the end of the TV meme

It definitely took me more than a month to get through this.


Day 30 - Saddest character death

If you know my fannish preferences, you probably think I'd go with Ianto Jones. This is not actually true. He's high on my list, yes. I sobbed my eyes out when it happened. And the shock of it -- the first Whoniverse character death I hadn't been spoiled for in advance -- was a big part of my reaction.

So, okay, Ianto is clearly a runner-up. As is Jack Harkness's first death in "Parting of the Ways", for me -- that actually makes me ache so much in rewatching, because it's a good death, the death that should've taken but didn't, and Rose's blessing wound up being just as much of a curse. And don't even get me started on the Lone Gunmen in the penultimate episode of the X-Files, JESUS CHRIST.

But the saddest?

This guy's walking down the street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep he can't get out. A doctor passes by and the guy shouts up, "Hey you. Can you help me out?" The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up, "Father, I'm down in this hole, can you help me out?" The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by. "Hey, Joe, it's me can you help me out?" And the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, "Are you stupid? Now we're both down here." The friend says, "Yeah, but I've been down here before and I know the way out."

LEO MCGARRY, guys. Oh, Leo. Taken alone as scripted, it would be sad enough -- I mean, this is Leo, Chief of Staff of the White House for 5+ seasons of West Wing, the President's best friend and closest adviser. It's patently impossible not to love Leo. And then Josh recruits him for the VP slot on the Santos ticket. And then on the very night they win the election -- augh. AUGH.

But of course, the reason it's written that way is to account for the tragic death of the actor, John Spencer, during the final season's filming. Which, just, oh god. Oh, Leo. You were sorely missed.

(True fact: the original plan for the final season had Santos losing the election to Vinick, the Republican candidate. After Spencer's passing, the second half of the season was rewritten because the writers thought it would be too depressing.)

If we're going to walk into walls I want us running into them full speed. We're going to lose some of these battles, and we might even lose the White House, but we're not going to be threatened by issues. We're going to bring 'em front and center. We're going to raise the level of public debate in this country, and let that be our legacy.