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The 50 Worst Decisions in TV History - Rolling Stone

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91_Aggie
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In reply to tk for tu juan • 10:19a, 8/22/23
AG
tk for tu juan said:
Anyone that thinks the Lost characters were in purgatory should watch the final season/end again.


Jack Shephard : Are you real?

Christian Shephard : I sure hope so. Yeah, I'm real. You're real. Everything that's happened to you is real. All those people in the church, they're all real too.

Jack Shephard : No. They're all... They're all dead. I'm dead. You're dead.

Christian Shephard : Everyone dies sometime, kiddo. Some of them before you, some... long after you.

Jack Shephard : But why are they all here now?

Christian Shephard : Well, there is no "now", here.

Jack Shephard : Where are we, Dad?

Christian Shephard : This is a place that you... that you all made together so that you could find one another. The most important part of your life was the time that you spent with these people on that island. That's why all of you are here. Nobody does it alone, Jack. You needed all of them, and they needed you.

Jack Shephard : For what?

Christian Shephard : To remember. And to... let go.

Jack Shephard : Kate... She said we were leaving.

Christian Shephard : Not leaving. No. Moving on.

Jack Shephard : Where are we going?

Christian Shephard : Let's go find out.


It was some "place" that the writers made up because the viewers guessed it was Purgatory in the first season and the writers were butthurt so they mad this dumbass ending so they could technically say "See, you were all wrong about it being purgatory... we are too clever for you to figure out our completely planned-out end-game that we had totally in place in episode 1 of season 1"

And of course some audience members bought this BS and just thought it was a great ending.
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tk for tu juan
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In reply to 91_Aggie • 10:32a, 8/22/23
The place is the flash sideways not the island
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justnobody79
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11:10a, 8/22/23
Coy and Vance taking the place of Bo and Luke
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Brian Earl Spilner
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In reply to tk for tu juan • 11:40a, 8/22/23
AG
This final scene, and really the entire final season, has only gotten better for me over the years. I did a full series rewatch a couple years ago when covid hit, and I honestly teared up no less than 8-10 times in the finale. It's so good.

Admittedly the show dipped in quality a bit, but I think it really picked back up in that final season. Still a few misses, sure (still don't love the origin story for Jacob/MIB), but that ending really works for me.
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Brian Earl Spilner
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In reply to 91_Aggie • 11:47a, 8/22/23
AG
Nobody will argue you have to like what they did, but it legitimately bugs me how many people still don't (or refuse to) understand that everything was real, and only the "flash-sideways" was purgatory.

Not trying to single you out either, it's something I see a lot. In fact I have a friend that still says that every time Lost comes up in conversation, and he refuses to hear otherwise. I'm sure he does it to troll me at this point.

Now, one can certainly complain that the flash-sideways was all wasted time, and that's an honest complaint. But me for me, it was all worth it just for that emotional payoff at the end. I get how some wouldn't like to be "tricked" though.

But the other thing that bugs me is that people still say it left most things unanswered, when it really didn't. Sure there are some minor questions that were never going to be answered, but all the big stuff was addressed.
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GreasenUSA
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11:54a, 8/22/23
AG
LOST has always been one of my top 5 shows since it aired. There have been a couple series in recent years that I might place above it these days.

But-

Count me as someone who was perfectly content with the ending, enjoyed the ride as a whole, and never understood the folks who needed answers to every single mystery. It never felt like a show that was heading towards answering every little thing.
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Definitely Not A Cop
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In reply to PatAg • 12:19p, 8/22/23
AG
PatAg said:
So when Andy Greene (senior writer) sits down to write this article, does he think he is actually putting out an amazing piece of work? Or is he just trolling


Rolling Stone has been a joke for a while.

Oh, and count me as another person who doesn't understand the ending of lost. The scene mentioned above doesn't really help.

Dane Cook nailed Lost in 2005.

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The Porkchop Express
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In reply to Brian Earl Spilner • 12:38p, 8/22/23
AG
Brian Earl Spilner said:
What did Lost leave unanswered?
What the **** was going on.
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Brian Earl Spilner
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In reply to The Porkchop Express • 12:55p, 8/22/23
AG
I'll bite. What was the biggest thing that wasn't answered?

