You may be drawn to a new series because medical series are your jam.

Or because your favorite book is finally making its long-awaited journey to the small screen.

Or maybe your favorite actress or actor is starring in something new, and that’s the sole reason you’ve decided to watch something.

When a recognizable star shows up on a series, it’s easy to get lulled into a false sense of security because there’s no way they’ll kill off someone they’ve included in the marketing for the series.

Someone who’s bringing new viewers in to enjoy the show! Surely not!

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Well, as we’ve seen over the years, shows are never above shock value, and numerous shows kill off prominent characters right out of the gate.

And a lot of times, these reveals end up shaping so much of the rest of the series.

We’re taking a lot at some of the most memorable first-episode deaths that still have us confused, upset, impressed, or all of the above.

Big Sky

We can discuss Big Sky’s shortfalls in another article.

However, one thing the thriller got right was its decision to kill off Ryan Philippe’s character, Cody Hoyt, in the series premiere.

The marketing for Big Sky was heavy on Phillippe, which was understandable because he was the most well-known cast member.

A movie star in his own right, many people decided to check out the show, set in the beautiful Montana mountains, because of Phillippe.

Cody is a former cop dealing with a lot of personal drama who takes an interest in the case of two girls who go missing on their way to visit his son.

His digging around puts him in contact with Rick Legarski, a Montana Highway Patrol officer who is involved in the kidnapping of the two young girls, and shoots Cody dead when he gets too close to the truth.

It’s a shocking murder.

Not only are you expecting Phillippe to be THE star of the show, but Cody’s death changed so much of the show’s tone.

Fans were not pleased about his untimely passing, though the show didn’t suffer too badly, as it went on to have a three-season run on ABC.

It’s interesting to look back on it now, though.

If Cody hadn’t died, we may never have seen Jenny and Cassie come together as partners the way they did throughout the series.

Their friendship was truly the heart and soul of everything, and it may never have come to be if Cody had lived and stood between them.

Yellowstone

At this point, we’re all well aware of the behind-the-scenes drama that has plagued Yellowstone over the last few years.

And it’s a shame that so much of that has clouded the series, which was terrific in its early seasons.

No one knew what to expect when it first premiered, outside of a massive movie star in Kevin Costner at the helm and the sprawling landscape of Montana in the background.

The story of the Duttons and their claim to their land followed the Dutton siblings throughout the first episode, including eldest brother Lee, played by Brothers & Sisters alum Dave Annable.

Fans of Annable were eager to see him in another starring role after his long run on the ABC sudser, but Lee’s character was killed off swiftly in the series premiere, leaving fans stunned.

No one knew what kind of show Yellowstone would become or what kind of cultural phenomenon it would spark, but they learned early that no one was safe — even if your last name was Dutton.

A Million Little Things

The marketing for the ABC tearjerker made it very clear what this series was going to be about and what the catalyst was for everything we were about to see; Jon Dixon was going to commit suicide.

We knew going in what was about to happen, and yet, we were still absolutely crushed when Ron Livingston’s Jon passed away in the inaugural hour.

This one may not have been as bait-and-switch as the others, but it was still painful, mainly because he was so prominent in the marketing push.

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Livingston is a popular actor with many credits, and losing him so early was difficult, even if he did pop up now and then throughout the rest of the series’ run.

This may not have been a surprise death or departure like some of the others on this list, but we still felt all the same emotions.

Mayor of Kingstown

Do me a favor and go back and watch the early trailers for the Mayor of Kingstown.

It’s obviously Jeremy Renner’s show, but Kyle Chandler has a steady presence throughout the promo, which led many, including myself, to assume that he would be a major factor in the series.

Chandler’s character, Mitch McLusky, is the “Mayor” of Kingstown when the show begins, with Renner’s Mike as his righthand man.

And while there could have been a play here on Mitch and Mike vying for power, even though Mike seemingly doesn’t want it, the series pivots to just getting rid of the dynamic by offing Mitch in the first episode.

Chandler has made quite a name for himself, with leading roles on Early Edition, Friday Night Lights, and Bloodline.

Many people tuned in to see Chandler and Renner opposite one another, but unfortunately, that dream was cut very short when Mitch bit the bullet early on.

Gen V

People were guaranteed to tune into Gen V if only because it was a spinoff of The Boys.

But with a fresh cast and intriguing premise, fans were excited to see what this universe was poised to produce next.

One reason for that excitement was the presence of Patrick Schwarzenegger.

Starring alongside a cast of up-and-coming actors and actresses, and coming off the highly successful HBO Max miniseries The Staircase, Arnold’s son helped to generate major buzz for the series.

Schwarzenegger’s Golden Boy was poised to be the next Homelander and was a promising recruit for the Seven.

However, throughout the pilot, you could tell something sinister was happening at Godolkin University, and it directly involved the most popular kid on campus.

Golden Boy’s death shocked fans who assumed he’d have a much more significant role in the series, and it set the tone for the entire first season.

No one is safe, and anything can happen at any given time. This is The Boys-adjacent, after all, and you’d do well to remember that.

Fringe

Fringe truly became the little show that could.

When it first premiered, it didn’t move the needle, but it eventually found its footing and a rabid audience that stuck with it until the end.

It’s a series that is the very definition of a cult classic.

When the series first premiered, it wasn’t on anyone’s radar, and the biggest draw was Joshua Jackson, fresh off his long run on Dawson’s Creek.

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Mark Valley was also well-known in broadcast television circles after his run on Boston Legal, and audiences were interested in seeing him in the sci-fi series opposite Jackson, John Noble, and Anna Torv.

Valley’s John Scott is a massive part of the pilot, as he’s exposed to chemicals that leave his body decaying rapidly.

He’s cured in a process that brings the Fringe team audiences know and love together, but he ultimately dies in a car crash.

Considering how much time is devoted to saving him, Scott dying in a car accident feels anti-climactic on top of being a major bummer for all those Valley fans out there who hoped he’d have a bigger role in the series.

Silo

Silo had a lot of things going for it when it premiered on Apple TV+ in 2023, including a star-studded cast.

Rebecca Ferguson, Rashida Jone, David Olyelowo, Common, and Tim Robbins are just some of the actors that bring Silo to life.

And the series premiere leaned heavily into the dynamic between Oyelowo’s Holston Becker, who is the sheriff of the Silo, and Jones’ Allison Becker, his devoted wife.

The premise of Silo is simple. In a dystopian future, a group of people live underground in a silo, bound by rules meant to protect them.

They don’t venture outside the silo, for fear of death.

Throughout the pilot, Allison became more and more disillusioned with the Silo and its history, which led her to be expelled.

There was hope that Allison would survive her foray outside the silo, but those hopes were dashed rather quickly when she got a few feet away and collapsed.

Jones has been acting for a while, with many notable roles. This looked to be star turn in a prestigious series.

But Allison’s death is incredibly heartbreaking to watch from a plot standpoint and genuinely surprising because of Jones’ cache and presence in the promotional material.

The Last of Us

The Last of Us was one of the biggest shows to debut in 2023, and it delivered one hell of an opening episode, which felt at times more like a movie than an episode of television.

The post-apocalyptic drama begins in Austin, Texas, from the point of view of teenager Nico during what will become a devastating day.

As we follow Sarah Miller, played beautifully by Nico Parker, it’s easy to become enraptured in her view of the deteriorating day.

The pilot was helped so much by the early minutes, which set us up for the post-apocalyptic universe we stepped into.

But Sarah wasn’t long for that world, which was a horrifying blow to dad Joel, played by the talented Pedro Pascal.

