Killing characters
05/04/08 15:31 Filed in: Media
So we had the climax of the second season of
Torchwood last night and as I guessed we had a
character death.
I suspected the series would end with the death of a
character, it just seemed that way from Episode 5,
Reset, when when did have a character die on us. But
since this is sci-fi, dying doesn't always mean the
end. And so while we did have a character death, it
didn't really feel that way.
From that point on I was fairly sure someone was going to die for 'real' in the series and then when it was announced that the series finale would change Torchwood forever, it was certain that we would get a death.
I think that it does a long running series (or even a short running series like Torchwood) good to kill a character now and again. All of the really good series have done this, Stargate SG-1/ Atlantis, Doctor Who, and from the king of killing characters Buffy and Firefly. It shakes things up and shows that just like real life things change and people do die. But it shouldn't just be done for the sake of killing the character, it shouldn'tbe a trick to get viewing figures up. The death should really be felt by the viewers, which means the writer should feel it when they write it.
I've done this my self in my 2007 Nanowrimo story, and that did hurt. It was pain full to kill of my heroine, but I'd always known I was going to do this. The idea was about conflict and war (although the this first draft didn't really contain as many of those elements as I'd planed) and you don't fight with out getting hurt and suffering some loss. So I had to kill some one that, I hope, the reader cared about.
And I hope, like the best character deaths, it was unexpected and came as a shock.
The two best character deaths I can think of have come in this way, at the end of the story when all seems to be safe and normal. I'm thinking of here of the deaths of Dr Clarson in Atlantis and of off course the death of Joyce in Buffy. Both of these are shocks, jarring and unpleasant, but ultimately they make for compelling television.
One other thing that the writers must do once they have killed a character like this, is to never bring them back. That is just wrong, they have put the viewer through pain and suffering and then to say in the next episode 'no it's okay they come back to life' just cheapens the whole thing. They can bring them back in flash back, thats okay, but not as a regular character.
So what of Torchwood then. Owen was killed and came back, was that okay?
Well kind of, firstly not to much was made of the death, so it was okay to bring him back and in any case, he was the character that I would miss the least. The one I didn't think I would shed a tear over losing.
Well thats what I thought, but last nights double character death, was if not unexpected it was very well done and I did feel it.
So next season (if there is one) will be down both Owen and Toshiko.
I also have to say that this was an excellent end to a season that while it started off very weakly has been a great season overall
From that point on I was fairly sure someone was going to die for 'real' in the series and then when it was announced that the series finale would change Torchwood forever, it was certain that we would get a death.
I think that it does a long running series (or even a short running series like Torchwood) good to kill a character now and again. All of the really good series have done this, Stargate SG-1/ Atlantis, Doctor Who, and from the king of killing characters Buffy and Firefly. It shakes things up and shows that just like real life things change and people do die. But it shouldn't just be done for the sake of killing the character, it shouldn'tbe a trick to get viewing figures up. The death should really be felt by the viewers, which means the writer should feel it when they write it.
I've done this my self in my 2007 Nanowrimo story, and that did hurt. It was pain full to kill of my heroine, but I'd always known I was going to do this. The idea was about conflict and war (although the this first draft didn't really contain as many of those elements as I'd planed) and you don't fight with out getting hurt and suffering some loss. So I had to kill some one that, I hope, the reader cared about.
And I hope, like the best character deaths, it was unexpected and came as a shock.
The two best character deaths I can think of have come in this way, at the end of the story when all seems to be safe and normal. I'm thinking of here of the deaths of Dr Clarson in Atlantis and of off course the death of Joyce in Buffy. Both of these are shocks, jarring and unpleasant, but ultimately they make for compelling television.
One other thing that the writers must do once they have killed a character like this, is to never bring them back. That is just wrong, they have put the viewer through pain and suffering and then to say in the next episode 'no it's okay they come back to life' just cheapens the whole thing. They can bring them back in flash back, thats okay, but not as a regular character.
So what of Torchwood then. Owen was killed and came back, was that okay?
Well kind of, firstly not to much was made of the death, so it was okay to bring him back and in any case, he was the character that I would miss the least. The one I didn't think I would shed a tear over losing.
Well thats what I thought, but last nights double character death, was if not unexpected it was very well done and I did feel it.
So next season (if there is one) will be down both Owen and Toshiko.
I also have to say that this was an excellent end to a season that while it started off very weakly has been a great season overall
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