Written by Tristan Lueck
When you read a book you love, you don’t just stop randomly in the middle and never pick it up again. If you did, then the fate of those characters and the story they are all a part of would forever be in the air. What if the main character dies? What if the villain is the winner? What if who you think is the villain is actually the best character of them all? If you put the book down, you will never know. The story will never be over, but it will also never be resolved. If you wouldn’t do that to a book, then why does it happen to TV shows?
All the major networks are announcing their new shows and—to make room for those new shows—all the ones they are cancelling. Shows that don’t receive a proper ending aren’t just cut to make way for new ones. Sometimes there is bad publicity or low ratings or, as the CW has stated about canceling its high-rated new show “The Tomorrow People,”it just isn’t expanding in the fanbase like it needs to. All of these excuses still generate an outcry from the fans.
Sometimes this outcry is big enough to spur action within the network. Fans were so upset by the canceling of “Firefly” that Fox decided to part with the rights of the show and let the movie “Serenity” air just to wrap everything up. It was the fans’ response that made season four of “Arrested Development” possible for Netflix. This has happened to only a few shows, despite the countless online petitions that seem to be circling the Internet.
It isn’t realistic to believe every show is going to get that extra season or movie. Television costs a lot money; “Game of Thrones” costs an average of $6 million an episode. Networks will not fund a show that doesn’t make a profit and they will certainly not turn it into a movie just to appease some fans. But that isn’t something they have to do for every TV show they cancel.
In 2000, a series called “Dark Angel” aired on Fox. The show followed a transgenic human living in post-apocalyptic Seattle. The show aired for two seasons before being canceled. Many storylines were left without answers and many viewers were outraged. In the DVD commentary for the series finale, the producer and co-creator revealed what they had planned for the ending of the series. A few books were released, but DVD commentary was all fans needed to stop thirsting for blood.
A few books and a brief extended summary and everyone was happy. If every show that was canceled came with a simple explanation as to what was going to happen next, then the fans would be appeased. They may not all be satisfied, but at least they would know. Not all shows can have ten seasons and a movie.