If you were a fan of the video game from which the series was adapted, then you already knew Sarah’s fate.

But many new to the universe were surprised and upset that we didn’t get more of Sarah and Joel’s relationship.

Sarah’s presence continued to loom large over the season, but her death in the premiere still felt like a significant blow.

Over to you, TV fanatics! What’s your favorite example of a show that killed off a major character in its premiere episode?

Hit the comments section below to share your thoughts!

The post Bait and Switch: When TV Shows Kill Off the Reason You Watched in the Premiere appeared first on TV Fanatic.

TV history is rife with bizarre and nonsensical occasions that make sense only within the numbers — sometimes, not even then.

Firefly is a legendary example of this. It had a loyal fanbase and critical acclaim, but Fox nonetheless cut its legs out from under it.

There are countless instances of relatively popular programs ending on massive cliffhangers, never to return.

Then there are the shows that audiences hate, yet a new season is in the works each and every year.

There’s a great deal of head-scratching here, so the ultimate answer is yes.

A show can succeed if viewers aren’t satisfied, and for several reasons that make more sense in context. The virulent nature of news, audience vs critical reactions, and, of course, money play their roles.

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People also tend to be forgetful. We’ll break it down further below, but Game of Thrones is a perfect example of this.

Audience Versus Critical Response and Rankings

Critical response tends to drive viewership rankings in the beginning, with a show’s initial success driven by viewers’ interest, which often comes from reading reviews.

When a show is bad, the audience plummets with each succeeding episode.

The Wheel of Time is an accurate illustration of this. Love it or hate it, 55.7% of the audience didn’t return for season 2, according to Nielsen’s weekly minutes viewed.

It also saw a massive drop at the week three mark and another significant drop at week four. The Rings of Power was stable from week one to two, dropped off somewhat in week three, and saw a more severe drop in week eight.

Despite this, Wheel of Time is returning for Season 3, and The Rings of Power will kick off another season as well. Successful? You be the judge.

The overall critical response for both shows is positive.

The Rings of Power holds an 83% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 38% audience score. The Wheel of Time, despite its massive drop-off, has a 70% audience score and an 83% critical score.

Despite the ups and downs, Amazon is heavily invested in the show and is reluctant to toss all that money into the garbage disposal.

The initial success of both shows is also a driving factor.

Plus, there is a degree of strategic decision-making, in terms of franchise potential, that we simply aren’t privy to.

The Forgetfulness of the Audience

Sometimes, it is astonishing to see a show’s massive success, only for viewers to loathe it a few years later. Game of Thrones is the show that immediately springs to mind.

Its final season, and arguably the two prior seasons, were rushed and nonsensical.

The quality of the dialogue took a nose dive, and the decision-making process among well-established characters went off the rails.

Now, whenever people talk about Game of Thrones, it’s the damning aspects of the final few seasons that infect the conversation.

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However, by every measure, Game of Thrones was a massive success.

House of the Dragon owes its existence to Game of Thrones. Even some of the shows Max ultimately canceled owe their considerations to the show that started it all.

Heroes, True Blood, Lost, Merlin, and The Sopranos are examples of the same, to varying degrees.

If the show leaves the audience with a bad taste in their mouths, all the good things that came before become irrelevant.

All of these shows were successful (some of them massively so) despite the current sentiment.

Successful Shows That Viewers Panned

Often, it’s difficult to tell the difference between review-bombing and overall fan dislike because two things can happen simultaneously.

Fans can react negatively to a show and review-bomb it.

On the other hand, showrunners and media coverage are more than capable of blaming review-bombing for distracting from relevant and extensive viewer dislike.

Star Trek Discovery ran from 2017 to 2024, a success in most measures.

Discovery may not be a groundbreaking, knock-down-doors, runaway success, but you don’t get nearly a decade of run time for an abysmal failure.

The Witcher makes for a weaker argument but is still part of the conversation.

Despite fan outcry over changes to the source material (and some of those changes are indeed extensive), the show is coming back for fourth and fifth seasons.

With Henry Cavill out and Liam Hemsworth filling the role, it’s hard to see if the show’s early success will translate to positive returns from the viewers.

Riverdale is another good example of a show finding success despite its viewers.

With nearly an equal runtime to that of Star Trek Discovery, Riverdale had a loyal fanbase, though its audience review score sits at 47%.

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Bad Shows Can Right the Ship

Lastly, there are popular series that didn’t begin that way.

A show’s success isn’t always dictated by a fantastic start, and viewers appreciate a comeback story.

Believe it or not, Full House didn’t start off as a great show that drew in viewers like a magnet.

After a lackluster first season, the showrunners made some alterations to the characters, including a haircut and a job change.

Fans originally felt that Fringe was nothing more than an X-Files ripoff.

Early on, It had a monster-of-the-week format, just like The X-Files.

It wasn’t until they ditched it in favor of a singular, more complex storyline that Fringe truly took off. This is especially true with the mystery of the alternate reality.

Other notable shows, such as Torchwood, Happy Days, Family Matters, and Parks and Recreation, fared badly out of the gate but recovered when changes were made.

Most shows will flounder when the going gets tough or disappear entirely after a rocky premiere season. But these prove that a show’s success can change despite the dissatisfaction of viewers.

However, it’s definitely not proof that it happens all the time or that there is any sense behind many of the decisions made throughout the entertainment industry.

Sometimes, shows just don’t work out, and sometimes, they do, despite the odds stacked against them.

Is there a show that grew on you over time or one that you initially couldn’t stand, only to change your mind later?

Drop a comment below and tell us your own experience!

The post Can a Show Be a Success if Viewers Aren’t Satisfied? appeared first on TV Fanatic.

If you need further evidence, the real world will happily oblige. Flat-earth theories, moon landing coverups, Area 51, the JFK assassination, QAnon, the Illuminati, government coverups of underground passageways in Antarctica, and so many more that attract millions of followers.

Suspicious thinking and paranoia are nothing new. In fact, many scientists believe it’s entirely natural, a trait handed down throughout the ages as an old survival mechanism.

No matter where it comes from, creative minds know how to tap into the paranoid edge of the human consciousness, conjuring characters that are simultaneously fascinating and suspicious of everything.

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Some of TV’s deepest conspiracy buffs are indeed the greatest fictional characters in the history of the small screen.

Rust Cohle – True Detective S01

The first season of True Detective is one of those shows people will hunt down and watch fifty years from now, assuming we consume entertainment in the same way by then. As it turns out, Cohle was mostly correct in his conspiratorial introspection.

The deep south of Louisiana, already a scene of mysticism and old secrets, is the backdrop of Cohle’s investigation. An archaic sense of dark wonder is pervasive throughout the series. If you don’t come away believing in shadowy conspiracies deeply intertwined with the seedy undergrowth of American crime, you’re flirting with a dose of aphantasia.

Sherlock Holmes – Sherlock

There is no true list of TV’s conspiracy buffs without Sherlock Holmes. If he’s not on there, it’s a bust.

Sherlock Holmes’ fictional life took place in late 19th-century England, otherwise known as the Victorian Era. It’s difficult to disassociate Holmes from Jack the Ripper, a real-life serial killer in the shady underbelly of 1888 London.

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The very nature of Holmes’ private investigation enterprise conjures up theories, investigations, and, yes, conspiracies.

The eccentrically luminous Holmes unravels conspiracies for a living and is probably one of the greatest, if not the greatest, fictional detectives in history.

Fox Mulder and Dana Scully – The X-Files

Why list two? Well, in many ways, this is a necessary combination.

