Spoilers, Speculation & All Things Media!

[TWP]

Hey, ABC succeeded at one thing!  They made Twitter Castle fans happy about seeing their show get cancelled.  Good for them.

This guy is funny:

Who knows?  It might be an improvement!  Well, actually, I shouldn't say might.  It WOULD be an improvement.

Edited May 13, 2016 by TWP

[KaveDweller]

1 minute ago, TWP said:

Hey, ABC succeeded at one thing!  They made Twitter Castle fans happy about watching their show get cancelled.  Good for them.

Oooh, maybe that was the plan all along. Leak that Stana's leaving so that fans freak out so much and not be upset when the show is cancelled. Because this way the news stops all the fan backlash. With an outright cancellation fans might have gone on forever.

4 minutes ago, metaphor said:

Oh, for what it's worth, I personally don't expect a tragic ending or anything like that. Sorry if it came off that way. But as pointed out above,  the showrunners seem to have a different definition of the word "fun" from some viewers (including me).  So it remains to be seen whether the ending chosen for this show that's been on top of my must watch list for years will indeed satisfy me as a viewer. Just keeping my expectations somewhat low. 

Yes, I don't have super high hopes that it will be a great ending (I mean, it focuses on Loksat). But as long as it is pretty happy I think I can make it work in my head.

[McManda]

For what it's worth, the entertainment news outlets like Ausiello seem to think that the series finale ending would be 'happy', so ...

Whatever that means it's still a better option than a Beckett-less season 9, as far as I"m concerned.

@TWP yeah, it does seem like ABC has cancelled everything. Well, everything except Shonda's shows. If NBC can turn into the Chicago network (they have Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, Chicago PD and ordered Chicago Justice to series) then ABC can just air all Shonda's shows, right?

Quote

Yes, I don't have super high hopes that it will be a great ending (I mean, it focuses on Loksat). But as long as it is pretty happy I think I can make it work in my head.

IDK ... they did a pretty good job with the season 7 finale starting and finishing Castle's backstory and throwing in enough happiness and romance. If it's anything like that I'd be pretty satisfied, especially given the recent drama.

Edited May 13, 2016 by McManda

[metaphor]

6 minutes ago, KaveDweller said:

Yes, I don't have super high hopes that it will be a great ending (I mean, it focuses on Loksat). But as long as it is pretty happy I think I can make it work in my head.

Same here.

Definitely relieved I won't have to reconcile the past 8 seasons with a Beckett-less S9. As I mentioned in the latest episode thread, I couldn't even think of a best case scenario for that one. Just bad, worse and worst. 

[FlickerToAFlame]

Assuming ABC didn't want the Stana news to leak early, we probably never would have known a Beckett-less S9 was even an option. 

[Annec]

25 minutes ago, FlickerToAFlame said:

Assuming ABC didn't want the Stana news to leak early, we probably never would have known a Beckett-less S9 was even an option. 

Yep, the show runners seemed to think they could keep it secret, at least past the renewal announcement. Grateful to whoever leaked it. 

[Annec]

45 minutes ago, McManda said:

IDK ... they did a pretty good job with the season 7 finale starting and finishing Castle's backstory and throwing in enough happiness and romance. If it's anything like that I'd be pretty satisfied, especially given the recent drama.

I thought Hollanders Woods was beautifully done.  It would have been my Castle finale if there was a season 9.  But, Hawley and TPW have shown themselves to be consistently able to produce weak material so I'm hoping against hope that they give us something good.  The Loksat story will be ridiculously bad but I think the "end cap" will be Caskett with their daughter in a peak years down the road.  I'd be happy with that.  I won't be buying season 8 on dvd anyways, there's not a single episode I want to re-watch.  And I have all the other seasons.  

