I really love how they don't tie these episodes up with a pretty little bow. Most of the episodes either don't end well or are at least left open-ended. And it appears this formula is working in this current new season as well.
Well played HUB! :)
I prefer happy endings.
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I also prefer happy endings, and that is why I cannot bring myself to watch this show past the first half of the episode- too depressing. I understand that there are some die hard horror fans who prefer more scary unhappy endings, but there are many of us who prefer more "lite horror" and I feel like there are not any new shows that cater to our tastes anymore. It seems like every popular movie and show on TV now is either too violent or does not have a happy ending. True that silly comedies still often are not too violent and end happily, but these often do not have good storylines and between them and the dark action/sfi-fi/horror fan there is little in between. I like how in previous decades we had shows like "Are You Afraid of the Dark" and "Quantum Leap" that fit somewhere in the middle of this spectrum but not anymore.
shareI can't believe people take this show so seriously re: unhappy endings. It's a show for goodness sakes. How do some people function in real life?
Anyway, I muchly prefer the dark endings (not saying people have to die) because they require better writing. Well, not so much the episodes that just end rather than establish any kind of ending. Exception being "Stage Fright." That was genius.
I prefer a mix of happy and dark endings. Fear Itself was an anthology show that always had unhappy endings and it got boring and predictable after a dozen episodes.
shareThe Goosebumps books and the short stories a few of The Haunting Hour were based on for the most part had unhappy endings. Sometimes they were changed for the show, but the question is how well put together the episodes were leading up to those endings. The Goosebumps show is regarded by many, including myself, as weak because of poor acting, cheap effects, and thin storylines (the somewhat short ime slot contributed to that and some repetitiveness). This show also has many unhappy endings, but the stories are mature, acting is generally strong, and there's enough time to develop everything. Are You Afraid of the Dark? was a show where many of the endings were positive, but some were unhappy or at least inconclusive. I always preferred that over Goosebumps because the episodes' timeslot was longer, resulting in stronger stories, and there was no set pattern to the endings so I never knew what to expect.
shareI can't believe people take this show so seriously re: unhappy endings. It's a show for goodness sakes. How do some people function in real life?
Yes, Exactly. It's a show for goodness sakes, so why not make a happy ending?
"Age ain't nothin' but a number" -- Aaliyah
Agreed.
shareGee Mahou, maybe people like an escape from real life and don't wish to hear about children dying in alleged children's shows too. We function just fine, and better because we don't fill our heads with crap.
Kedeem, you put it perfectly. It's one thing to have darker or open endings, but unjust or horrible endings are a waste of my energy. I made the awful choice of watching the horrid episode "The Girl in the Painting", all excited because I love paintings and similar storylines. Then, whoopee, I get to see a child's end in what turned out to be a horrible, ludicrous and pointless plot. I was already sleep-deprived before turning that episode on and now I'm royally pissed and feeling five times worse than I did already.
I agree with this, I think it is the main thing that distinguishes this show from Are You Afraid of the Dark and similar things. In these episodes you see kids die, parents die, the world end, people including kids doomed for eternity, teens getting kicked in the nuts, and other things you would never see in a more pre-teen oriented horror show.
shareI like that too.
Clark's destiny = Superman, LL &LL.
Goosebumps had almost nothing but unhappy endings... but of course, The Haunting Hour does things far more effectively.
As dark as most of the show's endings were (very bold move for today's so-called "sissified" world, wouldn't you say?), I applaud the makers of the show for sticking with this formula. Perhaps the viewer may not feel some relief from the Haunting Hour's endings like that of Are You Afraid of the Dark's endings, but, if you're going to make an horror-fantasy anthology series be that much more chilling and memorable (even if it's aimed at a younger audience), it simply makes sense to go with these kinds of endings. Although, I'd be lying if I said I didn't wish more episodes could have gotten sequels or something because... damn, a lot of those kids got what they DID NOT deserve. :) Regardless, one can't deny they leave an impact.
You want something corny? You got it!