If you could take the consciousness of the entire X-Files series and split it into two parts, Scully would be one, and Mulder would be the other. They are oil and water, yet they somehow combine to agglomerate the ultimate conspiracy investigator.

At its heart, The X-Files is about alien colonization or the attempt at colonization. That extraneous effort is shrouded and enabled by a dark government conspiracy with many tentacles. These tentacles are subsets — other conspiracies with key players revolving around the center.

In short, Mulder’s and Scully’s unique intellectual opposition comes together to tackle a multi-faceted nightmare conspiracy of world-shattering proportions.

Olivia Dunham – Fringe

Olivia Dunham is the perfect follow-up to Dana Scully and Fox Mulder. When Fringe came along, everyone assumed it would be a J.J. Abrams-led rip-off of The X-Files. To be fair, the two shows have a lot in common.

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However, where The X-Files’ overarching theme was an alien invasion coordinated with a shadow government, the Fringe crew is up against Massive Dynamic, a multi-billion-dollar corporation/pseudo-government entity.

Like The X-Files, Fringe is essentially a series of paranormal investigations that serve as filler between primary episodes that cover Massive Dynamic and the alternative universe the company is intertwined with.

Mark Scout – Severance

TV’s most entertaining conspiracy buffs don’t have to work for the FBI or some unelected, secret bureaucracy. Severance takes the boring, traditional office setting and turns it into a brain-twisting hellscape of insidious content moderation, social experimentation, and literal, split personalities.

Nothing is what it seems to be in Severance.

Those who work at Lumon Industries undergo a voluntary procedure known as “severance,” which splits and separates their “at-work” consciousness from their “not-at-work” consciousness. The result is a mind-bending spiral of discovery and insanity.

It’s a treacherous conspiracy, tightly constrained within the home-work dynamic.

Bernard Lowe – Westworld

Bernard Lowe has to be one of the most tortured conspiracy buffs on the list. Westworld is a deep dive into the rabbit hole, with a lot going on in its first season.

Built as an “entertainment” venue for the rich and famous, Westworld is a fantasy version of the Wild West made real and peopled with biomechanical robots.

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Unfortunately, the robots no longer behave as intended, and Bernard Lowe, the head of Delos Programming, is intent on figuring out why. The journey is one of self-discovery, though not in the way that most people think.

There’s a huge difference between discovering hidden or repressed aspects of your character and discovering you are not you. The labyrinthine storyline only gets trippier from there.

Jack Shephard – Lost

Lost is probably one of the most convoluted and controversial series on this list. The ending satisfied some and elicited groans from others.

One thing everyone can agree on is that Lost is a complex tale. It often expands too far and becomes dangerously self-destructive. There’s so much going on here that it’s difficult to summarize it all in a few paragraphs.

Suffice it to say, elements of purgatory, flashbacks, flash-forwards, electromagnetism, time loops, immortality, a flash-sideways world (may or may not be defined as purgatory), and metaphysical questions that will never be answered.

Jack presided over more episodes than any other character, so he earns the “conspiracy buffs” title for one of the most divisive and delirious TV shows of all time.

Valery Legasov – Chernobyl

Of all the conspiracy buffs on this list, Valery Legasov is the only real one, and his journey ultimately led to his suicide.

Russia, during the days of the Soviet Union, was a walking, talking conspiracy theory, the result of an oppressive, tightly controlled regime.

Valery Legasov was one of the Soviet chemists sent to the site of the most well-known nuclear plant meltdown in history to ascertain the damage and assist in cleanup efforts.

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Throughout his time in Pripyat, Ukrainian SSR, Legasov faces the brutal nature of a government hell-bent on maintaining secrecy, controlling information, and spying on its own citizens.

To say that the word “conspiracy” is applicable here is an understatement. During that time period, it was paramount that the Soviet Union never allow its chief rival, the United States, to witness a moment of weakness.

The many deaths and the expansive destruction of the meltdown are direct results of a Soviet PR campaign.

Rorschach – Watchmen

Rorschach is one of those conspiracy buffs who gets a bad rap and one that’s well-deserved. Exposing conspiracies is one thing and arguably a positive.

However, to have the legacy of your labors tarnished by a self-written journal meant to expose the results of those labors is tragic in so many ways. This is especially true in Watchmen.

Rorschach’s published journal was perverted into the foundational mechanism of a white supremacist group. While Rorschach was certainly no angel, his intolerances are exclusive to gender and sex.

The Seventh Kalvary rose from the aftershocks of Rorschach’s journal, along with the general dismissiveness people often conjure in the face of conspiracy theories. Regardless of what the audience thinks about his character, his legacy was not his original intent.

Detective John Munch – Homicide

As characters who indulge in conspiracies go, there are none quite like Detective John Munch, whose portrayal stretches across multiple shows, starting with Homicide: Life on the Street.

Interestingly, the late Richard Belzer coauthored “Hit List,” a book that covers the enigmatic deaths of those associated with the Kennedy assassination.

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Detective Munch is conspiracy personified, often haranguing his fellow detectives with one seditious connivance or another.

Ironically, the character of Detective Munch once did a crossover with The X-Files, where he makes fun of the Lone Gunman with mocking tones and implications of tin foil hat conspiracies.

Dale Gribble – King of the Hill

Like the Simpsons, King of the Hill draws its comedic power from the relationships between the characters, whether it’s family or friends throughout the neighborhood.

This allows creators to develop all sorts of characters and see who sticks. Dale Gribble is that slightly off neighbor that you hate to run into at the grocery store because the milk in your cart will reach room temperature before you can drag yourself away from the conversation.

He is the conspiracy buff of all conspiracy buffs, and the internet is rife with Gribble’s best and most delusional quotes.

Dale covers everything from UN weather shaping to clones and psyop campaigns coordinated by the United States Postal Service. He also questions the existence of Hawaii, which he may as well include Wyoming since both are probably government conspiracies.

What do you think? Are there any conspiracy buffs you think should be on the list as well? Hit us up in the comments, and let us know!

The post The Ultimate List of TV’s Conspiracy Buffs appeared first on TV Fanatic.

If you need a primary example of that, work your way through Game of Thrones, Lost, True Blood, or The Walking Dead (to name a few) and suffer the indignity of watching the endings come apart at the seams.

But those who get it right are forever enshrined in the public consciousness and the hallowed halls of TV history.

We're not talking about sadness brought on by a beloved series ending a long and storied run, though that is devastating in its own way. No, these are episodes capable of eliciting the same emotions as a standalone movie.

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Like any good TV show, the characters drive the story, and when characters say goodbye, even if it's just analogous, the result is often heartwrenching.

Fringe – Walter Bishop Says Goodbye

Fringe was often touted as the heir apparent to The X-Files, and some missed out, thinking the show was nothing more than a J.J. Abrams rip-off of a classic.

Dig a little deeper, however, and Fringe reveals exciting twists and turns, solid character development, and even some decent world-building.

It also pulled off a feat that only The X-Files previously mastered — tying individual episodes (having little to do with the overall arc) into the primary plot on an emotional and relatable level.

Like many fantastic Sci-Fi offerings, Fringe was embodied by the team. Dr. Walter Bishop, Peter Bishop, and Olivia Dunham. That familial composition was challenged often, though it never faltered.

That is, until the day that Dr. Bishop said goodbye to his son, Peter. The farewell encompassed far more than a mere parting of ways, and the sacrifice that came with it lingered for a long time afterward.

Breaking Bad – Walter White Makes Amends

Breaking Bad is a story about an antagonist (Walter White) in every sense of the word. But a good antagonist is empathetic in many ways, often doing evil to snatch salvation from the jaws of annihilation.

