Sometimes we love a TV show. Sometimes, a TV show tries to love us in return. It doesn’t always succeed. A TV show that was either narrow in concept or running a long time will start to run out of ideas eventually, and try some drastic measures to spice things up. There are only a few really shocking stunts that TV shows feel safe pulling again and again, and here’s the top for your viewing pleasure.
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1. A Kid
One of the first thing a TV show will do to try to shock the audience or spice up dynamics is introduce a kid. Sometimes it’s a runaway orphan, or the long lost child of a main character. Two formerly unrelated characters could just pop a kid out, or there could be a return of a character with a new kid after an absence. The assumption is that a kid will spice up new drama among the cast, or make a previously lacking character suddenly have parental dimension. It usually fails.
2. A Life Changing Injury
Another attempt at shock therapy for the audience. If a particular character has grown stale, too evil, or too well adjusted, they simply hit them with a bridge or a have them slip on a banana peel. Then, there’s fodder for an entire season of their rehabilitation. Maybe they take on a new role within the group, to reflect their new found focus upon being crippled. It’s a cheap way to stir up sympathy from an audience who had long since ceased to care about normal characters.
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3. Family
This one is a favorite of soap operas. A formerly orphaned person has their real parents show up. A good protagonist has a never before talked about evil twin. After making a character ill, they suddenly have a family member with matching marrow. An established character has a more knowledgeable sibling show up and rewrite their entire history. It’s a way that writers love to write themselves out of a corner, after exhausting all easy story lines.
4. Death
A staple of the season finale of any TV show, the show decides to semi-randomly kill of a character. This could be because their behind the scenes actor was a huge jerk. They may have wanted a bigger paycheck, or maybe they wanted to pursue their film career. No matter what, the death is often overplayed and maudlin. It’s a ruse to elicit sympathy from the audience by doing the unthinkable. After all, death is final, and there is no way around it. Bye bye forever, character.
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5. Resurrection
Oh wait, never mind. Death isn’t eternal. The grim reaper is a chump. A TV attempting to boost sagging ratings or resume the status quo will revive a character without a second glance. Maybe they were never dead at all. Maybe they faked their death. Maybe they’re a robot double. Time travel/aliens/a dark ritual brought them back. No matter what, this character with an emotionally effective death is suddenly back, and everything is normal. Do not question the events on the screen.
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