Reply #25: Lighten up, Francis

[MorningGlow]

I was just joking--check the smileys. Honestly, I feel bad that too many people get their panties in a wad over ANY show that doesn't turn out the way THEY wanted it to. It's a ride--you get on and let it take you where it's going; you don't get to steer.

And of COURSE they made it up as they went along--most shows do--why does that offend you? The U.S. TV networks usually never buy a series that's fully written with a chosen end date (three years, five years, whatever), although that's more likely to happen in the U.K. The U.S. networks want to squeeze as much money out of a series as they can, so they want it to go on as long as they can, forcing the show creators to drag out the plot. That results in a couple of weak seasons, often the third and/or fourth, until the show creators get enough leverage, from the show being a huge hit, to convince the network execs to see it their way and end the show properly, in the correct amount of time and with decent pacing.