USA Network Forums > MSN TV article

brattytxn

May 27 2008, 04:10 PM

Although it doesn't mention DZ, I couldn't help but read this article....

http://tv.msn.com/tv/worst-finales-ever?GT1=7703

QUOTE

THE CLIFF HANGER
If you're going to wrap it up, just go ahead and wrap it up. Cliff-hangers work fine for season-enders -- they've kept viewers glued to "Lost" for four years despite a plot with more holes than the hull of Oceanic 815 -- but they make for terribly frustrating finales

QUOTE

THE TWISTER
We know you think you're being clever, Mr. and Ms. Grumpy Underpaid Television Script Writer, but sometimes the best way to say goodbye is to just blurt it out. You don't need to blow our minds by pulling a perplexing plot twist out of your keyboard. Trust us: Finding out that six seasons of a touching, dependable medical drama were really just the random neuron firings of an autistic kid staring blankly into a snow globe doesn't make us like your show more.

QUOTE

THE WHOOPSIE-DAISY
Life as a hit show is, at best, unpredictable. One season it's Emmy nominations and Nielsen-rating supremacy, the next it's disgruntled stars and six time-slot shifts. The fickle winds of network change can change direction in a heartbeat. Producers would be wise to embrace the trite Boy Scout motto: Be prepared for anything, including the off chance your ace in the hole ain't getting renewed.

QUOTE

THE GOING NOWHERE
So you've leapt over the cliff-hanger, unraveled the twister and outworked the whoopsie daisy, but you're not out of the woods yet. A great finale brings closure to a series, leaving its fans full with the knowledge that, truly, there was no story left to tell. Anything short of that feels like a just another episode, forever miring the show in neutral.

Do any of these sound like a good reason to give us a proper ending to DZ, Mr. USA Network Exec?!!!!!!

And at the end of the article it said:

"What TV series finale did you find frustrating? Write to us at heymsn@microsoft.com."

Tempted anyone?!!

Bubba_Bridges

Jun 1 2008, 09:34 PM

Hi Bubba here, ...

QUOTE

And at the end of the article it said:

"What TV series finale did you find frustrating? Write to us at heymsn@microsoft.com."

Tempted anyone?!!

I know what you mean Bratty.

I still can't believe they cancelled TDZ. Thanks for the article.

aTwistofReality

Jun 2 2008, 04:31 PM

Hi Bratty,

There are a couple of shows I could write about and both are on USA. You know how frustrated I am! Geez, when will the networks get it together?

Sorry for venting, I am just not happy that something I look forward to has ended.

Ruralstar

Jun 3 2008, 01:35 PM

QUOTE (brattytxn @ May 27 2008, 04:10 PM)

Although it doesn't mention DZ, I couldn't help but read this article....

http://tv.msn.com/tv/worst-finales-ever?GT1=7703

Do any of these sound like a good reason to give us a proper ending to DZ, Mr. USA Network Exec?!!!!!!

And at the end of the article it said:

"What TV series finale did you find frustrating? Write to us at heymsn@microsoft.com."

Tempted anyone?!!

Sadly the non-ending has happened again only recently with shows that looked like they had promise for renewal. I am at a loss to understand why the H*** shows like Knight Rider get a shot but quality like DZ, Journeyman or New Amsterdam are axed. There is no logic involved at all. Only greed and a need for the absurd. Thanks for the article, Bratty.

Bronson

Jun 4 2008, 07:12 PM

Actually I put more blame on the producers. If you listen to the audie commentary on the finale. They KNEW there was a shot USA network wasn't gonna pick them up when they were writing the episode.

So they wrote it as a possible finale. But what did they wrap up? Ok we can assume Johnny and Sarah will get back together, but what about Armageddon?

And they say something like not everything always gets wrapped up its good to leave things open and as long as Johnny, Sarah and JJ are together everything is fine.

Well no everything isn't fine. Future Johnny didn't look very happy.

So USA network does get some of the blame, but the producers knew there was a good shot they weren't gonna be back. Armageddon was simply a hook to try and get USA to pick them up for another season.