Also, I challenge you to name a single mystery in Lost that was handled half as badly as "Somehow, Palpatine returned", a movie you are constantly defending on this board.
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Bruce Almighty
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12:57p, 8/22/23
AG
The show was called "Lost" for a reason. The show was always about the characters, and no show developed characters as well as Lost did. When watching it, I always figured (and hope) that things would be left open and unanswered because that was kind of the point. The show never gave answers, and doing so would have gone against everything the show did up to that point.
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Definitely Not A Cop
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In reply to Brian Earl Spilner • 1:00p, 8/22/23
AG
What was the smoke monster?
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Brian Earl Spilner
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In reply to Definitely Not A Cop • 1:15p, 8/22/23
AG
Jacob's brother
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GreasenUSA
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In reply to Definitely Not A Cop • 1:21p, 8/22/23
AG
Definitely Not A Cop said:
What was the smoke monster?
It was a monster made of smoke. What would we have accomplished by knowing the scientific or supernatural makeup of it?
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The Porkchop Express
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In reply to Brian Earl Spilner • 1:35p, 8/22/23
AG
Brian Earl Spilner said:
I'll bite. What was the biggest thing that wasn't answered?

Also, I challenge you to name a single mystery in Lost that was handled half as badly as "Somehow, Palpatine returned", a movie you are constantly defending on this board
Here's a couple off the top of my head.
  • Where the **** was this temple they just conjured out of nowhere in the last season?
  • How was Christian Shepherd able to appear off the island - to Jack in LA and to MIchael on board the ship when it was shown later that it was impossible for him to leave the island?
  • Why did Jacob and the other guy live forever on the island but they couldn't kiss and make up?
  • How long was that chick standing there in her house staring at the giant clock on the floor thing before they all showed up to talk to her about getting back to the island?
  • Why the hell was Libby in the mental institution?
  • Why are their Egyptian hieroglyphics on an island in the Pacific Ocean?
  • Why is Jack OK being Sawyer's sloppy seconds with Kate?
  • What the **** is going on in the cabin, and why didn't they ever go there again?
  • Who the **** is chasing them in the canoe in that one episode?
  • Is Walt a Jedi or a mutant or what is the source of his powers? Why did they all pretend like he was the same age when he grew like 9 feet taller in between appearances?
  • Why didn't Jack and Ana Lucia ever make good on their promise to build an army and kill all those Dharma **** faces?
  • Why does that one dude keep reciting the numbers in the looney bin?
  • Who the **** was doing all that whispering? The Island?
  • Nikki and Paolo TIMES 10 BILLION
  • Jack's tattoo story - 3 million percent worse than Palpatine's return.
  • Why were they experimenting on Polar Bears?
  • Why was everyone in America OK with Boone ****ing his sister?
  • Why didn't Sawyer immediately kill Sayid for peeling off his finger nails? I wanted to kill him just watching it.
  • Hurley had to walk everywhere all the time. Even with the secret cache of mayonaise, he should have dropped 120 pounds easy.
  • Why doesn't anyone realize that Sun was the true smoke show in that cast?
  • Why does Michelle Rodriguez play the same character in every TV show and movie ever?
  • Why weren't there any dinosaurs on the island?
  • Why does the show hate black people? Mr Eko dies, Walt & Michael bail, and Rose is married to lame-ass Bernard, the one guy who couldn't make a shot through the rifle?
  • How close were they to killing and eating Hurley early on?
  • What lame wad gets addicted to pain killers and wanders around the airport when you've got Evangeline Lily at home waiting and DTF?
  • Why was there never a Lost / Dharma and Greg crossover for all of the great Dharma jokes?
  • Why did they rip off the plot of the 1978 TV movie "Return to Gilligan's Island" by having them all go back to the island?
  • Why wouldn't Locke tell anyone, "Oh by the way, I was in a wheelchair when we got here, and now oI can walk?"
  • Did Richard Alpert know when he crash landed on the island that one day he would rise to the position of Mayor of Gotham City?
  • Why did the never once play a Johnny Cash song when the Man in Black was on screen?
  • How was I supposed to pretend this show was real when Mac from IASIP showed up for an episode?
  • What the hell are Claudia and her two kids eating all those years growing up?
  • Why is Jacob such a ******bag bringing people to the island so they can get killed?
  • Is "the sickness" actually COVID?
  • What the hell kinda diet did Greg Grunberg go on between looking slim and trim in Lost and looking like the son of Porkins in the Force Awakens?
  • Was being shot by Michael ultimately the merciful way for Libby to go out rather than being inevitably suffocated to death the first time she and Hurley tried to have sex?
  • How many hospital rules is Jack breaking by dating a patient? All of them?
  • How did "You All Everybody" ever get to #1 on the charts for Drive Shaft? That song is terrible and the words don't even go together. No song starts with the title of the song as the first lyric.





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Definitely Not A Cop
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In reply to GreasenUSA • 1:35p, 8/22/23
AG
GreasenUSA said:
Definitely Not A Cop said:
What was the smoke monster?
It was a monster made of smoke. What would we have accomplished by knowing the scientific or supernatural makeup of it?