[westwingfan]

2 hours ago, madmaverick said:

Castle cancelled.  Everyone happy now? ;)

Not happy, still sad it's finally ending, but at least I'll be able to watch the finale now, although I'm still not that confident that Hawley has crafted a satisfying series finale, and start watching reruns again as presumably Beckett now lives. If ABC had announced cancellation in the first place I don't think many would have been too surprised, and it would have avoided all the divisiveness of the past few weeks. Grateful that Marlowe brought this to our screens, but still not likely to add S8 to my collection, the show didn't quite go out on top but more limped to the line. Hollander's Woods may still feel like a better series ending as S8 has been a big disappointment for me, only fleetingly did it recapture the essence of what enticed me to start watching in the first place.

[Vermicious Knid]

I wonder if they're going to continue the Nikki Heat book series. They're a bit silly but enjoyable. Like Castle used to be.

[CheshireCat]

1 hour ago, KaveDweller said:

Oooh, maybe that was the plan all along. Leak that Stana's leaving so that fans freak out so much and not be upset when the show is cancelled. Because this way the news stops all the fan backlash. With an outright cancellation fans might have gone on forever.

There were a lot of fans who were unhappy with the S8 arc, so based on the comments I've seen I would say that an outright cancellation would have been a more favorable outcome for ABC with less backlash and outrage.

[GoGiants]

I am relieved and somewhat surprised. Since the announcement about SK and TJ I had been assuming S9 was a done deal. Not sure what I think happened but it's been bizarre watching this unfold over the last few weeks. 

On a personal note, today proved that I know next to nothing about how TV works. I have been wrong again and again over this final season. I didn't think they'd break them up, I didn't think they'd consider continuing without one of the leads and I was convinced they were renewing for S9. So I am not very good at predicting any of this stuff. :)

I am glad to know there will be a happy ending but my expectations are low given S8. I too am sad that the series end had to come with such a burst of drama and negativity. 

Looking forward to catching some reruns after a decent break from the show. 

It's been fun hanging out with all of you. I've enjoyed hearing all of your perspectives and ideas. 

[CheshireCat]

16 minutes ago, GoGiants said:

I am relieved and somewhat surprised. Since the announcement about SK and TJ I had been assuming S9 was a done deal. Not sure what I think happened but it's been bizarre watching this unfold over the last few weeks. 

On a personal note, today proved that I know next to nothing about how TV works. I have been wrong again and again over this final season. I didn't think they'd break them up, I didn't think they'd consider continuing without one of the leads and I was convinced they were renewing for S9. So I am not very good at predicting any of this stuff. :)

I think, often times when exec producers or showrunners change then all bets are off. Sometimes the transition is smooth (like it felt with NCIS, I, at least, didn't know there had been a fall-out with Bellisario at one point) but at other times, either they're brought in to "shake things up" or don't share the vision, feel like they need to put their own stamp on it etc, so that things get messed up. If it ain't broke and all that.

The renewal was due to the media hype. I don't know if they truly thought it was a done deal or if they just did it to bait people. But TV Line had an URL all ready announcing a renewal, so my guess would be that they really did think that it would be renewed.

Edited May 13, 2016 by CheshireCat

[verdana]

What's Hawley's batting average now for cancelled shows? The guy needs a government health warning attached to him, he's been a very poor showrunner. May be he needs to change his title to showruiner. 

He'll get another job though but I'm not sure he deserves one - at least not based on his current record, perhaps he needs to go back to purely writing. 

[westwingfan]

3 hours ago, CheshireCat said:

I don't trust we'll get that until I see it ...

All Hawley said was that the series ending would bring closure, not that it would necessarily be a "happy" one, so maybe they both die in each others arms. the synopsis said that they have to call on the boyz and Hayley for help but what if they only arrive in time to finish off Loksat and are too late to save Caskett, Mr No 1 on the call sheet has said previously that he hoped Castle ended with a bullet in his brain so the character couldn't be resurrected by another actor.

Probably a satisfying ending would be them riding off into the sunset on a pair of Harleys, but I'm not sure Hawley thinks that way.