The idea for Walter White came from a single episode of The X-Files, where Bryan Cranston played the role of a desperate driver, opening the door to a leading role in Breaking Bad.

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Somehow, this makes the end of Breaking Bad so much worse. It was like watching The X-Files's last glowing ember (not counting the more recent stuff) die out, shrouded in a silent darkness.

Darkness also aptly describes Walter's ending in Breaking Bad. Though redemption is within the grasp of the worst of humanity, it often comes at a cost — a cost that Walter White paid in full.

The music playing over his body on the floor, Badfinger's Baby Blue, is an unexpected and brilliant choice that drove home Walter's love for the thing that destroyed him.

Chernobyl – Valery Legasov's Legacy

What makes Chernobyl so particularly devastating, besides the mass deaths and environmental disaster of the meltdown, is the fact that these were real people in a real situation.

Legasov had a prestigious career, something the five-episode Max series (Formerly HBOMAX or HBO) hinted at but never wholly defined. He was a member of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union and a professor at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.

Understandably, he was chosen as one of the Chernobyl Nuclear Plant meltdown investigators. In reality, as in the show, he was crucial in reducing the meltdown's impact and detrimental to a hostile Soviet government.

Radiation sickness took a toll on his body, and for reasons likely but not wholly related to that, he took his own life.

Both the show and Legasov's real history suggest a psychological breakdown as a result of sickness and the oppressive government under which he labored for so long.

Dinosaurs – The Coming Ice Age

Dinosaurs is an oldie but a goodie, except for the series finale. That's not to say it was bad; it was anything but. However, talk about depressing, especially coming from a mostly lighthearted, family comedy sitcom.

Apparently, the show was fairly expensive, and it was difficult to stabilize it with a set time slot. This led to a shorter lifespan for what was a reasonably popular show.

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A series of catastrophes, one leading to the next, facilitated by large corporations more focused on dollar signs and not stewardship of the planet, led to a heartbreaking finale.

The final focus is on Earl, the obedient catalyst of the very event that brought on the Ice Age. Though the show doesn't elaborate on this prophetic knowledge, it's readily apparent in the very pores of the episode.

Earl is optimistic, though the viewer is well aware that this entire family, and indeed the world, will soon freeze to death. It's enough to spoil your entire week.

Six Feet Under – We All End Up In The Same Place

No matter how rich, poor, successful, evil, good, or anything else we are in this world, we all must go out at some point. Sitting down and contemplating that is depressing enough.

Six Feet Under takes those thoughts of inevitable endings, ties them together with memorable characters, and ends them all. Quickly too.

That, and the use of a song that will forever evoke the beauty and pain of the finale, is what makes the series finale of Six Feet Under such a mentally devastating end.

Growing to love the characters over the course of five seasons would normally make anyone's throat knot up. But ending them so fast that it forces you to work it over in your mind for days afterward is just downright cruel.

Our brains instinctively wall off lingering contemplations of our own deaths. Six Feet Under forces us to reflect on that concept in a little too long for comfort.

Quantum Leap – Dr. Sam Beckett Never Returned Home

That last phrase is brutal. Not because it implies a horrible ending for Sam. He could have gone on to help so many others. It could have been lazy writing on the part of the showrunners.

It created a foreboding sense of non-closure in audiences not to mention the fact that after five seasons of leaping through time, Sam's reward is a perpetual life of never returning home.

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Unfortunately, it's probably the result of NBC cutting the series short without an opportunity to develop a true series finale. The suggestion that Sam wanted to keep leaping, with so much evil in the world, certainly helps.

However, it fails to match Quantum Leap's premise. NBC, foreshadowing Netflix's propensity for canceling shows on cliffhangers, took the ball off the court before the game was finished.

The result is the neverending feeling of Sam, jumping from time period to time period until he's old and gray—not exactly a comforting or positive feeling.

The Shield – The Antihero

Before Game of Thrones reinvigorated the idea of amoral, gray heroes, The Shield was already doing the heavy lifting in that regard. Michael Chiklis hasn't done much before or since, but he'll forever be remembered as Vic Mackey.

Vic was a fascinating but difficult character to watch. He was a cop who often and willingly stooped to the levels of criminality to accomplish his goals. He was the penultimate example of corruption, with a tiny window of redemptive light hanging above his head.

His partner in crime, Shane Vendrell, contributed to the most depressing part of the finale, with a murder-suicide that still haunts the mind with visions of his family and that final room.

Vic manages to avoid comeuppance for his crimes, yet his end is fitting nonetheless. Total and absolute non-relevance is a tough act for such a corrupted and ambitious man, yet we leave him as nothing more than a desk jockey shell of a man with no family or friends.

Succession – Neverending Backstabbing

The saddest part is not just how Succession ended but the characters themselves. They'll never be anything other than what they are. In a way, the ending of Succession is similar to that of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Despite everything, the entire party does the same thing, hilariously dissecting B-movies in front of a large screen. Succession is like that, with characters forever caught within the loop of their own contrivances while never ascending to the top.

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Succession is nothing but a well-laid-out example of what happens to three children whose late father has mentally ruined them. Their battle over Waystar is meaningless, as none of them have the capacity to lead, only undercut.

The sadness of Succession comes from seeing what money and privilege bring to three siblings. Despite all their wealth, they are three blind dogs fighting over a toy ball.

Ultimately, the toy ball rolls under the couch, leaving the blind dogs confused, angry, and hopeless.

Alf – There Is No Escape

Who would have thought that the weirdly cute and harmless Alf would end up on a list of series finales that hit us right in the feels? Nevertheless, here we are because Alf's series finale was a gut punch.

For those who have never seen Alf, he's an alien living with the Tanner family. In a strangely hilarious Sci-Fi sitcom, Alf is the ultimate smart mouth, with something witty to say about everything. Not in a bad way.

Alf is a likable alien, as the show's popularity clearly indicates. When an opportunity arises for Alf to escape Earth with his fellow aliens, he understandably takes it.

As a comedy, the last thing the audience suspects is that Alf will fail spectacularly, only to be carted off by the U.S. military in a scene that belongs on one of the more dramatic and serious X-Files episodes.

Pat Sajak – Wheel of Fortune

Sure, it's not a series finale in the strictest sense, but Pat Sajak is the face of the long-running family show. For many, his departure is the series finale of Wheel of Fortune because it won't be right without him.

It's no different from struggling through Jeopardy without Alex Trebek. Pat's departing message was one we can all support: a show that's about family and entertainment, avoiding politics and controversial issues.

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After over 40 years as the host of Wheel of Fortune, the curtain finally closes on a memorable career. His final address to Wheel of Fortune fans was honest and fitting.

“I’ve always felt that the privilege came with a responsibility to keep this daily half-hour a safe place for family fun — no social issues, no politics, nothing embarrassing. I hope. Just a game.”

_{🔗 permalink: Wheel of Fortune – S41E95 – Pat Sajak’s Final Address}

Sons of Anarchy – Jax's Final Ride

For people like Jackson (Jax) Teller, there is no such thing as redemption, at least not in this world. This is one of those episodes where the writing is on every wall, and by the time the end rolls around, it's not a surprise.

With Jax on his old man's bike and a trail of police cruisers and motorcycles behind him, there was really only one path left for a man like Jax to take on Sons of Anarchy.

The scene gives everything away long before Jax takes his hands off the handlebars. The pursuing police cruisers are filmed in such a way that they seem more like a funeral procession than a pursuit force.

The impact between Jax and the oncoming semi isn't shown (thankfully). A quick cut to a duo of crows tells the final story. Though Jax was not a stand-up hero, his demise was heartbreaking nonetheless.