I would understand the point of it?
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Brian Earl Spilner
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In reply to The Porkchop Express • 1:49p, 8/22/23
AG
The Porkchop Express said:
Brian Earl Spilner said:
I'll bite. What was the biggest thing that wasn't answered?

Also, I challenge you to name a single mystery in Lost that was handled half as badly as "Somehow, Palpatine returned", a movie you are constantly defending on this board
Most of these are clearly jokes, and I don't have that kind of time, but I'll respond to a few.

    Where the **** was this temple they just conjured out of nowhere in the last season?
    The island was pretty big, plus there was a whole town that nobody knew about for two full seasons. This is not really a Lost problem but a "network tv" problem.
    How was Christian Shepherd able to appear off the island - to Jack in LA and to MIchael on board the ship when it was shown later that it was impossible for him to leave the island?
    I'll give you this one. That was one I had as well.
    Why the hell was Libby in the mental institution?
    Another good one. I believe the actress got fired. But nobody really cared about her anyway.
    What the **** is going on in the cabin, and why didn't they ever go there again?
    MIB was trapped in there by the ash around the cabin. Once the Oceanic Six return, Ilana breaks the ash ring to release him.
    Who the **** is chasing them in the canoe in that one episode?
    I think it was confirmed that it was themselves. Just never shown onscreen. But this is hardly one that ruins a show.
    Who the **** was doing all that whispering? The Island?
    All the ghosts on the island who hadn't moved on.
    Jack's tattoo story - 3 million percent worse than Palpatine's return.
    Awful episode, but it's also the reason ABC finally let them set an end date. It evens out. (Also, this to me is not worse than Palpatine. That would be more like if Locke returning from the dead was never explained beyond one throwaway line like "The island still needed him.")
    Why were they experimenting on Polar Bears?
    They were using them to turn the frozen donkey wheel. We later see skeletons of bears in the desert where they transport to.
Edit: I give up trying to format this. TA keeps making it worse every time.
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tk for tu juan
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In reply to Brian Earl Spilner • 1:55p, 8/22/23
As mentioned above, Stranger in a Strange Land (tattoo episode) became a negotiating tool by the showrunners against the studios. They wanted to wrap up the show shortly after season 3 and the studio wanted 10 seasons. That episode helped the studio see the light that there are only so many flashback stories that can be told before they run out of material. The negotiated down to 6 seasons

Edit: meant to reply to porkchop
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The Porkchop Express
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1:55p, 8/22/23
AG

Quote:
I don't have that kind of time, but I'll respond to a few.
You're online in the middle of the workday talking about a TV show that went off the air 13 years ago, you've got time, brother!
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Brian Earl Spilner
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In reply to Definitely Not A Cop • 2:02p, 8/22/23
AG
You're probably trolling or purposely ignoring the last season, but in case you're not...

MIB goes into the well of light and is transformed into the smoke, and prevented from leaving the island. If you're looking for something more than that, you pretty much have to question every single movie or show that involves supernatural or magical elements.
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tk for tu juan
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2:12p, 8/22/23


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Swarely
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2:20p, 8/22/23
Duncan Idaho is not going to like number 44.
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Urban Ag
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In reply to BadMoonRisin • 2:43p, 8/22/23
AG
BadMoonRisin said:
For me it will always be leaving Steve Carell out to dry with no contract extension, forcing him out of The Office.
He did not want to leave the show, but there was new management at NBC that just didnt reach out and talk to him about renewing his contract.

That show was completely different, in a bad way, after he left.
I think it recovered quite well with Robert California. The Will Farrell character sucked.

I've read some on this and if true can't say I blame NBC for letting him walk. Carrell's film career was on fire at the time and his compensation demands were astronomical. By that point in the series it seemed obvious to many that the overall cast was so strong and so loved by viewers, it could survive a few more seasons without him. And realistically they had to know the others would be ready to move within a few years anyway.
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Diggity
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3:48p, 8/22/23
AG
Quote:
41