[mledawn]

Since there was a core group of Stana fans who were convinced it was Nathan's fault she was ousted, I'm going to assume there are a core group of Nathan fans who are now blaming the cancellation on Stana because of the backlash?

I don't think I'll miss the fandom (present company excluded, of course), and the storywriting had taken a downturn in my books - I think it's time. Hopefully there is a proper, decent send off.

[verdana]

Farewell everyone, Castle had a great run but the show in its current guise had long reached it's sell by date for this fan, my perfect happy ending happened with Still everything after that seemed surplus to requirements. Time to die. 

I must admit I'm caught a little off guard, I assumed it was getting renewed, at least fans may get some semblance of a happy ending for Beckett - although with Hawley at the helm I'm not supremely confident it's going to be that great but anything is an improvement on death right? 

Is it wrong that I'm going to miss the people here far more than the actual show? We've had our ups and downs occasionally but that's normal with any fan community. It's been an honour and privilege but most of all it's been fun to come here and chat - that's actual fun not Hawley or Marlowe's version! 

[TWP]

16 minutes ago, mledawn said:

Since there was a core group of Stana fans who were convinced it was Nathan's fault she was ousted, I'm going to assume there are a core group of Nathan fans who are now blaming the cancellation on Stana because of the backlash?

I don't think I'll miss the fandom (present company excluded, of course), and the storywriting had taken a downturn in my books - I think it's time. Hopefully there is a proper, decent send off.

I haven't seen any Nathan fans blaming Stana fans.  Maybe it's just that I don't travel in those circles.  I have  seen many Stana fans who believe that they are responsible for the show's cancellation. 

[westwingfan]

2 minutes ago, TWP said:

I haven't seen any Nathan fans blaming Stana fans.  Maybe it's just that I don't travel in those circles.  I have  seen many Stana fans who believe that they are responsible for the show's cancellation. 

There seemed to be a higher ratio of comments from people who had been willing to watch a S9 without Stana posted on the articles announcing the cancellation than there were on the ones announcing her departure, which were heavily against the idea.

It was to be expected that some would take this as vindication for their effforts, but sites like the Grim Reaper pored scorn on the impact of the online minority. The show may have been lucky to get extended past S7 but it would be interesting to eventually find out exactly what influenced ABC's decision. I know some seem perplexed at the cancellation after all the news of re-signings but aren't they down to ABC Studios who make the show and it is another part of ABC that actually decides what to air.

[verdana]

I severely doubt anything the fans did over the last few weeks or so has made a blind bit of difference to ABC's final decision which presumably revolved around what was the best business decision for them nothing else. 

[moodyblue]

I would have been upset Castle was canceled two seasons ago, but now I only feel a slight surprise, only because of the mess ABC has made of the last 3 weeks. Why go through all of this trouble and not renew? I haven't watched an episode since episode 8 of this season so I have made peace with season 7 being my series finale a long time ago. I had thought about trying a season 9 if renewed, just to see if it was better than this season but only if it included both leads. I would not have watched a Castle without Becket, no matter how she went out.

I don't really feel a lot of sympathy for the cast or crew. They had a good run of 8 seasons which is more than what most shows get. I will miss Esposito and Ryan and hope Jon and Seamus can find steady work after this. Molly had a natural charm that came through Alexis in season 1 and 2 that was lost over the years, which isn't completely uncommon in child actors so I think getting away from the character can only be good for her.

I told my husband that I will now watch the finale to see how it ends but I remembered how the showrunners screwed this season up. Then I thought of the HIMYM series finale and decided I will just record it and do a wait and see. There is still time for them to do a lot of damage to the show before it's all over.

Edited to add; I am more upset about Galavant not being renewed. I knew it was too much to ask for another season after the miracle of season 2, but I will miss it terribly. It made the month of January a little brighter and warmer for me here in the cold Midwest.