Series finales are often tough, whether they have a good ending, a bad one, or something in between.

Do you have a series finale in mind that hit you right in the feels?

Let us know in the comments!

The post 11 Series Finales That Hit Us Right In the Feels appeared first on TV Fanatic.

"When wreckage from a destroyed alien spacecraft scatters across the Western Hemisphere, it soon becomes apparent the pieces are messing with the laws of physics, changing lives in ways we can't comprehend," reads the official logline. 

"Two agents from different continents, and different mindsets, are tasked to work together to recover the debris, whose mysteries humankind is not quite ready for."

The series stars Jonathan Tucker, Riann Steele, Norbert Leo Butz, and Scroobius Pip, and is set to premiere Monday, March 1.

The first trailer certainly gives Fringe vibes, so we're sure this one will be on your radar, Fringe fanatics. The good news is that it comes from J.H. Wyman, one of the producers of Fringe.

Wyman opened up about the series during a TCA panel on Tuesday and opened up about the comparisons to his previous hit.

“There’s always going to be my DNA in the show,” Wyman said, according to Deadline. “But it’s definitely its own thing.”

Debris will see the relationship between the two leads develop as they work together to make sense of these changes due to alien leftovers.

“Joel has given us this opportunity to kind of come in and discover the debris, but then it really opens it up the rest of the episode and it’s fun for us as actors, for sure, but I think it’ll be fun for audiences to see and speaks to the kind of cable level sci-fi that we’ve become accustomed to that you can have, you can have a bit of both,” said Tucker.

Wyman revealed his love for the sci-fi genre during the panel, but the creator said that the genre could help to explain a lot about the human condition.

“After I saw Close Encounters I literally sat on my roof with my mother trying to find something…I’ve always been fascinated by space and that there’s got to be something more,” he said.

“Maybe there’s a side of me that wishes that the world was a little bit more advanced as far as how we all get along and how it all makes sense.”

Have a look at the full trailer below and hit the comments with your thoughts on it.

The post Debris: NBC Schedules Sci-Fi Drama as Creator Draws Parallels To Fringe appeared first on TV Fanatic.

No writer wants their series to end before the story has been completed, but letting it go on past its natural resolution can tarnish its reputation entirely. 

Networks might still get some views, but is the extra season really worth ruining all the excellence that came before it?

We put together some examples of shows that should've quit while they were ahead. 

Parks and Recreation

To be fair, there wasn't anything bad about the final season. It was more unnecessary than anything else. 

Each viewer is different, and some people need that time jump to see where the characters are headed in the future. 

However, it felt off and didn't quite go with the rest of the show. The Parks and Recreation Season 6 finale could have been the perfect stopping point with a few tweaks for closure. 

Fringe

The problem with Fringe Season 5 is that it had no impact on the story, whatsoever. 

It was cool to see what Peter and Olivia's daughter would be like, but everything that happened in the final season was erased in the series finale. 

The only difference is that Walter wasn't there, as he had to sacrifice himself and go to the future during the last few minutes of the show. 

There were definitely some entertaining aspects, but we could've done without it. 

Chuck

No matter which way you look at it, a lot of fans were unhappy with the ending of Chuck. 

Although some hope was offered for Chuck and Sarah in the show's final moments, the last season was heavy with despair. 

Due to Sarah's memory loss, which is never fully resolved, it felt like a completely different show than the one the audience had initially invested in. 

Once Upon a Time

The majority of the time, viewers become invested in the characters more than the story. We care about the story because it affects the people we've become attached to, and we enjoy watching their ups and downs. 

After Once Upon a Time Season 6, the show lost almost all of its essential cast members, making the final season weak and pointless. 

The sixth season would have closed out the series perfectly, with either a few minor adjustments or an additional episode to send the characters back to the Enchanted Forest.

13 Reasons Why 

Forget about the last season, this one didn't need the last three. 

13 Reasons Why should've stayed a mini-series like it was originally intended to be, rather than overstaying its welcome due to its high viewership. 

After Hannah's story was over, it seemed as if the writers were scrambling for more ways to make the characters suffer, and we got tired of watching it. 

The show was no longer about its title, or title character, and just got more hollow and depressing every season. 

The Office

By textbook definition, it was an ensemble, but The Office never should have continued after Steve Carell's departure. 

Michael Scott was quite literally the star of the show and the one who forced the characters together in his hilarious attempts at commodity. Although they tried to replace him, no one else could ever live up to Michae's legacy.

The series became boring and bland, and Dwight and Jim's shenanigans were one of the only reasons it didn't fade out completely. 

Veronica Mars 

Fans everywhere were ecstatic when Hulu announced they would be producing a Veronica Mars revival. 

However, the internet ended up in a frenzy when the show decided to bring back the series simply to kill off a main and fan-favorite character. The worst part about the ending was that fans funded the Veronica Mars movie in 2014, in the hopes of getting closure for the leading couple.

The revival shattered everything fans rallied so hard for, making us wish that she show never would've started up again, in the first place. 

The 100 

The series still has two more episodes before it wraps up for good, and fans are already done with it. 

Not only was Bellamy missing for almost the entirety of the season, but he was uselessly shot and killed by his best friend, leaving fans shocked and outraged. 

For fans who spent the past seven years believing Bellamy and Clarke would end up together, it was a low blow. 

The direction that the series took appeared to have more to do with behind the scenes issues than authentic storytelling, which is one of the reasons viewers have trouble accepting the final season, at all.

Pretty Little Liars

There were so many A's we couldn't keep track of them all. It began to reach a point where enough was enough.

Besides a few exceptions, time jumps rarely work well on TV, and Pretty Little Liars was best in a high school setting. The Perfectionists, the Pretty Little Liars spinoff, was set in college, yet only went on for one season. 

The show should have given all the shippers their endgames at the end of Pretty Little Liars Season 6 and called it quits. 

New Girl

Does anyone actually like the final season of New Girl? Considering that it wasn't even supposed to happen, it felt like a forced mess. 

Schmidt and Cece's daughter was probably the only upside, as even Nick and Jess's proposal and wedding was a letdown.

While we did want more of a resolution from Nick and Jess's relationship, after they kissed in what was supposed to be the final shot of the show, their send-off ended up seeming lazy and half-assed. 

The Vampire Diaries 

You could blame The Vampire Diaries' downward spiral on the loss of Elena Gilbert, but, The Vampire Diaries' drop in quality started the moment that Klaus and his family left for New Orleans. 

For many fans, Damon and Elena's relationship kept the show afloat, and Katherine Pierce's presence always upped the entertainment value, but after all that was gone, there was next to nothing left. 

And, to be honest, we could've done without the Steroline storyline. 

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What about you, TV Fanatics?

Are there any shows you think overstayed their welcome?

Or do you wish they kept going even longer?

Let us know in the comments section down below!

The post Not All TV Shows Needed That Final Season appeared first on TV Fanatic.

Since then, our heroes have encountered multiple earths, including but not limited to:

• Earth II, where Black Siren, Zoom, Harry Wells, and Jesse Quick came from


• Earth III, where Jay Garrick came from


• Earth 38 where Supergirl takes place
• Earth X, where nazis reigned supreme and Kara was involved with Oliver. 

The theory of a multiverse is fascinating, but the Arrowverse is not the first show to go there. Oh, we can give credit to the comics circa 1961 and debate whether Marvel or DC did it first, but we're talking TV here.

And for TV, there is also a long history of parallel worlds.

