I am able to separate the final forty minutes from the rest of the series, but I understand how others can't do that, and I'm angry that loyal fans had to lose their favorite show that way.
Yes, I still remember the 31st as if it was yesterday, pretty sure I could sue CB/CT because of PTSD... Sure it made me beyond angry how they decided to treat their characters, but what made me truly livid to the point of actual sleep deprivation was reading the comments and breakdowns here from people who even used to defend those two against the haters. Just how? How can someone treat his fans like that? I can't understand the reasoning behind it, but I do know that some people seem to really enjoy the misery of others and I fully believe CB is one of those (but how he can believe to get away with it and people will watch his next stupid show is beyond me). Reading your comment, I had to think about something funny I came across on the Game of Thrones subreddit after the last episode "The Mountain and the Viper" aired (people who follow the show know what I mean...) and decided to post it here, it actually refers to GoT but just replace GRRM with CB/CT in your mind and it ends up being a surprisingly accurate describtion about what kind of people those two fakes are.
I'm not taking a dig at GRRM here, he's an outstanding writer. He established early on that no one - not even main characters - are safe and that he writes the things like they are, without plot armor. That's what makes the books and the show such a success and he's not going to stop because that would betray "the contract". It attracted an audience that expects and wants to get floored while watching it and they would feel betrayed if it would stop (well, at least most of them).
CB/CT are different, via writing and interviews they lure you into a sense of security, promise you this lovely outcome, and because of that, attracted an audience that wanted a happy ending more than anything else, and the very second the characters and fans aren't needed anymore for the ratings they reveal their true colors. It's disgusting. Shitty endings are somehow becoming a trend and I'm not a fan, I mean I'm not necessarily a fan of the perfect happy ending but when a show is begging for it... No, ACTUALLY PROMISING it you better make sure to come through in the end, to not break "the contract". But if you don't end up doing what you promised for years because you're an abusive jerk, at least make sure to not openly call your fans imature, is that really too much to ask?
you better make sure to come through in the end, to not break "the contract".
That's the thing that makes it so impossible to understand what CB/CT were thinking here. It's like I said in my other comment. You can't sell one product and then once you've got the consumer's money hand them something else entirely and then wonder why you're being sued. That's just common sense, common knowledge, everyone knows that. Yet that's exactly what CB/CT did and you can't tell me they didn't know what they were doing was terrible and immoral and a betrayal of their audience. You can't tell me they didn't know what the result would be (especially when CB came out beforehand and openly admitted to both of those things, that the ending he made them film was wrong for the story now and that he knew the audience would hate it and hate him for airing it).
So fully knowing that, WHY would they do it anyway? The only explanation is that they just didn't care because they didn't need people anymore, they didn't need the audience anymore, they didn't need goodwill and positive public opinion or ratings anymore so they couldn't care less about biting the hand that feeds them because their show was off the air now, they were retiring from TV, so they were going to do what they wanted and screw everyone else. That's the only logical explanation, and while it makes them terrible people it at least makes sense as to a person's motivation.
But the thing of it is they weren't retiring from TV. At the very same time they were trying to launch and sell yet another hit show to make their careers for the next decade so they didn't have the luxury to snub their audience and say screw public opinion because they still needed that public to come support their new show.
So what on earth were they thinking? Was it that they were so arrogant they imagined themselves such gods in the eyes of CBS that the network would buy any show from them regardless? (An incredibly dumb attitude seeing as how they'd already tried and failed with two other new shows during the run of HIMYM). But even if they 100% believed that they would still need the public to watch their show once it got on the air to keep it on the air. So what? They thought they could just do whatever they wanted to their audience and we were just going to come crawling back anyway saying it was all our fault, you can treat us however you want and we'll still support you. Is that what it was? They thought they had some kind of abusive relationship with the audience where they could just slap us around any way they wanted and we'd all just take it and ask for more?
I would really love to honestly know not why CB wanted to tell this ending, or even why he didn't tell it all this time then (because I think it's fairly obvious he couldn't tell the T/R story all this time because no one was buying it, no one wanted to see it, and they would have cancelled the show years ago if that's what he kept trying to sell). I would love to know why and how CB (and for that matter CT too) thought he could get away with it without consequence or repercussion and with any sort of career intact afterwards.
I don't think they expected quite the backlash they got. I think Carter at least bought into (or deluded himself into thinking) the "the silent majority are T/R fans" myth and thought everyone would come out of the woodwork cheering when they saw his genius ending. I think if the emmy submission and the twitter survey is anything to go by I think he sort of still does.