Edited May 13, 2016 by moodyblue

[BlakesMomma]

Delete

Edited May 13, 2016 by BlakesMomma

[newyawk]

*sigh*. So yes, late to the "party", but I just saw about an houre ago that Beckett and Lainie aren't the only characters not coming back. I guess cancellation is the best thing. Hopefully nobody dies, (although.... I'll see your LockSat and raise you one Alexis.)

[TWP]

2 minutes ago, BlakesMomma said:

The explanation I've seen is that the actors' contracts are with ABC Studios. The renewal decision is ABC Network. Two different entities under ABC. So I would interpret that as Studios wanted it and the network didn't agree. 

With all these cancellations, they really cleaned house and must have a lot of faith in their pilots. 

http://bit.ly/1Omvg8L

You can say that again!!!!! Sorry.

[TWP]

2 minutes ago, BlakesMomma said:

The explanation I've seen is that the actors' contracts are with ABC Studios. The renewal decision is ABC Network. Two different entities under ABC. So I would interpret that as Studios wanted it and the network didn't agree. 

With all these cancellations, they really cleaned house and must have a lot of faith in their pilots. 

http://bit.ly/1Omvg8L

You can say that again!!!!! Sorry.

[GeorgieNY]

55 minutes ago, verdana said:

Farewell everyone, Castle had a great run but the show in its current guise had long reached it's sell by date for this fan, my perfect happy ending happened with Still everything after that seemed surplus to requirements. Time to die. 

 

Is it wrong that I'm going to miss the people here far more than the actual show? We've had our ups and downs occasionally but that's normal with any fan community. It's been an honour and privilege but most of all it's been fun to come here and chat - that's actual fun not Hawley or Marlowe's version! 

I'm also relieved, and kind of shocked, since it seemed like they would renew. I actually couldn't being myself to watch this week knowing that next week would be an awful "get rid of Beckett" cliffhanger. Now I can watch the finale. 

I will miss this board and all the people on it. I didn't post much, but reading everyone's thoughts always brightened my day, so thanks everyone. 

[BlakesMomma]

21 minutes ago, TWP said:

You can say that again!!!!! Sorry.

I got caught in that repeat thing you endured yesterday!  Apologies to all!!

[Driad]

The show ending does not mean the discussion here will end.  See The West Wing for a healthy example.  Looking forward to many years of insights and zany ideas here.

[TheOtherOne]

(Geez, first the system posted the comment seven times, then it deleted all of them instead of just leaving the first. Trying this again...)

Quote

Assuming ABC didn't want the Stana news to leak early, we probably never would have known a Beckett-less S9 was even an option.

I thought from the start that they leaked it specifically to gauge the audience response before renewing it. Better to find out the reaction to a Beckett-less Season 9 before ordering it than after. If the reaction was, "To hell with that chick! We wants the BOYZZZZ! Only boys detecting! Plus random British chick and daughter. YAYYYY!" then they'd know renewing it was worth it. If the reaction was, well, the one they got, no point in renewing it, though they still had to go through the process of signing the actors just in case until the final decision was made.

Didn't see this mentioned, but after the news broke Penny Johnson Gerald tweeted a pointed: "God don't like ugly". Heh.

[CheshireCat]

I wonder if ABC maybe also wanted to see how fans would react to the news that the other three main characters had signed. I think each time the news broke, it initiated a new flood of "cancel Castle" comments but maybe they were trying to see if the news would generate a more positive reaction/would sway fans and the mood would get more upbeat and that it didn't might have played a part in the network's decision.

[newyawk]

Nothing from Nathan yet. 

[TWP]

7 minutes ago, newyawk said:

Nothing from Nathan yet. 

Or Hawley - Winters. I'll be surprised if the dynamic duo talk until after the finale. 

Hopefully, Nathan's statement will be less weird than the last one.

[newyawk]

What did he say the last time?

[pennben]

5 hours ago, WendyCR72 said:

Let me introduce you to How I Met Your Mother...

