What I am about to say is not directly related to the former NBC series Hannibal. I never watched it despite hearing great things about it. For all I know, it's my personal loss for not watching it. My issue more lies in something more generally associated with the aftermath of the announcement of its cancellation. After running three seasons with decent, not great, ratings, it has said goodbye. Yet this didn't stop a petition from going around, collecting thousands of signatures, for the show to come back. Fans have been crying about its departure, wondering if someone like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, or even whatever Yahoo! Screens thinks it is, will pick it up and give us more programming. To all of this I say: stop. Just please, please stop. Let a show die in peace.
The question could easily be raised "What if a show I loved was cancelled? Wouldn't I want to see more?" Here is a general notion that yes, there are shows that didn't last long that I love. Think of Bunheads, Freaks and Geeks, My So-Called Life, Don't Trust the B in Apt. 23, Enlisted or Terriers. All of those shows ran their course without any news of a return. Yet the brevity is an appealing factor because it ends with a sense of promise. I would love to imagine the adventures of these characters as they grew older. Yet, I don't actually wish to see them return, notably because the return applies pressure to give fans more of what they love instead of coming from a natural place. What usually follows are seasons of shows with altered budgets and stories that emphasize what we love about them. This isn't bad necessarily, but it does take away from the story.
For instance, what if Freaks and Geeks got a second season? The truth is that we'd likely not care about the first one. There's been plenty of great behind the scenes stories about the show in which they chose to go with darker and more challenging themes because they knew that they would be cancelled. Stories about dead cats and getting high suddenly seemed fine. But imagine if the show would have come back. There's chances that we wouldn't get the challenging fare because the writers knew they had more time to pump them out. It may only be hypothetical, but the professional stories provide a sense of why the show had immediacy in its brief run.
Likewise, returning shows of iconic favorites haven't gone over too well. Arrested Development notoriously returned to acclaim. Having aired on Fox for three seasons, it gained a cult audience on DVD and reruns. Very much so, it was a show with a concrete format that intertwined stories with expertise. When the show returned, it had the challenge of wrangling up every cast member, most of which have experienced very successful careers. As a result, the cast often filmed their episodes without ever interacting with each other. It was a complicated scenario that resulted in everyone sort of despising season four, even though that isn't keeping Mitch Hurwitz and the folks from Netflix from making another season very soon. The thing is that it sounded like a good idea until it was forced to try and capture that magic. Some people outgrew Arrested Development while others aren't in the right head space for it.
Likewise, fellow cult TV show Community is the poster child for why fan service is toxic. With the cast slowly dispersing, season six became an underwhelming thud for the series. After five years on NBC or ardent fans asking for more, they got it on the internet. Their belief that misunderstood joke "six seasons and a movie" actually meant something. As a result, they made a sixth season while trying to launch Yahoo! Screens as this third party streaming competitor. The results? Nobody really cared and half of the cast was disappearing anyways. Budgets and time allotment aside, Community's existence felt more desperate and failed to capture the internet's attention as it did even during its disastrous final years. With presumption of a movie, it feels like Community went from a cult favorite to sheer pandering.
I want to believe that not all shows randomly returning because of fans is bad news. However, I hate being able to read news that shows are being cancelled and will be picked up by someone else. As much as I would like more Terriers and to know if they went to Mexico or prison, I am fine speculating in my own head what happens. The key to addiction is to want more, not get more. It is only in the wanting that we get that true high. It is the reason why shows like Freaks and Geeks continue to resonate. We don't know what happens next and the immediacy caused by inevitable cancellation made what was on screen a miracle and special. I doubt that Hannibal can reciprocate the immediacy on a different budget on a different platform.
There are times where I could bite my own tongue on this situation. I desperately want to see what the fifth season of Soap would have been. I want some conclusive value. However, there are cases like United States of Tara in which the finale rides out without resolution, but has a nice summary. Even as controversial as Deadwood's finale was, there was a sense of growth that made it worth discussing. I think it is better to have little and discuss that than have too much and not know what to do with it. There's a difference between having a Freaks and Geeks and a Community or Arrested Development. It is better to have the shows to end instead of forcing fans to keep it alive just to appease their wishes. True me, it isn't worth it.
I know that I may be in the minority when it comes to this issue, but please. Don't bring back old shows. We're living in an era where there's a lot of really good shows on now. In fact, there's too much great stuff on to even justify bringing back old favorites just because you feel slighted (Hannibal ran for three seasons. That's its own success). Trust me, you will not care, or learn to regret wanting more because the high you had won't be the same, complaining about production values or something being different. It never really works out, so just accept that your show is over and wish it a fond farewell with dignity.
Comments
Post a Comment