Death for Ratings??

I am working on an ever-growing theory about the decline and fall of popular culture revolving around the fall of quality television programming. The first step is how writing has drastically changed in television series, especially dramas. Almost every drama on television uses killing off main characters, or at least threatening to, as a major plot twist. The are trying to hook viewers into watching next weeks episode by promising things like "you;ll never guess who will die." Why is it necessary to kill off main characters to make a show interesting, can we not think of anything else to write about. Here are a few examples.

In the first season of Lost they killed off one main character (Boone), and he was a secondary character. I liked Boone and thought he played a strong character, but was basically a younger version of Jack, the real main character. I know many people who watched the show felt nothing for him and didn't care when he died. So it wasn't that dramatic. So Lost had its best season and one an Emmy for best drama, all while only killing of one secondary character. In the next season plus 8 episodes they have killed off two really main characters (Anna Lucia and Eko) three secondary characters (Shannon, Libby, Michael, who wasnt killed off but was written off) and two third tier characters (Colleen and Picket) and have "promised" to kill of one more main character this year. Why is it necessary. Lost producers themselves have said that Lost is ultimately a show about the characters. They want viewers to learn about these characters; their faults and triumphs and root for them. The show really isnt about being stranded on a mysterious island and trying to figure out all the mysteries there. The producers are really contradicting themselves by saying that it is a show about the characters and then killing them all off, by the end we will have no one to root for. Lost fans know that before the show started their plan was to kill off Jack, the main character, in episode three to prove that this was a show that would do anything. The ran this past test markets and everyone agreed that the would not watch the show again after that and said they would "not be able to trust the writers of a show that wouldd do that." Now two plus years later they have forgotten that and are killing off characters adn losuing the trust of the viewers.

The second show would be 24. I believe that this has been a great show since the first second of season 1, even though it first one an Emmy for season 5 (I think not their best season). Here is a death count of main characters season by season. Season 1 (one main character) Season 2 (one secondary, one third tier) Season 3 (one main, one secodnary) Season 4 (one secondary) Season 5 (three main, two secondary, one third tier). So they were awarded for killing off the most main characters proving that no one is safe,a nd thats what makes for good televison. THis is the opposite reason that Lost won. Now, the one problem I have this year, especially after killing off another main character and a secondary character,is that there really aren't any characters that you care if they die. Jack is the last character left that as a viewer you have any interest in. All the guys Jack works with out in the field are un-named henchmen and you don't really care what happens to them. I think they killed of too many characters last year and the beginning of this year, there isn't any one you care about. There was a guy in a Muslim concentration camp in the US after a terrorist attack. They made it look as if he were in danger and as a viewer you were supposed to care. But you knew nothing about him and had no history with him so I really didn't care what happened to him.

Last example: Look at the highest rated dramas on television now: CSI, CSI Miami, Grey's Anatomy, House, Without a Case, Lost, and Desperate Housewives. Except Lost the other shows don't have a need to kill of main characters. CSI has been on for 7 years and has not once killed off a main characters. A couple times they were in critical condition, but never died. In fact its lowest rated season was when for half the season they broke up the team and had them all working separate and not together. Viewers stopped watching because the characters they love were no longer together. None of those others show either have a desire to kill of characters to keep viewers, they realize viewers are watching because of the characters. I will have a future blog looking at the fact that shows like CSI, ER, Grey's Anatomy, House, and Law & Order do so well for so long because everything gets solved in an hour and there is no long story line that gets people frustrated for answers.