After seeing that ending, I finally think I fully appreciate how nobody ever wanted to say "Voldemort" outloud in the world of Harry Potter....the bad memories and fears of new bad memories a mention of it raises are almost too terrifying!

[femmefan1946]

Since NF, JH , and SD had signed, does that mean that ABC has a hold/promise on them for some work in the coming year? Or would such a contract be specific to Castle and /or Beacon Productions?

[WendyCR72]

22 minutes ago, femmefan1946 said:

Since NF, JH , and SD had signed, does that mean that ABC has a hold/promise on them for some work in the coming year? Or would such a contract be specific to Castle and /or Beacon Productions?

Guessing it was specific to Castle and there was a clause covering ABC in the contract wording should they not renew.

[MaryM47]

Don't contracts often have clauses giving the actor/athlete some sort of pay-off if things fall through? Perhaps only for the big names, but if that was the case here, ABC may be out a pretty penny. And if I were the agent negotiating a contract for something so iffy as Castle season 9, I would certainly try to get that kind of protection for my client, or as Wendy mentioned, a promise for another show if season 9 wasn't picked up. 

[pennben]

I'm not fully sure how these contracts work.  I assume that a large part of the contract was fleshing out the issues of what happens if Castle comes back for the next year, and possibly x number of years thereafter.  Since it didn't, those terms won't apply. I also assume that in cases like this, there's also a payout clause of some sort...if Castle doesn't come back, we owe you $x or whatever else may have been negotiated. I mean that could work even for a spinoff; a) if Castle comes back as Castle, you get X, b) if Castle comes back as a new spinoff, you get X-y, c) if neither happens, you get Z.  I'm assuming everyones Z is different.

[rspad]

Wow. After constantly refreshing this forum for the latest news, what a day for me to be offline. I've caught up liking numerous posts as you've all hit so many of the thoughts running through my head.  

I made no secret I thought a S9 without Beckett was a terrible idea, and I don't think I could have held back the slew of expletives I would have hurled at the TV if they had killed off Beckett, so I can't be sorry for feeling a bit relieved.  Yet at the same time, I have loved this show for 8 yrs and am sorry it's come to an end, especially under such a cloud of gossip, speculation and fan angst. I can only hope the finale will end with that happily ever after so I can get rid of the bad taste in my mouth from the last few weeks and properly say goodbye to a great show. 

Edited May 13, 2016 by rspad

[westwingfan]

4 hours ago, TheOtherOne said:

(Geez, first the system posted the comment seven times, then it deleted all of them instead of just leaving the first. Trying this again...)

I thought from the start that they leaked it specifically to gauge the audience response before renewing it. Better to find out the reaction to a Beckett-less Season 9 before ordering it than after. If the reaction was, "To hell with that chick! We wants the BOYZZZZ! Only boys detecting! Plus random British chick and daughter. YAYYYY!" then they'd know renewing it was worth it. If the reaction was, well, the one they got, no point in renewing it, though they still had to go through the process of signing the actors just in case until the final decision was made.

Didn't see this mentioned, but after the news broke Penny Johnson Gerald tweeted a pointed: "God don't like ugly". Heh.

But there was quite a reaction at the end of S7 until news of Stana re-signing was announced, I'm sure I saw plenty #NoStanaNoCastle appearing on twitter then, and the negative on line comments about the direction S8 seemed to be taking were consistent all the way through the season, every post on the official twitter and FB accounts that featured Castle with his daughter or Hayley seemed to be swamped with calls for Beckett to appear more, so ABC shouldn't have been surprised by the reaction to the news that she wouldn't be involved in a S9 if the show was renewed.

[Featherhat]

Having watched since the days when it was on the bubble to get renewed even for a 2nd season, I think this is the right time to end it. 8 years is a very long time in today's TV landscape and I'd rather they end it with Beckett and some semblance of purpose intact than stretch it out for another 13 episodes because it remained *just* this side of profitable.