Ruralstar

Jun 5 2008, 02:25 PM

QUOTE (Bronson @ Jun 4 2008, 07:12 PM)

Actually I put more blame on the producers. If you listen to the audie commentary on the finale. They KNEW there was a shot USA network wasn't gonna pick them up when they were writing the episode.

So they wrote it as a possible finale. But what did they wrap up? Ok we can assume Johnny and Sarah will get back together, but what about Armageddon?

And they say something like not everything always gets wrapped up its good to leave things open and as long as Johnny, Sarah and JJ are together everything is fine.

Well no everything isn't fine. Future Johnny didn't look very happy.

So USA network does get some of the blame, but the producers knew there was a good shot they weren't gonna be back. Armageddon was simply a hook to try and get USA to pick them up for another season.

And not a very prominent hook at that.

I agree that Sheppard, Piller et al should have been more conscious of the mythos they created/nurtured and written a proper conclusion. I'm not completely disappointed with Denouement but I would have certainly watched-and purchased-a final movie to tie up the threads. Besides, it's a completely inaccurate assumption on the part of tptb to assume that all fans want John and Sarah reunited after the emotional wringer she put him through over the course of the season. I sure as hell didn't.

miranzemlja

Jun 8 2008, 12:34 PM

QUOTE (Ruralstar @ Jun 5 2008, 02:25 PM)

Besides, it's a completely inaccurate assumption on the part of tptb to assume that all fans want John and Sarah reunited after the emotional wringer she put him through over the course of the season. I sure as hell didn't.

Ug. Seriously. I haven't seen any of last season's episodes since they aired last summer, but didn't he leave because of something Sara said? I remember wanting to scream at her more than once. I never really liked the way she treated him from the first season on, but it got much worse when she was "free" to actually make him think things were going to be the way they were supposed to be before his accident.

brattytxn

Jun 8 2008, 02:03 PM

QUOTE (miranzemlja @ Jun 8 2008, 12:34 PM)

Ug. Seriously. I haven't seen any of last season's episodes since they aired last summer, but didn't he leave because of something Sara said? I remember wanting to scream at her more than once. I never really liked the way she treated him from the first season on, but it got much worse when she was "free" to actually make him think things were going to be the way they were supposed to be before his accident.

So as to not spoil those who like listening to the episode commentaries, I'll post this comment under spoiler tags:

Spoiler:

As soon as I got the season 6 DVDs I went straight to the finale commentary. I had to know if they really planned such a thing as letting Sarah and Johnny getting back together so simply. Unfortunately, it seems so. They wanted to leave them in a "good place".

Also, the Exec. Producers said that Stillson had been in love with Sarah.

I could've felt okay with most of this if the last season was scripted differently. We had always known that Sarah was involved with the outcome of Armageddon, but the last season (or potential of it) should have been addressed more in showing something a bit more complicated, possibly even Walt's death in the future but not so soon. It could've set up the question of John seeing the future of what he could have (with stopping Armageddon and having Sarah) vs. letting Walt die. It was sort of like that now, but with a more or less too simplistic plot.

Armageddon and the Johnny/Sarah relationship could've been pivotal in a more compelling way than it was. Instead it was weird, with only few moments of compelling drama. If they would have had the same type of plotting such as the ending had, it would've been awesome. They needed more time to build to the finale with subtlety, instead of beating us on the head with "Johnny loves Sarah".

Couldn't they have involved the element of "Netherworld"? For example the story arc on this side of season 3-4 could have been "the road to hell/the abyss". It could illustrate what Johnny was saying in episode "Netherworld" about taking back what he wanted and wonder if he could still be really happy. Also, that episode showed that living that "ideal" life with Sarah enabled John to find out what was really going to happen so that he could "take back" what he needed in order to wake himself out of this dream with a life with Sarah and move on to save himself, his friends, and change the world.

It was once said on the forum that Sarah could have been the "Armageddon machine" which was in that she was involved with both Stillson and Johnny. I just can't help hearing Bruce's words to John in "Speak Now" where he said that if John wasn't over Sarah by now, he should be because Sarah passed up two opportunities to be with John. Make it 3 now if you count Stillson. Look what it took to get her attention!

