Tuesday, February 06, 2018

This Was Us

This Is Us, already NBC's biggest show, got the slot after the Super Bowl, and earned the biggest post-Bowl rating of any show since 2012.

Of course, it wasn't just any episode--it was the one where paterfamilias Jack died, something the show had been teasing since the first season. In addition, it's set on Super Bowl Sunday--did creator Dan Fogelman plan that before or after he knew when it would air?

While a lot of people tuned in who don't normally watch, this episode would have gotten high ratings whenever it was shown.  Why?

I'm not asking why is the show popular, but why would people tune in to see a beloved character die?  There's the mystery of how it happened, I suppose, but fans who have grown to know and love the Pearson family would have to watch scenes of these characters being miserable.

We watch movies and TV to be moved--to laughter, to tears, etc.  But it's odd that fans wanted to see characters feeling awful, with no guarantee of any hope at the end. (Some viewers record their reactions to big TV events and put them on YouTube.  So I guess people want to see people crying at other people crying.)

5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

One question.

To laughter, okay, to tears, okay, but what's the etc. for? Doesn't that pretty much cover it?

One comment.

Crying squared.

5:24 PM, February 06, 2018  
Blogger LAGuy said...

There's fright, for example.

6:21 PM, February 06, 2018  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

And anger, and envy and I suppose many others, as far as emotional reactions go. But when it comes to movies, sure, fright gets its own genre, but after comedy, and drama, I remain skeptical there are many others.

Maybe Righteousness. (Is that an emotion?)

Of course I'm not addressing ecstasy.

6:57 PM, February 06, 2018  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

There was a lot of crying, but the main crying scene was when Mandy Moore found out. They were smart not to do a basic repeat with the kids.

7:00 PM, February 06, 2018  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Let's not forget thrills and disgust. They're what the Jackass movies are based on.

7:02 PM, February 06, 2018  

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