In some cases, these worlds are fantasies, in others, a true parallel reality. However they came about, these shows gave us some of the best and worst parallel universes. Let's count them off, shall we?

Lois and Clark — Tempus Anyone?

In DC-based television show of yesteryear, a Lois Lane was uncomfortable when she found out her fiance's ex, Lana Lang, attending their wedding.

Her discomfort was interrupted when a forgotten enemy from the future named Tempus kidnapped Lois to a parallel earth. 

On this earth, her counterpart had gone missing, and her fiance had never met her. He was, in fact, still involved with Lana, and she had convinced him that he couldn't go around saving the day because he might get caught and dissected.

It was a world without Superman.

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Enter Lois Lane.

She got Clark to don the cape and tights she knew he was meant to wear, unintentional playing into Tempus's hand. Still, this was a lighter DC show, so it all turned out well in the end.

In a later episode that earth's Clark was able to stand in for Lois's Clark when he went missing.

Last we saw him, H.G. Wells, their time-traveling friend, seemed set on helping find the Lois Lane from his earth for him so the two could be together.

Ellen — It's a Gay, Gay, Gay, Gay World! 

What if being homosexual was the norm, and being straight required coming out of the closet? That is the world Spence finds himself in on Ellen Season 5 Episode 17.

Ellen is not a magical show, so this world doesn't actually exist. It's the result of a hallucination Spence has after getting a whiff of experimental bug spray.

Regardless, Spence has to deal with what it feels like to be closeted. He learns a valuable lesson about how hard it is to come out or as valuable a lesson as one can learn on a half-hour sitcom from the 90s.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer — The World Without Shrimp

We never actually saw the world without shrimp, but it sure came up a lot. Or, if not a lot, at least enough to be memorable.

Anya first told Buffy about the world without shrimp on Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4 Episode 17.

The topic came up because Buffy asked Anya to explain alternate worlds and dimensions. 

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Alternate worlds and dimensions come up quite a lot in a mystical show like Buffy.

We may see some more Buffy alternate worlds on this very list.

On Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 5 Episode 11, Willow sends the troll Olaf to what they hope is The Land of Trolls, but could end up being The World Without Shrimp.

Charmed — It's A Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad World

On Charmed Season 6 Episodes 22 & 23, the Charmed Ones learn about an evil mirror world.

This world is similar to ours, except all the good people are bad and all the bad people are good. Morality is reversed to maintain a cosmic balance.

The Charmed Ones in this world reign supreme as powerful, evil witches. Everything is dark and dreary, and evil is looked on as a positive thing.

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Meanwhile, The Underworld is where the good guys hide and the infamous demon of fear, Barbas, is, in fact, a demon of hope.

The only way to communicate between the two worlds is with a mirror in possession of the Elder, Gideon.

In the two-parter, The Charmed Ones interact with their counterparts. They find a way to work together towards a common goal.

In the end, the members of the two worlds decide to stay out of each other's way.

We can assume that this mirror world still exists, but it is never mentioned again.

Doctor Who — Pete's World

On Doctor Who Season 2 Episode 5 of the new series, The Tenth Doctor, Mickey Smith, and Rose Tyler find themselves in a parallel universe, one the audience was made aware of in a prologue webisode that aired shortly before the episode itself.

The Doctor dubs this universe "Pete's World," because on this world Pete Tyler, Rose's father who died when she was a baby, is very much alive. 

The Tylers are rich and unhappily married with no daughter to speak of, but that's not the only difference.

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Certain political and global differences have happened, the chief among them being that someone has created a dangerous race quite familiar to The Doctor: The Cybermen.

For a time, Rose Tyler was trapped on this earth, separated from The Doctor in a heart-breaking scene that every Whovian knows well.

She found work at that Earth's version of Torchwood and tried to find her way back to The Doctor.

Eventually, the two were reunited, and Rose was able to live happily with a human clone of The Doctor, her mother, that earth's version of her father and  her friends Mickey. 

Angel the Series — Pylea

Not just another earth, Pylea is what is known as a hell dimension.

The flora, fauna, and landscape are not particularly hellish, as is the case with most hell dimensions in the Buffyverse.

The hellish part has to do with the way society runs and the way certain creatures are treated.

On Pylea, history evolved with demons as the dominant life-form. Humans, known there as cows, are kept as slaves and punished severely for attempting to rebel.

They are also sometimes eaten.

It isn't just the different history, though. Pylea has two suns as opposed to one, and these suns are not harmful to vampires.

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Speaking of which, vampires, known as Van Tal, have reflections and there is a greater divide between their unintimidating human form and monstrous blood-thirsty form.

Pylea is the home dimension of Lorne, full name Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan.

He left because he was kind, empathetic, and loved music and color, two things that do not exist in Pylea.

The character Winifred (Fred) Burkle was transported to Pylea and kept as a slave for five years until Angel and crew travel to Pylea to rescue her.

They aid in a rebellion against the government and free Fred, bringing her back with them.

Smallville — Mirror World

On Smallville Season 10 Episode 10, Clark is transported to a mirror world where instead of being found by the moral, loving, salt-of-the-earth Kents, he was found by none other than Lionel Luthor.

The world where Clark was raised as a Luthor is very different.

He's in a relationship with Tess, who he discovers is Lionel's bastard daughter.

He killed Lex.

And he's basically what you would expect from a Kryptonian raised by a truly evil man. 

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The Luthors have a lot more power in this world. Lois is dating Oliver Queen still, but eventually, Clark Luthor kills him.

Jonathan Kent is living a lonely, less-than-morally sound life without Martha. 

The point of this episode, a world where Clark was raised as a Luthor would be very, very bad.

Clark finds his way back to his own world and sends his doppelganger back to his.

The only catch, mirror-world Lionel hitch-hikes onto our world and makes it his mission to destroy Clark and all he loves. 

Doctor Who — Turn Left

Donna Noble didn't think she was anything special, but she was proven wrong on Doctor Who Season 4 Episode 11.

When Donna decided to turn right instead of left, she changed the entire trajectory of her life.

She never met The Doctor and never wound up saving his life.

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A world without The Doctor is a scary place. I certainly wouldn't want to live there.

Donna's life is turned upside down, as is all of England, and eventually the world.

However, she meets a mysterious blonde woman who tells her how important she is and helps her turn things right again. Or should I say, left again?

The episode could have been a stand-alone except that the mysterious woman was Rose, and this marked the beginning of her return.

A parallel of parallel worlds, so to speak.

Supernatural — The French Mistake

In the DC Universe, they call it Earth-Prime.

On Supernatural Season 6 Episode 15, Sam and Dean are transported to a reality where there is no magic, and their lives are a television show called Supernatural.

Everybody mistakes them for Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, the actors who play Sam and Dean. 

Sam gets to enjoy Padalecki's perks of money, a mansion, and a sexy wife. There are no demons to worry about, save the one who tagged along with them.

However he, like them, has no powers in this reality because there is no magic.

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On the surface, their lives would be easier were they to stay in this reality, but they don't want to live in a world where their lives are superficial.

In their world, they make a difference, whereas here they just make money.

More importantly, in this reality, Ackles and Padalecki are not brothers. They are barely even friends.

That bond is lost, and these boys want it back because how can they not be brothers?

Fringe — The Other Side

In a show about investigating fringe science, alternate universes were bound to come up. Alternate universes and the multiverse are, in fact, key plot points throughout the series. 

One of the main characters, Peter Bishop, was born on The Other Side. His doppelganger on Earth-Prime died due to the same genetic disease he had as a child.

Walter Bishop of Earth-Prime brought Peter over from The Other Side to cure him before he would suffer the same fate.

