Episode 429 - Bad ends, not bad fans
Jun 2, 2019
This Quackcast was inspired by the fan reaction to Game of Thrones, a series that I haven't watched but Tantz and Banes have! Specifically it's about poorly written endings and gas-lighting fans rather than admitting to faults.
Topics and Show Notes
No matter how great we are at writing (and the GOT guys MUST be good to have created such a popular show), that's no proof against writing a poor ending. Endings are the HARDEST things to do well, it's devilishly easy to flub them. Most fans of the GOT series seem disappointed, which would indicate it's more likely to be a bad end than them not “getting it”, but that seems to be the narrative. And we've seen that happen before with things like the Mass Effect Game series, the Battlestar Galactica reboot, Dexter, Lost etc.
The industry has to support their talent so they'll defend the poor work regardless and gas-light the fans. To be fair,poor endings can be beyond the control of the creators: lack of budget and a mental breakdown gave us a very improvised end to Neon Genesis Evangellion… the creators did the best with what they had.
But the lesson I take away from this is that sometimes, just sometimes, fans are right, and we should listen to them when we're creating. NOT by giving them the silly shipping and fan-service they secretly dream off, but to help us realise when we're veering wildly off-target.
This week Gunwallace has given us the theme to Embrace the Pun - In the words of the great man himself: “sax and violins … it's a musical pun as a theme tune.” The measured, stable regularity of the violin and quiet percussion are contrasted starkly against the wild wanderings of the jazzy Saxophone as it stomps into the room, kicks over the carefully arranged furniture and pees on a pot plant.
Topics and shownotes
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Featured comic:
Completely Unrelated - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2019/may/27/featured-comic-completely-unrelated/
Featured music:
Embrace the Pun - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Embrace_the_Pun/, by BarryCorbett, rated E.
LINKS
Contributions red from this thread - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/forum/topic/178163/
Special thanks to:
Gunwallace - http://www.virtuallycomics.com
Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/
Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/
Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean
Ozoneocean at 8:15PM, June 4, 2019
Yes, propping up something because of mistaken loyalty is sad, Those sorts of fans are perhaps too devoted XD
ejb at 1:06PM, June 4, 2019
I think it definitely makes sense for a writer/creator to take into account what fans think of a story. But just because a writer listens to fan opinion doesn't mean they have to listen to their pitched solutions (which are often, at best, a real mixed bag).
Amelius at 8:56AM, June 4, 2019
I'm also really glad you all brought up the "you just don't get it!" response, because most of the people I've seen complaining about the series are doing so in exhaustive, detailed (and sometimes over-long) evaluations of why things didn't work character, plot and writing-wise. It's just a very smug reply that makes little sense to say to someone who is pointing out fundamentally, objectively bad writing decisions. There's no problem in saying one liked a thing despite its glaring flaws, quite another to sit there continuing to compliment the emperor's clothes.
Amelius at 8:23AM, June 4, 2019
They can't claim to have done the best that they could with the time, because they cut 12 seasons down to 8 and even tried to cut it down to shorter. HBO was giving them infinite money and time, it was their choice to rush, and not to hand it to new writers so it would have the time to be done right. Martin was visibly disappointed they were cutting it that short. My major problem from the get-go was that they stripped so much from the characters, the main draw of ASOIAF. So much doesn't make sense because of what they cut, things that would not have cost more money to have included. Jaime's confession about Tysha has such a huge impact on Tyrion's arc and informs so many of his actions, but they cut it for no reason, just for one example of many.
Ozoneocean at 5:57AM, June 4, 2019
HAHAHA! OMG, that had me going there for a second ^_^
ejb at 4:43AM, June 4, 2019
I can't believe this is the last Quackcast ever... and that it was all a dream. I'm going to need some time to process this.