The show proved Nathan can anchor a series that lasts more than 13 (if that) episodes and gave the mostly "working actor" cast "series regular" status for nearly 200 episodes. They'll all have at least a shot at a pilot in the next couple of years if that's what they want and the crew will move on to the new crop of shows.

 I would really like to know what went down though, if it was going to be renewed and all this gossip was a ploy for negotiations which broke down or if there was anything else behind it. It seems like a lot of networks are confident in their pilot crop for next year though.

[schnauzergirl]

Unpopular opinion here: I was looking forward to see what would happen without Beckett.  It's been awhile since I cared about Kate and her angst and this season finished me off.  I've never followed either Nathan or Stana off-show, so don't know anything about the tension between them, but do know that if the concept and writing are there, disagreements don't keep actors from doing professional jobs.    

[westwingfan]

1 hour ago, schnauzergirl said:

Unpopular opinion here: I was looking forward to see what would happen without Beckett.  It's been awhile since I cared about Kate and her angst and this season finished me off.  I've never followed either Nathan or Stana off-show, so don't know anything about the tension between them, but do know that if the concept and writing are there, disagreements don't keep actors from doing professional jobs.    

There seemed to be a sub text to S8 where they were trying to make Beckett very unlikeable by her behaviour towards Castle and sidelining her character to some extent during the COTW as if they were hoping people would be happy to see her go. I was disappointed when I started to read the rumours about their BTS issues because I felt if their job was acting then just act, but I guess when you're supposed to be the romantic interest that gets hard. I've seen the prospect of Beckett dying if the show was renewed being compared to Grey's losing Dr McDreamy, but Grey's had a much larger cast, was much more an ensemble show, and still had several other pairings to keep the romance going, whereas losing Beckett was probably going to leave too big a hole to be filled successfully, I certainly didn't see super sleuth Alexis and irritating Hayley being up to the task.

[TWP]

6 hours ago, MaryM47 said:

Don't contracts often have clauses giving the actor/athlete some sort of pay-off if things fall through? Perhaps only for the big names, but if that was the case here, ABC may be out a pretty penny. And if I were the agent negotiating a contract for something so iffy as Castle season 9, I would certainly try to get that kind of protection for my client, or as Wendy mentioned, a promise for another show if season 9 wasn't picked up. 

I wouldn't be surprised if the contract includes something to keep at least Nathan around. He was on an ABC deal when he was offered Castle. And he's an ABC guy. Yep, Castle will be missed. The only thing that was saving it was syndication and that wasn't even good enough anymore.

I hope the pilots don't prove to be as bad as ever. I may resort to picking up my hobbies again! Does PTV have a quilting forum?

Edited May 13, 2016 by TWP

[oberon55]

Honestly as bad as this season was I don't think it could have lasted more than 13 episodes next season even if they both stayed. Much less if they lost Beckett. It was an idiotic plan to try to make a go of it without her. I guess somebody at ABC finally woke up & said "Holy shit that was close. What the hell were we thinking."

[LegalParrot81]

2 hours ago, schnauzergirl said:

Unpopular opinion here: I was looking forward to see what would happen without Beckett.  It's been awhile since I cared about Kate and her angst and this season finished me off.  I've never followed either Nathan or Stana off-show, so don't know anything about the tension between them, but do know that if the concept and writing are there, disagreements don't keep actors from doing professional jobs.    

Not unpopular with me.  I'm very much in the minority, but the character of Beckett had been getting on my last nerve for a while. 

This cancellation makes me feel sad for all the people we don't see, the ones behind the cameras.  I'm sure they all thought they were covered for at least one more season.

[westwingfan]

1 minute ago, oberon55 said:

Honestly as bad as this season was I don't think it could have lasted more than 13 episodes next season even if they both stayed. Much less if they lost Beckett. It was an idiotic plan to try to make a go of it without her. I guess somebody at ABC finally woke up & said "Holy shit that was close. What the hell were we thinking."

