TV drama writers obsess over audience engagement, with a huge emphasis on personal stakes for their characters. The biggest of these is the prospect of death. But 70+ years of TV have taught us that mortality is rare for characters played by a show's stars. So, when actors leave a show or the decision is made to cut a character, writers see a golden opportunity to play the ultimate stakes game by going terminal.
It's safe to say character departures always upset a segment of a show's audience, however small. But not all such deaths are created equal. Some generate a wave of complaints, others a tsunami of outrage. It's the deaths of characters we love or love to hate, and those especially shocking or egregious, that drive fans to write all-caps messages, accompanied by many exclamation points, in fanzines, letter columns, and social media.
Here are 14 of the most controversial of the controversial.
It's safe to say character departures always upset a segment of a show's audience, however small. But not all such deaths are created equal. Some generate a wave of complaints, others a tsunami of outrage. It's the deaths of characters we love or love to hate, and those especially shocking or egregious, that drive fans to write all-caps messages, accompanied by many exclamation points, in fanzines, letter columns, and social media.
Here are 14 of the most controversial of the controversial.
- 11/5/2023
- by Maurice Molyneaux
- Slash Film
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