Fandom Gank thread

[classicdrogn]

Copied from Mass Effect thread:

I propose a new term for what Bioware has done: Fandom Gank. Where the creators of a property attempt a twist ending that, instead of fascinating and inciting discussion that enhances replay/rerun/etc value, alienates a large portion of their fanbase and creates negative buzz that has serious negative effects, if not killing off the property entirely for a while.

Last Edited By: ClassicDrogn 03/30/12 08:12 AM. Edited 3 times.

Logan Darklighter #124 [-]
(03/30/12 10:43 AM)
Fandom Gank.

Yeah. That sounds like a new trope to add to the list at TV Tropes. And Mass Effect could be the trope namer.

Bob Schroeck #125 [-]
(03/30/12 06:54 PM)

eah. That sounds like a new trope to add to the list at TV Tropes.

I was just thinking the same thing. If you don't do it, Drogn, I just might.

ClassicDrogn #126 [-]
(03/31/12 02:09 PM)


Go ahead if you like, I'm not hep to all this wicky-wack jive you kids are into these days. For another possible example, Batman & Robin: there wasn't another Batman movie for, what, a decade after that? Long enough for the next age group of fans who love the comics but didn't remember the freaky neon-lit stinkeroo most noteable for the long shots of Poison Ivy's tightly-wrapped goods.

- CD

Logan Darklighter #127 [-]
(03/31/12 02:40 PM)

Well...

I think Batman and Robin cannot be put in the same category. But your example does point out something. That if we were to make this category, it needs to be defined more tightly.

B&R was simply BAD. From beginning to end. A total and complete stinkfest. The Plan 9 from Outer Space of the modern superhero movies. (Others have been as bad - some people might point out Halle Berry's Catwoman or Elektra. But those movies didn't kill existing franchises dead.)

Mass Effect 3 is, from all accounts (and what little footage aside from the ending I've seen) an incredibly GOOD Game and story. It follows two other installments that were just as good. Absolutely no one is arguing that the whole game is bad.

It is ONLY in the last 10 minutes that it fails. ONLY the last 10 minutes that feels "tacked on" and not even part of the same narrative. And it is ONLY in the last 10 minutes that the fans/players feel so ultimately betrayed.

So - are there any other examples of movies, books, tv series, or animation where this sort of thing has happened? Perhaps if we have those examples, we can make comparisons and see what common elements this potential new trope has? To reiterate - this is any story in any medium where it is incredibly good right until the end and then takes a sharp left turn into suckage. (Perhaps so bad that you want to throw the book/tape/DVD/Controller across the room.)

BTW - I strongly recommend if we're going to start up a discussion about making a new trope, that it branch off into it's own thread. Or perhaps migrate the discussion to the actual TV Tropes site?

So, examples in any medium of things that were great right up until the horrible, fandom-killing ending.

ME3 is the Patient Zero. The movie _Batman & Robin_ is not an example, because the WHOLE MOVIE was bad, even if the preceeding two films were pretty good and (at least the first) wildly popular.

Evangelion is not quite there, lots of people found the last two episodes confusing and the movies depressing, but that didn't stop them from proclaiming the overall genius of the series, for whatever incomprehensible reason.

Nadesico and its nonending, likewise not a strong enough reaction.

I dunno, are there actually other examples that really fit?

- CD
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