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It all sounds good, except Walter and his wife were unable to part with any version of their son and kept Peter as their own, lying to him and keeping him from his true parents.

Peter because estranged and Walter is institutionalized until the Fringe Division of the FBI brings both together as resources. 

Eventually, the truth comes out.

Walter of the Other Side wants his son back, so there is some conflict there.

Not to mention, there is the probability of the worlds merging in a catastrophic, cataclysmic sort of way. It 's all the drama one would expect when dealing with a multiverse.

Man in the High Castle — The Entire Show

What if America lost WWII? The Man in the High Castle answers that question with an alternate history.

Doesn't sound so like a story with alternate realities? What if someone had film strips of events from a world where they didn't lose? That's Man in the High Castle.

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The heroes of this show are given hope, seeing that someone, somewhere, in some universe, defeated the Nazis.

As for the Nazis, they want to go to other worlds to conquer them, and they just figured out how. 

Lucifer — Once Upon A Time

God put Chloe on Lucifer's path. Some say it was to redeem him, others to manipulate him, but on Lucifer Season 3 Episode 26, God answers the question; what if I didn't put hero his path?

Why? Because he's God and he can.

To get that answer, God creates an alternate universe where Chloe's father never died.

She never became a detective, instead remaining an actress.

She never had a daughter.

Her life was simpler. She never met Lucifer and never redeemed him.

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While Chloe and Lucifer's lives are stagnate, everybody else's lives in this alternate universe are arguably worse without DeckerStar in the world. 

In the end, even without divine intervention, Chloe and Lucifer find their way to each other, setting them both on a better path and proving that a world with DeckerStar is superior to any other.

The Good Place — The Bad Place, The Reboots, and Pretty Much The Entire Show

The Good Place is rife with other worlds, the chief among them being The Bad Place where **spoilers** the whole first season takes place. 

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Due to the complicated Jeremy Beremy nature of time, the characters of The Good Place experience a great many different timelines and reboots while on this other plane of existence.

They also spend time in The Medium Place and in Janet's Void.

Sanctuary — Out of the Blue

Once again, we come across an alternate reality, which is a figment of the imagination.

On Sanctuary Season 3 Episode 19, Dr. Helen Magnus and Will Zimmerman find themselves in a world where they are ordinary people leading ordinary lives.

They are also neighbors, and they strongly dislike each other.

In this world, they do not remember their true reality until things start to remind them.

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They make multiple attempts to wake up and return to the real world, but whenever they due, they are subdued by scientists and put back under.

Will and Helen eventually realize that the only way to wake up for good is to end their own lives, and each commits suicide, finally waking to their lab with an explanation. Their hallucinations were caused by the psychoactive venom of an abnormal.

The scientists were trying to treat them, help them, but until the treatment was complete, they needed to stay in their delusions.

Counterpart — Prime World

On the series Counterpart, the Office of Interchange (OI) is responsible for the secret of how to cross between Alpha World and a parallel earth known as Prime World.

Scientists from Alpha Wolrd discovered and hid the existence of Prime World in the 1980s.

They also preformed an experiment which created a huge difference Prime World's timeline.

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Lowly United Nations employee Howard Silk discovers the truth about OI when his Earth-Prime counterpart reaches out to him

On Earth-Prime, Silk is a spy and needs to swap places with Alpha Silk to protect Alpha Silk's wife from an assassin.

Things get even more complicated throughout the run of the shortlived show and Silk doesn't know that he can trust anyone, even himself.

Awake — The Green Reality and The Red Reality

The short-lived television series Awake involved two realities, one real, and one figment of the main character's imagination.

After a traumatic car accident with his family Michael Britten loses either his wife or his son.

When he goes to sleep, he is in a world where his son survived, but his wife died.

Then, when in that reality he goes to sleep, he is in a world where his wife died, but his son survived.

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Michael sees two different therapists in each reality, both of whom tell him that the other world is how he is coping with grief.

The thing is, neither Michael nor the audience is ever clear on which reality is the real one.

If the show had continued beyond 13 episodes, the truth might have been revealed at some point. As it stands, we'll probably never know.

Once Upon A Time — WishRealm

When a genie grants the wish that Emma Swan never became The Savior, Emma is shown what her life could have been like if she grew up in The Enchanted Forest.

Regina travels after her to convince her that this isn't her real life and send her home.

She tells her it is all just a dream and wreaks some havoc on the doppelgangers of some of her closest friends.

Throughout the rest of the series, it gets established that while this realm may not always have existed, it is not simply a dream in Emma's head.

The Wish-Versions of Killian, Robin, Henry, and Rumple are as real as those from the realm where the curse got cast.

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True, WishRobin was a pale imitation of the original, but some felt that WishHook was actually better than his original self.

WishRumple was of course darker, having experienced none of the redemption arcs of his counterpart.

However, the true tragedy lies in Regina of the original timeline killing WishSnow and WishCharming before disappearing with Emma, leaving WishHenry angry and alone.

It's no wonder he was so easy for WishRumple to corrupt. 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer — Normal Again

As promised, another of the many universes in existence on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

On Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 6 Episode 17, Buffy is injected with a demonic poison that causes her to hallucinate.

In her hallucinations, she was never the slayer, simply a girl suffering from a type of schizophrenia.

It is posed to her via her living, united parents and her doctor at the mental institution that her life as the slayer is the hallucination.

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Buffy reveals to Willow that she actually was committed once.

Back in LA after seeing and defeating her first vampires, Buffy apparently told her parents, and they had her committed until she pretended not to believe it anymore. 

The brilliance of this episode is that, even though Buffy drinks the anecdote and her hallucinations end, we still get a glimpse of what happens afterward in the other world.

We see the doctor tell Buffy's mother that Buffy is gone as she sits there unresponsive. 

The implication is that, perhaps, this all is just in Buffy's mind.

Perhaps the entire show is just a poor girl's hallucinations. We're never given a concrete answer on which world is the true one. 

Switched At Birth — Yuletide Furtune Tellers

On Switched at Birth Season 3 Episode 22, a wish on magic garlic knots leads the girls to see what their lives would have been if the switch never happened. 

We see that when Daphne is born a Kennish, she is hearing and in training for the Olympics.

However, the Kennish's marriage is falling apart, and Toby would be lost in an emo-goth phase.

Bay as a Sorrento is deaf, but a successful artist with a younger brother.

However, Angelo still died of an aneurysm and Regina is still an alcoholic because she was never motivated by the threat of losing her daughter. 

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After many failed attempts, Bay and Daphne manage to set things right by spending the holidays with the mothers who raised them, keeping the traditions that were so special.

It is unclear if this really happened or if it was some weird shared dream. It's not a magical show, but it was a Christmas episode, so you know, stranger things have happened.

Legacies — There's A World Where Your Dreams Come True

Yet another realm, or realms really, created by a wish. Legacies Season 1 Episode 10 plays host to three separate realities as a distraught Lizzie makes three wishes for a better world.

And by better, she means Hope free.

Lizzie's first wish creates a world where Hope never attended The Salvatore School. She discovers that the world is drab because with no Hope, Hope's father never funded the school.

Long story short, Lizzie and her family are poor. When she tries to fix things, it just brings Hope back into their lives.

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So Lizzie makes wish number two, creating a reality where the never was a Salvatore School, to begin with.

Lizzie and her sister attend normal high school, but instead of being popular Lizzie is now a freak and her sister is not as accommodating as she was in the original timeline.

And of course, Hope shows up anyway. Hope always shows up, which leads Lizzie to create what she imagines must be the perfect world.

