LogFAQs > #901268019

ParanoidObsessive posted...

Like it or not, negative experiences can absolutely retroactively color our memories of older things. As an extreme example, it's why so many people feel like they can't watch the older work of actors or comedians who have been getting outed as sexual abusers - you may have loved the Cosby Show as a kid, but if you watch it today, on some level you're always thinking about what he did. A lot of wrestling fans have trouble watching old Chris Benoit matches, in spite of his in-ring ability and prior performances not being altered in any way by the fact that he murdered his wife and child.

It's about separating the art from the artist. John Lennon use to beat his first wife and abandoned his first son but his music is still held in high regard. Same thing about Michael Jackson and all of his controversies. You don't have to love the person to enjoy the work. You could even hate the person but acknowledge they did quality work when it comes down to it.

When it comes to sequel media you have to ask yourself these questions: Was it good enough to warrant a sequel? Is the creator good enough to make a sequel? Should there even be a sequel?

Star Wars didn't need a expanded universe full of bullshit and contradictions. Episode IV stands well enough on its own that it could've "and probably should've" ended right there. But demand for more ultimately watered everything down for the sake of being a cash cow.

Mass Effect hardly had a good main plot to begin with, and it became more apparent as the series moved forward. It was nothing more than space marine chosen one universe revolves around you fluff. Your character was always going to save the day even if you intentionally fuck up (to a degree).

The enjoyment I got out of it was through other characters and what was going on around your character. Would I ever play the series again? No. Once was enough and I set out to do what I wanted to do in the first place.
Even if it had 150 endings or ending slides explaining my actions across three games I still wouldn't do it. Whatever ending I ended up with is how that story ended for me. Example, I really like Fallout: New Vegas but I've only beaten it once. I've played around in it multiple times since beating it but I've only beat it once. Why is that? Because I did what I set out to do and ended up with the ending I felt I deserved.

Mass Effect example from finding out about the Reapers I set out that I'm going to destroy them. In the end I destroyed them mission accomplished.

ParanoidObsessive posted...

In a sense, it's similar to the reason why so many people get annoyed with the "It was all a dream!" ending to stories. It makes you feel like the narrative just wasted all of your time.

Not even. Dream endings/unreliable narrator endings are typically a cop out when the writer ends up in the corner with no way out. A bad sequel is when the writer is proven a hack or the company managing the media only sees money. The world is full of media with sequels that are atrocious. It doesn't stop people from enjoying the older media and newer generations from discovering it. People still hold Godfather 1/2 in extremely high regard but nobody gives a shit about the third one. Hell people hold Neverending Story in high regards but say nothing of the horrible sequels.

Network TV is pretty bad about wasting viewers time in series. But its all evident when you realize everything is written for the commercial, and to keep leading you on to draw things out beyond necessary. This could probably be fixed if the media in question had a set number of episodes/sequels/books to work with and once the end was reached that was it. Granted a writer can still shit the bed but at least they didn't shit all the way to the breakfast table.
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