They also made the mistake of thinking we were stupid. That somehow the fans of this very intellegent show were only watching it for the cheap sitcom laughs and we wouldn't notice the inconsistancies of the "finale". Yet even the casual fans, the ones who really did watch just for the laughs, weren't that stupid and were loud about it.
Then there's the fact that the backlash I think he was expecting was just complaints about the mother's death and he could just go "oh but this is deep and stuff," but instead people are attacking the bad writing which he has no defense against because, again, we're not stupid.
And Craig. He just nodded along. And I do think he realised after a while but by then it was too late.
I do think you're right about Craig. That is my firm belief too, that after a while he read the fans properly (and frankly I think he knew it all along but didn't want to rock the boat and disappoint his friend) and knew they were in deep trouble and that's why he fought for once in the editing room to try to edit out some of the more terrible parts of the episode (the ones they actually could edit around anyway).
But it's that very non-repentant attitude of CB's you describe and even more so submitting it for an Emmy that continues to boggle my mind. Because even if he did underestimate the full breadth of the backlash, he's seen it now. How can he still be clueless?
He can commission all the fake studies he wants to try to make himself look better, but he still knows that it's a fake study. He can quote the one or two articles that liked the episode, but he still knows there are thousands of others that raked it over the coals and had nothing but bad (and deserved) things to say about it. When every media (not fan-based) outlet is calling it the worst finale in TV history and the most decisive and that 80% of the public hated it, you can't possibly still believe that the "silent majority" doesn't feel that way.
It's stunning really, and I'm left with nothing else to think other than that the man is deranged. Certifiable. A serious mental illness and break with reality is the only way to explain this level of denial and refusal to see what's right in front of your face.
That cartoon is insanely accurate. The kitten, in this case, was named Swarkles (which actually would be an awesome name for a kitty; must remember that for future use) and the aired finale was that shot. It's not at all unreasonable for devoted fans to be traumatized; we cared about these characters, we were promised good things for them, all along, with a reassuring smile and pat on the head/back and then BLAM.
It's different with something like GoT (which I will get into once I'm done with my binge watch of Mad Men) or The Walking Dead (which I utterly love in graphic novel and TV formats) - but, as stated, those creators make no promises. Anything can happen to anybody at any time, and by watching/reading those franchises, the viewer/reader enters into the contract/warning that nobody and nothing is safe. Not Gramma, not baby Susie, not Fluffy the poodle, nobody. That's a different experience, so has different expectations.
I'm not a fan of shitty endings for the sake of shitty endings, either. I can appreciate a good tragic ending (still sobbing my heart out over Remains of the Day and Atonement, and anyone who brings up Brideshead Revisited is required to give me Kleenex and chocolate.) but when a happy ending is promised, I want a happy wedding, not the Red Wedding.
Yes, I still remember the 31st as if it was yesterday, pretty sure I could sue CB/CT because of PTSD... Sure it made me beyond angry how they decided to treat their characters, but what made me truly livid to the point of actual sleep deprivation was reading the comments and breakdowns here from people who even used to defend those two against the haters. Just how? How can someone treat his fans like that? I can't understand the reasoning behind it, but I do know that some people seem to really enjoy the misery of others and I fully believe CB is one of those (but how he can believe to get away with it and people will watch his next stupid show is beyond me). Reading your comment, I had to think about something funny I came across on the Game of Thrones subreddit after the last episode "The Mountain and the Viper" aired (people who follow the show know what I mean...) and decided to post it here, it actually refers to GoT but just replace GRRM with CB/CT in your mind and it ends up being a surprisingly accurate describtion about what kind of people those two fakes are.
http://i.imgur.com/mYi4VFm.jpg
I'm not taking a dig at GRRM here, he's an outstanding writer. He established early on that no one - not even main characters - are safe and that he writes the things like they are, without plot armor. That's what makes the books and the show such a success and he's not going to stop because that would betray "the contract". It attracted an audience that expects and wants to get floored while watching it and they would feel betrayed if it would stop (well, at least most of them).
CB/CT are different, via writing and interviews they lure you into a sense of security, promise you this lovely outcome, and because of that, attracted an audience that wanted a happy ending more than anything else, and the very second the characters and fans aren't needed anymore for the ratings they reveal their true colors. It's disgusting. Shitty endings are somehow becoming a trend and I'm not a fan, I mean I'm not necessarily a fan of the perfect happy ending but when a show is begging for it... No, ACTUALLY PROMISING it you better make sure to come through in the end, to not break "the contract". But if you don't end up doing what you promised for years because you're an abusive jerk, at least make sure to not openly call your fans imature, is that really too much to ask?
