up" with "Heroes" after or during season II for the same reasons.

July 24, 2012 at 10:12 AM 

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