Maybe if Dungey had been in charge at the end of S7 she might have announced S8 as the final season from the start and the showrunners wouldn't have felt the need to scrap the original premise and try to push Castle P.I. at every opportunity, and the actors could have been told to "button up kitten" for just a little longer so that the show ended on a high without triggering the recent recriminations amongst the fandom.

[Evil Queen]

Really sad to see this go and another one of my shows from this channel. When I saw they were letting Stana go because of budget reasons, all I thought of was #ThanksShanghi. UGH I can think of many other shows that its time to end on this channel already instead. 

[Sonik Tooth]

I’m not surprised they cancelled the show per se (8 years old, low ratings, one remaining lead), but I’m rather surprised what lengths they went only to announce cancellation at the end. They greenlit going forward with only one of the show’s two leads, they had actors secured, showrunners working on outlines and probably a whole lot of other things that are time consuming. In the end, didn’t Castle meet its cost target? Or is it with existing shows just like with new pilots? Different choices being presented to pick from at the very end?

As with all TV shows I’ve watched, I’m not particularly sad to see Castle gone. It’s entertainment, and the supply is enormous and time is precious. (And over the last 4 seasons, nobody watched with me anymore…traitors:-)  

I wish the Castle cast and crew all the best. I’m definitely in for everything Nathan Fillion does next (except a Caleb like role, urgh) and will also watch out for new projects of the remaining cast.

Witnessing all the drama surrounding the show (especially on Twitter with a large enough crowd and fave button), I’m looking forward for a few things:

• Lots of people quitting their jobs, going on strike, starting campaigns to alter the climate towards equal opportunities and diversity in their own working environment/ at school (wouldn’t that be great?!),
• papers on group dynamics and cognitive allusions in certain parts of the TV fandom,
• classes where they teach the difference between a value judgement and a factual claim (which can be true or false) regarding defamation (of character).

[TWP]

22 minutes ago, Sonik Tooth said:

Witnessing all the drama surrounding the show (especially on Twitter with a large enough crowd and fave button), I’m looking forward for a few things:

• Lots of people quitting their jobs, going on strike, starting campaigns to alter the climate towards equal opportunities and diversity in their own working environment/ at school (wouldn’t that be great?!),
• papers on group dynamics and cognitive allusions in certain parts of the TV fandom,
• classes where they teach the difference between a value judgement and a factual claim (which can be true or false) regarding defamation (of character).

Yep, because the corporate world is loaded with sexists at the top and it's more important that you quit your job to stand up for principles than it is to pay your mortgage or feed your kids.  The one saving grace for me is that I don't have to witness the uglier side of the fandom any longer.  For that, I am cheering.

One question for me is since the show is cancelled, are production staff working around the clock this weekend to populate the alternate ending?  I thought that had to be sealed a week before broadcast (presumably to work out broadcast issues?).  Was this not such a sudden decision as they tried to make us believe?

Or maybe there wasn't really an alternate ending, and it's going to end the same way either way. They'll probably release via DVD whichever ending they don't use.

Edited May 13, 2016 by TWP

[Cyranetta]

Quote

All Hawley said was that the series ending would bring closure, not that it would necessarily be a "happy" one, so maybe they both die in each others arms. the synopsis said that they have to call on the boyz and Hayley for help but what if they only arrive in time to finish off Loksat and are too late to save Caskett, Mr No 1 on the call sheet has said previously that he hoped Castle ended with a bullet in his brain so the character couldn't be resurrected by another actor.

Probably a satisfying ending would be them riding off into the sunset on a pair of Harleys, but I'm not sure Hawley thinks that way.

I'm really surprised that so many think that closure means a happy ending, since  the whole approach to S8 has not exactly been shaded to "happy", and I wouldn't be surprised that the showrunners would like to use a tragic closure as a big FU to those who "didn't get their vision".

The whole Internet drama since the first news about SK and TJ came out has been almost more engrossing than a Shonda show. <g>