Aaaaaaaaaaand I'm angry again. :(
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That's the thing that makes it so impossible to understand what CB/CT were thinking here. It's like I said in my other comment. You can't sell one product and then once you've got the consumer's money hand them something else entirely and then wonder why you're being sued. That's just common sense, common knowledge, everyone knows that. Yet that's exactly what CB/CT did and you can't tell me they didn't know what they were doing was terrible and immoral and a betrayal of their audience. You can't tell me they didn't know what the result would be (especially when CB came out beforehand and openly admitted to both of those things, that the ending he made them film was wrong for the story now and that he knew the audience would hate it and hate him for airing it).
So fully knowing that, WHY would they do it anyway? The only explanation is that they just didn't care because they didn't need people anymore, they didn't need the audience anymore, they didn't need goodwill and positive public opinion or ratings anymore so they couldn't care less about biting the hand that feeds them because their show was off the air now, they were retiring from TV, so they were going to do what they wanted and screw everyone else. That's the only logical explanation, and while it makes them terrible people it at least makes sense as to a person's motivation.
But the thing of it is they weren't retiring from TV. At the very same time they were trying to launch and sell yet another hit show to make their careers for the next decade so they didn't have the luxury to snub their audience and say screw public opinion because they still needed that public to come support their new show.
So what on earth were they thinking? Was it that they were so arrogant they imagined themselves such gods in the eyes of CBS that the network would buy any show from them regardless? (An incredibly dumb attitude seeing as how they'd already tried and failed with two other new shows during the run of HIMYM). But even if they 100% believed that they would still need the public to watch their show once it got on the air to keep it on the air. So what? They thought they could just do whatever they wanted to their audience and we were just going to come crawling back anyway saying it was all our fault, you can treat us however you want and we'll still support you. Is that what it was? They thought they had some kind of abusive relationship with the audience where they could just slap us around any way they wanted and we'd all just take it and ask for more?
I would really love to honestly know not why CB wanted to tell this ending, or even why he didn't tell it all this time then (because I think it's fairly obvious he couldn't tell the T/R story all this time because no one was buying it, no one wanted to see it, and they would have cancelled the show years ago if that's what he kept trying to sell). I would love to know why and how CB (and for that matter CT too) thought he could get away with it without consequence or repercussion and with any sort of career intact afterwards.
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They also made the mistake of thinking we were stupid. That somehow the fans of this very intellegent show were only watching it for the cheap sitcom laughs and we wouldn't notice the inconsistancies of the "finale". Yet even the casual fans, the ones who really did watch just for the laughs, weren't that stupid and were loud about it.
Then there's the fact that the backlash I think he was expecting was just complaints about the mother's death and he could just go "oh but this is deep and stuff," but instead people are attacking the bad writing which he has no defense against because, again, we're not stupid.
And Craig. He just nodded along. And I do think he realised after a while but by then it was too late.
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But it's that very non-repentant attitude of CB's you describe and even more so submitting it for an Emmy that continues to boggle my mind. Because even if he did underestimate the full breadth of the backlash, he's seen it now. How can he still be clueless?
He can commission all the fake studies he wants to try to make himself look better, but he still knows that it's a fake study. He can quote the one or two articles that liked the episode, but he still knows there are thousands of others that raked it over the coals and had nothing but bad (and deserved) things to say about it. When every media (not fan-based) outlet is calling it the worst finale in TV history and the most decisive and that 80% of the public hated it, you can't possibly still believe that the "silent majority" doesn't feel that way.
It's stunning really, and I'm left with nothing else to think other than that the man is deranged. Certifiable. A serious mental illness and break with reality is the only way to explain this level of denial and refusal to see what's right in front of your face.
Reply
It's different with something like GoT (which I will get into once I'm done with my binge watch of Mad Men) or The Walking Dead (which I utterly love in graphic novel and TV formats) - but, as stated, those creators make no promises. Anything can happen to anybody at any time, and by watching/reading those franchises, the viewer/reader enters into the contract/warning that nobody and nothing is safe. Not Gramma, not baby Susie, not Fluffy the poodle, nobody. That's a different experience, so has different expectations.
I'm not a fan of shitty endings for the sake of shitty endings, either. I can appreciate a good tragic ending (still sobbing my heart out over Remains of the Day and Atonement, and anyone who brings up Brideshead Revisited is required to give me Kleenex and chocolate.) but when a happy ending is promised, I want a happy wedding, not the Red Wedding.
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