She wishes for a world where Hope was never born.

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Except with no Hope, Klaus never reclaimed his humanity. He started a war between magical and non-magical beings.

Lizzie and her friends are getting hunted. The world is all wrong.

To top it all off, in this world, Lizzie went mad and killed her sister.

That's enough for Lizzie to know she has to set things right.

She fixes the world, but, unfortunately, does not remember the lessons she learned.

Still, these worlds gave the audience a glimpse at what a great and selfless character Lizzie could be if given the right push.

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So there you have it, folks. Some of the best and worst alternate realities, timelines, dimensions, worlds, and universes. Did we forget your favorite? Let us know in the comments.

Editor's Note: Our system got updated! Now, you'll be able to scroll through many articles at once.

That required a bit of a change to the comments, though, and now you have to click the blue "comments" bar at the bottom of an article to access them. 

The post Infinite Earths and Other Worlds: The Best and Worst Alternate Realities appeared first on TV Fanatic.

If you said yes, you are not the only one.

Every year, thousands of children are named after TV characters, and for those of you out there asking, “Who would do that?”, don’t be so quick to look down your nose at the concept.

For soon-to-be parents, there are so many names to choose from that the decision can get a little overwhelming, and the pressure to get it right comes from family and friends, coworkers, acquaintances, just about everywhere.

The truth is, you will never make everyone happy when you choose a name for your child so you might as well choose something you and your partner love, and if your inspiration is a character on TV, then so be it.

And know that you’re not alone.

Take the Game of Thrones trend.

Arya wasn’t even breaking the top 1000 baby names a decade ago, but fast forward through eight seasons and you’ll find it ranking in at 119th in the U.S.

Why choose Arya? Why not?

The character survived incredible odds, always stood up for herself, and didn’t know the meaning of the word, quit.

Plus, it’s just darn pretty. It’s three syllables packed into four letters. It’s easy to spell and pronounce, so if it resonates with you, go for it!

However, no matter how successful the series, not every character name will see that kind of a bump. 

For example, only 29 girls were named Sansa, 58 boys were given Tyrion, and no matter how handsome, Jaime actually went down in ranking during the running of the show instead of up.

But naming your child after a character can also have its pitfalls. 

Take the 560 babies who were named Khaleesi or the 163 named Daenerys last year.

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Those parents may have cringed a little harder than the rest of us when the character suddenly took on the moniker of Mad Queen and burned people alive in Kings Landing during Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 5.

It might be smarter to wait until a series ends before choosing a character’s name, especially one that only exists in a made-up language like Dothraki because there’s no way you can pull off, “Oh no, we didn’t name her after that Khaleesi,” when you are inevitably asked about the name.

But Game of Thrones isn’t the only TV inspiration for names. A quick survey of fellow TV Fanatic writers and TV fans has uncovered enthusiasm for several TV character names.

Sometimes a TV show can put a different spin on a name.

Take Chandler Bing from Friends.

Chandler is a name of French origin meaning candle maker. Before the 1990s the name hadn't cracked the Top 500. People weren't exactly clamoring to name their children Chandler. 

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But by 1999, with Friends being one of the nation's most beloved sitcoms and Chandler Bing making us laugh with his sarcastic, self-deprecating wit each week, the name ran up the charts to #151. 

Let's switch gears from the unusual Chandler to an over looked name like Donna.

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The name Donna first broke the Top 100 in 1926 and reached peak popularity in the 1950s and 1960s. Around the time of The Donna Reed Show, it cracked the Top 5!

With keeping with the theme of that show, the meaning of Donna in Italian is “woman,” “lady,” or “lady-like.” 

But put it in the context of Doctor Who’s Donna Noble, who didn’t think she was important until she ended up being the most important woman in the universe, and the name takes on a whole new significance.

Or let's take a look at Stiles from Teen Wolf?

Stiles was originally a British surname and just before Teen Wolf premiered in 2011, the name Stiles as a first name wasn’t even breaking the Top 10,000!

But by 2016, the year before the series conclusion, Stiles had risen thousands of places to #2,252.

Was it due to fans of the fiercely loyal character with a talent for solving mysteries?

Some names even swap genders over time and TV shows.

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Take the name Addison for instance.

In 1985, Addison was ranked #1,235 amongst boys names in the U.S. A year after Moonlighting’s David Addison hit TV screens, the name jumped over 700 spots to #514.

Fast forward to the 2004 and Addison was in the Top 200 girls names. Then, possibly thanks to Grey’s Anatomy’s Addison Montgomery, the name rose to #11 on the top girls' list.

Just as TV can affect baby names, popular baby names can affect TV.

Let’s take the name Olivia. It’s Latin in origin, means “olive tree” and seems to have that perfect balance of both strength and femininity.

It’s a name that ranks #2 in the U.S., #1 in the U.K. and is popular throughout the world. So perhaps it shouldn’t be a surprise that so many popular TV characters share that moniker.

There’s Olivia Dunham on Fringe, Olivia Pope from Scandal, and Lieutenant Olivia Benson who has graced our TV screens for 21 seasons and counting on Law & Order: SVU.

Heck if you throw in Olivia Walton, from The Waltons and Olivia the fashionable dressed pig from the British children’s animated series, you’d be hard-pressed not to find an Olivia on TV that inspires you.

In theory, every TV show may have inspired someone’s baby name, either the one they chose for their child or the one they have on their list.

What do you think, TV Fanatics?

Is there a TV character out there after whom you’d name your child?

Have you already named your baby after your favorite character? Or would you never, ever name your child after someone you saw on TV, or at least ever admit to it?

Hit up those comments and let us know if you’re into TV inspired baby names!

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The post Would You Name Your Baby After a TV Character? appeared first on TV Fanatic.

These are the shows that may have lasted only one season, but their dedicated fans made them become cultural phenomena. Or maybe they are the shows that made it several seasons, but still live on through comics, fan-fiction, memorabilia, and action figures. Some are even taught in the university classroom.

The bottom line?

The fans of these shows are passionate, and with good reason! All of them not only make for great television, but they've also inspired other popular current series. Chances are, some of your favorite shows right now wouldn't exist if it weren't for the ones on our list.

From quirky comedies to vampire slayers, these cult TV shows are ones we miss — big time. The good news? Some have gotten closure through movies (one of them was actually funded by the fans), and others have reboots in the works right now. We can't wait for the return of The X-Files!

As for the others, it's worth it to binge-watch each of these shows more than once.

Which of these cult TV shows is your favorite, and which ones did we miss? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

The post Throwback Thursday: 21 Captivating Cult Classics appeared first on TV Fanatic.

We here at TV Fanatic are rewriting that myth, effective right now. Redheads are crazy hot. 

From drama to comedy, some of our favorite characters proudly rock their red hair and steal our hearts in the process. Behold, TV's hottest redheads!

17 Red Hot TV Redheads

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Fun fact: Red hair is a result of a single genetic mutation, which means gingers are basically superheroes. Someone put Jensen Ackles in a cape and tights, STAT! (He totes has a red beard, guys. THAT COUNTS!)

Making up just 1-4% of the world's population, perhaps the on-screen number of redheads is in line with their real-world representation. But we don't care. MORE REDHEADS, PLEASE AND THANKS!

Those who made it into this gallery of redheads of the fictional world are proving that they're worthy of our biggest TV crushes. They're funny and flawless on screen (and probably off). 

Now it's your turn, TV Fanatics! Who wins your vote for TV's hottest redhead? Sound off in the comments below!

The post 17 Red Hot Redheads: Who is Scorching the Small Screen? appeared first on TV Fanatic.