Geraldo Takes Viewers Inside Al Capone's Vault

On April 21, 1986, 30 million people tuned into a television special called The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault. Host Geraldo Rivera breathlessly hyped the event for weeks, promising to crack open a newly-discovered vault once used by notorious crime boss Al Capone, on live television. Rivera had medical examiners on hand in case bodies were inside, along with IRS officials in case money was tucked away. But as any good lawyer will tell you, never ask a question to a witness when you don't know the answer. And like any good TV producer will tell you, don't crack open a vault live on television when you have absolutely no idea what's inside. In this case, almost nothing was inside besides some empty bottles and a lot of dirt. Rivera was humiliated by the fiasco. Four decades later, it remains one of the most famous non-events in TV history.
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3:58p, 8/22/23
double aught
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In reply to [removed post] • 4:04p, 8/22/23
AG
I think the point is it was a mistake for Fox. Sure the show would've been different and likely not as good, but doing it over again, they would've loved to have The Sopranos.
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4:05p, 8/22/23
Furlock Bones
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In reply to AustinAg2K • 4:15p, 8/22/23
AG
AustinAg2K said:
19. Seinfeld' Kills off Susan in Heartless Fashion

Nope. That's one of TVs greatest moments. The article says this was to much for Seinfeld fans. BS. Anyone who didn't laugh their asses off when Elaine says, "So.... Sorry?" Isn't a Seinfeld fan. The show continued to be #1, so it seems like no one really cared.
sounds like the list is written by a 20 something that wasn't around for Seinfeld. killing Susan the way they did was Seinfeld perfection.
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MAROON
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In reply to AustinAg2K • 4:38p, 8/22/23
AG
AustinAg2K said:
19. Seinfeld' Kills off Susan in Heartless Fashion

Nope. That's one of TVs greatest moments. The article says this was to much for Seinfeld fans. BS. Anyone who didn't laugh their asses off when Elaine says, "So.... Sorry?" Isn't a Seinfeld fan. The show continued to be #1, so it seems like no one really cared.
Pls I've heard that behind the scenes all the actors couldn't stand the actress playing Susan
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Bruce Almighty
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5:01p, 8/22/23
AG
The 4 main characters were narcissistic pieces of crap. Them showing any kind of remorse wouldn't have made any sense with the rest of the show. Her death was perfect Seinfeld.
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bagger05
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5:06p, 8/22/23
AG
The more I watch old Seinfeld episodes, the more I warm up to the finale. When it first aired I thought it was a dud, but stuff like the Susan death makes the ending fit like a glove.
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JCA1
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5:45p, 8/22/23
AG
Larry David's mantra for Seinfeld was "no hugging, no learning." That's what made it great. The characters never evolved. There was never a "very special" Seinfeld.

And I'll edit to add, this was the significance of the final conversation on the show. While Jerry and George are sitting in jail, they start discussing the location of a button on Jerry's shirt. This is literally the same conversation they had in the very first episode. The show ended with them being literally the same people they were at the start.
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Based Hiker
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In reply to tk for tu juan • 5:53p, 8/22/23
tk for tu juan said:
Anyone that thinks the Lost characters were in purgatory should watch the final season/end again.


Jack Shephard : Are you real?

Christian Shephard : I sure hope so. Yeah, I'm real. You're real. Everything that's happened to you is real. All those people in the church, they're all real too.

Jack Shephard : No. They're all... They're all dead. I'm dead. You're dead.

Christian Shephard : Everyone dies sometime, kiddo. Some of them before you, some... long after you.

Jack Shephard : But why are they all here now?

Christian Shephard : Well, there is no "now", here.

Jack Shephard : Where are we, Dad?

Christian Shephard : This is a place that you... that you all made together so that you could find one another. The most important part of your life was the time that you spent with these people on that island. That's why all of you are here. Nobody does it alone, Jack. You needed all of them, and they needed you.

Jack Shephard : For what?

Christian Shephard : To remember. And to... let go.

Jack Shephard : Kate... She said we were leaving.

Christian Shephard : Not leaving. No. Moving on.

Jack Shephard : Where are we going?

Christian Shephard : Let's go find out.


Thanks. Now I am reminded that it's time for a rewatch.
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MAROON
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6:54p, 8/22/23
AG
McLean Stevenson and Wayne Rogers both leaving MASH should be on this list
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BassCowboy33
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In reply to T for Texas • 11:24p, 8/22/23
T for Texas said:
FightinTexasAg15 said:
1) D&D decide to torpedo Game of Thrones into the ground in favor of other projects


How did that not make it on there?


I don't think the end was as bad as everyone made it out to be at the time. While the pacing wasn't great, I thoroughly enjoyed the arc of the final season.
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Jugstore Cowboy
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In reply to double aught • 1:48a, 8/23/23
AG

Quote:
The Office is not one of these shows. After Steve Carell left near the end of the seventh season, the show tried to soldier on by promoting Ed Helms' character and bringing in James Spader as the new owner of Dunder Mifflin.
Not sure the person writing this even watched the show. Typical Rolling Stone list.

Rolling Stone could turn into a version of US News & World Report; a business name that keeps producing lists long after anyone actually read the magazine.
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