Thoughts on When to End a Show (Supernatural)

[lunardreamed]

I was kind of happy to hear that Supernatural was finishing at the end of Season 5. Now, I hear it might go on, and I got to thinking about whether it should.

Comments

[shadowc44]

I agree with this. Kripke always said he didn't want the show to go on for too long. I think the problem is that it's solely up to the network suits to decide. It's their decision - most likely based on how much money they think they can make from the show if it goes to a sixth season.

If they're contracturally obligated to have a sixth season, then I really hope the writers put their best effort into making it entertaining, but I don't think they want it to go on indefinitely, either.

The ratings for 5.01 weren't spectacular, and I don't know how much they'll pick up, if enough people weren't interested in seeing what happened after the end of last season. It could be the network will decide there's not enough money in continuing the show, if the number of viewers doesn't continue to expand.

[lunardreamed]

the problem is that it's solely up to the network suits to decide. It's their decision - most likely based on how much money they think they can make from the show if it goes to a sixth season.Allow me to take a moment to rant a bit off-topic

[shadowc44]

I get what you're saying about creators and fan fic. I'm not so sure I understand the last part, that SPN is worth an hour of your day each day, but not worth an hour of your week? But maybe that's related to what I've been feeling for a long time, that in some ways I enjoy fanfic more than the actual show. There have been shows in the past where I've watched each episode four or five times, and that's not the case with SPN, though I'm totally obsessed with it. There are good scenes or moments in almost all the episodes, but there aren't that many that I keep re-watching. I spend a lot of time reading fanfic, and very little time watching the actual DVDs, which makes me feel like a bad fan sometimes. :/

[lunardreamed]

I knew I should have said more, but you got it.

I am willing to spend an hour a day reading fanfic plus watching the one weekly episode, but if I didn't have fanfic and just one episode a week, it wouldn't be worth watching.

And hey, you take your fans where you can find them. Fans are what make a show, as long as they aren't stalking someone, they can't really be bad.

That's part of what bugs me. If it takes fanfic to make me watch their show, I don't think it makes me a bad fan. I think maybe (definitely) it says something about their work. And they should admit, there are writers in fandom that could hold their own with the best people in television (or most other media).

[teand]

If a story has no perceived end, then its structure just flops about in the breeze. I was thrilled to hear Kripke was ending things with season five -- pain needs a resolution of SOME kind or it's just pointless suffering. Wasn't at all thrilled to hear that the network may try to continue to squeeze every last drop of cash they can out of it. And they've got their 62 episodes, it's not like the show won't live forever in syndication.