Ruralstar

Jun 10 2008, 12:45 PM

QUOTE (miranzemlja @ Jun 8 2008, 12:34 PM)

Ug. Seriously. I haven't seen any of last season's episodes since they aired last summer, but didn't he leave because of something Sara said? I remember wanting to scream at her more than once. I never really liked the way she treated him from the first season on, but it got much worse when she was "free" to actually make him think things were going to be the way they were supposed to be before his accident.

It's all well and good to leave characters in a 'good place' but the rule almost any fantasy/scifi writer will tell you is 'be true to the world that you create'. I could have seen a possible Sarah/John reunion if the season had been longer and the relationship handled more realistically. You can easily pull out any paranormal elements of DZ and get down to the core of what tore John and Sarah apart originally: an accident. The same thing could ultimately reunite them but not in the haphazzard way followed throughout season six. I've never been a Sarah fan but I could not buy that she would be that unreasonable even in the face of Walt's untiimely death. I don't think she was that unreasonable when faced with John's 'irreversable' coma. I don't think tptb made a terrible choice in trying to return to the 'core' as referenced in the "Heritage" commentary. A return that resulted in the death of a beloved character isn't necessarily a bad thing. They did not make a plausible case for a John/Sarah reunion however. They needed more time and sadly they'll never properly resolve John/Sarah or Armageddon.

brattytxn

Jun 10 2008, 04:43 PM

QUOTE (Ruralstar @ Jun 10 2008, 12:45 PM)

It's all well and good to leave characters in a 'good place' but the rule almost any fantasy/scifi writer will tell you is 'be true to the world that you create'. I could have seen a possible Sarah/John reunion if the season had been longer and the relationship handled more realistically. You can easily pull out any paranormal elements of DZ and get down to the core of what tore John and Sarah apart originally: an accident. The same thing could ultimately reunite them but not in the haphazzard way followed throughout season six. I've never been a Sarah fan but I could not buy that she would be that unreasonable even in the face of Walt's untiimely death. I don't think she was that unreasonable when faced with John's 'irreversable' coma. I don't think tptb made a terrible choice in trying to return to the 'core' as referenced in the "Heritage" commentary. A return that resulted in the death of a beloved character isn't necessarily a bad thing. They did not make a plausible case for a John/Sarah reunion however. They needed more time and sadly they'll never properly resolve John/Sarah or Armageddon.

They could have possibly pulled a parallel too from the Herb, Gene, and Vera triangle such as why Veranever married Gene despite his persistance in proposing. Did Vera feel that Gene had pressed the situation to his own advantage? I mean, Gene had always said that it was Herb who didn't want John or Vera to seem him like he was. This sort of implied that Herb willingly went into a hospital. It sure didn't look like volunteer commitment when they jumped Herb at Brockmore, a place not noted for its stellar care but someplace that wanted a relative to disappear. If anything a place like Brockmore would've deepened Herb's mental deterioration. It is also amazing that Herb was still alive after John woke up. I wonder if one of the reasons why Vera also went into a depression was because she found out that Herb was still alive?

Anyway with such a mysterious past, I had hoped they would have drawn more on filling in those gaps. Even though Gene seemed altruistic, he still could've been acting in such a self-serving manner that influenced John on the road to Armageddon. I mean, how did they handle Herb's death? The commentary said Herb had some sort of Alzheimer's? That was never mentioned in the series but would have been better if they had to fill in a plot hole as to why Herb wasn't recognizing people because that particular symptom could be attributed to a variety of psychological causes.

Regardless of Sarah's epiphany, we now have two witnesses to "something terrible" about to happen. So, if everything were clear for John and he obeyed his father about marrying Sarah, did Armageddon still happen? I mean, John may now harbor a really dangerous hostility against Stillson because of Herb's murder. JJ too could blame Stillson for the murder or death of Walt. Another parallel they could have used. What a pity...what a waste <sigh>

CrucifaxAutumn

Jul 29 2008, 12:27 AM

I'd have to say, back to the original post, that aside from DZ the worst finales I've seen are Golden Years and Quantum Leap. Both shows had crappy tack-on endings that made little sense.

Give us a real friggin' ending!